Time moves ever forward. I can't believe that Batman Begins is 20 years old this year. As I question my mortality and life choices, this week we read three stories from the Batman Begins trade, including the movie adaptation, a retelling of Batman's origin by Denny O'Neil and a one off by Greg Rucka.

Batman Begins: The Official Movie Adaptation
The Man Who Falls (Secret Origins of the World's Greatest Super Heroes TPB)
Air Time (Detective Comics V.1 #757)

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Episode 205: Batman Begins At 20

Gotham Academy returns to comic shops this week with a new prequel series, so we're reading three stories about teens in Gotham. Tim Drake faces a major challenge with his first confrontation with the man who killed the previous Robin, the Joker. Duke Thomas is recruited into the We Are Robin movement in a Gotham with a very different Batman. And the mystery of Gotham Academy deepens.

Robin II: The Joker's Wild # 1-4
We Are Robin (We Are Robin # 1-6)
Calamity (Gotham Academy # 8-12)

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Episode 206: Youth of Gotham Unite

We're back following the three runs we've been reading in order for a while now. No Man's Land reaches its midpoint as the Bat family comes home to Gotham and the identity of the new Batgirl is revealed. Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne face their ultimate challenge as they are trapped between Dr. Hurt and the Joker in the final arc of Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin. And Injustice lurches to the conclusion of Year Four as the Justice League and the Resistance find themselves at war not just with each other, but with the Greek Gods.

Assembly (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120)
Batman and Robin Must Die! (Batman and Robin V.1 #13-16, Batman: The Return)
Injustice Year 4 V.2 (Injustice: Gods Among Us- Year Four #8-12, Annual #1)

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Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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Episode 207: One of the Oldest Jokes

Jim Gordon made his first appearance in Detective Comics #27. You know, the same comic that Batman made his first appearance. So, you can imagine the number of stories that Gordon has been featured in. But especially since Frank Miller made "Batman: Year One" as much about Gordon as it is about Batman, that number has exploded, and the history of that character, and his connection to Batman, has been fertile ground for various creators. This week we're looking at three stories about the life and times of Jim Gordon. These are some gritty and dark tales, and they come with some specific trigger warnings, so if you need to skip over some of this, we understand, but these are some fine comics.


Batman: Night Cries OGN [Trigger Warning: Childhood physical and sexual abuse]
Batman: Gordon of Gotham # 1-4 [Trigger Warning: Political violence]
Batman: Turning Points # 1-5

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Episode 208: You're a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon

For you out there, it has only been one week since our last episode. But we took a week off recording so we could really pack in the comics. This week, we're covering the entire, 26 issue run of Batman & Robin Eternal, the weekly series that ran at the end of the New 52 era. It sees the return of some Bat characters lost in the rest of that era, has a lot of flashbacks and gives us a lot to talk about. Plus? Two one shots starring Cassandra Cain.


Batman & Robin Eternal # 1-26
Help Me Not To Die (Batgirl V.1 # 2)
Thicker Than Water (Batgirl V.1 # 37)

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Episode 209: Eternally Yours, Robin

Welcome to your annual, spooky Halloween week BatChat. We've done weeks with vampires, with Man-Bats, with Demons. This year, we're dipping into stories featuring Matt's favorite classic monster: the werewolf. Batman fights the beast under a full moon over the city, and maybe even turns into one...

Moon of the Wolf (Batman V.1 # 255)
Werewolf Moon (Detective Comics V.1 # 505)
Batman: Full Moon # 1-4

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Episode 210: Moon Over Gotham

Friend of the show and Patreon backer Matt McThorn is back this week, and he wanted to return to one of is earlier themes, with three more stories featuring Thomas Blake, the Bat rogue known as Catman. We get a 90s story featuring Catman and Ratcatcher from before Catman turned super cool under the pen of Gail Simone. Then we see Blake meet Huntress and try to come off as suave in a Birds of Prey vs. the Secret Six story. And we wrap up with Catman and Bane in Gotham during Battle for the Cowl, trying really hard to honor the memory of Batman. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

The Secret of the Universe (Batman: Shadow of the Bat # 43-44, Catwoman V.2 # 26)
Whitewater (Birds of Prey V.1 # 104-108)
A Debt of Significant Blood (Secret Six V.3 # 9)

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Episode 211: Catman Returns (w/ Matt McThorn)

While in comics circles the most well known alternate future for Batman is The Dark Knight Returns, in the public consciousness, that title has to be held by Batman Beyond. Three seasons of young Terry McGinnis and crotchety old Bruce Wayne in the DCAU, plus appearances on Justice League Unlimited, left a mark for this particular iteration of Batman. This week, with Terry returning to comics in Batman/Static: Beyond, we do our first episode focused on stories featuring Terry McGinnis; two are animated series tie-ins, and one is an arc from the series that followed that continuity in a more traditional DC style.

Commissioner of Fear (Batman Beyond V.2 # 13)
Terry's Mom Dates a Splicer (Batman Beyond V.2 # 24)
10,000 Clowns (Batman Beyond Unlimited # 1-13)

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Episode 212: Beyond Batman

It's time for our annual tradition here at BatChat, up there with cranberry sauce from a can, stuffing that's a little too dry and avoiding conversations about politics with your red baseball cap wearing relatives: it's all ages Thanksgiving. Three stories of Batman for the whole family come in some very different flavors this year: the next volume of the Webtoons Wayne Family Adventures Strips, a younger readers OGN that retells classic children's stories with a Batman twist and the second volume of the strangest concept we've ever talked about, the manga where Joker raises a de-aged baby Batman. Happy holidays to those who celebrate here in the states, and know we are thankful to all of you who listen.

Wayne Family Adventures V.3 (Wayne Family Adventures # 52-71)
Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime OGN
One Operation Joker V.2 (One Operation Joker Chapters 8-14)

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Episode 214: All Ages Thanksgiving 2025

Barbara Gordon was introduced to add some flair to the final season of Batman '66, to try to buoy the sagging ratings on the show. And while she didn't save that series, she has become the iconic Batgirl of the comics, a character who has had a long career in various identities. This week, friend of the show and Patreon backer John Wickham returns to talk about three different phases of Barbara's time as Batgirl. We get a retelling of her origin with a modern slant, one of the early stories from her return to the identity in the New 52 and the culmination of the "Batgirl of Burnside" era.

Batgirl: Year One #1-9
Knightfall Rising (Batgirl V.4 # 10-13)
Mindfield (Batgirl V.4 # 47-50)

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Thanks to Geri Nonnewitz for our podcast logo

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Episode 215: The Three Faces of Batgirl (w/ John Wickham)

Each week, hosts Matt Lazorwitz and Will Nevin look at three Batman stories, discuss them and put them on a list that will encompass all Batman stories. Some are great, some are not, but we hope you enjoy them all!

New tracks tagged #BatChat