Since he first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in 1939, Batman has changed slowly and steadily, shifting into the dark and broody vigilante everyone knows and loves. Every comic reader knows to look for Batman comics when they're in the mood for a grim story. However, there have been times when Batman has been way more macabre than anyone expected.
Whether it is because they depict a realistic world full of real-life horrifying criminals, like Batman: Night Cries, or because they pit Batman against unknown forces of evil like Batman: City of Crime does, these comics show gut-wrenching depictions of the Batman universe that remain with the fans for a long time after they finish reading the story.
10 Batman: Cataclysm Is Weirdly Realistic
After a massive earthquake hits Gotham City, chaos ensues. With Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison totally destroyed, Gotham City's most dangerous criminals roam the streets freely. Now Batman and a bunch of Gotham heroes must try to keep them under control while dealing with also helping the people affected by the destruction of the city.
Batman: Cataclysm depicts one of the bleakest moments in Gotham City's history. The city is completely destroyed, thousands of people are dead among debris and the survivors are trapped with dangerous criminals after the U.S. Government chooses to close Gotham's bridges. Compared to many other Batman stories, Cataclysm lacks guts and violence, but it's a horrifyingly realistic representation of a massive disaster
9 Joe Chill In Hell Features Batman Torturing Someone
Batman #673 features "Joe Chill In Hell," a story centered on Joe Chill, the low-level criminal who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. In the comic, Batman visits Chill every night and threatens revenge for his parents. On the last day, the Dark Knight gives Joe the gun he used to kill Thomas and Martha. The criminal connects the dots and realizes he inadvertently created Batman, so he shoots himself.
Granted, Batman doesn't kill Joe Chill in this story, but he drives him to kill himself by subjecting him to psychological torture every day. Grant Morrison's "Joe Chill in Hell" depicts a more grim Batman seeking revenge instead of justice as it happens in most comics.
8 In A Death In The Family, The Joker Kills A Teenager
A Death In The Family features the torture and death of Jason Todd, aka Robin, at the hands of the Joker. This comic features a seriously distraught Batman who blames himself for what happened as he holds a burial for his sidekick.
Not only is Jason Todd Batman's beloved sidekick, but he's also a 15-year-old boy, so, of course, Batman feels responsible. A must-read for Batman enthusiasts, A Death In The Family is one of the first Batman storylines where the Dark Knight faces the death of a close friend due to his line of work.
7 Batman Is An Uncontrollable Vampire In Batman & Dracula
In The Batman & Dracula trilogy, Bruce Wayne sacrifices his humanity and becomes a vampire in order to defeat Dracula's hordes, then he convinces Alfred to stake him so he can't hurt anybody else. However, without Batman, Gotham City succumbs to crime, so Alfred brings him back. The problem is that Batman isn't Batman anymore, but a mad monster inside a decaying body who can't control his bloodlust.
Few things are darker than vampires. Mass murder is one of them. In Crimson Mist, the third book of the series, Alfred and Commissioner Gordon must join forces with the surviving villains in Gotham City in order to defeat Batman, but things go terribly for them. By the end of the trilogy, there aren't any heroes or villains alive.
6 Batman: City Of Crime Is A Noir Thriller
Batman: City of Crime, by David Lapham, Ramon Bachs, and Nathan Massengill, follows Bruce Wayne as he investigates the disappearance of a young girl in Gotham City. This leads him to untangle a whole conspiracy among the elites of Gotham who have been replaced by The Body, soil-made beings who have been taking over the city for years.
Batman: City of Crime has less shock value than many other Batman storylines. However, this detective story portrays a drug-ridden Gotham that becomes more and more decadent by the moment as the mystery is revealed. In the end, The Body is only a metaphor for darker, more corrupted forces in the town.
5 Batman: Gothic Is A Classic Horror Tale
After a mysterious man called Mr. Whisper starts to murder all Gotham's mafia bosses, Batman decides to investigate the identity of this character. Soon, the Dark Knight finds himself in the middle of a paranormal mystery while tracking a man who sold his soul to the devil.
Created by Grant Morrison and Klaus Janson, Batman: Gothic offers its readers a horror tale inspired by Catholic folklore, which is usually as creepy as it gets. In this comic, the Dark Knight battles a blasphemous child murderer with nothing to lose and faces forces beyond his own understanding.
4 Batman: The Cult Pits The Dark Knight Against A Religious Sect
In the middle of a criminal investigation, Batman is kidnapped by Deacon Joseph Blackfire and his religious cult. During the following weeks, he's drugged daily and exposed to religious propaganda until his mind breaks and he accepts Blackfire's teachings as a reality. Once he manages to escape, he attempts to end Blackfire, only to realize the priest wants to die in his hands to become a martyr.
Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson combine a psychologically complex horror story and gritty, gory art to create Batman: The Cult. This comic tests Bruce Wayne's mental strength, but also the readers' ability to process its realistic gruesomeness, including a terrifying panel where Blackfire bathes in the blood of his beheaded acolytes to gain eternal life. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
3 The Killing Joke Is The Joker's Origin Story
Desperate to make some money for his family, a man accepts to guide two criminals into the chemical company he works in. When Batman shows up, the man jumps into a pool of chemical waste, terrified of the vigilante. This drives him to madness and bleaches his skin and hair turning him into the Joker. After this, he becomes Batman's archnemesis.
With The Killing Joke, Alan Moore doesn't hold any punches when it comes to brutality. First, it doesn't have a problem with ruining major characters, hence the fate of Barbara Gordon, who is paralyzed from the waist down by the Joker. But, additionally, this comic delves into the obscure nature of the relationship between the Joker and Batman, even questioning Batman's sanity as he breaks — or not — his "No Kill" rule in an ambiguous ending.
2 Batman Faces True Madness In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth follows Batman as he fights his most dangerous supervillains inside Arkham Asylum. After the Joker dares him to escape in an hour, the vigilante's attempts end up with him deepening into a supernatural mystery linked to the Asylum's origins.
Everyone knows Arkham Asylum is one of the darkest Batman storylines. Dave McKean's gritty artwork conveys the claustrophobic nature of the asylum. But, additionally, the plot includes all types of disturbing topics, such as rape, insanity, and even paranormal possession from a psychologically complex perspective that chills the readers to the bone.
1 Batman: Night Cries Pits Batman Against The Worst Kind Of Crime
While investigating a series of murders, Batman and Commissioner Gordon stumble upon the darkest evil in Batman: Night Cries when they realized the victims all connect to several child abuse cases in Gotham City. As they attempt to stop the killer, both men realize that some crimes, especially those happening in the privacy of a home, are tougher to stop.
Batman: Night Cries is undoubtedly the most disturbing storyline of Batman's time as a hero simply because it tackles a very real problem. While most Batman stories pit this hero against somewhat unrealistic threats, Batman: Night Cries makes the Dark Knight face one of the most horrifying (but sadly realistic) crimes a human can commit.