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    Batman

    Character » Batman appears in 23535 issues.

    Bruce Wayne, who witnessed the murder of his billionaire parents as a child, swore to avenge their deaths. He trained extensively to achieve mental and physical perfection, mastering martial arts, detective skills, and criminal psychology. Costumed as a bat to prey on the fears of criminals, and utilizing a high-tech arsenal, he became the legendary Batman.

    The Batman continuity Guide

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    lillion1

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    #1  Edited By lillion1

    I have listed the stories that were hinted at in new 52 books about Batman in this list. I might have missed some, if so please tell which ones and where they might fit. These are stories where villains or members of the batfamily were introduced. And some are stories that tie in into new 52 story arcs. Most of these stories are considered great stories as well, so they are worth reading. This is an attempt to make sense of the MESS that the new 52 Batman continuity is, and all these things can happen in less than 6 BUSY years before the Court of Owls Start. I understand that there will be some mistakes here, for instance Gordon being a commissioner in one story and a luitenant in another one. I have not checked everything. Also in some stories that I’ve listed there might be references to how many years active Batman has been or to his age. If you want to make sense of what happened these can be ignored. I focussed this timeline on who joined or what happened after all.

    It is sad that some great stories did not happen in new 52 continuity. For instance War Games, that had great stories about Stephanie Brown does not fit in this continuity at all, since Spoiler was introduced at a later time in the new continuity. In the new 52 this story has been redone in the Batman Eternal arc. The two stories are kinda similar in a lot of aspects. I am not sure when catwoman shot Black Mask either in the new 52 continuity and there are a few other details I might have missed. Before new 52 it happened after War Games, now it happened before Court of Owls?

    One more thing before reading this, in some stories mentions are made where Batman is in the Sovjet Union or other similar things. This happens because these stories are quite old, and were written in that period of time. For instance in Birth of the Demon the SU is mentioned multiple times, so just change these mentions into Russia and everything will be all right. We all know that the relationship between Russia and the USA does not differ that much from what it was in the past, so these stories can still be seen as some sort of commentary on these relationships.

    If I missed any origins please tell. Also these are the books I have read. Haven’t read all there is, so if something is wrong please tell me. Tried to only add good books / bundles. I have listed things for the 6 years Batman was active before the 7th year kicked of with Court of Owls.

    .

    First year Batman was active

    Some great stories like The Long Halloween and Dark Victory I have replaced with other stories. The first one with The Big Burn (which happens in year 6 and functions as an alternative Two Face Origin) and the other one with Nightwing #0, which is a Dick Grayson Origin story. Of course you can read TLH and DV instead, but the two stories they are replaced with fit continuity better, which is what this guide strives to achieve. If you decide to read these two, TLH happens in at the end of year one and continues into year two, DV happens immediately after it.

    .

    Batman Vol4. Zero Year Secret City

    Batman Vol5: Zero Year Dark City

    Another option is Batman Year one, but zero year gives great joker and riddler stories. If you want to read both Year One can fit between Secret City and Dark City. It conflicts with continuity a little but it is a great story

    DC Comics Zero Year

    Batman Prey

    Two amazing Hugo Strange stories, the second one a continuation of the first. The first happens first of course, the second one (batman: Terror) technically happens after The Man Who Laughs, read it after you've read this story. An origin is given here as well for the Scarecrow btw. Just remember that the Scarecrow, Joker and Two Face are introduced between the two parts. Also introduction to the Catwoman, intro to how the Batcave looked like first and a young and inexperienced Bruce. If you want to read more on the Scarecrow, Batman Arkham Scarecrow is a good read, though it does not fit continuity.

    Batman The man who Laughs

    First encounter with the Joker, besides when the Joker was a red hood. Referenced in Death of the Family. The batsignal becomes officially commissioned here

    Detective Comics (2016) Annual #1

    Finally found a good origin for Clayface. Clay is a good story that shows the origin of the character in a quite interesting way. Happens when Harvey is still the district attorney, so before eye of the beholder.

    Batman annual 14, the eye of the beholder.

    Finally found a collection where I can read this in. Did it and it is a good story. You can still read The Big Burn if you want, it is also great and I would recommend it. Hell you can read both and the flashbacks of that story also take place in this timeslot. But this is the original origin of Two Face and is great. I read it in Two Face, A celebration of 75 years. Eye of the Beholder starts at page 202. And the subsequent stories are good too.

    Batman Terror

    The second story that was included in the Batman Prey bundle. Scarecrow origins.

