The Batman Who Laughs was one of the most terrifying and enticing villains to come out
of DC last year.
During the Dark Nights Metal event, spearheaded by DC superstar Scott Snyder, Batman and other
members of the Justice League crossed paths with some sinister alternates of the Dark
Knight spawned from the Dark Multiverse, including the likes of The Batman Who Laughs; a version
of Batman from Earth -22 who had been poisoned and warped by the Joker’s Toxin, transforming
him into one of Gotham’s, and the world’s, worst nightmares.
It’s the Joker’s insanity and homicidal chaotic brilliance within the body and mind
of Bruce Wayne.
So yeah, definitely not the criminal mastermind you would want to bump into in a dark alley,
that’s for damn sure.
We previously did a list on the character when he first appeared in the comics, and
now, he’s gotten his own limited series that recently came out, so today, we’re
returning to the villain with a brand new list: The top 10 Batman Who Laughs Shocking
Facts Part 2.
And be warned friends!
This list contains spoilers for the first two batman who laughs issues in the character’s
solo series.
You’ve been warned!
10 Inspiration How does one come up with a bat sh*t crazy
character like the Batman Who Laughs?
Well, aside from the character literally being Batman’s worst nightmare, Scott Synder and
Greg Capullo pulled some inspiration from other works of art while crafting the madman.
His name was influenced by the two silent films that initially inspired Bob Kane and
Bill Finger to create both Batman and the Joker back in the 30’s, The Bat, which came
out in 1926, and The Man Who Laughs, which was released in 1928.
Now that the character is being further fleshed out by Synder and artist Jock, the two have
revealed more of what makes the character so compelling, and what went into his development.
According to Jock, I quote, “The Batman who Laughs is Batman.
To me he’s more extreme than any of the other villains.
It isn’t just dark for the sake of it, there’s a lot of energy in the character because he
is the most chaotic worst elements of Batman’s given life.”
Synder also included, I quote, “ultimately he is Batman, with his conscience removed.
And Batman without a conscience is just an apex predator, who believes in anything to
win, survive, anything to make sure any threat is analyzed, planned for and taken down before
he even knows you’re looking at it.
And he has all of Bruce’s memories, he has all of his training, he has all of his history.”
9 Fought the Joker The Batman who laughs is very familiar with
his individual counterparts.
Aside from fighting Batman, he’s also taken on the Joker, back in the Dark Nights Metal
story event; a fight that he survived.
This happened in Dark Nights Metal issue 6, when Batman actually recruited the Joker of
the main universe to help him fight the Batman Who Laughs, sharing a common goal for once.
It’s a team up for ages, people!
As the Joker states, since the Batman who laughs is batman, “what’s the one thing
Batman probably never imagined?
Fighting alongside me!
So the joke is, for the first time since your ‘transformation; I’m guessing you don’t
actually know what’s coming next, do you?”
As Batman dashes off to save Earth from being consumed by the Dark Multiverse forever, the
last we see of the Joker and the Batman Who Laughs is the two of them fighting in a cave.
Then, at the beginning of his 6 part series, he tries to kill the Joker in police custody,
who turns out to be a decoy.
The real Joker is in the Batcave, with Alfred painstakingly trying to keep him alive after
he tried to commit suicide, thanks to Batman’s orders.
8 The 6 Part Series Due to the success of the Dark Night Metals
story event and how much fans adored the new villainous Batman Who Laughs, Scott Synder
and Jock have come together to spearhead his six issue limited series, in which he declares
war on Batman, who, along with his team up with the Joker and the help of the Justice
League, kept the Dark Multiverse and the demon Barbatos from destroying the regular Multiverse.
The series begins with Batman realizing that the only way to stop him may be the exact
thing he’s sworn to never do; break the same rule that created this insatiable villain;
kill him.
7 Grim Knight With the new series comes a new henchman for
the Batman Who Laughs; a batman alternate from a different universe known as the Grim
Knight who uses lethal force indiscriminately to win his battles.
When Joe Chill killed his parents, this Bruce Wayne picked up his gun and killed him for
it.
Wayne Enterprises of that universe is a weapons manufacturer.
He’s one of the most nightmarish versions of the Dark Knight to ever come out of DC.
Synder has described the Grim Knight as a cosmic character of sorts, one that the Batman
Who Laughs found after traversing the Dark Multiverse, and fells is a valuable asset,
the second most deadliest Batman after himself.
The Batman Who Laughs describes him as the deadliest man alive.
Even his bullets shoot bullet.
6 Black Kryptonite The Batman Who Laughs has the same tactical
mind as Bruce Wayne, despite being utterly insane.
This means he has his bases covered when it comes to having to deal with other members
of the Justice League.
Now, back in another comic, 2000’s JLA Tower of Babel, we got to see Bruce’s backup plans
for the Justice League actually come into play.
It was reveal that the caped crusader had come up with a way to neutralize each of his
greatest allies in case something terrible happened and they decided to evil.
