How to Read Scott Snyder's Batman Comics in Order (2025)

Batman has had a great amount of industry talent working to provide the character with a number of iconic stories. In the past decade, Scott Snyder has joined that repertoire of talent with little argument, thanks to an unforgettable run that stretched into DC's New 52 and beyond.

The writer brought a unique edge to Batman and his mythos at the end of the post-Crisis era, infusing the character with bombastic action and grotesque horror that immediately captivated readers. This led to the creator returning time and again to work on the Caped Crusader, upping the ante with every new project—now even writing the best-selling comic of 2024.

The Black Mirror Is A Modern Horror Comic Classic

Batman is often believed to be a modern Sherlock Holmes, with the Caped Crusader’s sleuthing an iconic staple of his character. When Bruce Wayne was presumed dead after an encounter with Darkseid, the successor to the mantle didn’t give up the title of the World’s Greatest Detective—and the Detective Comics arc “The Black Mirror” illustrated that perfectly.

Taking place in Dick Grayson’s brief stint as Batman following Final Crisis, The Black Mirror introduced the comic world to one of Batman’s most horrific and demented villains, James Gordon Jr. With chilling art from Jock and Francesco Francavilla, and Snyder exercising his horror writing experience, it’s no surprise Black Mirror is considered one of the greatest Batman stories ever—make sure to read it with the lights on and the doors locked, though.

Gates Of Gotham Is An Underrated Story

Just like Black Mirror, Batman: Gates of Gotham was a story following Dick Grayson’s Batman—this time, however, it was a miniseries. One of the best parts of Snyder as a Batman writer is his habit of filling his stories with extra lore about Gotham City’s history, something some fans can’t get enough of, and Gates of Gotham is chock full of it.

Teaming up Batman with Red Robin after the emergence of a new villain named The Architect—who, in a Scream-like reveal early on, is actually said to be two different people—that represent Gotham’s legacy. Gates of Gotham was a nice short story that perfectly placed a bookmark in this era of Batman.

Batman’s New 52 Run Is One Of His Best

It’s undeniable that Batman has had some fantastic runs from time to time, between Alan Grant’s 1980s Shadow of the Bat and Detective Comics tenures, Grant Morrison’s 2000s Batman and Batman & Robin runs, and what is possibly the best of all of them—Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman, spanning from 2011 to 2016 as part of the New 52.

Iconic stories such as “The Court of Owls” and “Zero Year” are still being referenced over 13 years after the run started, with the Court appearing in WB Montreal’s Gotham Knights and Riddler’s flood from Zero Year being the third act catalyst of The Batman. The run is also a fantastic starting point for new readers. It’s clear to anyone who’s read it that Snyder wrote a truly iconic and remarkable Batman, both the title and the man himself—not to mention what’s possibly some of the greatest Joker writing ever.

Batman Eternal Was An Ambitious Endeavor

Large-scale comic events being released weekly is not a new concept for comic publishers. However, this is typically done by releasing segments of an event through multiple titles at once, not to overwhelm creators or pressure readers. But Batman Eternal was one of those rare weekly events in which all of its issues fell under one single series title, in the vein of epics like 52.

Batman Eternal lasted one calendar year to celebrate Batman’s 75th anniversary. It was a verifiable saga that sought to shade in every corner of Gotham during its run, focusing not just on Bruce Wayne but also on civilians, fellow heroes, and, of course, his villains. The series’ writers would each handle a different aspect of the city during the title, so no stone would be left unturned. James Tynion IV emphasized a focus on younger characters and the Gotham Gazette. Tim Seeley’s focus was on action adventure and espionage. Ray Fawkes predominantly focused on horror and mystical aspects. John Layman and Kyle Higgins went on to expand on the more colorful characters of Gotham. However, Scott Snyder organized much of this while also tackling Batman Eternal's overarching plot—a precursor to his being the architect of 2024’s Absolute Comics line.

All-Star Batman Was A Fun Limited Series

Scott Snyder did revolutionary work on his main Batman run during the New 52, but that didn't stop him from wanting to continue it during the Rebirth era. While Tom King and James Tynion took the lead on Batman and Detective Comics, respectively, Snyder helmed his own series in the form of All-Star Batman.

Not to be confused with Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s similarly titled All-Star Batman and Robin, All-Star Batman was its own beast. It focused on a Batman alone, with the Signal being the only character close to occupying the sidekick role. While Snyder is still very much writing his version of Batman, it’s a take that leans into a lighter—though compelling—tone and more rule of cool atmosphere. It’s Snyder’s attempt at working on storylines that wouldn’t have fit in his Batman run, integrating characters like Two-Face, Ra’s Al Ghul, and Poison Ivy that didn’t get much spotlight there either. The variety show of top-tier artists is also a point in the series’ favor, with Snyder working alongside legends such as John Romita Jr. and Jock.