    Batman:Legends of the dark knight annual #5

    Origin of Kirk Langstrom or manbat. Not a great story I think but for completionists it is good. Also this makes some later Talia al Ghul stories make more sense

    Tales of the Demon and Birth of the Demon (collected)

    Gives idea how Damian was born, and first meet with Ra's al Ghul. Batman meets them during his first year following the official timeline. Read tales of the demon first if you can find it somewhere. I can not find it myself at comixology. The story of Tales of the Demon is similar to the episodes in Batman the Animated series where Ra's al Ghul was introduced. In Tales of the Demon Robin has a role in these stories while in the new 52 he did not exist yet. You can read it and just ignore the parts where Robin had a role and everything will be fine. He had a minor role anyway.I own Birth of The Demon (Collected) where the demon triology is collected. Batman: Son of the Demon happens here in the timeline. It is the first story of the collected edition. Bride of the Demon can best be placed around year 5 after the introduction to Tim Drake, but if you buy the collected edition like I did, you can also just read all of it here, though some parts will make less sense then (like Talia telling Bruce she loved him for years/ the role Tim Drake has in this story etc.) Birth of the Demon can be fitted anywhere. It explains the backstory of Ra's al Ghul and how he became who he is. Though it can best be read after Bride of the Demon

    Penguin: Pain and Prejudice

    Good Penguin focused story. Origin of the Penguin.

    Batman Arkham Poison Ivy

    Origins for Poison Ivy, some great stories are collected in this collection/bundle. Read it from the forth story onwards. It is not on chronological order (for instance Pavane I would place later in her carreer), but some of the greatest poison Ivy stories are collected here.

    .

    Second year Batman was active

    Justice League Origins

    Apparently the official timeline places Justice League Origins here. Beginning of the second Year. Before Dark Victory, since Dick Grayson was not mentioned once in this story and batman was flying solo. Batman still is not liked at beginning of this story, but he has a friend in Gordon, as seen in the previous story

    Batman Crime and Punishment (1995)

    Great two face story. Shows his psychological problems in a great way

    Nightwing #0 (the new 52 story)

    This one I used to replace Dark Victory with. It explains everything about the Dick Grayson origin there is to explain. Dick Grayson was 16 years old when he joined Bruce in his crusade. Trained for about a year until he was replaced in the 4th year by Jason Todd.

    Robin Year One

    Some more stories about Dick Grayson and his beginning period as Robin. Mad Hatter is introduced here and the story with Two Face takes place that is referenced lots of times in future Batman comics.

    .

    During the Third Year batgirl joins.

    Batgirl Year One

    This one and Nightwing Year one give good origins for both Nightwing and Batgirl. Read this first. Happens at beginning of year 3 I would say, but you can place this anywhere in the third year you want. Firefly appears here. Killer Moth as well for those fans of his.

    Mad Love / New 52 origin for Harley Quinn

    Batman: Harley Quinn

    Mad Love happens anywhere before Hush and after The Man Who Laughs, Batman: Harley Quin happens anywhere you will want to fit. Like to fit it in Year 3, since no mention was made of her in the Long Halloween / Dark Victory. Will fit these here

    .

    Forth year Batman was active

    Nightwing Year One

    Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing and Jason Todd replaces him. You see how Nightwing is born and how Todd becomes the second Robin. So this functions as a Jason Todd origin as well. Also an introduction to Killer Croc, so his origin as well. Assume Jason was only trained by Bruce for a short while because of some stories that happen during this year:

    Joker's Asylum

    The oneshots of Jokers Asylum can be fitted here. They are not needed for continuity, but they do give some great villain central stories. Put it in year 4 since Killer Croc is introduced in Nightwing Year One

    Arkham a Serious house on serious Earth

    Great story happens in one day. Can fit in continuity as well. Can be fitted anywhere but before the next book is the best I think

    Batman: The Cult

    A classic batman story

    The killing Joke

    Officially in the forth year. Happens before death in the family since Barbara is there at end of it in a wheelchair.

    Batman a Death in the Family

    An origin is given here for Jason Todd, you can add more books if you want the origin here is short. Just assume Todd has not been trained much. Jason was trained for a really short time after Grayson left after his yearlong training. Killing joke referenced here

    .

    Fifth year Batman was active

    Secret origins # 3 / A Lonely Place of Dying

    This marks the beginning of year 5. Origins of Tim Drake. Bruce hesitant to train him as robin. A Lonely Place of Dying is superior in any way, but Secret origins is shorter, cheaper and fits better in continuity.

    Batman: knightfall / knightquest / knightend

    Official timeline places still in year 5. Knightfall happens until Bane breaks the back of Bruce. Afterwards Bruce is not replaced by Jean. This is the period that Bruce leaves Gotham to fix his back Read the entire story cause it is great, but only till the back of Bruce is broken fits in continuity. The parts where his back is being fixed also fits in continuity, the training he receives from Shiva does not though, since if Jean does not replace him the training is not needed. He got that training before becoming Batman in new 52 continuity. He beats Bane when he returns after his back is fixed. Again, Azrael / Jean is not part of new 52 continuity atm. He is introduced in Batman and Robin Eternal for the first time. Actually this is a good opportunity for DC to make a new Bane story that fits in the new 52 continuity and where he breaks the back of Batman. Since atm, only Knightfall fits in continuity and only parts of it.