This included schemes that could take out the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash,
Green Lantern, Aquaman, Plastic Man and Martian Manhunter.
These tactics are not something that has been lost on the character over the years either,
since we’ve seen many a time where heroes get pinned against one another, and it’s
definitely not lost on the Batman who laughs, specifically when it comes to fighting his
Kryptonian peers.
He carries around a modified strain of Black Kryptonite that forces Kryptonians to kill
the people they love the most in the world, and then die themselves.
It’s what he used to take out Superman, Supergirl, and Superboy back on his home of
Earth -22.
5 Dark Metal Cards Another tool in the Batman Who Laugh’s arsenal
is none other than his Dark Metal Cards.
These bad boys are a set of cards forged out of Cosmic Metallurgy, a material that can
only be found in the Dark Multiverse that contains intriguing and potentially deadly
properties, depending on how it’s used.
These cards, when used in the regular multiverse, are down right terrifying.
The user of a Dark Card can manipulate reality to his or her whim, something that we witnessed
in Teen Titans vol 6 issue 12 during the Dark Nights Metal event, when the Batman Who Laughs
and his Robin broke the Riddler out of Arkham Asylum.
The Riddler was given one of these cards, and previously, so were Bane, Mister Freeze,
Poison Ivy and others from Bat’s rogue gallery.
In that issue, we see the Riddler create a labyrinth, full of terrible mind f*ckery,
as you can imagine.
4 Bam-Pow Because the Batman who Laughs has all of the
same memories, training, and abilities as Batman himself, Batman has had to dive into
training, learning new techniques that the Batman Who Laughs would have never learnt
in order to try to get an upper hand on him.
As we see in issue 2 of the Batman Who Laughs, this new technique is called Bam Pow, a technique
that Bruce has made up and Alfred has named.
Batman manages to use it to knock the Batman who laughs down, who then tries to psychologically
screw with Bruce by saying perhaps him lying on the ground is all part of his plan.
Despite the fact that Batman has learnt some new tricks, despite what those tricks are,
it’s certain that the Batman Who Laughs, who even knew the exact timing that Batman
would arrive to fight him, surely anticipated having to deal with a situation like this;
that’s when the Grim Knight snipes Batman from afar, all so the Batman Who Laughs can
get up and make one hell of a point to the caped crusader.
3 Mind Games The series so far has seen the likes of alternate
versions of Batman who the Batman who laughs has stated that he’s bringing together to
use.
He tells Batman “they’re happier than you Bruce.
They’re at peace, because they effect change.
Out of every version of us across the universe, you’re the most miserable.
The least accomplished.
You don’t understand why yet, but you will.
See, to me, to us, you’re the nightmare Batman.
The bad joke.
Me, I’m the gun”, which refers metaphorically to the gun that killed Thomas and Martha Wayne.
2 His Plan Last but not least, perhaps the most enticing
thing about the Batman who laughs is what his exactly his goal is.
During one panel, Batman, disguised as Harvey Bullock, tells Commissioner Gordon that he
believes the Batman Who Laughs is attempting to make a serum, made up of the cardiac blood
of Bruce Waynes.
He says, “He’s from a realm of dark matter, where everything is relative to our hopes
and fears.
Its possible he could be creating something that infects our cells with Dark Matter, changing
us into…”
Gordon interrupts saying “nightmares like him”, to which Bruce says, ”nightmares
like us.
Our darkest vision of ourselves.
Predators.”
I mean hey, when you combine the Joker’s madness and Batman’s scientific genius,
that scheme does seem quite possible after all.
1 His Weakness?
When the Joker finally awakens in the Batcave, Batman shakes him and demands to know what
the Batman Who Laughs plan is; something that he believes Joker has figured out.
The Joker, in between laughs, says he doesn’t know it.
Only one person does.
When Batman asks who, the Joker says “Your friend, his great weakness.
The one that gets him right HERE,” referring to his heart.
We then cut away to Jim Gordon in a grocery store, talking to a mysterious figure; his
son, James Gordon, who he then says may be the only one who can help them stop the Batman
Who Laughs.
Previously, in the comics, James Gordon Jr first appeared in Batman issue 407 in 1987;
he becomes a villain, using his genius level intellect, with his origins being further
explored in 2011’s Batman the Black Mirror, which coincidentally, is the title of the
upcoming third issue of the Batman Who Laughs solo series.
The Black Mirror was written by Scott Synder, and aside from following Dick Grayson as Batman,
it follows Jim and Barbara Gordon fighting the return of James Jr, a psychopath serial
killer.
What his connection to the Batman Who Laughs may be, speculate away in those comments.
There we have it friends!
So what do you think about the Batman who Laughs so far, and where do you think this
solo series is going?
If you missed the first part of this list, or want to know more about the Batman who
laughs in general, be sure to check out our part 1, along with all of the other lists
we did on the Batman alternates from the Dark Nights Metal story event.
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