Is The Batman Who Laughs the Joker? Explained

One of the scariest villains in the DC universe is the Batman Who Laughs. By having the most dangerous qualities of both Batman and Joker, the Batman Who Laughs is one of the most formidable villains to go up against for any hero in DC. Posing threats to even Superman and Wonder Woman. Is it the Joker turning into Batman or Batman turning into the Joker? That’s what we are about to break down. Here is whether or not the Batman Who Laughs is the Joker! 

The Batman Who Laughs isn’t a variant of Joker but is a variant of Bruce Wayne, who is turning into the Joker. After finally snapping and killing the Joker, Bruce Wayne gets infected by a toxin in Joker’s blood that makes him slowly start to turn into the Joker. It affected not only his appearance but also his mind and turned him truly evil. 

Now that we have briefly discussed who the Batman Who Laughs is let’s analyze it in more detail. If you are interested in his origin story, the Joker infection, and his powers and abilities, stay with us and keep reading! 

The Batman Who Laughs is the most terrifying version of Batman yet

The Batman Who Laughs is Bruce Wayne from Earth 22 of the Dark Multiverse. In this universe, everything was similar to the Batman that we are familiar with. However, this Bruce Wayne killed the Joker. After killing the Joker, a toxin from his blood gets released and infects Bruce Wayne.  Bruce Wayne was pushed to kill this version of Joker as he did some of the most unspeakable things compared to any Joker.

When he realized that he was dying, Joker wanted to take everyone down with him. He killed all of Batman’s rogues gallery and even blew up a hospital in front of Bruce Wayne, who was paralyzed and couldn’t stop it. To make things personal, Joker kidnaps parents and their children and shoots the parents in front of the children before injecting the children with his toxin.  

Over time, Bruce Wayne slowly starts to act more like the Joker. With it only being minor things at first, the Bat-Family and Justice League try to cure Bruce, but they fail. He eventually turns into the Batman Who Laughs, which makes him the most dangerous villain on Earth.

He kills his Earth’s entire Justice League and Bat-Family and becomes hungry for more. This version of Batman has the skills and intellect of the regular Batman that we know. Combined with the insanity and the cruel nature of the Joker, he becomes one of the most terrifying villains in the history of DC.

What is the Joker Infection?

The Joker infection is a toxin that a Joker has in his blood that is released when he is killed. When Batman killed Joker, the toxin was released, and Bruce Wayne became infected. Something like that was explored in the Batman Arkham games. In ‘Batman Arkham City,’ Joker ships his TITAN-infected blood to Gotham hospitals and manages to put some into Batman.

In ‘Batman Arkham Knight,’ we find out some patients got infected with the blood, and Batman holds them to cure them. These patients are slowly turning into Joker, and we see the same happening to Batman throughout the game.

While it is slightly different from the comics, it is easy to assume that if Arkham Batman became fully infected by Joker’s blood, he would have become something similar to the Batman Who Laughs. 

What is the Dark Multiverse?

The Dark Multiverse in DC is a shadow multiverse underneath the main DC multiverse. It contains worlds where the worst possible things can happen, such as Batman becoming the Joker. It is described as everyone’s nightmares coming to life. These worlds are considered unnatural, and most of them are destroying themselves as the events that unfold in them should not be happening. The worlds are very unstable and can destroy themselves at any time.

What are the Batman Who Laughs’s Powers?

Aside from having the skills of Batman and the personality of the Joker, the Batman Who Laughs has several powers and abilities that he managed to steal. The twisted Batman variant managed to gain the powers of Dr. Manhattan, which allowed him flight, teleportation, and nigh omnipotence, which allowed him to commit horrendous acts with no consequences. This also allowed him to travel to the multiverse, where he encountered the main Batman and Justice League.

Does Batman Who Laughs have a Robin?

Batman Who Laughs has multiple Robins and not just one. He takes in the infected children and turns them into his pack of Robins. This is probably the most twisted version of the Boy Wonder that we have seen, as it is literally enslaved children who could have easily been cured. He sharpened the teeth of the children and tortured them so much to the point of them acting like feral animals, like his own pack of wolves.

Among these Robins is Damien Wayne, who Batman only uses for special cases due to his skills. Batman tortured this version of Damien Wayne into becoming the way he is and is a prime example of showing how much the Joker toxin warped Bruce Wayne’s mind, making him capable of torturing his own son. 

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