The nature of Batman’s popularity is such that he can be killed countless times—either as a cliffhanger or as a means to conclusively end a certain story arc—but still be resurrected by another writer-artist duo, in another DC issue, to follow another storyline. None of it softens the blow of seeing Batman getting brutally killed on print though.
He has been killed several times, in several ways. But the one method by which he has died the most is by explosion. Sometimes, these bombs have been placed directly in his path and other times the Dark Knight has willingly sacrificed himself in order to save millions.
10 Blown Up To Pieces
Writers and artists love to see Batman get blown up to smithereens. It’s easy to see why—the scenes are extremely dramatic, with a massive fiery environment all around. The situation is such that it would be extremely difficult for a person to survive it unless some sort of trickery was involved.
The four times Batman finds himself in the middle of an explosion and dies are: when he blows himself up rather than be captured by an alternate reality Superman in Mark Millar’s Superman: Red Son; when he sacrifices himself in order to make a power core explode in James Robinson and Nicola Scott’s Earth 2 #1; when he self-detonates to kill a large group of criminals surrounding him; and when, in Legends of the Dark Knight, Joker believes he has killed Batman with dynamite, only for the Dark Knight to turn alive a few scenes later.
9 Shocked And Electrocuted
Twice the Dark Knight is so shocked to his core that he technically dies for a certain period of time. In, The Brave And The Bold #115, it's a window that electrocutes him, leaving him technically brain-dead. (The Atom takes advantage of the situation and creeps inside his head.)
Another time, in Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle's Detective Comics #644, a villain called Elmo Galvan hit him with a shot of electricity that had a direct impact on his heart, stopping it mid-beat. But just like The Brave And The Bold #115, in Detective Comics #644, too, Batman comes back to life towards the end.
8 Blasted By Omega Beams
Usually when Batman attacks, it is to overpower the enemy and disarm them. Rarely does he choose the kill, opting instead to hand over the criminal to the law enforcement agency. Darkseid isn't the kind to give in and allow himself to be arrested, though. His power is too great.
In his case, therefore, Batman doesn't hesitate taking up a gun with the intent to kill. The gun has a radiation bullet inside it, one of the few things capable of injuring Darkseid. Unfortunately, even as Batman shoots at Darkseid in "Final Crisis", the villain aims a blast of omega beams at the Dark Knight and swiftly kills him.
7 Stabbed By A Sword
Widely recognized as heroes and saviors of the downtrodden, Batman and Superman are not impervious to an evil turn in the hands of writers and illustrators. In the Jeph Loeb-Carlos Pacheco fronted Superman/Batman #15, for example, they've both lost their way ( due to some meddling by Saturn Queen and Lightning Lord) and become dictatorial in their leadership styles. It's up to the likes of Wonder Woman to lead an offensive against their joint forces of evil.
The ensuing fight is a bloody one. After Batman murders Ray, Wonder Woman goes after him and engages him in combat. Superman, meanwhile, is kept engaged by a massive eagle created by Uncle Sam. Batman tries his best, but is unable to put up a fight against the Amazonian and dies at the end, when she stabs her sword through him.
6 Burned In A Magical Fire
Having sought and received power from the sorcerer Frederick Vaux, Bill Jensen is armed with dangerous abilities in Paul Levitz and Joe Staton;s Adventure Comics #462. Such is his might that Green Lantern and Doctor Fate, together, can't do much sto stop him. When the other members of the Justice Society of America join in, they aren't much help either.
Jensen is not mindless about his violence; he wants revenge. He wants to meet Commissioner Wayne face to face and demand justice, for he believes he was wrongfully sent to jail because of him. But when Bruce does arrive at the scene, in the garb of Batman, Jensen's rage grows by leaps and bounds. His fiery power burns away his mask first, revealing Batman's true identity, and then envelops them both in a death trap of fire.
5 Punched Through The Skull
Although he is Superman in essence, Ultraman has a distinctively evil bent to him that makes him commit acts that Kal-El would never even dream of. Another thing that sets him apart is that every time he comes across kryptonite, in complete opposition to Superman, he actually gains more power.
So when, in Countdown to Final Crisis #13 (by Paul Dini, Tony Bedard, and Keith Giffen), he sees Batman fight Joker, he doesn't see an ally in him. He sees an adversary he must finish off. He swooshes in, inserting himself in the fight, taking the Joker's place, and punches with such might that he hits right through Batman's skull.
4 Had A Heart Attack
Things are a bit confusing in Grant Morrison and Tony S. Daniel's Batman #672, where a bunch of hateful Batman lookalikes have started to cause mischief in Gotham city. They are fearless, kidnaping Commissioner Gordon to bring Batman directly into the fold and cause him to confront them.
From the moment he arrives at the roof of the police department, Batman realizes that the imposters are quite well-equipped and quick at combat. He tries to put up a fight, but then a bullet hits his chest and causes a heart attack, stopping his heart. If Batman had been alone, he would have stayed dead. But thankfully, Bat-Mite is close by and he helps bring the Dark Knight back to the land of the living.
3 Intentionally Ingested Poison
Centered around a crazy club, where the members have to die and come back to life to join it, "The Death-Cheaters of Gotham City" sees Bruce Wayne commit a most dangerous act just to figure out the identity of a serial killer.
Almost everyone thinks that a certain disgruntled criminal, who was not allowed membership, is the one killing off individuals already in the club. But Bruce had his suspicions. So, intentionally, just to become a member and solve the case from within, he ingested some poison and technically died for a couple of minutes. "You'll tell the press I accidentally swallowed the poison," he instructs Robin before doing so in Batman #233, which was written by David Vern Reed and had art by Jim Mooney.
2 Crushed Under A Cave
It's a gruesome world in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman: Endgame, with Joker torturing both Alfred and Commissioner Gordon in the most terrible way. But that is only a precursor to what lays ahead, in the final confrontation between Batman and Joker inside a cave.
Both beat and punch and stab each other, landing painful blows on the other. And then, at last, it's too much. Neither of them have any fight left in them. With a knife-edged card in his eye and a stab wound in his torso, Batman lies on the floor of a cave with an equally defeated Joker by his side and waits for death to come to him. His prayers are answered soon enough, when the roof begins to collapse on them.
1 Died Over And Over Again
Like Prometheus, the mythical Titan, who had to suffer the pain of having his liver be eaten by eagles day in and day out, continuously for a long time, so was Batman tortured by Joker, every day, in the "Emperor Joker" story arc.
In control of a vast amount of Mister Mxyzptlk's powers, through a clever bit of trickery, the Joker is causing havoc all over Gotham and beyond in "Emperor Joker". He's very cruel, too, using a different and creative way to kill Batman every day, resurrecting him in between to enjoy the dread on his enemy's face.