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Monster<br> |
Monster<br> |
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Demon<br> |
Demon<br> |
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− | Abomination |
+ | Abomination<br> |
+ | The Darkest Knight<br>}} |
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|origin = ''DC Comics'' |
|origin = ''DC Comics'' |
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|occupation = Vigilante <small>(formerly)</small><br> |
|occupation = Vigilante <small>(formerly)</small><br> |
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|hobby = Causing chaos and mayhem.<br> |
|hobby = Causing chaos and mayhem.<br> |
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Killing innocent people. |
Killing innocent people. |
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− | |goals = Resist Joker's toxin and prevent himself from becoming like him.<br> |
+ | |goals = Resist [[Joker (The Batman Who Laughs)|Joker]]'s toxin and prevent himself from becoming like him.<br> |
Assist Barbatos in his plans to plunge the entire Multiverse into darkness.<br> |
Assist Barbatos in his plans to plunge the entire Multiverse into darkness.<br> |
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Kill the Justice League <small>(all failed)</small>.<br> |
Kill the Justice League <small>(all failed)</small>.<br> |
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End all life in existence.<br> |
End all life in existence.<br> |
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Infect Gotham City with Dark Matter <small>(both failed)</small>.<br> |
Infect Gotham City with Dark Matter <small>(both failed)</small>.<br> |
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− | Infect the Earth with Dark Matter. |
+ | Infect the Earth with Dark Matter <small>(ongoing)</small>. |
|crimes = Attempted cataclysm<br> |
|crimes = Attempted cataclysm<br> |
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Global genocide<br> |
Global genocide<br> |
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|type of villain = Opportunistic Mind-Breaker}} |
|type of villain = Opportunistic Mind-Breaker}} |
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{{Quote|When I was Bruce Wayne, I thought that with enough preparation, I would '''always''' win. But I was '''wrong'''. I was trapped in an unwinnable war, refusing to see the obvious answers '''right''' in front of me. The answers that are so '''clear''' to me now with victory right around the corner. To win, you need to '''adapt''', and to adapt, you need to be able to '''laugh''' away all the restraints. '''Everything''' holding you back. You see... a Batman who laughs... is a Batman who '''always''' wins.|The Batman Who Laughs}} |
{{Quote|When I was Bruce Wayne, I thought that with enough preparation, I would '''always''' win. But I was '''wrong'''. I was trapped in an unwinnable war, refusing to see the obvious answers '''right''' in front of me. The answers that are so '''clear''' to me now with victory right around the corner. To win, you need to '''adapt''', and to adapt, you need to be able to '''laugh''' away all the restraints. '''Everything''' holding you back. You see... a Batman who laughs... is a Batman who '''always''' wins.|The Batman Who Laughs}} |
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+ | {{Quote|Now I'll take my new form, child. Don't be afraid. Blue is for soldiers of morning of light. But me... I am no dawn. No, you can call me... The Darkest Knight.|The Batman Who Laughs / The Darkest Knight }} |
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⚫ | '''The Batman Who Laughs''' is a supervillain in the ''DC Comics'' universe. He is a "Jokerized" version of Batman who originated from the Dark Multiverse. He is the team leader of the [[Dark Knights]] and their goal was to help their master [[Barbatos (DC)|Barbatos]] plunge the whole Multiverse into complete and utter darkness. This course of action makes them enemies of the Justice League. |
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⚫ | '''The Batman Who Laughs''' is a supervillain in the ''DC Comics'' universe. He is a "Jokerized" version of Batman who originated from the Dark Multiverse. He is the team leader of the [[Dark Knights]] and their goal was to help their master [[Barbatos (DC)|Barbatos]] plunge the whole Multiverse into complete and utter darkness. This course of action makes them enemies of the Justice League. The Batman Who Laughs traces his origin to a different Earth, which had him actually slay his own version of the [[Joker (The Batman Who Laughs)|Joker]]. |
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==Personality== |
==Personality== |
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− | {{Quote|Joker says that to accept that there's no meaning in your actions is to win. I say, to believe there is a meaning in all your actions is to win. That demon, what he says is that there is no meaning in your actions, therefore the only meaningful act is to win. He is the fear that we're both right, Joker and I. The fear that without any grander meaning, at heart we are cold, animalistic, selfish things.|Bruce Wayne about The Batman Who Laughs.}}The Batman Who Laughs was once much like Prime Earth's Batman except that he ended up killing his version of the Joker. After doing this, Bruce was exposed to a nano-toxin that slowly transformed him. It rewired his mind not only to think more like Joker but also twisted his moral core into something evil. However, despite these changes, Bruce still managed to retain the orderly and logical aspects of his mind as well as his highly keen and calculating intellect. Thus he became someone with Batman's tactical genius and Joker's lack of morality. He also has the latter's desire for chaos, and insanity. |