    Batman Gotham Knight issue 8-11 (will place the rest some time later)

    Hugo Strange is a good Batman villain. Tim Drake is just in training and Hush was not mentioned with the villains that knew Batmans identity. Bane was, so this happens after knightfall, before the Hush story lines and before RIP.

    Batman: Shadow of the Bat vol 1

    Happens after the arkham, serious house on serious earth and has red robin in it. Also great Victor Zsaz story.

    Batman: Bride of the Demon and Birth of the Demon included in (Birth of the Demon (collected))

    Place this oneshot here if you did not buy the collected edition like I did. Also explains why Talia left her father for Batman Hush. Or you can read the second story of Bride of the Demon collected edition. Birth of the Demon also fits here, though it can be read afterwards as well.

    Detective Comics 826

    Good Joker one-shot that shows how deranged he really is. Placed here because of Red Robin

    Batman Hush

    Not the best story in this list, but necessary for the other three Hush stories that are great. It was fun reading it the first time,even if the story has some faults.

    Batman Under the Hood

    These two for the return of Jason Todd, we have to assume that Bruce did not really train him long if we want to fit this in these 5 years he was active as mentioned. After this book the Morrison run starts. Though we will add another classic to make sense of why Grayson was Batman for a while in new 52 continuity. Try to guess which one. Tim Drake was there in Hush btw. One last thing, Batman Under the hood ends with an issue that explains how Jason Todd came bock to life, this issue is not part of the enw 52 continuity. Instead in new 52 continuity, Talia just found Jasons body and dumped it into a Lazarus Pit. It is explained in multiple stories, including Red Hood Rebirth issue 1. And secret origins if I remember correctly

    Batman Heart of Hush

    After Bruce survived the explosion of the last bundle this happens. This story is not needed but it is great. Also ties in into one story where Grayson is Batman and into some later arcs.

    Batman and Son

    Damian was birthed and raised first couple years artificially in an accelerated manner. Kinda similar way as Heretic. The story Robin Rises explains how, by a chaos shard he was artificially aged till 6 years old. In this story Bruce meets Damian for the first time, who is 10 years old at that moment. Meeting him at the end of year five makes the most sense in my opinion.

    Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul

    Good Damian / Ra's story.

    The Black Glove

    Black Glove and RIP are good stories and go to year 6

    Batman RIP and Batman #701 and #702

    In these stories Damian is introduced and the attacks happen by the black glove. Actually RIP and the Black Glove are not needed for continuity, but I added them anyway since they can continue into the next one where Bruce disappears for a while. Add to his exhaustion.

    The parts that tie in to Final Crisis can be ignored.

    .

    Sixth year Batman was active

    Ok, now things get stranger. Final Crisis did NOT happen, this was mentioned by DC. But Darkseid did send Bruce back in time with that entire destruction Omega plan etc, so that part of the story happened. How this happened and why? no idea. It is not explained anywhere. But Bruce did go back in time and The Return of Bruce Wayne also happened. In here he also saw the future. Tim Drake went searching for him cause he did not believe him to be dead, and the other stories connected to this story also happened.

    Batman Battle for the Cowl

    Year six This is the part where Grayson replaces Bruce as Batman for a while. Damian also becomes Robin.

    Batman Streets of Gotham vol 1 Hush Money

    Hush gets captured here. Ties in into a later story again. While captured he is used by the batfamily to cover up Bruce Wayne's dissapearance

    Batman and Robin : Vol 3 batman & robin must die

    Can fit the other batman and robin stories here as well. I’ve only read this one, but I have read reviews that praised this entire series. Just remember that Tim Drake starts searching cause Bruce Wayne was send back in time by Darkseid in some event and Tim did not believe him to be dead. Again, Final Crisis did not happen, so how Darkseid got to earth to do this is not explained, especially since it is heavely implied that Darkseid had not come to earth until Darkseid War. Maybe the wound Darkseid was recovering from in Robin Rises was inflicted upon him by Batman when Bruce shot Darkseid?

    Batman The Return of Bruce Wayne

    Read the intro to year six for more information on this.

    Batman Bruce Wayne – The road home and Batman The Return #1

    Ignore anything here they say about Darkseid / Final Crisis, the Bruce returns home story after Bane broke his back. Imagine he beats Bane here.

    Batman Streets of Gotham vol 3 The House of Hush

    Vol 2 of Streets of Gotham does not fit into the new 52 continuity, since Huntress has only been introduced recently during the story arc Grayson. Therefore vol 2 can be skipped. The reviews about vol 3 are mostly not that positive and I do agree with most of them, but the story did give a great conclusion to the Hush character, as in why he was free again after Hush Money. Happens after Bruce returns so after the Return #1

    Batman Incorporated vol 1

    Batman The Black Mirror

    Bruce was already back here.

