Joker Origin Movie: 7 Comic Storylines DC Could Adapt
2. Batman #0
DC Comics
The New 52 might have been a divisive and ultimately unnecessary reboot of DC's main universe, but Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman was a constant highlight.
Beginning with a rip-roaring story involving the Court of Owls, Snyder and Capullo's stories instantly set themselves apart from the competition for being atmospheric, dark and full of horror elements. When it came time to tell their version of Batman's origin story in the rebooted continuity as well, they didn't fail to deliver, providing yet another compelling origin for the Clown Prince in the process.
This particular story reimagines the Red Hood premise established decades earlier - this time with the identity working as a gang of sorts. Their crimewave is so dramatic that it actually forms the catalyst to get Bruce Wayne to don the Batsuit for the first time, with one of the members of the gang heavily hinted to be the Joker.
The story closes with the leader falling into a vat of chemicals at least. In any case, if the new film is gunning for a crime drama feel, the Red Hood gang actually makes a lot of sense.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
