The Batman 2 has to be based on a very special story from DC Comics. While the DCU went through many changes and the future of Ben Affleck’s Batman remained unknown, Warner Bros. brought another version of the Caped Crusader as part of a universe separate from the DCU – and so Matt Reeves’ The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, happened. The success of The Batman led to a sequel being greenlit, and while plot details haven’t been revealed, the first movie set up some interesting potential stories.
The Batman introduced a younger Bruce Wayne than in previous versions and who is in his second year as a vigilante in Gotham City. Alongside James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and the Gotham City Police Department, Batman tried to catch a mysterious serial killer known as The Riddler (Paul Dano), while also learning more about Gotham’s criminal underworld, led by Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot (Colin Farrell). At the end of The Batman, Falcone was killed by the Riddler, the Penguin was still a free man, Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) left Gotham, and the Riddler was sent to Arkham State Hospital, where he met none other than the Joker (Barry Keoghan) – and this sets up a specific storyline for The Batman 2.
The Batman 2 May Adapt DC Comics' The War Of Jokes And Riddles
The Batman had more than one villain, with the Riddler serving as the main bad guy, and to the surprise of the audience, he wasn’t killed at the end of the movie, setting up a potential return. As mentioned above, the Riddler is now in prison, where he met the Joker, who lives in the cell next to his, thus setting up an adaptation of the storyline The War of Jokes and Riddles for The Batman 2. The War of Jokes and Riddles is an eight-part storyline written by Tom King and illustrated by Mikel Janín, which as the title implies, features a war between the Riddler and the Joker during Batman’s second year.
The events of The War of Jokes and Riddles begin when the Riddler escapes from prison and approaches the Joker for a potential team-up – however, as both villains want to kill Batman and each one is determined that he and only he must be the one to do so, their disagreements escalate to a city-wide war, with the rest of Gotham’s villains choosing sides. The Batman set this up by having the Riddler and the Joker meet in Arkham, and their first interaction was a friendly one, with both laughing at the Joker’s riddle about friends. This friendliness between the Riddler and the Joker wouldn’t last long given their opposed larger ideologies, easily making way for The War of Jokes and Riddles.
The Timing Is Right For The War Of Jokes And Riddles In The Batman 2
Not only is The War of Jokes and Riddles perfect for The Batman 2 thanks to the Riddler and the Joker now knowing each other, but also thanks to Pattinson’s Batman’s history with Selina Kyle. The story of The War of Jokes and Riddles is told via flashback, as Batman tells it to Selina after proposing, giving her time to consider her answer. The Batman didn’t have Bruce and Selina getting romantically involved, but it definitely left the door wide open for a relationship between them if Selina ever returns to Gotham. The chemistry between them is undeniable, so a relationship and a proposal could work in The Batman’s timeline, but instead of telling her about the war between the Joker and the Riddler, they would be involved in it.
In addition to this, The Batman’s version of the title character is a young one who, while not new, isn’t exactly the most experienced vigilante out there yet, so the “year two” setting of The War of Jokes and Riddles fits with where Batman’s story currently is. All of this proves that the war between the Joker and the Riddler would be the best and most logical next step for The Batman, but there are also some obstacles in the way of this adaptation.
The War Of Jokes And Riddles May Be Too Big For The Batman 2
Although the main conflict in The War of Jokes and Riddles is between the Joker and the Riddler, the war escalated to a point where the rest of Gotham’s villains ended up taking sides. Of course, this was one of the event’s biggest selling points, but translating this into the big screen would be very difficult. The only known villains from the universe of The Batman so far are the Riddler, the Penguin, and the Joker, and it’s unlikely Reeves and company would opt for introducing many more supervillains to flesh out the war. However, The Batman 2 could solve this by doing the event on a smaller scale or with regular criminals rather than Gotham’s most prominent bad guys, though that would also be tricky as the presence of these villains is a core element of the story.
