Top 10 Differences Between The Batman and The Long Halloween

Throughout 2022’s “The Batman”, the Riddler hunts corrupt people and villains like a predator silently stalking his prey. He stays one step ahead of everyone due to careful planning while focusing on his twisted mission to clean up Gotham. While the Riddler does appear in the original “The Long Halloween”story, he isn’t the mastermind behind all the events. Instead, a mysterious villain dubbed Holiday takes lives on every occasion from Father’s Day to St. Patrick’s Day. The moves of this terrifying and cunning antagonist are so hard to follow that even Batman struggles to keep up. Although the big bads are different in the two adaptations, they both leave Gotham shaken by their crimes.

Even the Clown prince of crime becomes impressed that a mysterious villain is getting away with so much carnage in “the Long Halloween” comic. And by impressed, we mean the Joker wants to permanently silence Holiday for taking over the news cycle. The clown goes to desperate lengths to try and bring the villain down before Batman steps in. By comparison, the Joker is much more chill in “The Batman”. He doesn’t make any attempts to stop Riddler’s spree at any point. In fact, the clown strongly hints that he wants to befriend the questionable rogue while they’re both locked up in Arkham Asylum. Although the Joker’s gesture seems nice, we wonder if he’d lash out at his so-called friend if Riddler got more press.

Although Bruce usually keeps people outside of his crusade at arm’s length, Selina Kyle still tends to get close to him. The two spend time together outside of their costumes during “The Long Halloween” story. Between Bruce’s genuine feelings and their romantic interactions, it seems like the two might make it long term. But the Bat and the Cat in the movie have a much longer way to go. Since Batman never removes his mask while in Selina’s presence, she technically never met the real Bruce face to face. Despite only spending time together while on the prowl, there was still romantic tension between the two. Maybe they’ll let their guards and masks down in front of each other in a future film.

At first, it seemed like great news that a huge bust ended Salvatore Maroni’s criminal career in the movie’s version of Gotham. But since this victory was achieved due to police corruption and shady deals, an angry Riddler starts lashing out in hopes of exposing tons of misdeeds. Maroni manages to avoid all the chaos and carnage because he’s in jail during the narrative. But in the comics, he’s out and about through a large chunk of the story. Along the way, his actions also help create another villain we’ll definitely talk more about later. Maroni definitely was more visible in the comics. But even though we don’t see his face in the movie, he still played a vital role in the noir plot.

The Riddler we met in the panels of the influential story was much more of a joke than his onscreen counterpart. After leaving a shady meeting, the puzzling villain stumbles right into the vicious Holiday’s path. The Riddler’s life is only spared because they met on April Fool’s Day. We have a feeling the cinematic version of the character would shake his head at his comic counterpart. Not only is Paul Dano’s Riddler never held at gunpoint by another villain, but he’s always in complete control. He even plans to get captured and sent to Arkham at a specific time so he’ll be safe from his deadly flooding scheme. Dano’s Riddler is clearly more competent, intimidating and cunning than the one in “Long Halloween”.

In both “The Long Halloween” and “The Batman”, we learn that Dr. Thomas Wayne once saved the wicked Falcone’s life. The connection between the two prominent Gothamites briefly gets Bruce into legal hot water in the comics. However, there’s a much darker layer to this backstory in the film. After saving Falcone’s life in the movie’s world, Thomas asked the villain to persuade a reporter to keep quiet. The antagonist decided the best way to do that was to slay the journalist. Shortly after Thomas threatens to expose this crime, he and his wife infamously meet their ends in Crime Alley. The implication that Falcone may have been behind the death of the Waynes also hints that this gangster was indirectly responsible for creating Batman.

Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne exists in one of the most realistic and grounded versions of Gotham we’ve ever seen committed to screen. So, a couple of villains from “The Long Halloween” would’ve definitely felt out of place. Although the hulking Solomon Grundy was a big antagonist in the original narrative, his zombie-like backstory was a little fantastical for the film. Poison Ivy also played a significant role by using her powerful plant abilities to influence Bruce Wayne’s decisions. However, her plant powers wouldn’t have been a good fit for the movie’s world either. Although we don’t get to see this great duo of fantastical villains, the lengthy presence of excellent rogues like Colin Ferrell’s Penguin definitely make up for their absence.

During “The Long Halloween” story, Batman notices that Catwoman has a habit of appearing when Falcone’s assets or the criminal himself is involved. But she doesn’t fully explain her motivations at any point. The movie sees Catwoman come completely clean about her attachment to Falcone after she has a disturbing encounter with the gangster. In an emotional speech, she reveals the villain is her true father. After Selina’s mother passed away, Falcone completely ignored his child and chose to let his daughter fend for herself. The familial connection between Catwoman and the notorious crime boss makes their interactions more tense. It also helps motivate Selina to work hard to see Falcone get his just desserts.

One of the biggest changes between these two Batman plots involves Harvey Dent. In the original story, this district attorney wanted every criminal in Gotham brought to justice. He showed a willingness to bend rules if he could stop everyone from Falcone to Holiday from hurting people. As Dent stepped closer to the edge, his allies Batman and Gordon tried their best to keep him from reaching a point of no return. The 2022 film completely excludes the district attorney from the plot. Maybe Dent was left out because the iconic “The Dark Knight” adapted a similar version of the character’s story. Although it would’ve been cool to see the district attorney in “The Batman”, excluding him helped give the film a unique identity.

After being scarred by acid in “the Long Halloween”, the district attorney fully embraces his darker instincts and the nickname Two-Face. Dent eventually finds Falcone and ends the villain once and for all. Although Catwoman comes very close to ending the prominent gangster’s life in the movie, it’s ultimately Riddler that pulls the trigger. The puzzling villain later reveals he started his violent spree on Halloween as part of a long term scheme to slay Falcone. Both Riddler and Two-Face had different motivations for being behind the barrel of a smoking gun. But in both stories, Falcone’s fate was sealed once the first victim died on Halloween.