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The Batman Who Laughs

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Not to be confused with Batman: The Man Who Laughs.
The Batman Who Laughs
The Batman Who Laughs and his Robins as depicted in The Batman Who Laughs #1 (January 2018).
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceDark Days: The Casting #1 (May 7th 2017)
Created byScott Snyder (writer)
Greg Capullo (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoBruce Wayne
SpeciesMetahuman
Place of originEarth -22 (Dark Multiverse)
Team affiliationsDark Knights of the Dark Multiverse
Legion of Doom
Secret Six
Justice League (Formerly)
Notable aliasesBatman, Darkest Knight
Abilities
  • Genius-level intellect
  • Peak human physical condition
  • Master martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant
  • Utilizes high-tech equipment and weapons
After gaining Doctor Manhattan's powers:
See list
    • Nigh-omnipotence
    • Nigh-omniscience
    • Nigh-omnipresence
    • Reality warping
    • Subatomic perception and control
    • Science manipulation
    • Disintegration
    • Chronokinesis
    • Time travel
    • Cosmic awareness
    • Shapeshifting
    • Size alteration
    • Flight and levitation
    • Near-invulnerability
    • Self-regeneration
    • Self-sustenance
    • Intangibility
    • Immortality
    • Telekinesis
    • Telepathy
    • Teleportation
    • Dimensional travel
    • Precognition
    • Clairvoyance
    • Superhuman strength, speed, senses, and intelligence
    • Energy projection
    • Matter and energy manipulation

The Batman Who Laughs (Bruce Wayne) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, he is an evil counterpart and alternate version of Batman within the Dark Multiverse.

He is depicted as a hybrid of both Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Batman's arch enemy Joker, and is a member of the Dark Knights and the overarching antagonist of the Dark Multiverse Saga, alongside cosmic deities Perpetua and Barbatos, from 2017 to 2021, following DC Rebirth. His first appearance was in the crossover storyline Dark Nights: Metal, before receiving his own series and serving as the main antagonist in Batman/Superman in 2019 and DC Comics' Year of the Villain alongside Lex Luthor.

His name is an allusion to the original Batman’s seriousness and to the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs featuring Conrad Veidt, whose performance inspired the creation of the Joker.

Publication history

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The Batman Who Laughs was created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo first appearing in the comic book Dark Days: The Casting. The character was depicted as an alternate universe Batman who does not have a code against killing. Snyder explained his intent on the character in an interview by The Hollywood Reporter: "He's basically Batman's worst nightmare come to life: Batman, if he was infected by the Joker toxin and lost all sense of ethics. What he wants to do in Gotham is bring Bruce’s worst nightmares to life".[1] Snyder's hope was that his character would be popular enough to get his own comic book series, and Snyder believed that "Jock would be the perfect person to do it"..[1]

Fictional character biography

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The Batman Who Laughs is an alternate universe variant of Batman from Earth -22 in the Dark Multiverse who was transformed into a Joker-like form as part of the original Joker's dying scheme. He then takes over Earth, killing most of his allies and turning his son Damian Wayne into a mini-Joker.[2]

After arriving on Prime-Earth, the Batman Who Laughs attempts to destroy reality using the Anti-Monitor's brain, but is defeated and imprisoned in the Hall of Justice.[3][4]

In Dark Nights: Death Metal, The Batman Who Laughs becomes Perpetua's lieutenant, aided by an army of evil alternate Batmen called the Dark Knights. Wonder Woman kills him, but the Dark Knights preserve his brain and transfer it to the body of "Batmanhattan", a variant of Batman who possesses Doctor Manhattan's reality-warping abilities.[5][6][7][8][9][10] Now known as the "Darkest Knight", he attempts to remake the universe before Wonder Woman destroys him by pushing him into the sun.[11][12][13]

Collected editions

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Title Material collected Published date ISBN
Dark Nights: Metal — Dark Knights Rising Batman: The Red Death #1, Batman: The Devastator #1, Batman: The Merciless #1, Batman: The Murder Machine #1, Batman: The Drowned #1, Batman: The Dawnbreaker #1, The Batman Who Laughs (vol. 1) #1, Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1 June 2018 978-1401289072
The Batman Who Laughs The Batman Who Laughs (vol. 2) #1–7, The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight #1 September 2019 978-1401294038

Powers and abilities

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The Batman Who Laughs is depicted as having the same abilities as Batman, combined with the twisted nihilism of the Joker. Furthermore, he has a futuristic visor made out of "Dark Metal" that gives him a form of precognition, and wields various weapons, including machine guns, knives, and a bladed chain.

