With the recent release of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, a chapter of continuity that began with 2014's Justice League: War has been closed in DC's Animated Movie Universe, with many fans wondering what comes next.
With the upcoming Superman: Man of Tomorrow release heralding the continuation of DC's successful direct-to-video animated films that are now free from continuity, it's time for one of Batman's most memorable storylines to finally join the DCAMU with a faithful adaptation of "Knightfall."
10 PERFECT TWO-PART RELEASE
Much like the recent two-part release of Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen, "Knightfall" is already perfectly set up to be told properly over two feature-length films, which would allow creators to really explore the storyline.
The first film can introduce Bane and deal with his and Batman's first battles that ultimately lead to him turning the role over to a successor, while the second film follows how it all came crashing down untile Bruce Wayne was ready for the mantle of the bat again.
9 INTRODUCE AZRAEL TO THE DCAMU
We've seen versions of Azrael in video games and in live-action on Fox's Gotham, however, Jean-Paul Valley's original version of the character hasn't shown up much outside of the comics despite getting a new Rebirth origin and joining the Justice League.
Valley would be a central figure in the film adaptation of "Knightfall" as the chosen successor of Bruce Wayne who manages to take out the man who broke the Bat, though he soon became a bigger threat to Gotham City and the legacy of the Bat that The DCAMU should explore.
8 GIVE BANE THE SPOTLIGHT HE DESERVES
Fans have seen a few different takes on Bane in the DC Animated Movie Universe already, with appearances in Justice League: Doom and Batman: Hush that failed to capture the cunning and strategic mind of Bane.
While Bane is obviously a very powerful bruiser, he also deduced Batman's secret identity simply by observing Bruce Wayne and orchestrated an escape at Arkham Asylum to wear down Batman first, and he should be given the chance to show that side of himself in the DCAMU.
7 ALLOW TIM DRAKE TO FLY AS ROBIN
We've seen quite a few different versions of Robin in the DCAMU over the years, dating back to before the current continuity that featured Batman's son Damian Wayne in the role, though we've never seen Tim Drake in the role.
To be fair, the character got a little left behind when DC rebooted its comic universe which the DCAMU has largely been focusing on, but fans of the character have been dying to see the character given his fair shake in the DCAMU, and "Knightfall" is a great place to introduce the character.
6 MULTIPLE DYNAMIC ART STYLES
While the recent continuity focused on a recurring animation style, the first few adaptations of comic material matched the animation style to the art styles of the comic, and a return to that style would really allow "Knightfall" to shine.
There were a number of classic artists like Tom Aparo, Graham Nolan, Barry Kitson, Tom Grummet, and others involved in the storyline whose artistic style would work well for the adaptation, though Norm Breyfogle's dark and emotive work during "Knightfall" would look particularly amazing on the small screen.
5 A GAUNTLET OF GOTHAM VILLAINS
While Bane and Azrael would both serve as great main villains for a two-part adaptation, the storyline also featured a number of other villains from Arkham Asylum who were unleashed on Gotham City that could also appear.
While the big league villains like Joker, Scarecrow, and Two-Face all appear, both Bruce Wayne and Jean-Paul Valley are worn down by their quest to recapture all of the Arkham escapees and inevitable new villains, including characters like the Ventriloquist, Film Freak or Cornelius Stirk who have yet to appear in the DCAMU.
4 HAS NEVER BEEN FAITHFULLY ADAPTED
While we've seen a few references and kid-friendly versions of Bane breaking the Batman in DC's animated universes over the years, we've never seen Bane and his mission in "Knightfall" fully realized outside the comics.
Even Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 only scratched the surface of the comic storyline, leaving a lot of room for the DCAMU to explore the original introduction of Bane to the Batman mythology.
3 LOTS OF SOURCE MATERIAL
"Knightfall" was a huge event that spanned weeks and continued into follow-up events like "KnightsQuest" and "KnightsEnd" that explored both Jean-Paul Valley's time as Batman and Bruce Wayne's recovery.
There are so many great stories to really explore all sides of the event that the film would hopefully avoid the issues some other DCAMU adaptations have encountered when attempting to expand the source material to feature-length.
2 KICKSTART A NEW CYCLE OF BATMAN ADAPTATIONS
Batman and his related characters featured pretty heavily in the last continuity of the DCAMU, as heroes like Nightwing, Damian Wayne/Robin, Catwoman, Batwoman, and Batwing all appeared in their more modern forms.
Given the era of "Knightfall" in the larger Batman mythology, there are a number of amazing storylines like "War Games" or "No Man's Land" that could be set in motion that could also introduce other Gotham heroes into the DCAMU like Stephanie Brown/Spoiler and Cassandra Cain/Batgirl.
1 REVISIT CLASSIC CONTINUITY AND CHARACTERS
Not only would an adaptation of "Knightfall" give fans an opportunity to see 90s versions of characters like Catwoman, Robin, Azrael, and other Gotham City characters, but the rest of the pre-Flashpoint era of characters.
Future films could continue to explore other era-specific moments like Hal Jordan's downfall and the rise of Kyle Rayner in Green Lantern, Wally West's discovery of the Speed Force in The Flash, or some of the amazing storylines from Grant Morrison's JLA run that could easily carry the next few years of DC's animated films.