    Detective Comics Volume 1: Faces of Death

    Dissapointing but Jokers face gets cut off, background for Death of the Family, you can also just buy that issue. Actually detective comics disappointed me a lot and I did not read most of them. The important issues usually are found in the collectibles of other story arcs, like the next one. I place this story here, because Joker disappeared for around a year until he resurfaced in Death of the Family. It is a new 52 story though

    Batman Gates of Gotham

    Ties in into the Court of Owls story line. End of the 6th year

    After this Barbara gets a chip in her brains, which fixes her broken back so she can walk again! Comics...

    .

    YEAR 7 STARTS WHERE THE NEW 52 COMICS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN. ALL FOLLOWING COMICS HAPPEN AFTER YEAR 7.

    Now the continuity of new 52 will be listed.

    The stuff that happens after flashpoint. Flahspoint itself is a great story but is not really needed for the batman continuity.

    .

    Justice League Throne of Atlantis

    Can be fitted anywhere before Grayson begins and after Justice League Origins, Have not read vol 2 / 4 /5 of Justice League

    Batman vol 1: The Court of Owls

    Night of Owls

    Batman vol 2: City of Owls

    These three happen after Gates of Gotham. Great Stories. Ohh, and a new 52 Freeze origin is given if I remember correctly in an issue included in Night of the Owls. A commenter suggested Batman: Snow, which can be read instead of that issue. Read whichever story you want, but Batman Annual issue 1 is meant for the new 52.

    Batman: Death of the Family (Joker: Death of the family also an option)

    Amazing story

    Batman Incorporated vol 1: Demon's Star

    Yes, this is different than the Deluxe Edition listed before The Black Mirror. That one was a prelude of some sort

    Batman Incorporated vol 2: Gothams most wanted

    Finishing the Morrison run, also big thing happens for next story arcs.

    Batman and Robin vol 4: Requiem for Damian

    Batman vol 6 Graveyard Shift

    The requiem stories for Damian. Graveyard Shift also gives us a great Clayface story, you know one where he uses his powers for crime like anyone with a brain would use them.

    Batman and Robin vol 5: Big Burn

    After re reading it I kinda liked it more than during the first read. Probably cause I did not like how much it differed from The Long Halloween. It is really fun to see how the author plays with time in this story, giving me a reading experience that differs from 95% of the comics I have read so far. Storywise it is better than The Long Halloween, getting better with each issue. Only problem for me is I was used to the old origin and Batman Annual 14 Eye of the Beholder is great. Choose which one you wanna fit in your reading list, this is just a more modern and a very different look on Two Face. If you read it with an open mind you will probably like it. The flashback backstory happens after Batman Snow, and after Batman Prey

    Batman and Robin vol 6: Hunt for Robin

    Batman and Robin vol 7: Robin Rises

    Two resurrection arcs for Robin. Happen before Injustice League, because Dick Grayson has a role in these two.

    Robin son of Batman vol 1: Year of Blood

    Atonement arc for Damian, can be read if interested great story. Not sure if the reference to superheavy batman was done in vol 1 or 2. Someone please tell me if in vol one, cause if so this has to be read after superheavy part 1

    Justice League vol 6: Injustice League

    Grayson story begins with this. You can ignore this and Grayson, but I liked them myself. If you don’t want to read em all, Injustice is just background of why nightwing became Grayson.

    Grayson

    Really fun, If you like James Bond you might like these. Spy intrigue etc. Continues until the end of Superheavy. Returns as Nightwing in DC Rebirth

    Batman eternal vol 1 & vol 2

    Arkham Manor

    Batman eternal vol 3

    Batman eternal kinda replaced the Wargame saga from before. Stephanie Brown again has a big role, batman is hated once again, crime families try to fuck things up again etc. Honestly both are great, but eternal fits far better with the new 52 continuity. Steph became important here once again and this seems to continue on into Detective Comics Rebirth.

    Justice League Darkseid War (until last issue of Justice League)

    Not really needed for Batman continuity, but I liked em. Ohh Batman gets some insight into the Joker here. But not a lot done with it yet. There are also some issues afterwards where he goes around Gotham with some new powers but I have not read them. Either way, that insight is played further upon in Batman Endgame and in Batman Rebirth.

    Batman Endgame

    I really like this Batman story. Like a lot of good Batman stories this one focuses on the Joker again. This story leads to Batman Superheavy part 1

    Batman Superheavy part 1

    Batman annual #4

    We Are Robin (2015-2016) Vol. 1: The Vigilante Business

    A commenter corrected me on this, and I indeed only read the first one (this part) and misplaced it. This one happens before Robin War. It was an ok story arc. Can be considered an origin for Duke Tomas, but I do not really care about him that much

    Robin War

    We are Robin Vol 2 Jokers

    I have not read this. At this point in time I did not really care about this story anymore. But thanks to a comenter I know it fits after Robin War. If you really liked the first volume you can read this after Robin War

    Robin: Son of Batman ?vol 1? & vol 2

    Fits here, only issues now if I am correct. I think vol 1 can be read before Batman Eternal, not sure if the reference to superheavy batman was done in vol 1 or 2.