Every new initiative to relaunch the DCU needs an event to accompany it: Crisis on Infinite Earths for post-Crisis, Flashpoint for the New 52, and then Scott Snyder’s Dark Nights: Metal for the soft-reboot that was Infinite Frontier. This long-running saga provided a fresh slate for the new relaunch, accompanied by comics such as Doomsday Clock and Dark Nights: Death Metal.

This was Scott Snyder’s more wild storytelling sensibilities pushed to a new limit, as he was pulled in for a wide-scale event that would redefine DC’s multiverse. While this did focus on many different DC heroes—even leading into Snyder’s run on Justice League—Batman remained at the forefront, especially as the villain Barbatos would recruit several evil variants of the Caped Crusader in his plot to unleash darkness through many different dimensions. This initial event was one of DC’s most ambitious, with its own heavy metal soundtrack released at its conclusion.

The Batman Who Laughs Got His Own Series

Many new characters were introduced in the pages of Dark Nights: Metal, many alternate universe variants of existing characters, but none quite stuck in the same way that the Batman Who Laughs did. This was a version of Batman poisoned by the Joker in the latter’s dying scheme, causing him to become a new version of the villain, similar to the Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker film.

The deadly combination led to this alternate Batman killing all his allies. He’d become a worldwide threat recruited by Barbatos and Perpetua in their multiversal schemes, and he took much glee in the destruction he wrought. He’d also attain his own miniseries, part of his immediate push after the success of his debut, in which he was directly opposed to the Prime Earth version of Bruce Wayne. The title also introduced the Grim Knight character, a version of Batman who seemed to take after the Punisher more than anything else. But don’t think this is bland multiverse fare, as many of the series’ readers believe it to be a truly fantastic Batman story with a backdrop of multiversal chaos bleeding in.

Last Knight On Earth Was An Underwhelming Miniseries

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are, undoubtedly, one of the most celebrated creative pairs in comic history, with their work on Batman being a fan favorite. So fans couldn't contain their excitement when it was announced they’d return to do a 3-issue Black Label Batman comic. However, it was quickly discovered there were some extra twists.

Set in a post-apocalyptic near future, Last Knight on Earth follows a reincarnation of Bruce Wayne in a world where Superman died. Oddly enough, the only ally Batman has left is the disembodied head of The Joker. While Snyder and Capullo doing a Batman Elseworld sound very promising, many fans were disappointed by the comic’s portrayals of Wonder Woman and Superman, the strange concept, and the “twist” ending that almost every fan saw coming.

Dark Knights: Metal was already a roller coaster of a comic, and the saga it unleashed lasted for around five years in real-world time. Dark Knights: Dark Metal was the riveting conclusion to it all, its multiversal events somehow on a larger scale than the original story that started this saga.

Here, the villain Perpetua had been awakened from a cosmic prison due to the destruction of the Source Wall. Similarly to Barbatos, she wanted to impose her own vision on the multiverse with little consideration for anyone else—this time, she wishes to destroy what remains of the local 52 universes to rebuild everything to her command. Extreme scenarios are Scott Snyder’s specialty, and he took that to new heights in the sprawling pages of Dark Knights: Dark Metal. Incredibly out-there alternate universes and designs were crafted for the comic, all culminating in a decision that shaped DC’s approach to continuity in the future. Everything was canon, and the company’s stories now existed in an omniverse that paved the way for the Infinite Frontier era.

Absolute Batman Is Snyder’s Latest Success

The most recent of Snyder’s Batman works, Absolute Batman #1, has burst onto the scene as 2024’s best-selling single issue for any publisher. Part of this is just the general anticipation for the Absolute Universe, with Batman starting it all, but its creative team played no small part in that anticipation.

Scott Snyder hooked readers with the pitch of a working-class Bruce Wayne without the usual fortune and worldwide training of his Prime Earth counterpart. This iteration of the character is now a genius bruiser, using the scraps from his job as a city engineer to build his Batman identity and gadgets. Rule of Cool is definitely a key factor in Snyder’s approach here—notably with Batman’s Battle Axe—but it isn’t all style over substance. Among the well-paced worldbuilding that makes these early issues come off like a TV pilot, there seems to be a compelling narrative about the nature of violence brewing, one that Snyder seems more than capable of telling.

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Batman

Batman is one of the oldest comic superheroes, with nearly a century of comics, TV-shows, films, and video games. The mild-mannered Bruce Wayne becomes Gotham City's caped crusader, protecting it from villains like The Joker, Killer Croc, The Penguin, and more. Batman is also one of DC comics' "Big Three" alongside Superman and Wonder Woman, and together the three help keep the earth safe as founding members of the Justice League.

Created by

Bill Finger, Bob Kane

First Film

Batman: The Movie

Latest Film

The Batman

Upcoming Films

The Batman – Part II

First TV Show

Batman

Latest TV Show

Batman: Caped Crusader

First Episode Air Date

January 12, 1966

Cast

Adam West, Kevin Conroy, Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Josh Hutcherson, Will Friedle, Anson Mount, Will Arnett

Character(s)

Batman, The Joker, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, The Riddler, Catwoman, Poison Ivy