Batman is a superhero that’s always been popular and ahead of the curve. There are lots of incredible characters and storylines in DC Comics, but Batman is a figure that connects with people on a level that other superheroes don’t.
Some very iconic writers have worked on Batman comic series, but Chuck Dixon is a name that’s particularly important. Dixon’s been responsible for characters like the Birds of Prey and Bane, as well as really helped flesh out the Bat Family. Chuck Dixon has put together some of the most powerful Batman storylines over the years.
10 Batman: Black And White “The Devil’s Children”
Batman: Black and White is an excellent anthology that paired together acclaimed writers with exceptional artists to craft some ambitious and atypical Batman stories with a minimalist color palette. Chuck Dixon’s contribution, “The Devil’s Children,” is the shortest of his works here, but it’s still a powerful narrative that reflects the author’s interest. The story has Batman and a rundown Commissioner Gordon open up on how dangerous the mob’s stranglehold on Gotham City has become. It features dueling ideologies from Batman and Gordon and allows Dixon to dig into a broader aspect of Gotham.
9 Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights
Chuck Dixon has written important runs for both Batman and the Punisher, so it's fitting that he pens the rare crossover collaboration between Marvel and DC. Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights is a one-shot that takes the Punisher to Gotham City in an effort to track down a criminal with ties to Jigsaw. This leads to a larger rift between Punisher and Batman as the Dark Knight tries to rid his city of more mob activity. Deadly Knights effectively focuses on a clash of values, but it’s a lot of fun to watch the Joker and Jigsaw gleefully wage carnage.
8 Bane: Conquest
Chuck Dixon understands Batman, but he was also instrumental in the creation of infamous villain, Bane. Bane: Conquest allows Dixon to deconstruct the villain in his own series, but it still features Batman in an important way that builds upon his character.
The 12-issue series looks at Bane’s attempts to expand his criminal empire, but the appearance of a larger threat forces a temporary alliance between Bane and Batman. It’s extremely tense to watch Batman trust someone that’s hurt him so badly, but it also reinforces how Bane’s intellect makes him a formidable ally for Batman.
7 Batman Versus Predator III: Blood Ties
Comics have a long and proud tradition of ridiculous crossovers and team ups. These spectacles can sometimes be soulless or insult both franchises, but Chuck Dixon puts so much love into Batman versus Predator III: Blood Ties, which is leagues better than its predecessor, Bloodmatch. The four-issue series cleverly features a member of the Yautja species who's training a young protégé in what's a twisted alternate take on Batman and Robin. The two are tested and Batman even needs to temporarily align with Mr. Freeze to defeat these aliens. It's much better than it deserves to be.
6 Batman: Bruce Wayne – Murderer?
It’s easy for writers to focus on Batman’s strength, but the character is a detective at his core and some of the most satisfying Batman arcs are structured as mysteries. Batman: Bruce Wayne – Murderer? is one of the best examples of this as it sets up Bruce Wayne for the murder of Vesper Fairchild. Wayne must depend on his Bat Family of Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl to prove his innocence, but as they dig deeper they begin to have their doubts over Bruce’s innocence. It’s a gripping story that plays with the Bruce Wayne mythology as much as Batman’s.
5 Batman: Legacy
Batman: Legacy acts as a continuation of the events from Contagion and it features Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Oracle, and more on a journey across the world to prevent the release of an Apocalypse Plague known as the "Clench." Batman's hunt leads him to an unlikely partnership between Ra's al Ghul, his League of Assassins, and Bane.
It's an epic story that genuinely feels huge and events like Tim Drake's infection carry weight and feel like they could become fatal. Even Dixon's Bane of the Demon arc, which can be considered a prequel to Legacy, is strong on its own.
4 Batman: Contagion
Batman: Contagion is a Chuck Dixon story arc that seems especially more relevant after the events of 2020. Contagion is the first major virus storyline in Batman, which becomes the spark for many future arcs all the way up to No Man's Land. Contagion’s charm is in its smaller scale nature and how it operates as a bizarre adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's The Masque of Red Death. Gotham faces ruin as an affluent sect of the community decide to gate themselves in to avoid infection, only to learn that they're among patient zero.
3 Batman: Cataclysm
Batman has faced a lot of deadly villains, but the power in Batman: Cataclysm is that it sees Gotham devastated by a seismic earthquake, which comes on the wake of previous natural disasters that have seriously weathered Gotham’s population. This earthquake is the catalyst for many and it features Batman trying to save face in a different kind of way. Cataclysm brings all of Gotham together in a way that’s genuinely powerful, introduces a formidable new villain, and builds to the later events of No Man’s Land.
2 Batman: No Man's Land
Batman: No Man’s Land is one of the biggest events to befall both Batman and all of Gotham. No Man’s Land is the conclusion to many of the ideas that Dixon explored during his Batman run. Gotham City is declared uninhabitable after the earthquake that’s hit and Batman’s absence leads to crime overrunning the area and leading to a dangerous power struggle between criminals & what’s left of Gotham’s police force. No Man’s Land feels apocalyptic in nature and it features a difficult time when most people have turned their back on Batman or learned to function without him.
1 Knightfall Trilogy (Knightfall, Knightquest, KnightEnd)
The whole Knightfall saga isn’t just Chuck Dixon’s finest work, but it’s one of the best Batman storylines in general, leaving permanent repercussions on the character and his world. The extended trilogy famously features the introduction of Bane and how he forces Bruce Wayne into retirement by breaking his back. There’s a lot more depth to the story, like Jean-Paul Valley stepping in as Wayne’s replacement and damaging the Batman brand (and later becoming Azrael). The lessons that Batman learns through Bane and Valley also cause him to understand the important of the Bat Family.