As one of the flagship characters of the DC universe, Batman has a large library of series that include multiple volumes of ongoing series. Part of these series are the one-shot annuals spotlighting the Dark Knight. In 1982, DC Comics began publishing these yearly issues featuring self-contained stories by various creative teams and themes.
Unlike the early Giant-Sized annuals, which featured reprints of older stories of the Golden and Silver Age, the Annuals have grown into a place for creative teams to showcase their takes on the Caped Crusader. Some Annuals have been average, but there are some which Bat fans should definitely check out if they missed them.
10 The Batman Annual #25 Told The Story Of Jason Todd's Resurrection & How He Returned To The DCU
Jason Todd's return to life was first teased during the Batman: Hush storyline by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee was the story that some thought would never happen. In 2006, tying into Under The Hood and Infinite Crisis, the Batman Annual #25 tells how Jason returned to the DCU thanks to ripples in the timestream caused by Superboy-Prime. Six months after his death, Jason came back to life and crawling out of his grave.
The story, written by Judd Winick with art by Shane Davis, also included the original alternate ending to "A Death in the Family" that Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo wrote and drew for the original story but never used. The annual would set up Jason against both Batman and the Joker as he goes looking for revenge.
9 Detective Comics Annual #7 Introduced Leatherwing, The Elseworlds 17th Century Privateer Batman
The theme of the DC Annuals in 1994 was Elseworlds, introducing different versions of the DCU characters that existed on other Earths in the Multiverse. Leatherwing and other characters in this story hail from Earth-434 (later Earth-31), a world where global warming and mega-tsunamis created a world covered in water.
In the story written by Chuck Dixon with art by Enrique Alcatena, Captain Leatherwing, his trusty first mate Alfredo, and stowaway turned-sidekick Robin Redblade face off against the Laughing Man and Capitan Felina, a vivacious female pirate who are all seeking Leatherwing's Bat's Cay. The story is a swashbuckling tale of action with gorgeous art and layouts that make this a must-read.
8 Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV Gave Mr. Freeze A Creepy New Origin Story In The First Batman Annual In The New 52 Universe
The New 52 relaunch attempted to update both heroes and villains, sometimes including their origin stories. Such was the case with the Batman villain Victor Fries better known as Mister Freeze. Unlike in Pre-Flashpoint continuity, the frozen Nora that Victor becomes obsessed with is not his wife, but a woman whose family froze her after she developed a rare heart condition at the age of 25, and stored at Wayne Enterprises that Victor becomes to believe is, in fact, his wife.
The Annual written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV with art by Jason Fabok is by far one of the creepier retcons that took place during the New 52. When Mr. Freeze reappeared in the Rebirth Era, Victor and Nora's story was restored to its original story.
7 The First Legends Of The Dark Knight Annual Perfectly Represented The Main Series
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight was a series launched in 1989 that featured a rotating creative team, each telling a multi-part stand-alone story, usually about Batman's early adventures. The first annual, published in 1991 and entitled Duel, was written by Dennis O'Neil with art by Jim Aparo, Keith Giffen, Joe Quesada, Tom Lyle, Dan Spiegle, and James Blackburn.
The story revolves around Batman returning to a monastery he trained at when he was young and is told by the Master that he must make a choice, abandon his current path or fully embrace. Batman opts to embrace it, which sends him on a strange journey through time, all along carrying his "burden." This first annual perfectly encapsulates what the series is meant to be both in storytelling and art.
6 The First Batman Annual Of The Rebirth Era Paid Homage To The Past While Setting Up Future Stories
The first Batman annual in the Rebirth Era was a Christmas-themed issue in which none of the vignettes disappointed. However, the two stories that are definitely worth checking out are Good Boy, the origin story of Ace, The Bat-Hound, written by Tom King with art by David Finch; and Batman and Harley Quinn's ride in the Batmobile written by Paul Dini with art by Neal Adams.
