3. Court Of Owls
The
Court of Owls was the first Batman arc of DCs New 52 rebranding, and it set a very high standard.
(Court of Owls SPOILERS ahead!) The basic premise was that a centuries-old secret society, made up of Gothams oldest and wealthiest families who use murder to influence the city. They are the Owls and they use highly-trained assassins known as Talons to do their bidding. They operate in secret, in some of Gothams oldest buildings and only unveil their presence when they deem necessary. Throughout the storyline Batman fights several Talons, gets lost in an underground maze built by the Owls, Talons attack Wayne Manor and the Batcave, Dick Grayson is unveiled as being groomed as the next Talon and a major twist/surprise is unravelled. All of which makes for one helluva storyline that would be awesome on the big screen. Seeing Wayne Manor get attacked and Bruce almost going mad while lost in the maze are extremely enthralling scenes in the comics and would adapt well for movies.
Court of Owls is one of the best Batman stories ever, in my opinion, maybe not as good as
The Long Halloween or
The Dark Knight Returns but up there. It really shook the foundations of the Batman universe, not an easy feat for a character whos been around for 50 years. It also does something rarely, if ever, done before; it smartly addresses the symbolism of the bat and how the Owl is the bats natural predator. This is why I think it would make for such a good movie plot. I see this as being the 3rd, or so, movie in the series. I say 3rd because its a huge storyline that really takes Batman to his physical and mental limits , meaning it should be saved for a later movie as the tests should get more difficult with each outing. I dont however believe it should be the last movie, that should be saved for something really special, which Ill get to soon.