DC Comics are widely known to have a darker feel to them than Marvel and feature darker heroes and villains such as Batman, the Joker, and Black Adam, who just had a highly successful run at the box office. Even so, many of their stories are still filled with bright spots.
Some stories, on the other hand, take the meaning of the word “dark” to a whole new level. These stories are filled with violence, despair, and little hope left for the world. The darkest storylines, however, seem to take place throughout the multiverse, letting writers kill off fan-favorite characters without contradicting Prime Earth’s story. These are 10 of the darkest DC stories from across the multiverse.
The Dark Knight Returns
Arguably one of the most famous graphic novels of all time, The Dark Knight Returns takes place on an Earth where Batman is retired, superheroes are illegal unless they work for the government, and Superman is the face of all registered superhumans.
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Gotham is overrun by gangs until Batman returns to help the people take back Gotham. The storyline has elements of darkness all throughout, including a key moment in which Batman nearly kills Joker only for his nemesis to finish the job himself to make it seem like Batman started killing. However, Batman’s survival after his fight with Superman and plans of rebellion show that there still is hope for this world.
Freedom Fighters
While the titular team may not be cooler than the Justice League, the story of the Freedom Fighters is one filled with darkness and a war lost.
The Freedom Fighters’ story is set in an alternate reality in which the Axis Powers won World War II, meaning the entire world is under Nazi rule, including a Nazi version of the Justice League. The Freedom Fighters are the only ones able to fight back, but it’s a slowly losing battle. While there is still hope for this world, a world ruled like this is easily one of the darkest ones that anyone can find in the Multiverse.
Watchmen
Watchmen is another famous DC comic that became a massive hit, so much so that a sequel, Doomsday Clock, was written to bring the characters into the mainstream DC universe.
Taking place in an alternate timeline where the United States is slowly moving towards World War III with the Soviet Union, a group of superheroes attempts to hunt down a superhero killer, coming into conflict with the government and one of their own. Watchmen is a dark series bent on deconstructing the superhero genre and intertwining it with political messaging and warnings as well as forcing the characters to make morally questionable decisions that could change the fate of the world.
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Injustice shows Superman at his lowest, with him performing horrific deeds throughout his reign – and showing off one of the most recent darkest worlds in DC history.
In this story, Joker tricks Superman into accidentally killing his wife and unborn child, which also destroys Metropolis in the process. Enraged, Superman kills Joker and eventually takes over the Earth, killing anyone that tries to stop him, including characters like Green Arrow and the Green Lantern Corp. Seeing Superman, the hero that’s supposed to be the purest force of good in DC, turned into a murderous dictator is enough for any fan to despair over the fate of the Injustice Universe.
Flashpoint
Taking place in another alternate timeline caused by the Flash, Flashpoint takes the world and completely turns it into a chaotic, war-torn dystopian wasteland.
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Due to the Flash going back in time to save his mother, an alternate timeline was created in which Atlantis and the Amazons went to war and are destroying the world in their battle. Many heroes and characters are already dead, and even more would die throughout the story. Because of this and the heavy violence and dark themes throughout, it’s no surprise that this is one of the darkest comics out there.
Batman & Dracula
Decades ago, Batman faced down the lord of the vampires himself in the Batman & Dracula trilogy – and lost his humanity in the process.
After becoming a vampire to kill Dracula, Batman’s humanity is slowly lost over the course of the trilogy, eventually leading him to kill his entire rogue’s gallery. In the end, his best friends are forced to come up with a plan to kill him, which Batman carries out willingly after one final battle that ends with no survivors. As dark as the story is, Batman’s final realization of what he’s become shows there was still some good in him at the end.
DCeased
DCeased is widely known as having one of the best depictions of zombie superheroes in the comics, and that leads into the darkness that entails.
In this world, Darkseid’s Anti-Life equation is changed, turning people into zombies that spread unlife everywhere. This world is especially dark considering that major heroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman all succumb to the virus and the survivors are forced to leave Earth. While there was a brief glimmer of hope once a cure was found, that hope may soon be gone, as the final part of the DCeased story is currently in progress and features countless worlds turned into zombie hordes.
Last Knight On Earth
Billed as “The Last Batman Story,” Last Knight on Earth follows Batman as he travels a post-apocalyptic world with the severed, still living head of the Joker, trying to figure out what happened to the world. And what he finds is shocking.
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The world, turning its back on heroes after a debate between Superman and Lex Luthor ends with Superman’s death, has descended into chaos, ruled by a mysterious being named Omega. The heroes are all dead, with the few remaining being led as a resistance by Wonder Woman. The comic shows what happens when faith in heroes is lost, and the gory, brutal pages within only make that case even clearer.
The Batman Who Laughs
Upon his debut, the Batman Who Laughs easily made himself known, with fans wanting to see him in a live action movie. His origin story just shows how much of a sadistic criminal mastermind he is – and why his universe exists in the Dark Multiverse.
In this world, shown through a one-shot, Batman is infected by Joker venom by a dying Joker. The venom consumes Batman, turning him into a psychotic criminal mastermind who murders all his allies and every single hero on Earth, enslaving the population that remains. The story serves as a lesson as to what might become of Batman should he fall from his ideals and become like Joker.
DC vs Vampires
The Batman & Dracula trilogy wasn’t the only time DC heroes have tangled with vampires. But the ongoing series DC vs Vampires makes Batman’s first battle with Dracula look like nothing.
In this world, vampires, led by the Vampire King, Nightwing, slowly infiltrate society before striking all at once. They take complete control of Earth, turn nearly every hero and villain into vampires, and force the remaining humans into blood camps. What makes this even darker is that even if the remaining heroes, led by Green Arrow, manage to defeat the vampires, the world is already in ruins, with very little that the heroes can do to fix everything that’s already been broken by the bloodsucking nightmares.
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