The other story in the annual worth a mention is Stag, by the creative team of Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo, which serves as the prelude to Orlando's The Shadow/Batman crossover. The annual embraces the spirit of what an excellent annual issue should be and encapsulates the spirit of the holiday season while doing it.
5 The Second Rebirth Annual Teased What Might Have Been If Bruce & Selina Went Through With The Wedding Over In The Ongoing Series
The second Rebirth Era Batman Annual is probably the closest fans of the Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle romance and Earth-2 history will ever get, short of a return of the Pre-Crisis Earth-2. The story Date Nights and Last Rites, by Tom King and Lee Weeks, teased what may have been had Bruce and Selina gotten married.
In the story, one of the first encounters involves Catwoman breaking into Wayne Manor and stealing the Batmobile and crashing it into Porky's Bar, just one of many callbacks to the Looney Tunes crossover also written by King. The two continue their courting ritual, finally marrying and have a daughter, Helena, who adopts the role of Gotham's caped protector and Bruce passing away from old age— but not before leaving one more surprise for Selina.
4 The Legends Of The Dark Knight Elseworld Annual Put The Dark Knight In The World Of Citizen Kane
The iconic movie Citizen Kane was the inspiration for the 1994 Legends of the Dark Knight Elseworlds Annual written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn and art by Joe Staton. The 1920s noir is a different spin on the Dark Knight as it offers a two-for-one deal in the reveal at the end.
Beginning with the death of Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne, the story is told through the eyes of Dick Grayson who is investigating the case. Instead of Bruce Wayne as Batman, in this story, it is revealed that Bruce was not Batman; rather, it was Harvey Dent. This final reveal puts a nice twist on the Batman mythos but keeps the reader guessing throughout the story.
3 The Elseworlds Shadow Of The Bat Annual Took Place In A World Where Batman Was The Ultimate Authoritarian
The 1994 Elseworlds theme was a perfect chance for the Batman writers to explore the many possibilities of the Batman concept. In the Shadow of the Bat installment, the story took place in a world where Bruce Wayne, as a response to the murder of his parents, becomes an authoritarian ruler of Gotham City by day, and Batman— who ensures that his rules are followed and obeyed— under the guise of protecting citizens at night.
The twist in this story was that it was the members of his rogue's gallery, led by Anarchy, are the ones fighting the corruption and tyranny of Bruce Wayne and Batman, who not only rules through fear but also by drugging Gotham's water supply. This annual, by longtime Batman writer Alan Grant with art by Tom Raney and Joe Staton, is a chilling look at a road not taken by regular continuity.
2 The Fifth Batman Annual Revealed The Origin Of One Of The Breakout Characters of 2020's Joker War
During the Joker War event, which ran through the Bat-Family books in 2020, one of the most interesting new characters was the anti-hero/vigilante Clownhunter who was fixated on killing the Joker and his supporters. Created by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez, Clownhunter was the alias of Bao Pham, whose parents were murdered by the Joker in his family's restaurant when he was 12-years old.
During the events of the Joker War, Bao decides to take matters into his own hands, becoming Clownhunter and using a baseball bat with a Batarang in it to protect The Narrows, killing welve of Joker's goons in the process. Though his first appearance was in Batman #95, it wasn't until the annual that his origin was told.
1 The 1987 Annual Is One Of The Few Batman Stories Written By Alan Moore
In 1987, Alan Moore and George Freeman teamed together to bring readers the story, Mortal Clay, featuring Preston Payne, aka Clayface III. In the story, Payne recounts his latest encounter with Batman and how he risked everything for "Helena," a store mannequin he calls the love of his life. Believing that "Helena" is cheating on him with Batman, he attacks and almost kills Batman, only stopping short when he sees in Helena's eyes that she's taking joy in men fighting over her affections.
In the end, Batman helps Payne, returning him and Helena to Arkham with Clayface contemplating a divorce, then dismissing the idea, commenting that she can't live forever. This annual is one of the only times Moore wrote Batman outside of the classic, The Killing Joke, and shows his expert grasp on the character.