The Batman Who Laughs also uses batarangs made of "Dark Metal" that can bring out the worst version of the victim.

In Dark Knights: Death Metal, The Batman Who Laughs gains the powers of Doctor Manhattan by having Dr. Arkham surgically integrate his mind into that of a Bruce Wayne with Manhattan’s powers, granting him nigh-omnipotence, flight, and teleportation among other powers.

Like other inhabitants of the Dark Multiverse, The Batman Who Laughs is vulnerable to Nth Metal.

Reception

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The Batman Who Laughs has been commonly described as "horrifying" by website authors.[14][15][16] Comic Book Resources describes The Batman Who Laughs as comprising all the "best" parts of Batman and the "worst" parts of the Joker.[17]

The character has been compared to Judge Death in design.[18] The character's creator, Scott Snyder, noted that the two characters have a similar aesthetic.[19][20]

In other media

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Video games

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Board games

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The Batman Who Laughs Rising is a 2020 cooperative strategy dice game from The Op.

The character appeared as an expansion for the second edition of the board game Zombicide.[24]

Merchandise

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Knight Models has a line of gaming miniatures based on the DC comics run. Funko has released action figures of the character.[25] Various figures from companies such as Diamond Select Toys and Prime 1 Studios have produced figures as well.[20] McFarlane Toys has also made a version of The Batman Who Laughs for their new DC Multiverse line of 7-inch figures. McFarlane Toys also made a 5-inch Super Powers figure of The Batman Who Laughs in 2022..

References

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  1. ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (December 3, 2018). "'Batman Who Laughs' Reveals Dark Knight's Worst Fears (Exclusive Preview)". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Valence Media. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  2. ^ James Tynion IV (w), Jason Fabok
    Brad Anderson (a), Riley Rossmo (i), Tom Napolitano (let), Eddie Berganza (ed). "The Batman Who Laughs" The Batman Who Laughs, vol. 1, no. 1 (January 2018). New York City: DC Comics.
  3. ^ Dark Knights: Metal #6. DC Comics.
  4. ^ Justice League (vol. 4) #7. DC Comics.
  5. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal #1. DC Comics.
  6. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal: Legends of the Dark Knights (2020). DC Comics.
  7. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal #2. DC Comics.
  8. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal #3. DC Comics.
  9. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal: Speed Metal #1. DC Comics.
  10. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal #4. DC Comics.
  11. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal #5. DC Comics.
  12. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal #6. DC Comics.
  13. ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal #7. DC Comics.
  14. ^ Polo, Susana (11 December 2018). "The Batman Who Laughs is back, and he brought a new Nightmare Batman". Polygon. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  15. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (8 October 2017). "The Nightmarish, Joker-esque Batman From Metal Has an Amazing, Horrifying Origin Story". io9. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  16. ^ Johnson, Jim (17 February 2019). "There's a New Batman Who Laughs, and He Just Might Be a Good Guy". CBR. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  17. ^ LaPointe, Sarah (7 December 2018). "Dark Knight's Mettle: 15 Things That Make The Batman Who Laughs the Best (and Worst) Batman". Comic Book Resources. Quebec, Ontario, Canada: Valnet, Inc. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  18. ^ Brown, Dan (15 March 2019). "Brown: The Batman Who Laughs seems inspired by Judge Death". The London Free Press. London, Ontario, Canada: Postmedia. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  19. ^ Burlingame, Ross (July 12, 2018). "Scott Snyder and Jock On Their "Terrifyingly Expansive" Series, 'The Batman Who Laughs'". Comicbook.com. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Konrad, Jeremy (August 2, 2018). "Batman Who Laughs Gets a Ridiculously Awesome Statue From Prime 1 Studio". Bleeding Cool.
  21. ^ "Mortal Kombat 11's New DC Comics Skins: Where Each of Them is from". 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  22. ^ Stewart, Marcus (2024-05-28). "Check Out The Joker's MultiVersus Gameplay And The Batman Who Laughs Alternate Costume". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  23. ^ Makuch, Eddie (July 13, 2023). "New DC Strategy Game Announced, Coming Next Year". IGN. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  24. ^ "Zombicide: 2nd Edition – Dark Nights Metal: Pack #1".
  25. ^ Fallon, Sean (January 15, 2019). "The Batman Who Laughs Previews Exclusive Funko Pop is Almost Here". comicbook.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
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