I’m not sure about other folks, but conversations within my social group somehow always circle back to the subject of Batman. It’s not that we’re all obsessed with the Caped Crusader (I’m more of a Spider-Man fanatic, myself), it’s just that this iconic character and his extensive mythology have become so ingrained in popular culture that it’s hard to avoid talking about it. That’s why I’d like to take a moment and discuss the importance of the Dark Knight’s love-affair with the world of horror, and why future adaptations of the character should appreciate and learn from the genre’s influence on one of our favorite heroes.

From his origins in 1939, Bob Kane and Bill Finger‘s creation had always been based on fear and the desire to transform it into something positive, so it makes sense that the hero would be influenced by (then) contemporary scary movies and literature. And, with a costume reminiscent of popular depictions of Dracula (who is also a DC villain in some incarnations), intended to instill fear into the hearts of superstitious criminals, one doesn’t have to look far in order to find traces of the horror genre in Batman’s considerable history.

Of course, this was a time when most popular pulp heroes looked more like traditional hard-boiled investigators rather than super-powered men in tights, so the aptly named Detective Comics borrowed a great deal from the world of noir literature in setting up Batman’s mythology. Much like the crime-fighting sleuths that came before him, stories of the World’s Greatest Detective didn’t shy away from the darker and more terrifying elements of the criminal underworld, a common trait in noir narratives. This is partly why the genre is so closely associated with horror, with films like Angel Heart, Se7en and even Clive Barker‘s Lord of Illusions serving as great examples of this.

Additionally, tales of the Caped Crusader also commonly deal with themes of madness, resulting in most of his infamous antagonists winding up in Arkham Asylum (lifted directly from the works of H.P. Lovecraft) instead of the lesser-known Blackgate Prison. Aside from the terrifying Asylum inmates, there are many who argue that Batman is nothing but a pathological bat-themed vigilante, driven insane by the trauma of witnessing his parents’ murder. This is one of the many reasons why his relationship with his green-haired arch-nemesis is so fascinating, especially after the character’s no-kill policy was introduced.

Spooky.

Heavily inspired by the freaky 1928 Victor Hugo adaptation, The Man Who Laughs, the Joker is arguably DC’s greatest triumph in creating an antagonist as iconic as his rival. Amusingly enough, it seems appropriate that Batman’s greatest villain is nothing more than the Killer Clown archetype endemic to so much of horror media. As a matter of fact, the Clown Prince of Crime was originally intended to be a one-off generic psychopath before editors intervened and decided to turn him into a recurring character.

Behind the longevity of Batman and Joker’s twisted relationship is a horrific codependence that has since become the stuff of legend (with the recent Lego Batman Movie even going so far as to humorously portray the Joker as a kind of bitter ex-girlfriend), but that’s not to say that this rivalry overshadows the rest of the Dark Knight’s sizable Rogue’s Gallery. From psychopathic scarecrows to murderous freak show rejects and even literal man-eating monsters, almost any of these villainous figures would feel right at home in their own particular horror franchises.

Naturally, many of these more mature story elements were lost once the Comics Code Authority kicked in, with even Batman’s uniform becoming brighter and more kid-friendly. The subsequent popularity of the late Adam West’s light-hearted (but still tremendously entertaining) TV incarnation of the character also helped distance him from his darker roots, and it would be a long time before the public would take Batman seriously again.

Still kind of frightening from a fashion perspective.

Writers like Frank Miller and Alan Moore would eventually attempt to return these comics to something more akin to their original form, relishing in grimy tales of vigilante justice and psychological thrills. However, general audiences would only come to accept this gloomy version of the Dark Knight as gospel with the arrival of Tim Burton‘s 1989 blockbuster Batman.

Burton’s film and its sequel may be flawed, but they definitely succeeded in paying homage to the character’s dark history, and were fundamental in making Gotham City once again feel like a terrifying hive of gothic insanity instead of a colorful metropolis. Through Jack Nicholson‘s murderous antics as the Joker, or even Penguin’s revised origins that transformed him into a sewer-dwelling freak, you can tell that Burton was having the time of his life returning these stories to their horrific roots, even if the films still felt a tad bit childish at times.

Inspired by these films, Batman the Animated Series would also wear its genre inspirations on its sleeve. Hell, even the pilot episode made a point of featuring the monstrous Man-Bat as the main villain in a classic tale of mad science gone wrong. Later on, the show would feature the voice talents of several genre favorites like Ron Perlman, Malcom McDowell and even the Re-Animator himself, Jeffrey Combs, as the terrifying Scarecrow.

Sadly, this would be the last time that the Caped Crusader’s horror inspirations would be proudly featured on screen, with the failed Schumacher films leading Christopher Nolan to take the franchise in a wildly different direction with his eventual Dark Knight trilogy. To be fair, I’m a huge fan of Nolan’s films, but even I have to concede that they were decidedly lacking in the atmosphere department. Admittedly, Batman Begins had some genuinely chilling moments involving the Scarecrow, and came the closest to featuring a fully fleshed-out and terrifying Gotham City. However, the trilogy as a whole focused much more on the underlying morality behind Batman’s antics, ignoring most of the more outlandish and genre-friendly elements of the character’s history.

This brings us to my personal favorite incarnation of the character, not to mention the whole point of this article, Rocksteady’s 2009 video-game Batman: Arkham Asylum. While it may be a clever blend of nearly every version of the character, Arkham Asylum is also, at its core, a survival horror experience. Featuring a protagonist trapped with some of the most dangerous individuals on earth in the scariest location in the DC universe during a single brutal night, the only reason that this isn’t remembered as one of the greatest horror games of all time is the simple fact that the protagonist is actually the Batman.

Any other character would be crying in a corner right now.

I’ve always said that horror is a matter of perspective, as several notable films (Predator is a good example) are only classified as action movies because the protagonists are badass enough to put up a fight against the horrific forces that oppose them. Arkham Asylum is one of these cases, as the Castlevania-like progression and Resident Evil inspired backtracking make it clear that the game was intentionally designed to be reminiscent of these spooky influences. This was meant to subvert expectations when Batman gains the upper hand and stealthily swoops down to knock out terrified bad guys like a mad gargoyle.

Of course, I’m only bringing this 9-year-old game up because the Caped Crusader’s cinematic future seems uncertain after the DCEU’s recent blunders, and the franchise is in desperate need of a new direction with Matt Reeves‘ proposed movie. The way I see it, if the filmmakers charged with revitalizing Batman feel the need to reimagine the character in a way that feels different from previous adaptations but still remains true to the source material, perhaps truly embracing the darker elements behind these comics is the way to go. I’d love to see a darker and more human take on these stories, forcing this haunted character to fight for survival against the worst that humanity has to offer.

After all, it’s a Batman movie! It’s going to sell no matter what, so Warner Bros. might as well do something creative (and hopefully spooky) with it.