10 Incredibly Dark Batman Moments To Haunt Your Dreams

5. Vampire Bat

From: "Red Rain" by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones I haven't read as many Elseworlds stories as I should have, and I haven't enjoyed all of the ones I have read, but "Batman vs. Dracula: Red Rain" is not only a great Elseworlds tale, it's also quite simply an awesome Batman story. In order to have any hope in defending Gotham against a vampire horde led by Dracula himself, Batman must sacrifice his humanity and become like his enemy. He convinces a rebellious vampire called Tanya to take his blood and turn him into one of them, and what follows is an incredibly dark, incredibly fun dive into the deepest part of Bruce Wayne's psyche. This entry is placed next to the entry from "The Cult" because they both deal with killing, crossing boundaries, and doing "evil" in order to do "good". I don't place "Red Rain" higher because it is a tighter, more subtle story (although it is), but because these temptations and inclinations toward the taking of life are a greater part of Batman now. The desire to kill is insatiable and overpowering, and yes, it's mainly because he's a vampire - but the desire was always there. The need to suppress it is nothing new in the world of Batman, but it is brought to the forefront in a fresh way here. And this book is haunting on a superficial level too - did I mention Batman is a vampire? Again, the writing is superb here, but the art is phenomenal as well. The only "human" part of Bruce Wayne we ever see while in the guise of Batman is his mouth, and now that mouth is a grotesquely fanged grin. Overall, this tale does functions exactly as an Elseworlds tale should - as a lens on the basic character - and the perversion is a welcome terror.