Batman: The Long Halloween was one of the most iconic comics of the '90s. The Long Halloween featured Bruce Wayne at the beginning of his career, just as Gotham was starting to push out organized crime in favor of the rogues gallery Batman would eventually deal with on a nightly basis. The Long Halloween also saw Batman pushed to the limit to discover the truth behind the Holiday Killer, someone who was wiping out members of the mob only on holidays.
Recently, Warner Bros Animation released an animated adaptation of this legendary maxi-series, in a pair of films that covered the entire storyline. Of course, no adaptation happens without some changes, and The Long Halloween has plenty.
9 Batman Gives Two-Face His Coin, Not Harvey's Father
The Long Halloween explores the change from Harvey Dent to Two-Face, as Dent deals with Gotham's festering corruption. In the comics, Dent eventually brings up a coin he got while visiting his father, which would eventually become the scarred coin with which he makes all his decisions. In the films, Dent gets the coin from Batman, who gives it to him when they’re deciding whether or not to blow up Falcone’s cash.
8 The Triad Get Involved In Taking Out Harvey Dent
The Long Halloween is very specific in the organized crime gangs it focuses on, largely to create a feel that story is taking place in a bygone era. In the comics, Irish gang members are contracted to take out Harvey Dent after he causes one too many problems for them. In the film, the Irish gang are swapped out for Triad members. This ultimately isn’t a big deal, and adds a tiny amount of diversity to a world that is otherwise entirely white.
7 Batman's More Of A Brawler In The Films
These days, everyone is attached to the idea that Bruce Wayne wasn't much of a detective when he first began his career. The comics origins have always made Bruce see the value in being a detective and being a fighter, but this isn't a detail that often gets adapted to other media.
Instead of Bruce being a talented (albeit in over his head) detective, The Long Halloween film makes Batman so bad that multiple characters in the films mock him his abilities. This is likely to poke fun at how Batman could never figure out who Holiday was until the end of the story in the original comics, but the original story at least treats Bruce's skills with respect.
6 Catwoman Learns Bruce's Identity
Something that was continuously hinted at in comics was Catwoman potentially knowing who Batman was. It was never stated, but Selina was constantly following him around and listening in on a lot of the conversations he had with the police and the Falcones. The films toss that ambiguity completely out the door, confirming that Selina knows exactly who Bruce Wayne is in the first movie.
5 Falcone's Goal With Poison Ivy Is Completely Different
In the comic, Poison Ivy finds Bruce and manages to trick him to begin working for her. It isn’t revealed until after Bruce is broken out of Ivy’s control by Catwoman that she’s working for Falcone, even though it’s obvious. Falcone’s aim in the comic is to get Bruce to help him launder money by having control over Bruce’s businesses. In the films, Falcone introduces Poison Ivy to Bruce. Moreover, rather than trying to clean his own money, Falcone decided to steal all of Bruce’s until Catwoman shows up and snaps him out of it.
4 The Riddler Is No Longer In The Film
In the original comic, the Riddler makes one major appearance talking to the Falcone family and trying to deduce the identity of Holiday. He can’t come up with a decent answer, so Falcone throws him out. Seconds later, the Riddler nearly killed by Holiday but seemingly spared because it’s April Fool’s Day. The film takes the character out altogether, which is admittedly fair. The Riddler had almost no story in The Long Halloween and taking him out to give more screen-time to others is good.
3 Alberto Is Killed And Doesn't Come Back
Alberto Falcone is supposed to be the original Holiday Killer. Spurned by his father and told to keep out of the business, Alberto doesn’t even try to take over the mafia. Instead, he decides to become more like the Rogues that exist in Gotham City, taking on the name Holiday.
In the films, Alberto doesn’t fake his death — he’s actually killed. Holiday shoots him, and he falls off of his dad’s boat and into the propellers. This is actually a massive change for The Long Halloween, as it makes the final killer harder to guess.
2 There's More Romance Between Bruce And Selina
Bruce and Selina have the makings of a romance in the original Lost Halloween comic. It’s always there at the edges of things, but they can never stay together because Batman is too devoted to being a hero, and Catwoman loves the freedom that comes with being a cat burglar.
Even when Batman wants to know why she cares about this case so much, he never finds out in the comics. In the film, their romance feels more fleshed out, and Selina is comfortable enough to explain that she believes Falcone is her father and that her goal is discovering who her mother was.
1 Gilda's Motivations Have Been Completely Changed
Gilda Dent suffers the biggest change in the movies by far. In the comics, the primary villain is Alberto Falcone, but there are some twists to the story. Gilda turns out to have started the entire thing as a way to get her husband back, killing multiple mafia members in the hopes of starting a gang war. In her mind, the gang war would reduce the number of criminals on the street and hopefully lead to her husband being at home more.
In the film, Gilda is now the former lover of Alberto Falcone, and wanted revenge on the mafia for Alberto having to leave her. She also gets caught by Batman, while in the comics Gilda gets away free without anyone actually realizing she was even involved.