    Batman and Robin eternal vol 1 and 2

    Robin War and B&R Eternal both happen after Superheavy part 1, can be read in any order.

    Batman Superheavy part 2

    Or is it Bloom? Not sure. Concluding the superheavy story arc

    Batman issue 51 and issue 52

    Other stories like Batgirl, Batwoman, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Nightwing etc can have tie ins, but I have not read them myself or do not feel like including them in this timeline. Someone else can do it if they want to. Nightwing itself happens before Injustice League, Batgirl through the entire continuity. Not sure about the other two.

    .

    .

    REBIRTH BEGINS HERE, SINCE I LIKE CONSISTENCY (kinda) I'll CALL THIS YEAR 8

    .

    DC Rebirth

    Titans Vol 1

    What I read to get my Nightwing fix, also Wally is back baby. One of the best runs of DC Rebirth

    Titans Vol 2 Made in Manhattan

    Great Titan book. Worth reading

    Teen Titans (2016-) Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best

    What can I say, I really like Damian Wayne as a character, and so far the Teen Titans run is the best story arc of DC Rebirth. Good and fun books. I place it here, because I can, and it does not conflict with anything yet. Why is it that the two titan runs are so good?

    Titans: The Lazarus Contract

    Good story that is connected to both the Teen Titans and the Titans

    Teen Titans (2016) Vol.2: The Rise of Aqualad and Vol 3?: Blood of the Manta

    Issues 6 -7 and 9-11. Again great Teen Titans story arcs. not sure how this will be noted later on, the books are not released yet. But this is how the story arcs are named currently. These two might be combined into one collection, since I do not think it would be good practices if they just combined two issues into one story arc. Either way, Damian caries these books, and they are great.

    Titans: Current run

    This is currently running. Not much more to say about it.

    Batman - Detective Comics: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition - Book 1

    Gonna place this before the Batman stories, since some things here didn't happen yet/or were mentioned in the first 4 books released in the Batman run. Detective comics did have better stories during these 4 runs. This collection has issues #934-949 in it.

    Batman - Detective Comics (2016-) Vol. 3: League of Shadows

    Good Ra's /Shiva focused story, fun to read. Collects issues #950-956. The detective comics story lines also give attention to some of the forgotten / ignored Batman allies, like Batwomen, Orphan, Spoiler etc. Probably one of the reasons these stories are this great.

    All-Star Batman (2016-) Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy

    Again, Scott Snyder writes a good Batman story, this one is focused on Two Face, but many other villains reappear as well. One of these villains being KGBeast, who is awesome. This story also sets up some sort of mystery, which is something the current Batman run lacks.

    All-Star Batman (2016-) Vol. 2: Ends of the Earth

    Admittedly, the mystery of this story is better than the one in the first vol. The story is good, fun and has some unexpected twists. I fit this here, because it fits great before the Batman run. The first 4 books of that run are basically one story, so I will place them together.

    All-Star Batman (2016) Vol. 3: The First Ally

    The end of the All Star Batman run by Scott Snyder. this one has issues 10-14, and is an Alfred focused story. I thought this one was the best story arc of the All Star Batman run. Worth reading.

    Batman The Rebirth Deluxe Edition book 1

    Collects issues 1-15 of Batman Rebirth. In my oppinion not the best books but they were fun. I just don't care about Gotham Girl at all. collects I Am Gotham and I am Suicide. The second one happens after Batman night of the monster Men. In my opinion both stories are a disapointment, for good Batman story arcs Scott Snyder is delivering in Metal and All Star Batman, while James Tynion delivers in Detective Comics. Thing is, I believe that the Batman run of Tom King is more important for future Batman continuity than the better stories

    Batman Night of the Monster Men

    I really like Hugo Strange as a villain. Fun story, but Strange wasn't done much justice. Detective comics so far is better. I find it sad that The first three books of Batman were basically stories focussed on Gotham Girl. The fourth one is not different, but at least it shows the threat that Bane is

    Batman vol 3: I am Bane

    Good Bane story that is the conclusion of the previous three stories. Shows how threatening Bane can actually be. Couple of plotholes but much better than the previous stories. So far I was dissapointed with Tom King since his stories were merelly ok, not great, then this story and the war of Jokes and Riddles were released. This story has some flaws, one of which is that Bane is not done much justice (same problem as Hugo Strange in the Tom Kings second book), but at least the read was fun.

    Batman/The Flash: The Button Deluxe Edition

    Batman and Flash teamup story. First story with Tom King I had fun with. Also a start of the Doomsday Clock apparently, which DC has promised to be a great story. One which will solve many mysteries of Rebirth.

    Detective Comics Rebirth vol 1 -vol 5 (and collections for volume 6&7 when released)

    The story for detective comics is more fun in my opinion than the Batman run. Only exceptions being war of jokes and riddles and the button. Since in these volumes the marriage of catwoman and Batman is not mentioned, I put them before the next couple of stories. Spoiler warning btw. These are basically batfamily + clayface stories.

