Even though Dark Nights: Metal was touted as a crossover event, the story primarily centered around Batman and his fears. Each of the original Dark Knights embodied different nightmare scenarios that keep Bruce up at night. Today, we're going to take the Dark Batman concept that Scott Snyder came up with and run screaming over the hills with it!
What if Superman went crazy and Batman had to ingest the Doomsday Virus, hence the Devastator? What if Alfred died and Bruce became obsessed with technology? What if the Joker wins someday? Barbados' first wave of warriors are inversions of the founding Justice League members, for the most part. But now, we're going to propose ten other Dark Batman characters that we could see populating the Dark Multiverse.
10 The Elongated Bat
This Dark Batman would fuse the Caped Crusader with the Elongated Man. At first glance, Bruce Wayne and Ralph Dibny appear to be opposites; Ralph's always beaming while Bruce probably has to practice smiling in the mirror. However, both Wayne and Dibny are superb detectives, a trait that the Elongated Bat could amplify.
Heres' out pitch; Ralph derived his powers from a fruit called gingo, powers that render Dibny highly resistant to damage and enable him to drastically reshape his body. That sounds a lot like Clayface to us. So, what if this Dark Batman's Ralph Dibny filled Basil Karlo's shoes, but was smarter? They could forcibly alter Bruce's physiology, changing him into the Elongated Bat in an attempt to kill him. Bruce could survive the process but would be mentally damaged from the outcome.
9 Booster Black
For those who don't know, Booster Gold is one of the funniest heroes in the DCU. Born as Michael Carter, Booster hails from the 25th Century, a period in which Earth's nearly a utopia thanks to the efforts of the Justice League and other heroes.
We imagine that this Dark Batman clone could hail from a dystopian future, one in which criminality and debauchery become the norm. Michael could travel back in time and try to kill Bruce Wayne only for Batman to turn the tables on him. Batman could get stuck in this dystopian future for a long time. When he eventually gets back to the present using Booster Gold's tech, his perspective on the world is warped and twisted, leading him to dawn the Booster Black mantle and try to make the contemporary world mimic the future.
8 Swamp Bat
Swamp Thing plus Bruce Wayne equals Swamp Bat. That equation is probably about as simple as things get with Swamp Thing. Originally, ST was thought to be a human scientist that merged with the flora and fauna of a swamp. However, we eventually learn that ST is an Avatar of the Green—the DCU's version of Mother Nature.
We figure that this Dark Batman character could share a similar origin story to the first Swamp Thing; Bruce Wayne could be forcibly exposed a chemical formula that merges him with plants. When he becomes the Avatar of the Green, Swam Bat could do what Batman does best: take things to the extreme and force the rest of the world to live in harmony with nature.
7 'Bat-Zam'
The powers of several Greek gods in the hands of deranged Batman sounds utterly terrifying, but we could take things a step further and have Bat-Zamstep into the fore while Bruce is still a child—right around the time his parents get gunned down. Young Bruce would try to use his powers for good, but the recent trauma he experienced could make him act mercilessly towards criminals. Bat-Zam could eventually take a life, causing him to spiral downhill from there.
Conversely, an adult version of Batman could find a way to forcibly strip Billy Batson of his powers, believing that a child shouldn't have access to divine powers. Adult Bruce could find that his newfound abilities allow him to watch over Gotham like a god, potentially taking him down an Orwellian path.
6 Bat-Zanna
Zatanna Zatara is one of the best mages in the DC Universe. Trained by her father from a young age, Zatanna has since established herself as one of the DCU's foremost mystics. Batman doesn't normally deal with too many supernatural threats in Gotham, and that's why an encounter with the Devil's son Mammon could drive him to take desperate measures.
Bruce could initially work with Zatanna but become more disgruntled as the forces of Hell corrupt Gotham. Pressured, Batman could study Zatanna's 'Logomancy' and attempt to help speed things up. However, his inexperience could lead him to cause more harm than good, perhaps even causing him to rely on Dark Magic and occultism.
5 The Reverse-Bat
The Red Death is a twisted fusion of the Flash and Batman. Much like the Barry Allen we all know and love, the Red Death can tap into the Speed Force and perform all sorts of superhuman feats. Bruce managed to merge with Barry by strapping him to the Batmobile and revving up the Cosmic Treadmill.
The Reverse-Bat, however, would merge a Dark Batman with Eobard Thawne, aka the Reverse-Flash! The Reverse-Bat would be a conduit of the Negative Speed Force, allowing him to steal speed and momentum away from others. Moreover, Reserve-Bat could be the result of Bruce's attempt to go back in time and prevent the death of his parents.
4 Dark Tornado
Though Dark Tornado sort of sounds like a metal band, he'd actually be a Dark Batman that possesses the powers of the Red Tornado. As one of T.O. Morrow's androids, the Red Tornado is a sophisticated machine that even the most ingenious engineers can't understand. Bruce Wayne, however, is one smart cookie—a trait that often gets him into trouble more often than not.
We figure that Dark Tornado could result from Batman tinkering with T.O. Morrow's tech too much, potentially reverse engineering it only to become far too reliant on it. Dark Tornado could even go down the Darth Vader route and become a cyborg after losing a few appendages in a fight with Tomorrow Woman.
3 Dark Manhunter
Here's our pitch; a Dark Batman splices his genes with the Martian Manhunter, thus gaining phenomenal powers while retaining his keen intellect. The Martian Manhunter typically possesses psionic and shapeshifting abilities, flight, and strength that rivals Superman's! The real question is, why would Batman take J'onn's powers. We think we have an answer: Knightfall.
When Bane broke Batman's back, he called on Azrael to fight in his stead. But, what if Bruce attempted to use some of J'onn's cells to recover faster instead. The Martian Manhunter's cells could then rewrite Bruce's DNA, making him much stronger but more unstable as a result. Knightfall was a low point for Batman, so, we figure it makes sense for him to take such drastic measures when he's in the pits.
2 Captain Bat
Well, apparently there's an Amalgam character that fuses Captain America with Batman. While we think that's a great concept, that isn't what we had in mind with Captain Bat. Our version of the character would merge a Dark Batman with Captain Atom, one of the most OP heroes in the DCU.
Captain Atom has the power to rearrange molecules and generate radiation on a whim, including Red Sun radiation. Captain Bat could stem from Bats' initial distrust of Superman. Not wanting to face an alien demigod unprepared, Bruce could replicate the same scientific experiment that gave Nathaniel Adam his powers.
1 Doctor Bat
Both Doctor Fate and Batman obsess over preserving law and order. Both characters also have given their mantles to other heroes numerous times. For Fate, that mantle is the Helm of Fate, a mystic artifact that connects a mere mortal with the Lords of Order. Kent Nelson originally found the helmet while doing archeological work with his father.
Doctor Bat, however, could stem from Bruce Wayne finding the helmet and communing with the Lords of Order. We imagine that Kent Nelson, or whoever wields the helmet at the time, could bestow it to Bruce in their will. Bruce could take too fondly of the helmet and never take it off, as he's occasionally done with the Batman mantle.