Warning: Spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal books!
After the grand finale of the latest crisis-level event to sweep DC Comics in Dark Nights: Death Metal, fans are left wondering if the untold amounts of Dark Multiverse Batmen will ever be seen again. With evil versions of Batman that range from a monster truck called Batmobeast, to a Lobo inspired Batman named The Batman Who Frags, to a whole slew of other Batmen that simply want to watch the multiverse burn, Death Metal was a sprawling event that was well worth the journey by its epic end.
But with The Batman Who Laughs finally defeated at the hands of Wonder Woman, is it even possible that these Batmen could pop back up somewhere along the line? After all, villains have a bad habit of coming back around when our heroes least expect it. So with that wishful thinking in place, here’s three of the coolest evil Batmen from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s event that DC should totally bring back.
Batmanasaurus aka B. Rex
One of the coolest aspects of Death Metal was the creative teams’ penchant for going all in on these new version of Batman to the point that fans couldn’t help but chuckle or even stare in awe when the next one popped up on the page. In the case of Batmanasaurus, or as his buddies call him, B. Rex, it was hard not to do a little bit of both. After the collapse of his Batcave led this Dark Multiverse Batman to upload his consciousness into the mainstay Batcave decoration that is the massive robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex trophy at its center, B. Rex took it upon himself to slaughter anyone and everyone inside of Arkham Asylum, accomplishing in his dinosaur form something that – to him – he should have always done to the villains of Gotham in the first place.
And it’s here where a return for B. Rex should absolutely be in the cards. Not only would his return successfully give fans a wildly entertaining dinosaur story as well as the accompanying carnage that would make a Jurassic Park movie blush, but B. Rex is kind of hilarious in a demanding, yet overcompensating way, mostly because T. Rex’s can’t use their arms all that well. This is something that’s a problem for various reasons and isn’t lost on B. Rex in the slightest. In this sense, his arrival back into DC continuity would let his creative team let loose with a fun, bloody, and extremely over-the-top return that can only be reserved for the King of the (Robotic) Dinosaurs.
Batmanhattan aka The Final Bruce Wayne
Next up is what many fans might consider a no-brainer in terms of who should be seen again if the Dark Multiverse Batman decide to invade the DC universe for a third time. Running with an idea pulled straight from the iconic graphic novel, Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, this version of Batman came about after the events of the Doomsday Clock lead-up story, The Button. This story sees Bruce Wayne try to reproduce the energy given off by The Comedian’s smiley face button, only to be duped by The Batman Who Laughs and locked in his own experimental machine.
Following near identical events in regards to how the original Dr. Manhattan became naked and blue, this version of Batman was similarly ripped to atoms before slowly regenerating over the course of months, only to fully return complete with the omnipotent powers of Dr. Manhattan himself. So while fans might be a bit fatigued by all of the Watchmen love as of late, the fact is that Batmanhattan is more god than even The Batman Who Laughs’ final form in The Darkest Knight is. The return of this evil Batman would bring a vast, cosmic scope to a character that is usually limited by his own humanity and lack of superpowers.
The Batman of Two Lifetimes aka Baby Batman
Finally, and admittedly acting as the wild card choice of evil Batmen, The Batman of Two Lifetimes is quite possibly the most hilarious and also most psychotic Dark Multiverse Batman of them all, so it goes without saying that this little guy needs to be seen again ASAP. Like all version of Batman do, this Bat in particular had a contingency plan in place should he ever die on the job (or just simply die from being old). This version of Batman realizes that if he could revive himself after his death and be reborn as a newer, younger, more physically fit version of himself, no one would be able to stop him, as he would have already had a full lifetime of being Batman inside his mind as he embarks on a second go around.
And while this logic is actually pretty sound all around, the problem that this particular Batman faced is that when death finally came knocking, he was revived not as a clone in his prime, ready to strike fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere for a second time, but instead returns as a literal infant. Being angry beyond all reason since his weaknesses are super apparent to those with two eyes, this Batman doesn’t let it faze him as he declares himself the Terror of the Underworld and proceeds to do terrible things with his baby hands. For fans, it’d be a treat to see a Scottie Young-esque book that balances the humor and dark tendencies of this Baby Bat, and with the entirety of the Rainbow Batman Corps, aka Batmen that each wields a different power ring fueled by the Emotional Spectrum, at his beck and call. The possibilities for this guy’s return could be endless.
So while there’s no guarantee that any of these Dark Multiverse Batmen will return to the folds of the DC Universe, Dark Nights: Death Metal will always be there for fans to scour over like an I Spy book for comic fans. And although Future State has opened the floodgates for even more new characters to step into the spotlight in the near future, it probably won’t be too long before at least one bad Bat rears their ugly head again and gives the heroes of DC another run for their money. One thing is for certain, however; Batman is probably way over seeing evil versions of himself running around, and who knows, maybe even jealous of a few.