+ | {{Quote|Joker says that to accept that there's no meaning in your actions is to win. I say, to believe there is a meaning in all your actions is to win. That demon, what he says is that there is no meaning in your actions, therefore the only meaningful act is to win. He is the fear that we're both right, Joker and I. The fear that without any grander meaning, at heart we are cold, animalistic, selfish things.|Bruce Wayne about The Batman Who Laughs.}}The Batman Who Laughs was once much like Prime Earth's Batman except that he ended up killing [[Joker (The Batman Who Laughs)|his version]] of the Joker. After doing this, Bruce was exposed to a nano-toxin that slowly transformed him. It rewired his mind not only to think more like Joker but also twisted his moral core into something evil. However, despite these changes, Bruce still managed to retain the orderly and logical aspects of his mind as well as his highly keen and calculating intellect. Thus he became someone with Batman's tactical genius and Joker's lack of morality. He also has the latter's desire for chaos, and insanity. |
The Batman Who Laughs seems to have a fixation on winning and believes that he can always do so against his opponents because he had shed the self-imposed rules that restrained him from using more cruel and lethal methods in the past. Indeed, without his code holding him back, The Batman Who Laughs has been able to adapt to various situations and triumph against all sorts of remarkable odds. Laughs can also be quite arrogant, having already destroyed his own world and gaining knowledge from many others. He is also highly sadistic, with this aspect of him showing when he prevents the Grim Knight from killing Jim Gordon so he can experience a far crueler fate and comes to the [[Court of Owls]] with no intention but to "hear them all die screaming". |
The Batman Who Laughs seems to have a fixation on winning and believes that he can always do so against his opponents because he had shed the self-imposed rules that restrained him from using more cruel and lethal methods in the past. Indeed, without his code holding him back, The Batman Who Laughs has been able to adapt to various situations and triumph against all sorts of remarkable odds. Laughs can also be quite arrogant, having already destroyed his own world and gaining knowledge from many others. He is also highly sadistic, with this aspect of him showing when he prevents the Grim Knight from killing Jim Gordon so he can experience a far crueler fate and comes to the [[Court of Owls]] with no intention but to "hear them all die screaming". |
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==Dark Robins== |
==Dark Robins== |
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[[File:DarkDamian.jpeg|thumb|right|Damian Wayne of Earth -22.]] |
[[File:DarkDamian.jpeg|thumb|right|Damian Wayne of Earth -22.]] |
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− | The Dark Robins usually seen accompanying The Batman Who Laughs are a group of children that were presumably among the many Jokerized by the Joker after he had killed their parents in an ally. Laughs later took them in and groomed them into animalistic "pets" that have seemingly lost most of their humanity. Because of this, the only word they know how to say is ''"crow"'' and will viciously attack and possibly devour anyone they are sent to hunt, unless The Batman Who Laughs or one of his allies tells them to heel by saying the word ''"bar"''. |
+ | The Dark Robins usually seen accompanying The Batman Who Laughs are a group of children that were presumably among the many Jokerized by the [[Joker (The Batman Who Laughs)|Joker]] after he had killed their parents in an ally. Laughs later took them in and groomed them into animalistic "pets" that have seemingly lost most of their humanity. Because of this, the only word they know how to say is ''"crow"'' and will viciously attack and possibly devour anyone they are sent to hunt, unless The Batman Who Laughs or one of his allies tells them to heel by saying the word ''"bar"''. |
The Damian Wayne of Earth -22 was also transformed into a Dark Robin. But unlike the other Robins, Damian is still capable of speech and retained his ability to think more rationally. He assisted his father in battling against the Gotham Resistance until he was killed by his Prime Earth counterpart using an arrow made from Nth Metal. |
The Damian Wayne of Earth -22 was also transformed into a Dark Robin. But unlike the other Robins, Damian is still capable of speech and retained his ability to think more rationally. He assisted his father in battling against the Gotham Resistance until he was killed by his Prime Earth counterpart using an arrow made from Nth Metal. |
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*According to The Batman Who Laughs, it was the death of the Commissioner Gordon on his world that caused him to hunt down and kill the Joker. |