    Batman Dark Nights

    I place this here since I am not sure where to fit this in continuity yet. So far it is good, so.... Snyder writes a great story again.

    Batman (2016 ) annual issue 2

    A catwoman story. Important so that other future stories (War of Jokes and Riddles etc) make sense.

    Batman vol 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles

    By far the best story written by Tom King until the moment this story was released. Although there is no collection yet of this story (November 2017), i will add it already, since it is so much fun. It gives everything I wanted from a Batman story from this author. Struggle, difficult situations, personal conflict and a good villain arc (finally). This story is Batman retelling one of his earlier conflicts to Catwomen. A conflict that took place during his first years as Batman (I think), before he had Robins to help him. I consider this a classic story, even if the ending was kinda meh. Not the catwoman part, the flashback part.

    Batman vol.5 The rules of engagement

    Catwoman focussed story. With some Talia al Ghul added in. Good story, not as good as war of jokes and riddles but still good.

    Batman vol.6 Bride or Burglar.

    Some pre-marital stories about how Bruces and Catwomans friends respond to the marriage. Superman, Wonder Woman, Poison Ivy etc. Stories are not half bad. Especially issue 44 was fun.

    Teen Titans #13 - Current Run

    Happens after Dark Nights. I know it is not Batman, but I like Damian Wayne, sue me

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    Future

    The dark knight rises

    Or batman Beyond, I like Dark knight rises more

    .

    If anyone has stuff they wanna comment on (except my grammar) or finds any mistakes please tell me. There might be some good comics that influence the new 52 continuity that I have not listed, if so please mention them in posts and tell me where they might fit. If they are not mentioned I probably have not read them after all.

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    lillion1

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    #2  Edited By lillion1

    Gonna use this post to post what has been changed. Overall I fixed some stuff with an official timeline given by DC. The problem is they post really generic stuff like: Batman dissapears, presumed dead. So not everything made sense there but made the most of it. Justice League origins happened far earlier apparently during the beginning of his second year, while Justice league vol 4, vol 5 and vol 6 happened after Robin Rises. More than five years they didn't really do anything apparently.

    .

    Right couple more things:

    Harley Quin origins happens after The Man Who Laughs and before Hush.

    .

    The new 52 Batgirl stories happen after the first 6 years, after they somehow fix her spine by implanting a chip in her brain. Comics...

    It is spread out during the entire period beginning from the 7th year. Batgirl from Burnsite happens after Endgame and Superheavy part 1.

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    Havent read any nightwing stories except the one in Night of The Owls so do not know these. Would like to list a story though about why Robin became Nightwing. Do not know which story this is so currently that part in year 4 is blank.

    .

    Currently I do not have origins listed for:

    Poison Ivy (batman arkham poison Ivy. The 4th story is a good origin. All other stories after the 4th are good as well and fi anywere in the timeline)

    Scarecrow (One is given in Prey)

    Clayface

    The Penguin (Emperor Penguin?)

    Mad Hatter

    Hugo Strange (Batman Prey)

    Catwoman (Batman Prey

    Freeze (Batman annual 1)

    Firefly (Batgirl Year One)

    Mostly cause I do not know what origins of them are good.

    .

    Only updates like this for the batfamily or arcs they have a role in. Some good origins about villains could also be great if I find any or if any are suggested.

    .

    Rebirth Timeline will be updated once more is released, don't even know what to think of the current stories actually.

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    bighero6

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    Great list

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    apokos7

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    Thumbs up! Must have taken you quite some time to put this together.

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    jb681131

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    @lillion1: Nice. A few mistakes but still a interresting job.

    For exemple you put twice Death of the Familly instead of Death in the family.

    As for Knightfall, it is really misplaced. I think you are only talking about the first part of the story. There are 2 others called Knightquest and Knightfall. In this last one Bruce Wayne returns.

    The disapearence of Batman happens in Final Crisis.

    And for the New 52 timeline, you forgot lots of stories:

    • Batman, the dark knight: Knight terrors
    • Batman, the dark knight: Cycle of violence
    • Batman, the dark knight: Mad
    • Batman, the dark knight: Clay
    • Legends of the dark knight vol1
    • Legends of the dark knight vol2
    • Penguin: Pain and Prejudice
    • Forever evil
    • Forever evil: Arkham War
    • Futures End
    • World's End
    • Convergence
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    lillion1

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    Thanks for the reminder about the Bane arc. Forgot about Knightquest and Knightsend. Did reference them though in my description so fixed that.

