Batman: This huge movie star inspired one of the most famous comic versions of the superhero!

It’s 1986, Frank Miller is coming out The Dark Knight Returns, a comic that is highly regarded by fans and fully portrays the character of Batman. In four volumes, Miller brings back old villains, offers a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne, invents a new Robin, and offers a showdown between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel: Batman v Superman before Zack Snyder’s film.

That same year, Miller was tapped to tell a new origin story for Gotham City’s billionaire-turned-vigilante. In this case, the author would leave the drawing to a certain David Mazzucchelli, who he already knows from having signed the Daredevil: Born Again arc with him, which will probably inspire the Disney+ series that is currently in the works.

The so-called project Batman: Year One and introduces Bruce Wayne’s first year as Batman and his encounter with Jim Gordon, a cop who has just been transferred to Gotham.

To understand what his Bruce Wayne will be, which must have a certain worldly elegance but also a deep-rooted darkness, David Mazzucchelli takes inspiration from a classic Hollywood period actor: a certain Gregory Peck!

Gregory Peck was an Oscar-winning actor in 1963 for his role in Silence and Shadows, a classic among classics, but also in Roman Holidays, The House of Dr. Edwardes, or The Boys From Brazil. Carefully choosing his roles, he gave his best performances in cinema and, thanks to the modernity of his acting, allowed films to cross eras, such as The Last Shore, Les Nerfs à vive (which spawned Scorsese’s remake) or The Human. target.

This artistic choice, along with the minimalism of Mazzucchelli’s line, would contribute to the comic’s success. And who better than Gregory Peck and his perfect self to play the private detective, follow a revisited Bruce Wayne, Gotham with the sharpness of a switch and that film noir atmosphere. Batman: Year One ?

The comic has also been made into an animated film and is well worth a watch!