*According to The Batman Who Laughs, it was the death of the Commissioner Gordon on his world that caused him to hunt down and kill the Joker. |
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*The Batman Who Laughs is the only villain thus far that Batman has openly expressed an intention to kill. |
*The Batman Who Laughs is the only villain thus far that Batman has openly expressed an intention to kill. |
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− | *During his confrontation with the Gotham Resistance, The Batman Who Laughs claimed that the [[Harley Quinn]] of Earth -22 was his ally. However, as pointed out by Raven, this might |
+ | *During his confrontation with the Gotham Resistance, The Batman Who Laughs claimed that the [[Harley Quinn]] of Earth -22 was his ally. However, as pointed out by Raven, this might have been a lie in an attempt to manipulate the Harley Quinn of Prime Earth. Considering that the Joker of Earth -22 killed all members of Batman's rogues' gallery before Laughs killed him, it's possible that Raven was pretty right. |
*The Batman Who Laughs was the winner of DC Comics' 2019 "Villain of the Year" award. |
*The Batman Who Laughs was the winner of DC Comics' 2019 "Villain of the Year" award. |
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*[[Noob Saibot]] received a skin based on The Batman Who Laughs in Mortal Kombat 11 when [[The Joker]] was added as a DLC character. |
*[[Noob Saibot]] received a skin based on The Batman Who Laughs in Mortal Kombat 11 when [[The Joker]] was added as a DLC character. |
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==Navigation== |
==Navigation== |
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{{Batman Villains}} |
{{Batman Villains}} |
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+ | [[ru:Бэтмен, Который Смеётся]] |
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+ | [[fr:Le Batman qui Rit]] |
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[[Category:Dark Knights]] |
[[Category:Dark Knights]] |
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[[Category:Possessed/Brainwashed]] |
[[Category:Possessed/Brainwashed]] |
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[[Category:Fallen Heroes]] |
[[Category:Fallen Heroes]] |
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[[Category:Alternate Reality Villains]] |
[[Category:Alternate Reality Villains]] |
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[[Category:Chaotic Evil]] |
[[Category:Chaotic Evil]] |
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[[Category:Mastermind]] |
[[Category:Mastermind]] |
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[[Category:Kidnapper]] |
[[Category:Kidnapper]] |
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[[Category:Barbarian]] |
[[Category:Barbarian]] |
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+ | [[Category:Contradictory]] |
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+ | [[Category:Immortality Seeker]] |
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+ | [[Category:Damned Souls]] |
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+ | [[Category:Satanism]] |
Revision as of 11:08, 7 August 2020
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This villain was proposed but was rejected by the community for not being heinous enough or lacks what is necessary to be a Pure Evil villain. Therefore, this villain shall be added to our "Never Again List", where proposed villains rejected by the community shall be placed to prevent future proposals of the same evil-doer. They can be proposed again (with the permission of an administrator) if new elements appear in their series that can change their status as non-PE villains. Any act of adding this villain to the Pure Evil category without a proposal or creating a proposal for this villain without the permission of an administrator will result in a ban. |
“ | When I was Bruce Wayne, I thought that with enough preparation, I would always win. But I was wrong. I was trapped in an unwinnable war, refusing to see the obvious answers right in front of me. The answers that are so clear to me now with victory right around the corner. To win, you need to adapt, and to adapt, you need to be able to laugh away all the restraints. Everything holding you back. You see... a Batman who laughs... is a Batman who always wins. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs |
“ | Now I'll take my new form, child. Don't be afraid. Blue is for soldiers of morning of light. But me... I am no dawn. No, you can call me... The Darkest Knight. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs / The Darkest Knight |
The Batman Who Laughs is a supervillain in the DC Comics universe. He is a "Jokerized" version of Batman who originated from the Dark Multiverse. He is the team leader of the Dark Knights and their goal was to help their master Barbatos plunge the whole Multiverse into complete and utter darkness. This course of action makes them enemies of the Justice League. The Batman Who Laughs traces his origin to a different Earth, which had him actually slay his own version of the Joker.
He serves as the secondary antagonist of both Dark Nights: Metal and Dark Nights: Death Metal, the titular main antagonist of The Batman Who Laughs seven issue miniseries, and one of the major characters alongside Lex Luthor in the Year of the Villain saga.
