Bruce Wayne is not your conventional, can-do-no-wrong superhero. Although created as a vigilante fighting crime in the streets of Gotham, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo had other things in mind. Dark Nights: Death Metal introduced us to an ensemble of Batmen who don’t exactly fit the charismatic hero trope we’re familiar with. They’re far from it.
Here’s a list of the Batmen who could wipe the smile off, even from the Joker’s face.
1. The Batman who Laughs
In the process of killing the Joker, Bruce Wayne of Earth-22 was infected by Joker’s toxins, turning him into an unholy union of both characters.
He singlehandedly eliminated the entire Justice League. He was also the lieutenant of Barbatos and Perpetua, enabling him to possess god-like powers to create and destroy.
2. The Merciless
Earth-12’s Bruce Wayne was a regular crime-fighting hero. When Ares, attacked the Earth, a war broke out to stop him and Bruce put on his helmet to defeat the almighty god. Unfortunately, the helmet’s power already corrupted Bruce and he transforms into the new god of war.
Bruce’s abilities include conjuring weapons out of thin air and limited telepathic powers as well. He possesses the strategic mind, hand-to-hand combat, and weaponry skills of Bruce Wayne and the god Ares.
3. The Murder Machine
On Earth-44, Alfred is beaten to death at the hands of the rouges. Consumed with guilt and grief, Bruce approaches Cyborg to help create an AI, called the Alfred Protocol.
The AI starts eliminating every individual it perceives as a threat to Bruce. Eventually, the virus takes over Bruce’s body, eliminating fear and sadness from his mind, and rebuilt his body from human flesh to a mechanical body, giving him superhuman strength and speed.
4. Red Death
We’ve seen Batman merge with villains and gods. But this Batman stole his powers from another hero of the Justice League.
Deciding he’s not fast enough to defeat the rouges, he attacks the Flash to obtain the Speed Force to travel back in time and save his parents and sidekicks. He ultimately won and absorbed all of his powers by driving them both into the Speed Force.
5. Dawnbreaker
Earth-32’s Bruce was gifted with powers when Joe Chill kills his parents. Determined to kill him, he chases after Joe, and a Green Lantern ring appears. With the powers of the ring, he corners Joe Chill in no time.
Bruce’s hatred and willpower to kill were much greater, and he could use its power in his favor. Soon enough, the Guardians asked Bruce to return the ring. What followed was a massacre where he defeated the Guardians.
6. B-Rex
Batmanasaurus or B-Rex is precisely what it sounds: Batman as a dinosaur.
After Batman is buried in the Batcave, he uploaded his consciousness into a mechanical T-Rex to continue fighting crime. The transformation worked but Bruce came to the revelation that instead of capturing villains, he could simply kill them.
He made his way to Arkham Asylum with this idea, where he literally tore the inmates and staff apart. While his new body doesn’t facilitate the use of special gears and tools, like the other Batmen, his jaws seem a good enough weapon to deal with everything.
7. Batmage
We’ve done cyborg, and we’ve done dinosaur. But if you were in the mood for a mage, we have you covered there as well. Batmage’s powers include teleportation, summoning the souls of hell to fight on his behalf. He singlehandedly defeated the magician of Earth 0 as well. He is the only knight among the Batmen capable of wielding mystical powers.
