This Halloween is the perfect night to revisit The Batman (2022). Not only does it tie into the ongoing Penguin series, The Batman begins on Halloween night in Gotham City, and it is very much in the spirit of the holiday. The Batman and The Penguin are streaming now on Max, but Batman: The Long Halloween is only available to on PVOD stores.
The Batman is a Halloween movie in the same way that Die Hard is a Christmas movie – the story begins on Halloween night, and the trappings of the holiday play a big part in the action. It allows the movie to show some flashy costumes and makeup while maintaining a tone of “gritty realism” that the Dark Knight has become known for on the big screen. Perhaps more importantly, The Batman takes quite a bit of inspiration from the 1996-1997 comic book limited series Batman: The Long Halloween. That story was also adapted directly into a two-part animated movie in 2021.
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The Long Halloween comic was written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale. The film adaptation was written by Tim Sheridan and directed by Chris Palmer. It starred Jensen Ackles as Batman, Josh Duhamel as Two-Face, Billy Burke as Commissioner Gordon and Naya Rivera as Catwoman. The cast also includes Troy Baker, David Dastmalchian and Jack Quaid, among other fan favorites. It is available to rent or purchase digitally on stores like Prime Video, Apple TV or Fandango at Home, or on Blu-ray wherever discs are sold.
The Long Halloween is set early in Batman’s career as a crime-fighter, and depicts Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face. It does not include the Riddler, but its plot still shares a lot with the story of The Batman. Both address the question of whether Batman is somehow encouraging the rise of costumed villains, and generally making things worse for the city he wants to protect.
Of course, the connections to The Penguin are also a great reason to choose these for your Halloween movie night. The Penguin has two more episodes to go, premiering on Sunday, Nov. 3 and Sunday, Nov. 10 at 9 p.m. ET on Max. The Batman is streaming there now as well.