Personality
“ | Joker says that to accept that there's no meaning in your actions is to win. I say, to believe there is a meaning in all your actions is to win. That demon, what he says is that there is no meaning in your actions, therefore the only meaningful act is to win. He is the fear that we're both right, Joker and I. The fear that without any grander meaning, at heart we are cold, animalistic, selfish things. | „ |
~ Bruce Wayne about The Batman Who Laughs. |
The Batman Who Laughs was once much like Prime Earth's Batman except that he ended up killing his version of the Joker. After doing this, Bruce was exposed to a nano-toxin that slowly transformed him. It rewired his mind not only to think more like Joker but also twisted his moral core into something evil. However, despite these changes, Bruce still managed to retain the orderly and logical aspects of his mind as well as his highly keen and calculating intellect. Thus he became someone with Batman's tactical genius and Joker's lack of morality. He also has the latter's desire for chaos, and insanity.
The Batman Who Laughs seems to have a fixation on winning and believes that he can always do so against his opponents because he had shed the self-imposed rules that restrained him from using more cruel and lethal methods in the past. Indeed, without his code holding him back, The Batman Who Laughs has been able to adapt to various situations and triumph against all sorts of remarkable odds. Laughs can also be quite arrogant, having already destroyed his own world and gaining knowledge from many others. He is also highly sadistic, with this aspect of him showing when he prevents the Grim Knight from killing Jim Gordon so he can experience a far crueler fate and comes to the Court of Owls with no intention but to "hear them all die screaming".
While he still is one of the evilest characters in the DC universe, it is assumed Bruce did not become a villain of his own free will. Therefore, he is more tragic than the Joker despite his evil surpassing his. When it comes to his actions, the idea of a version of Batman having the Jokers twisted morality would mean that it is possible The Batman Who Laughs might toss good and evil aside to do what he thinks is best, which in this case means winning, since he thinks it is the only meaningful act. However, considering he managed to retain some of his previous mindset when it comes to his genius, Laughs may still have some sense of right and wrong as well, although it would be very distorted.
Powers and Abilities
The Batman Who Laughs has all the training, discipline and experience of the Prime Earth Batman. Plus he already possesses all information about the strengths and weaknesses of pretty much every superhero and supervillain in the DC Universe, as he had already killed them in his own reality. He also has knowledge from various other worlds he has visited and can adapt to almost any situation. Couple all this with the fact that those born in the Dark Multiverse are extremely resistant to attacks by those from the central Multiverse makes The Batman Who Laughs immensely dangerous. Luckily, Laughs does have a few weaknesses of his own. He is highly vulnerable to both Nth Metal and Element X. Also, despite how different he has become, Laughs is still Batman and can be caught off-guard by situations Batman is not prepared for.
It is revealed in The Batman Who Laughs miniseries that Laughs has the ability to actually see peoples urges, which he can used to find what he himself desires. However, he needs to wear a visor made from Dark Metal in order to focus his senses and pinpoint what he is searching for.
Dark Robins
The Dark Robins usually seen accompanying The Batman Who Laughs are a group of children that were presumably among the many Jokerized by the Joker after he had killed their parents in an ally. Laughs later took them in and groomed them into animalistic "pets" that have seemingly lost most of their humanity. Because of this, the only word they know how to say is "crow" and will viciously attack and possibly devour anyone they are sent to hunt, unless The Batman Who Laughs or one of his allies tells them to heel by saying the word "bar".
The Damian Wayne of Earth -22 was also transformed into a Dark Robin. But unlike the other Robins, Damian is still capable of speech and retained his ability to think more rationally. He assisted his father in battling against the Gotham Resistance until he was killed by his Prime Earth counterpart using an arrow made from Nth Metal.
The Batman Who Laughs can apparently transform more children into Dark Robins should he choose to. He gave The Grim Knight a few Dark Robins who were all alternate versions of James Gordon Jr. from different worlds.
It appeared that Billy Batson of Prime Earth became a Dark Robin, after he was infected with Dark Matter by a special batarang during the Year of the Villain saga. However Billy might have just been in disguise in order to ambush Batman and Superman.