    I have read Final Crisis, I first did not mention it because in my first timeline Justice League Origins happened after his disappearance, but after I fixed that it could happen. According to the new continuity Batman was now beaten in Knightsfall, recovered and beat Bane himself. But with no intro to Darkseid that arc still did not make any sense. Now it can happen, though we find ourselves with the problem that in Final Crisis Darkseid kinda dies. At least thats how I understood it, becomes the central Dark Hole etc. That means that later story arcs like Darkseid War could not have happened since he wasn't there anymore. So Final Crisis is still not a part of the new continuity. The crisis events just never happened. So that leaves us with the problem of how to explain the disapearance of Bruce Wayne.

    If Bane broke his back, he disappeared to fix his back and returned to beat Bane it would make sense. During the period he was gone the events could have happened I mentioned after Battle for the Cowl. During this period Knightsquest happenes and once Bruce returns Knightsend happens. He beats Bane and we enter into Batman Inc etc. This is why I use the Bane arc as explanation for his disappearance. Hope I have explained my reasoning on this matter in a better way. Again this is an attempt to fix the mess they made of the continuity, if Dc gives an explanation it would not be necessary to grab at straws.

    Those stories you mention I have at the end I have not read. Therefore I have no idea either about where to fit them into the continuity.

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    jb681131

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    @lillion1:

    Also you mentioned "Heart of Hush" because it is good, I would suggest the entire Paul Dini's run as a whole story:

    1. Batman: Detective
    2. Batman: Death and the City
    3. Batman: Private Casebook
    4. Batman: Heart of Hush
    5. Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 1 – Hush Money
    6. Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 2 – Leviathan
    7. Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 3 – The House of Hush

    You are also missing a story to tell Nightwings origin:

    • Nightwing: Year One (right after Long Halloween)

    You are also missing a Batman Inc. Book: Demon Star (right before Gotham's Most Wanted)

    Batman's Future by Miller is now a Trilgoy:

    • The Dark Knight Rises
    • The Dark Knight Strikes Back
    • The Dark Knight III: The Master Race

    I would place Batman Beyond, after The Dark Knight Trilogy.

    For Harley's origins, it is the comics:

    1. Mad love - The first comic with Harley Quinn
    2. Batman: Harley Quinn

    For Hugo Strange's origins it is:

    1. Batman and the Monster Men
    2. Batman: Prey

    For Clayface and Scarecrow's origins you can use the New 52 books:

    • Batman, the dark knight: Cycle of Violance (Scarecrow) - a gread dark and creepy story
    • Batman, the dark knight: Clay (Clay face)

    For Freeze I would recommand:

    • The Batman Adventures: Dangerous Dames & Demons
    • Batman: Snow - One of the best Batman stories

    For The Penguin:

    • Penguin: Pain and Prejudice - The best and only Penguin story to read

    For Catwoman's origin you can read:

    1. Batman: Year One
    2. Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper
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    lillion1

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    #8  Edited By lillion1

    @jb681131:

    Thanks man.

    Nightwing Year One is a great suggestion, will read and add that later

    Demon Star is also from inc? Can't believe I haven't read it. Will have to fix that

    Paul Dini does have some great comics. Have not read most of those therefore I did not add them. Will read em soon.

    Mad Love is fun, again can be added anywhere in the time period I mentioned before. Haven't read the other one.

    Did not know about those books of Hugo Strange. Do they still fit in the continuity? He is introduced as a villain in rebirth right?

    I read a couple reviews stating the Dark Knight books are as bad as Detective Comics were, if not worse. Is that wrong?

    Thanks for Freeze and Penguin recommendation.

    Already mentioned that Batman Year One can best be read between the two Zero Year books or outright replacing them. Though considering Zero Year is constantly mentioned that might not be smart. Still a good book that is great to be read.

    Thanks for the other Catwoman story.

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    jb681131

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    @lillion1: To me the Batman, dark knight books are better stories than the main Batman (new 52). They are really "dark" and adult oriented. The Scarecrow story was just so creepy, it is a must read.

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    Darkknight819

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    Great post

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    lillion1

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    #11  Edited By lillion1

    Hey jsut back from a 2 week holiday. Thinking about in what year to fit some of those Paul Dini stories. Also read a little from the dark knight new 52 run, did not really like it. So I won't continue reading them. Therefore if someone knows where they fit in the timeline it would be great.

    Right, @jb681131

    I did mention Batman incorporated vol 1, I placed it in year 6 before The Black Mirror. Did not notice that Demon star is Incorporated vol 1 for the new 52.

    Vol 1 that is placed before The Black Mirror is apparently some prelude, which I did not know. This is how incorporated works apparently:

    • Deluxe: issues #1-8 and Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes #1
    • Demon star: Collects BATMAN INCORPORATED #0-6
    • Gotham's Most Wanted: collects #7-13 and Batman Incorporated Special (2012-2013) #1

    Something to fix

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    jb681131

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    @lillion1 said:

    Hey jsut back from a 2 week holiday. Thinking about in what year to fit some of those Paul Dini stories. Also read a little from the dark knight new 52 run, did not really like it. So I won't continue reading them. Therefore if someone knows where they fit in the timeline it would be great.

