I was going to do some parody of that God awful Nicole Kidman commercial that airs in front of every movie at AMC Theatres (why are you advertising the movie chain to people already in their seats?!?!?!?), but you're listening to this episode, so I love you and wouldn't subject you to that. This week, we're looking at three comic book stories that tie into Batman media outside comics: the Burton Batman universe, the animated series through a sequel to Mask of the Phantasm and a prequel comic to the Audio Adventures podcast.

Shadows (Batman '89 # 1-6)

Shadow of the Phantasm (Batman & Robin Adventures Annual # 1)

Batman: The Audio Adventures Special # 1

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We're back to the three series we've been covering arc by arc. This time, Will actually likes a Grant Morrison story in his run on Batman! The Penguin has a rough day in No Man's Land! And a reasonable number of artists draw an arc of Injustice! It's a miracle all around! Well, except for Penguin. That guy kinda sucks and gets what's coming to him.

Batman Dies at Dawn (Batman V.1 # 672-675)

Bread and Circuses (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 117, Batman: Shadow of the Bat # 85)

Injustice: God's Among Us Year 2 Vol.1 (Injustice God's Among Us Year 2 # 1-6)

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The Mad Hatter is one of Batman's oddest major foes. While all of the rogues who have existed since the Golden Age have gone through various permutations, few are as wildly different. Sometimes he is obsessed with hats. Sometimes he is a mind control scientist. Sometimes he is obsessed with Alice In Wonderland and has a creepy obsession with young girls he deems his Alices (super creepy). And we have read very little featuring the character for this show. So, our buddy Josh Weil is back to remedy that. Find out what other classic character debuted in the same story as the Hatter, read some great Greg Rucka and hear Will get apoplectic about a book that competes for the bottom spot on the Big Board.

The Scoop of the Century! (Batman V.1 # 49)

Unknowing (Detective Comics V.1 # 758-760)

Mad (Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 # 16-21)

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He has been many thing to Batman over their time together. Butler. Healer. Confessor. But above all else? Father. Alfred Pennyworth has been a part of the Batman legend since the 1940s, but with the advent of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the change making Alfred a part of Bruce's life from his earliest memory, Alfred has become an indispensable ally to Batman. This week, as we get near Father's Day, we spend time reading three stories about Batman's father figure.

Captive Audience (Batman: Gotham Adventures #16)

Oblation (Batman: Gotham Knights #7)

Father's Day (Batman Vol. 3 Annual #3)

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They stalk the night. When they have your name, you are as good as dead, so pray that you never draw their attention. They are the League of Assassins. Whether they serve Ra's al Ghul, his daughter Talia, the Sensei or any other master, the League has been a thorn in the side of Batman for decades. This week we read a team-up between Batman and Deadman as they face the League, a civil war between two of its leaders and the return of on one of the Dark Knight's greatest foes to the land of the living.

You Can't Hide From a Deadman (The Brave and the Bold # 86)

The War of the Assassins (Detective Comics V.1 # 485, 489-490)

The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul (Batman V.1 # 670-671 & Annual # 26, Robin V.2 # 168-169 & Annual # 7 [Back-Up], Nightwing V.2 # 138-139, Detective Comics V.1 # 838-840)

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The beauty of DC's Elseworlds concept, rather than a more traditional What If? or imaginary story, is the variety it opened up. This wasn't a simple small recasting of one event, butterfly effect style, but creators imaginations could go wild and choose different times, places, and even twist the most basic concepts of the character that was starring in the book. And sometimes those stories got a bit... spooky. This week, we're reading three Elseworlds inspired by classic horror. See Batman fight the Elder Gods, create life, and confront the Masque of the... Purple Death?

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham #1-3

Batman: Castle of the Bat

Batman: Masque

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Of all superheroes, Batman seems to have spawned more characters that are dark reflections of him than any other. Sure, Superman has Bizarro, and Spider-Man has Venom, but Batman has a legion of the them: Killer Moth, Bane, Hush, Owlman (the Lincoln March one), Wrath, Prometheus. There are enough to fill multiple episodes, so we have to start somewhere. This week, it's the two most directly anti-Batman dark mirrors from DC comics, but an intercompany crossover with the character who might just be the ultimate dark mirror of Batman.

Batman/Grendel (Batman/Grendel: Devil's Riddle, Batman/Grendel: Devil's Masque)

... The Player on the Other Side (Batman Special # 1)

Prometheus (New Year's Evil: Prometheus, JLA # 16-17)

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While there are plenty of stories with Bruce Wayne in them, how many are really about Bruce Wayne? Not Batman, the Dark Knight, but captain of industry, philanthropist and playboy Bruce Wayne? At least three, as this week we look at the story of Bruce's problematic return to health after Knightfall, a 150 year old corpse at Wayne Manor, and a day in the life of Bruce Wayne

Knightquest: The Search (Justice League Task Force # 5-6, Batman: Shadow of the Bat # 21-23, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 59-61)

Wayne Manor: Anatomy of a Murder (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #45)

24/7 (Batman: Gotham Knights #32)

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Batman's allies are known for many things. Their brains. Their fighting skills. Their dedication. And while Dr. Leslie Thompkins, the woman who comforted Bruce Wayne the night his parents were killed is lacking in the second of those three attributes, she more than makes up for it in the first and third. Leslie is a strict pacifist in a world that runs on tights and fights, and so provides a point of view that we rarely see. This episode we talk about Leslie's first appearance, a story that might fill the timeline between Year One and Dark Knight and why calling out your usage of racist stereotypes doesn't make using them any better.

There Is No Hope in Crime Alley (Detective Comics V.1 # 457)

Faith (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 21-23)

The Surrogate (Detective Comics V.1 # 791-793)

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Wouldn't it be great to go to school in Gotham City? Well, it probably wouldn't be scarier than anywhere else. This week, Mrs. Abigale Heartbalm, Esq. stops by, and we talk Gotham Academy and two other school centric Batman related stories. We talk about how Gotham Academy successfully brings manga tropes to Gotham, question how far an AU story can diverge from canon before it breaks established readers' view of the world, and what exactly a MacGuffin is.

Welcome to Gotham Academy (Gotham Academy # 1-6)

Bruce Wayne: Not Super OGN

Tree of Knowledge (Batman Adventures V.1 # 26)

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