10 Best Scott Snyder Stories in Comic Book History, Ranked

Scott Snyder has become one of the architects of DC Comics in 2026, taking his place among the superstars of the industry. Snyder got his big break with American Vampire and Detective Comics, making such a huge splash that he was given the keys to the kingdom with Batman (Vol. 2) for its New 52 relaunch. Since then, he’s become one of the bestselling writers in the modern industry. Basically, if it has Snyder’s name on it, people know its quality. While his style isn’t perfect and he has some misses, the fact that he’s been able to operate at the highest levels and create beloved stories shows that he has earned his place among the greats.

Snyder is currently the mind behind the Absolute books, helping guide a coterie of A-list creators in their creation of an all-new DC Universe. Looking over his career, there are some fantastic stories, but some are better than others, becoming classics of the medium. These are the ten best Scott Snyder stories in comic history, modern classics from one of the best in the business.

10) “The Zoo”

Absolute Batman is, unsurprisingly, the bestselling book in comics and it all started with this amazing opening story arc. “The Zoo”, with artist Nick Dragotta, introduced readers to the status quo of the Batman of the Absolute Earth, as Black Mask and his Party Animals unleash a wave of terror on Gotham. This story dropped shock after shock on the readers and Dragotta’s artwork is fantastic, giving readers a modern Western anime style that makes action scene pop. This is sensational Batman and it helped propel Absolute Batman – and the Absolute line and DC Comics – into the stratosphere.

9) Wytches

Snyder is mostly known for his DC work, but he has some amazing indie comics, with most fans agreeing that Wytches, with Jock, is his best (I’m also partial to Nocterra and We Have Demons). This story follows the Rook family as they move after their daughter Sailor is accused of killing a student that disappeared. However, things are about to take a terrible turn, as Sailor has been “pledged” and the wytches are out to find her. This is classic American horror, a sumptuously written, immaculately drawn book that will draw you and never let you go (meaning that you’ll join the legion of us trying to get a true sequel).

8) Dark Knights: Metal

DC is known for amazing events and one of the most fun of all time is Dark Knights: Metal, from Synder and his frequent co-collaborator Greg Capullo. This story was built up over their Batman run, with the Justice League facing off against Barabatos and his Dark Knights in their quest to make the Dark Multiverse ascendant. This event isn’t some deep meta narrative and it doesn’t reboot everything, it’s just a wild story that keeps getting wilder with every issue. By the time you get to Batman flying on the back of a Joker dragon, you’ve seen some of the wildest stuff in a comic you can imagine.

7) “The Totality”

After the success of Metal, Snyder was given the Justice League, starting with Justice League: No Exit, a story that spun out of the previous event and ended with the breaking of the Source Wall. This would lead to the launch of Justice League (Vol. 4) and it’s opening story “The Totality”, with art by Jim Cheung, Jorge Jimenez, and Doug Mahnke. Lex Luthor is out for the ultimate power and recruits a new Legion of Doom to find the Totality, a riddle that promises godhood to those that can unravel it. This is an outstanding Justice League story, setting up the team’s new status quo adroitly before dropping readers into an insane series of battles between heroes and villains. This is Snyder channeling Morrison’s JLA and it’s fantastic.

6) “Endgame”

The Joker is Batman’s greatest foe, and Snyder and Capullo told two different stories revolving around the Clown Prince of Crime. “Death of the Family” saw him try to destroy the Bat-Family, with “Endgame” acting as a sequel of sorts. When a Joker toxin-infected Justice League attacks Batman, the Dark Knight is pulled into the latest scheme from the villain, who has regrown his face since the last time anyone saw him (the New 52 kicked off with his face being skinned in Detective Comics #1). Snyder had plans to take the villain in new directions and this story was the beginning, hinting at the dark past of the Joker and Gotham. It all ends with an amazing fight, with the two of them battling to the death one final time. This story is everything you could want from a Joker/Batman brawl and then some.

5) “The Black Mirror”

Scott Snyder was trusted by DC almost immediately, being given a run on Detective Comics. This was the end phase of Dick Grayson as Batman, before the New 52 came along and torpedoed everything, with Snyder and Jock giving readers the excellent tale known as “The Black Mirror”. Dick is pulled into a battle against an arms dealer selling powerful weapons to the crooks of Gotham before getting embroiled in an attack by Jim Gordon Jr., the insane son of the commissioner. This was next level Batman, and it remains one of Snyder’s finest moments with the Caped Crusader.

4) Dark Knights: Death Metal

Dark Knights: Death Metal is the culmination of plots began in Metal and expanded upon in Justice League (Vol. 4). The Justice League lost the final battle against Perpetua, the twisted creator of the multiverse, but Wonder Woman has a plan to save the day… but not everyone is on board, as the Batman Who Laughs makes his ultimate power move against his new master. Metal was insane and this story goes even further in that direction, taking readers on a wild ride. It’s also the best event comic starring Wonder Woman, with Snyder’s version of the heroine being one of the best of all time.

3) “The Sixth Dimension”

Snyder’s Justice League is way better than it gets credit for being. It’s one of the best modern runs on the team and the proof of that is “The Sixth Dimension”, with artist Jorge Jimenez. The League, trying to stop the Legion from assembling the Seven Dark Forces to power the Totality with the energy of Doom, is pulled into the future where they learn they’ve won their war against Perpetua. Everything seems peachy, but then the truth is revealed and the team is trapped battling, older, wiser, and more powerful versions of themselves. Snyder and Jimenez were an awesome team and this book is further proof of that, a story that knock your socks off.

2) “Court of Owls”

The New 52 reboot hit DC like a ton of bricks. The beginning of the maligned publishing initiative was red hot and one of its finest moments came from Snyder and Capullo’s Batman. Their opening story was the “Court of Owls”, a tale that revealed that there was more to Gotham than even the Dark Knight knew, as a secret society that has controlled the city from the shadows for years targets him. Snyder’s time on Detective Comics showed that he could write Bats, but that was Dick. Fans weren’t as sure how well he’d do with Bruce, but they didn’t have to worry. Add in Capullo’s dynamite pencils, and you have a legendary story.

1) DC K.O.

DC K.O. was the best event comic of 2026. This is honestly less impressive than it sounds – all of the Marvel event comics of 2025 were varying levels of mid – but the fact of the matter is that this would be the best event book of any year it came out. Snyder began setting the story up with DC All-In #1, with over a year of build-up across numerous titles. The main series, by Snyder, Javi Fernandez, and Xermanico, is fantastic, setting up the ultimate battle against Final God Darkseid, as heroes and villains fight it out for the Heart of Apokolips and the power to defeat their implacable foe. Snyder events are the comic equivalent of awesome popcorn movies and this one is no exception. It’s everything you could want from an event and then some.

What’s your favorite Scott Snyder story? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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