    The Paul Dini's run was written at the same time than Grant Morisson's run. Morisson was in the Batman Title, Dini was in the Detective Comics title. Then Dini launch another title called Streets of Gotham afterwards.

    In the original list above you see "Heart of Hush", right before it in order you have:

    1. Batman: Detective
    2. Batman: Death and the City
    3. Batman: Private Casebook

    In the same original list you have "Street of Gotham vol.1", right after it you can add vol.2 and vol.3

    I would agree that The Dark Knight vol.1 isn't so great. But after Volumes 2,3,4 are great books. I personnaly enjoyed them more than Scott Snyder's run. They gave true great origin stories for Scarcrow, Mad Hatter and Clay !

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    lxlGiftedlxl

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    Great Guide.

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    lillion1

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    #14  Edited By lillion1

    Apparently they are doing a monster men arc in Batman Rebirth soon. Therefore I will not list Batman & the monster man and Batman Prey yet in the guide, since the up-comming arc can change everything here. Especially because Batman acts like he has not heard the name monster men yet currently, while Batman & the monster men should have happened in his second year of activity

    The following stories I will read soon, afterwards I will decide where to place them in the guide timeline.

    • Batman: Detective (cant find the trade)
    • Batman: Death and the City (cant find the trade)
    • Batman: Private Casebook (cant find the trade)
    • Batman, the dark knight: Cycle of Violance (Scarecrow origin)
    • Batman, the dark knight: Clay (Clay face origin)
    • Batman: Snow - (freeze origin) (Read it, story was ok)
    • Penguin: Pain and Prejudice - Good story, I added it to the guide

    Another Update,

    Like I said Mad Love happens anywhere before Hush and after The Man Who Laughs, Batman: Harley Quin happens anywhere you will want to fit. Like to fit it in Year 3, since no mention was made of her in the Long Halloween / Dark Victory. Will fit these here.

    .

    Added Robin Year One, Batgirl Year One and Nightwing Year One.

    Also added Streets of Gotham vol 3, did not add vol 2, why is explained in the text under vol 3

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    lillion1

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    #15  Edited By lillion1

    @jb681131

    Ok you were right about why Bruce disappeared in year 6. Some extra info:

    After reading some stuff about Batman, I found proof that DC did announce that Final Crisis did NOT happen. But Darkseid did send Bruce back in time, though the justice league shouldn't have had any contact with Darkseid before Robin Rises and Darkseid war. So WHY did he send Bruce back in time? How did Bruce meet him? Why did he meet him? Where were the other members of the justice league? No idea, but this means that Batman Return of Bruce Wayne did happen in continuity. And he did actually travel through time, to the future etc, and that is also how he found out about the future that was mentioned in Batman Incorporated. I have fixed this now. Good part about this trade, if I remember correctly the part where he was omega beamed by Darkseid is included, no need to buy the entire final crisis trade. If not, you can just buy that single issue, not sure which one it is.

    Also

    added Jokers Asylum

    Fixed info on Demon Triology, now Bride of the Demon and Birth of the Demon fit better in the timeline

    .

    Edit CHanges:

    Ok small change, Nightwing #0 replaces Dark Victory as an origin story for Dick Grayson

    After re reading the Big Burn, I decided to add it to the list. It kinda fits continuity better than the Long Halloween. TLH had a couple of continuity problems (Like Falcone dying).

    Dark Victory and TLH are still great books, but they do not fit new 52 continuity as well, and this guide is meant to make sense of that

    .

    Update 3 sept. Added Batman Prey and Batman Arkham Scarecrow and DC Comics Zero Year

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    lillion1

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    Added couple secret origins for origins of important characters

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    deactivated-5aeee927346fb

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    @lillion1: Wow, great job. I hope you keep updating the list.

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    lillion1

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    Ok, soon some of the DC Rebirth stories will be listed in this list as well. Since I have read these with single issues, not with the collected editions, I will list which issues these stories consist off. If I can find the names of the collected editions I will list these as well of course

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    jb681131

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    I see that you have a little mistake on "We are Robin". It is split into 2 stories and one happens before "Robin War" and another happens after. Indee We are Robin #7 is part of Robin War.

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    lillion1

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    @jb681131: Thank you for your comment. Fixed it. Hadn't read volume 2 and stopped reading this story around issue 3 or 4 so I wasn't really up to date.

    .

    Either way, I have updated this list with some DC rebirth stories. The books I have looked to are:

    Batman Rebirth

    Detective Comics Rebirth

    All Star Batman

    Batman Dark Nights

    Teen Titans

    .

    I also added many new story arcs, mostly villain origins. Most of these were old classics

    .

    I did not bother buying books for Justice League, Superman etc. The only other comics I read are the Flash and Suicide Squad. So if other stories are nessesary for the chronology of the Rebirth Batman stories I am not aware of them.

    So Comments would be appreciated

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    lillion1

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    finally added a clayface origin, happens in the first year before eye of the beholder

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