The Batman: 5 Stories That Could Influence Ben Affleck's Solo Movie

When Ben Affleck was announced as the Batman for DC's Extended Universe, it was a highly polarising decision. Some people love the choice, but it seems like even more people hated it. Welcome to the Internet, folks.

Since Affleck debuted as Batman in this year's Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, however, there has definitely been a warming to him. His performance as Bruce Wayne and Batman in BVS was fantastic - his demeanour and attitude fitted that of an older more grizzled Bruce Wayne perfectly. If there was ever a perfect personification of the Batman from The Dark Knight Returns, Ben Affleck is it.

DC have already teased us with more Bruce Wayne in the Suicide Squad mid-credits tag, and the Justice League trailer but fans inevitably want more. And thankfully, the main Batman event is now on the horizon.

Time Warner CEO Jess Bewkes just announced at the 25th Annual Goldman Sachs Communcacopia Conference that Ben Affleck's Batman movie is only 18 months away. So it's time to start getting over-excited.

It has also recently been confirmed that Joe Manganiello will be playing the main antagonist in the film - none other than Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. On top of that, we know that the film will draw inspiration from several comic book stories rather than just one or two direct adaptations as we saw with BVS.

And that means we Batman fans can look at the source material to find the specific inspirations Affleck should draw on for his movie. Here's exactly what he needs to be reading...

While The Judas Contract isn't a Batman story, it does have some very strong ties to the Batman mythos - mainly in the shape of Nightwing.

We still know relatively little about the Extended Universe DC are building, but one of the things we can be 100% certain on is that Jason Todd is dead in this universe, and chances are there isn't currently a Robin. One possible conclusion we can come to is that there isn't a Robin because Dick Grayson is already Nightwing. If that's the case, it would make sense to showcase a portion of the story where Dick Grayson first donned the black and blue.

No, we won't see the Teen Titans in Affleck's first solo Batman movie, but there is a chance that the part of this story that has Deathstroke infiltrating them with his partner in crime Terra could influence the movie.

Seeing as this Batman is more than capable of beating up Superman, Deathstroke will have to use more than brawn to get close to Bruce. What better way to tear apart The Dark Knight from within than by placing someone inside Bruce's inner circle?

Equal to his fighting prowess, Deathstroke's cunning and intelligence is what will make him a fantastic Batman antagonist.