Quotes
“ | Dnnn't! Nnnn! | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs prior to his transformation, before the Joker shoots a child's parents. |
“ | JOKER!, STOP! | „ |
~ Pre-Batman Who Laughs after breaking his bonds and began attacking the Joker. |
“ | STOP! ...stop...stop... | „ |
~ Pre-Batman Who Laughs killing the Joker and breathing the Joker gas from the corpse. |
“ | He was dying Clark, the chemicals that made him the Joker, they were starting to eat him away from the inside. That's what pushed him to take things too far...why he pushed me... | „ |
~ Pre-Batman Who Laughs explaining to Superman why he pushed him. |
“ | He said he wanted to make something new out of the best of both of us. Both my trauma and his blended together... they might be beyond saving, Clark. | „ |
~ Pre-Batman Who Laughs also explaining what the Joker wanted to do before he dies. |
“ | HA!...I'm...I'm sorry. That wasn't...funny. | „ |
~ Pre-Batman Who Laughs chuckling after hearing Superman saying about a nurse almost being killed, a sign that he's about to lose his humanity. |
“ | Something you weren't prepared for. *laughs* | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs now becoming Jokerized as he shoots the Bat family dead. |
“ | Aww, it's okay...you can lie to mine. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs revealing his new family. |
“ | I know. Catch. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs throwing the Black Kryptonite towards Superman's family, making Superman and his son kill Lois Lane. |
“ | Don't be the victim who drowns. Don't sink with the rest. Be active. Rise up, … reclaim the light, … and be the one who does the drowning. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs talking to The Drowned. |
“ | Stop me if you've heard this one… worlds will live, worlds will die… but imagine if your every fear, each bad decision, gave birth to a malformed world of nightmare. A world that shouldn't exist. And desperate as it fights to survive in the light of the true multiverse far above… these worlds are doomed to rot apart, and die, because they are wrong at their core. Welcome to the Dark Multiverse. Home to stories that should never be… It's all one big cosmic joke, except no one on this side is laughing. …well, almost no one… | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs explaining the Dark Multiverse. |
“ | I know I'm not exactly the Bruce you were hoping for. But I am Bruce. We all are. Let me remind you of a story we have in common. On my world, I developed ways to eliminate the Justice League… then they found out and were so disappointed in me. I betrayed their trust. It was a dark time for the League. But in all honesty… I was holding back. Now imagine if seven Bruce Waynes put their heads together… what horror they could be capable of. If they were to… say… develop separate murderous Batcaves meticulously designed with each of you in mind. So I hope you appreciate our work, because… you're going to die here. Ha. Ha. Ha. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs. |
“ | You know I am something twisted and wrong, and that terrifies you. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs to The Riddler. |
“ | It was simple, really. Killing my world. No matter what they threw at me-armies of villains, alien tyrants, the wrath of god-they were all just problems to solve. One by one. Methodically. With precision. And blood. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs. |
“ | I think he understood on some level. The Joker. Not entirely, of course. He was too single-minded for that, but he saw the potential. He saw that the two of us were incomplete without the other. He knew that we needed to evolve into something new, together. Something more. He used to call me a bat-king, ruling over my dark kingdom. And what is a king, really? It's a powerful card. The highest valued face card in the deck. Not infallible, to be sure, but potent. And the joker card? On it's own? It has no inherent value. It's defined by what is played against. Dangerous in its potential more than anything. But if you hold the two together in a hand, they can hold nearly any value. They can shift and adapt to any threat they face. And so can I. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs. |
“ | Take a good look Bruce. What do you see? You've never fought someone with all your training. Your discipline. See it yet? I'm not him in a batsuit. I'm you. You. How you are supposed to be without the codes. Without the rules. Except one. BATMAN. ALWAYS. WINS. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs to Batman of Prime Earth. |
“ | You hear that? People think of birth as loud, and death as silent. Things start with a bang, end with a whimper, but I'll tell you a secret. See, endings...endings are the loudest of all. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs. |
“ | I'm not mad. Just open-minded. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs. |
“ | You're standing on the edge right now, Lex. You could be the ultimate version of yourself. Let go of what always held you back, like I did. The universe isn’t destined for you. But you can still take it. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs talking to Lex Luthor. |
“ | He's not the Joker, Jim. He's Batman. He's me. Joker has points to prove—to me, to the world. The Batman Who Laughs...he's not here to prove anything. He's here to win, to kill anything and everything that's a threat. | „ |
~ Batman describing The Batman Who Laughs to Jim Gordon. |
“ | 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. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs to Batman of Prime Earth. |
