9 Storylines That Defined Popular Comic Book Characters

If you're a fan of any Batman movie since 1989, you have Frank Miller to thank. The writer has given the character many of his best stories, and while The Dark Knight Returns might be an astonishing look at an aged Batman, it did not define the character as much as Year One did.

Moviegoers might be bored to death of Batman's origin stories, especially working up the energy to care about his parents being shot yet again, but that's because of how well Miller did Batman's beginnings. Returning from abroad as a wiser man with a grasp of fighting, Bruce Wayne in his first weeks and months of crimefighting was a simple idea that changed so much about the character.

However, many of the story elements in Year One are now familiar to even comic book laymen, because they served as the primary source for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Batman escaping the police in a swarm of bats, meeting with Jim Gordon to discuss the rise of a villain called the Joker, even Batman leaping off of a railing to save a child came from Year One. And once again, you have Frank Miller to thank for it.