10 Iconic Batman Comics That Should Be Movies (But Won't Ever Be)

2. Batman: The Killing Joke

Studios are finally catching onto the fact that audiences don't enjoy watching origin stories for characters they already know like the back of their hand. Yes, we get it. Bruce Wayne's parents were gunned down when he was just a small boy. Sure, it's traumatic, but do we need another film to tread over the same old ground? The answer is no, but what about his arch nemesis? Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto soon as well... we've seen many incarnations of the Joker on the silver screen so far, but none quite like the one depicted in Batman: The Killing Joke. Writer Alan Moore isn't exactly one to play by convention and by focusing almost entirely on the disturbed psychosis of the Joker, his unique contribution to the mythos forever changed the way readers view the Clown Prince of Crime. In an attempt to show that even the most moral people can turn evil, the Joker sets out to torture Commissioner Jim Gordon, proving that anyone can descend into madness given just one bad day. Usually, too much background information dulls the impact of a character like the Joker, but here, flashbacks of the villain's life prior to his transformation only enhance the present day perspective further, making this one of the most chilling Batman stories ever told. While an animated adaptation of The Killing Joke is currently in the works, it's unlikely we'll ever see a live action version, despite the story's immense popularity. Part of the reason for this is the integral role Barbara Gordon's character plays in the original source material, but she could technically be introduced later down the line. The key obstacle really is that pesky rating system again. The hype surrounding Deadpool suggests that some audiences are now ready for R rated superhero movies, but will Warner Bros ever take that chance with their most popular movie character, one who sells the company children's merchandise by the bucketload? Anything less than a R rating would be an insult to the legion of fans who define The Killing Joke as one of THE most important Batman stories of all time.