Batman: Noël is a standalone Batman comic written and illustrated by Lee Bermejo. Acting as Yet Another Christmas Carol, the story follows Batman in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, sick with pneumonia on a snowy Christmas day as he tries to bring the Joker to justice.
Unfortunately, his heart has hardened after the death of his partner Jason Todd to the point where he considers potential criminals dangerous and uses much more force than necessary in detaining a put-on henchman, Bob, who only turned to crime to pay his ill son's medical bills.
And so, just like Scrooge of old, Batman is visited by three 'spirits' who can help him change his ways before it's too late—and maybe stop the Joker and save Bob while he's at it.
This comic book contains examples of:
- Adaptational Modesty: As usual for modern depictions of Robin. However, instead of slapping one of Tim Drake's suit on a character or creating a new costume, the comic just modified the classic Robin suit to give it long pants instead of shorts.
- Alternative Character Interpretation: Done in-universe by the narrator, who speculates that in Dickens' original tale there was no Christmas Future and Scrooge was having a near-death experience.
- Art Shift: Catwoman's flashbacks to the past are done in a much more stylized, colorful style reminiscent of the Batman (1966) TV show.
- Bad Future: The Christmas Future segment is Batman seeing visions of a future where the Wayne fortune is sold off, the police are even more corrupt and use violent methods even against petty offenders, most of Gotham is overrun in riots, and Commissioner Gordon is arrested and jailed without parole for his collaboration with Batman, who by then has come to be seen as a criminal by the legal system.
- Buried Alive: The Joker buries Batman in a grave for the Christmas Future segment.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: It's the Joker we're talking about. When he goes into Bob's house and Tim thinks he's Santa, he gives the iconic laugh as a joke.
- The Grim Reaper: The narrator believes this is what Christmas Future actually was, fitting, as his role is taken by The Joker.
- Lighter and Softer: Lee Bermejo's work, especially when paired up with Brian Azzarello, is known to be very dark, violent, and sometimes disturbing, as Joker can attest. Meanwhile, Noël, while sometimes dipping its toes into the darkness, is ultimately an uplifting story on the same level as its inspiration. Bermejo's artwork is even noticeably more warm and colorful than his usual work.
- Narrator All Along: The end of the story reveals the narrator is Bob, now with a healthy Tim.
- Papa Wolf: Bob moves in to attack Joker when he threatens Tim.
- Referenced by...: William Shakespeare: As the Joker carries the unconscious Batman to his newly-dug grave, a narrator says, "Some people start hallucinating when they're about to die. In my book, if you're chasing beautiful women across rooftops and flying around with big colorful men that glow, somethin's rotten in Denmark."
- Shout-Out: When the Joker arrives at Bob and Tim's house, the villain says he likes to play detective games such as Clue. When he asks who stole the money, Bob tries to defend himself and his son with a baseball bat, but the villain says, "Oh, c'mon! You know there's no baseball in Clue!" After the villain attacks and points a revolver at Bob, the former asks, "Who killed Bob?" Before Bob can respond, the villain shouts triumphantly, "I WIN! I KILLED BOB IN THE KITCHEN WITH THE REVOLVER!" before attempting to shoot him. Cue the Big Damn Heroes moment.
- Sick Episode: Batman spends most of the comic sick with a cold, which Superman warns could develop into pneumonia.
- Twisted Christmas: The main story has Batman working to capture the Joker on Christmas, with civilians caught in the crossfire.
- Working Through the Cold: Despite having a cold and in the middle of catching pneumonia, Batman still tries to catch criminals.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: Much like the final Batman: Haunted Knights story, this story has Batman in the role of Scrooge. This time, though, Jason Todd is Jacob Marley, Catwoman is Christmas Past, Superman is Christmas Present, and the Joker is Christmas Future, which helps Bruce's heart soften and change his ways.
