The Batman Who Laughs: The Full Story
If you thought the Joker was brutal, you've seen nothing yet.
Over the past few years, DC has been rocked to its very core by a new and terrifying villain. A villain with the skills and strength of the Batman, but the corrupted, insane mind of the Joker. The absolute antithesis of Earth 0's Caped Crusader. A living nightmare.
The Batman Who Laugh's horrific reign over Earth -22 came to a shocking conclusion, as Barbatos warned of its impending doom. Barbatos revealed the rest of the Dark Multiverse was about to suffer the same fate and told him he must conquer the "true" multiverse in order to survive. It didn't take too long before this evil Bat had won, creating his own multiverse, the Metalverse.
With help from his Dark Knights, Rabid Robins and Secret Six, the Batman Who Laughs has quickly become the most powerful and feared villain in DC's long history. As his story progresses with the current Dark Nights: Death Metal series, it's time for everyone to realise that this is no gimmick. This is the future of DC.
So, who is the Batman Who Laughs? Why has Bruce Wayne abandoned all sense of morality and turned evil? Let's have a deep dive on this insane new character.
8. The Dark Multiverse
Deep beneath the DC multiverse we've grown to know lies a dark secret. For every Earth, there is a negative counterpart. For instance, Earth 0 has Earth -52, Earth 22 has Earth -22 and so on. However, it wasn't always this way.
Originally, this multiverse was known as the "World Forge". Rich in dark matter and precious metals, it's one resident - a cosmic entity known as the World Forger - could create countless universes. If a universe was a sucess, it would rise to join the Orrery of Worlds, while worlds that failed were destroyed. That is, until Barbatos - the Great Dragon and destroy of universes - revolted and took the realm for himself.
Instead of destroying failed worlds, Barbatos
allowed these worlds to exist, thriving on the destruction and
suffering of all sentient life that lived on them. From these worlds
came seven of the darkest knights ever seen. However, when he discovered
the Batman Who Laughs, the Great Dragon set his sights on the "true"
multiverse above them.