“ | Right now you're trying to see past it...past the danger. The terror... You're trying to see things through the eyes of your Robins, aren't you? Through the eyes of your so-called children...but they knew, Batman. The hope you saw in people, it was a lie. That's why Dick, that's why all of them, stayed high above. (...) Yes. The hard truth is, you're finally starting to see things clearly...because for the first time ever, you're looking at Gotham through the eyes of your real child...you're truest child...The Batman Who Laughs. In other words...me. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs to Batman of Prime Earth. |
“ | But my favor...all I wanted...was to hear you all die screaming. So...help a guy out? | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs to the "littlest one" of the Court of Owls before killing her. |
“ | That's the secret I've been waiting to tell you all this time... the point of Gotham was to conquer! | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs to Batman of Prime Earth. |
“ | It all comes down to this. Everything. A thousand versions of myself, at war with me, all led by one creature. This is the final battlefield. I feel it. | „ |
~ Batman to fight The Batman Who Laughs. |
“ | Aw, that's what I said when I was where you are in my transformation. I even called the family over to let them know it would all be okay. While waiting for them, I got a pitcher of water for the table. That's all the exertion it took. And when they arrived, I killed them all. Then I had a cool glass of water. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs response to Batman's claim that he will never be like him. |
“ | The happiest Bruce Wayne--The one I'll use for the last bit of my serum--is the version who finally let's go of his sadness, his mistaken ideals...and becomes who he was always meant to be...the true bat of Gotham. Meaning, the happiest in Bruce in existence... (...) ...is you, right at this every moment!... Right now. When you become me. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs to Batman of Prime Earth. |
“ | The World's Finest--back together again. | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs to Superman. |
“ | You're not going to kill me. You're too smart for that. You know I came here because I wanted to see how much you already knew. You've got a good start, I'll give you that. You've moved a few pieces along in this game. But you're going to need my help when you get stuck. Because I'm not from here. I don't give a damn about the little ants you're trying to convince to be gods. I barely give a damn about you. I've walked the cosmic folds of this multiverse. I've stood by the side of beings who could shatter reality with a well-placed punch. You won't kill me, because you're smart, and you know I know things that no other being in this universe knows. And there's a deeper reason. A more Human reason... you and Batman are probably the two greatest strategic minds of your world. But your Batman has rules that I don't. You're not going to kill me. Hell. A few months down the road, and I bet you'll unlock the chains yourself. Because you're going to want to know, when all the chips are on the table, and we both become all we can become... who is going to win? You...or me? | „ |
~ The Batman Who Laughs talking to Lex Luthor about upcoming events. |
Trivia
- He was created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.
- In Dark Knights: Metal issue 6, the Batman Who Laughs' fingers were amputated by the Joker. However, during his appearances in comics since then, he still has them. It may be possible that he replaced them with prosthetics.
- The Batman Who Laughs represents Prime Earth Batman's fear of the Joker and his own madness.
- The Batman Who Laughs' name was taken from the silent films that helped inspire the creation of Batman and the Joker; The Bat and The Man Who Laughs.
- The Batman Who Laughs can be seen as the literal interpretation to one of Joker's longtime goals for Batman; to have the Dark Knight kill him and make Batman a murderer no better than himself. However, The Batman Who Laughs is perhaps far worse than what the Joker could expect from Batman of becoming like him.
- Indeed, even the Joker loathes The Batman Who Laughs to the point of refusing to accept him as a teammate in the Legion of Doom, quitting the Legion as a result. Furthermore, when referring to him, the Joker drops his usual joking demeanor and turns deathly calm and serious, without neither smiling nor laughing. That said, he still tried to transform Batman into his own version as he thought that the only way he could stop him was to become him.
- Most fans initially assumed that The Batman Who Laughs was blind because of the spiked visor which covers both his eyes while others believed that he just wore it because that contributed to his disturbing appearance. However, since the release of The Batman Who Laughs miniseries, it's explained that he uses it to focus his senses, and the spikes are not simply for show.
- According to The Batman Who Laughs, it was the death of the Commissioner Gordon on his world that caused him to hunt down and kill the Joker.
- The Batman Who Laughs is the only villain thus far that Batman has openly expressed an intention to kill.
- During his confrontation with the Gotham Resistance, The Batman Who Laughs claimed that the Harley Quinn of Earth -22 was his ally. However, as pointed out by Raven, this might have been a lie in an attempt to manipulate the Harley Quinn of Prime Earth. Considering that the Joker of Earth -22 killed all members of Batman's rogues' gallery before Laughs killed him, it's possible that Raven was pretty right.
- The Batman Who Laughs was the winner of DC Comics' 2019 "Villain of the Year" award.
- Noob Saibot received a skin based on The Batman Who Laughs in Mortal Kombat 11 when The Joker was added as a DLC character.