Written and illustrated by various. It seems sacrilege to bump Frank Miller out of the top spot, but the epic Batman Family event that is "Knightfall" achieves a level of greatness no other Batman title has managed before or since. The three-part KnightSaga - "Knightfall", "Knightquest", and "KnightsEnd" - spanned a calendar year and multiple titles including Detective Comics, Batman, Legends of the Dark Knight, Shadow of the Bat, Catwoman, Robin, and more. The entire saga is sometimes known by the title of Part One, "Knightfall", and it is indeed the entire saga that places first on this list. The story is known to many: Venom-juiced Bane frees all of the inmates from Arkham Asylum in order to exhaust Batman, and when the Dark Knight has nothing left in the tank Bane breaks his back. Completely incapacitated, Bruce passes the mantle of Batman on to Jean-Paul Valley, formerly the crimefighter known as Azrael. Valley slowly loses his sanity and soon shows no qualms about killing his enemies, and before long Bruce must rise to reclaim the cape and cowl from his former apprentice. Is the entire "Knightfall" saga a flawless Batman tale like "Year One" or "The Dark Knight Returns"? Of course not. The middle chapter drags for large portions, some characters turn out to be not nearly as badass as they were in the beginning, and the changes in writer/artist teams can be jarring if you're reading the collected versions. But "Knightfall" reaches heights and depths that no Miller book could - most importantly the in-continuity destruction of the main character. This saga ran around the same time as the "The Death of Superman" arc elsewhere in the DC Universe, and both managed to change the status-quo and examine new territory with old characters. But "Knightfall" was perhaps written with deeper intent than "The Death of Superman" or any other Batman tale. Writer Dennis O'Neil maintained in his introduction to his novelization of the saga that examining Batman against more "ruthless" protagonists who were willing to kill their opponents was a main reason for the writing of "Knightfall". Would readers prefer a Batman more akin to James Bond or the Terminator? Would Batman be more effective without his aversion to killing? Sure, these questions were at the forefront when Jean-Paul Valley became the Batman, but the main question that "Knightfall" asked is the same question that "Year One", "The Dark Knight Returns", "The Long Halloween" and other great Batman books ask: What makes Batman Batman? "Knightfall" remains the greatest megaseries ever produced under the Batman banner, and its influence is apparent in such works as Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. The original promotions for "Knightfall" say, quite simply, that Batman is going where he has never gone before. It's true. Over an incredibly long history, Batman has been a part of hundreds of classic stories. Did your favorite make the list? Which Batman comics do you think are over- or underrated? Let us know in the comments below!
