The Batman: Matt Reeves Shares Film’s Comic Inspiration

Matt Reeves did not play around when he began to prepare for The Batman. The film has been looked upon by fans as a symbol of hope for the DC fandom, and those wishes were embraced at DC FanDome today. The event revealed the first trailer of The Batman, but before it went live, the director shared one of his deep-cut comic inspirations for the film.

During the panel, The Batman director was asked whether he read a comic that inspired the film which fans wouldn’t have guessed. It was there Reeves pointed to Batman: Ego from Darwyn Cooke.

“I wanted to get into the mindset of the character and I wanted to think of the psychology. For me, I think one of the cool deep dive ones was Darwyn’s Ego. He’s confronting the beast that is Batman and it’s that kind of duality… there’s a lot in what it’s trying to do in the story about him confronting the shadow side of himself and the degree to which you have self knowledge,” he told fans.

“You’re able to understand your motivations, but he’s broken Batman and why he’s doing all of these things for the reasons that he thinks is right and thathave a heroic sort of grounding in them. There’s also many things that are driven by the parts of himself he doesn’t yet know, and so I would say that that kind of sort of psychological union, that sort of version is very much connected to the vision from Darwyn Cooke’s Ego.”

For those unaware of the comic, Batman: Ego was published back in August 2000. The one-shot follows Bruce Wayne after the man helped bring down the Joker with help from an informant called Buster Snibbs. When the man kills himself and family out of fear of the Joker, Bruce is left to wrestle with guilt. He chooses to leave his life as Batman behind, but the story then delves into an introspective story where Bruce and Batman come to a head over their past. This story was met with praise from fans, and it seems Reeves gleaned good inspiration from the comic. So if you have not picked it up, you best do so before The Batman debuts.

What do you make of the director’s comment here? Can you see these runs working for The Batman? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!