Saint Batman

Evil-doer
Full Name	Jean-Paul Valley
Alias	Saint Batman Azrael Batman
Origin	Tales from the Dark Multiverse Issue 1
Occupation	Vigilante Member of the Order of St. Dumas
Powers / Skills	Enchanted strength Master combatant Gadgetry Genius-level intellect
Hobby	Injecting himself with Venom. Executing criminals.
Goals	Protect Gotham City.
Crimes	Murder Arson Terrorism
Type of Villain	Extremist

Saint Batman is an alternate version of Batman who resides in the Dark Multiverse. His true identity is Jean-Paul Valley, who operated as the vigilante Azrael until he was given the Batman mantle by Bruce Wayne and made it his own.

History

On an unspecified version of Earth in the Dark Multiverse, Bane had successfully broken Batman's spine, leaving him paralysed and unable to stop the villains plans. Injured and desperate, Bruce Wayne decides to lend the Batman mantle to Jean-Paul Valley who used his own brutal methods of crime fighting to protect Gotham City. Meanwhile Bruce recovers from his paralysis and learns to regain his mobility with the help of Lady Shiva until he is well enough to reclaim the title of Batman. However Jean-Paul was unwilling to relinquish the mantle, believing himself to be more suited for the role, and fought Bruce to keep it. The fight ended with Jean-Paul impaling Bruce from behind and claiming he would show his fallen opponent that his brand of justice is what Gotham really needs.

In the years that followed, Jean-Paul as Batman burnt down much of the city to purge it of crime and corruption before having it rebuilt to suit his purposes. Gotham became closed off from the rest of the world and refused to share its resources as conditions in other societies worsened. Thirty years after Bruce Wayne's defeat, Jean-Paul Valley became known as Saint Batman as his harsh laws had kept Gotham City standing and its citizens protected while the rest of the world tore itself apart.

Once a year, Valley would seek approval of his work from Bruce Wayne, who was imprisoned inside Wayne Tower and kept alive using machinery after most of his limbs were removed from his torso. Bruce would always show disdain for what Jean-Paul has done, but during one of there meetings, he also claimed that Valley would eventually lose control of Gotham since he was becoming weaker, and relied too much on the drug Venom to boost his strength. However Jean-Paul seemingly ignored Bruce's claim and returned to the Dumas House (formerly Wayne Manor) to rest for the night.

Later, his sleep was interrupted when Gotham suddenly came under attack by the League of Assassins, who fought to relinquish the city from Saint Batman's oppression. Jean-Paul as Saint Batman went to aid his followers fighting against the leagues forces, although in his head, the voice of Saint Dumas explained that the attacks were designed to exhaust him and he was indeed beginning to lose control just as Bruce Wayne said. Saint Batman denied this before dropping to the ground in exhaustion, causing one of his follows, the Cardinal, to offer his assistance. However Saint Batman declined the help and claimed he just needed to catch his breath before he was informed by his wife Madeline via communicator that an explosion has caused Gothams east coast to start sinking into the sea.

Saint Batman goes to fix the problem by stabilising a collapsed wall underwater, but he is again berated by the voice of Saint Dumas which tells him that he was a failure unfit to bare the mantles of both Batman and Azrael. Determined to prove him wrong, Jean-Paul managed to stabilise the wall before again collapsing from frailty. Luckily, He was saved from drowning by the Cardinal and his associate the Torchbearer who both pulled Valley to shore. The Torchbearer suggests that Saint Batman rest before he continues to fight the League of Assassins, but Jean-Paul refused to back down and returns to the Batcave with his colleagues to obtain more Venom, only to find it all missing.

It is then revealed that Jean-Paul's wife Madeline had betrayed them by allowing league members Lady Shiva and Bane's son Tourne into the cave for a confrontation. Madeline tells her husband she can no longer support his crusade because she believes his obsession with being Gothams superior Batman has clouded his judgement. Jean-Paul responds to this by having the Cardinal fatally stab Madeline in the back before vowing to make Shiva and Tourne pay for their actions. However, he is shocked to learn that Bruce Wayne was also among them after having his limbs restored using nanotechnology. Lady Shiva then sets off an explosive that knocks Saint Batman to the floor where Tourne, in a Venom-induced state, expresses his desire to kill him for murdering his father years ago.

Saint Batman evades Tourne using a sonic disruptor before being attacked by Shiva who tells him that he is no paragon, but an addict who would have been unable to defeat Bane if not for the drug he had became so dependent on. Saint Batman admits he has become reliant on Venom and will eventually resent himself for it. But for the time being, he will just have to acquire the substance from another source. Saint Batman then tears off Tourne's arm to drink the Venom leaking from the served appendage.

With his strength restored, Saint Batman manages to toss the Batcaves giant penny display into Lady Shiva and Bruce Wayne, burying them both under rubble. Valley then intended to deliver the final blow to his foes when he is suddenly struck from behind by Tourne, who drove one of Saint Batman's weaponised gauntlets through its owners torso before also breaking his back. Helpless, Saint Batman lies on the ground mortally wounded as he witnesses Shiva and Tourne claim victory over him, only for Bruce Wayne to kill them both. Bruce then approached Jean-Paul and told him that after all the years of watching Valley pervert his life's work upon taking the Batman mantle, he now knows better than to rely on anyone other than himself. Jean-Paul is then strung up on a bridge as Bruce Wayne announces his return as Batman.

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