How The Batman Who Laughs Could Bring Horror To The DCEU

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The Batman Who Laughs may be the DCEU’s best way to veer into horror territory. A new addition to DC’s villain roster, the character quickly became an integral antagonist of many comic lines, partially because of his ties to the huge Dark Night Metal series and the opening of the multiverse in the upcoming Flash movie offers an intriguing opportunity to go into even more adventurous directions for Batman. And not only that, but it’s already been confirmed that the DCEU is branching out into more horror-like content with the upcoming Aquaman spin-off, The Trench, and taking Batman in more nightmarish directions would help to make that movie feel less alien.

The original comic’s success was largely because of the huge unquestionable popularity Batman still commands. Even those who barely know about the Dark Knight are aware of how borderline invincible he has proved throughout comic history – facing superpowered gods and winning due to his gadgets and ingenuity. As such, seeing a version of this character who is evil poses the question of how anyone could possibly fare against them, which naturally encouraged fans to flock to anything this particular scourge was in. Indeed, in his own comic line – also titled The Batman Who Laughs – it is revealed that in his own universe, nobody could stand against this evil Bruce Wayne, which makes the main universe’s heroes seem the underdogs when facing off against him.

This is part of the reason why the Batman Who Laughs would be the perfect horror-esque villain for the DCEU, but it’s not the most important one. Perhaps the most crucial reason this could prove interesting is that it would allow for the introduction of the Dark Multiverse – which is where the Batman Who Laughs hails from, as well as a collection of other intimidating figures, many of whom are also various corrupted versions of the Dark Knight. This multiverse provides the potential for something that would otherwise be more or less impossible to see: universes where beloved DC heroes lose, and lose for good. And why that matters is arguably even more important: because the DCEU presumably won’t have a Batman after Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck step back from the DCEU after The Flash to allow Robert Pattinson’s Batman room to blossom, the franchise won’t have a Batman. Adapting something like The Batman Who Laughs would kill two birds with one stone in that respect.

The Flash offers a tantalizing opportunity thanks to the multiverse being opened up. It could introduce an alternate Batman who could ensure that the DCEU gets a slice of the brand pie without having to directly compete with Pattinson’s more traditional take on the character within the franchise. If Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and Jared Leto’s can co-exist in different strands of the DC movie universe and Keaton and Affleck’s Batmen can co-exist with Pattinsons, the future of the DCEU can absolutely accommodate another, more radical take on the character. Especialy if it allows for greater precedent in horror content before The Trench eventually arrives.

There’s even the potential with a Batman Who Laughs movie to have a fake-out where the main universe Justice League is seemingly destroyed, only for the reveal to be that this was taking place in an alternate universe and the Batman Who Laughs is now targeting the canon DCEU. And then facing him off against some of the DCEU’s Bat Family could serve to introduce those heroes too. Fundamentally, film audiences have adjusted to the idea that most superheroes are immortal unless they have an opportunity for a heroic sacrifice, so the chance to bring a scenario in which the good guys appear to genuinely fail should be enthusiastically embraced, even if some “real version” of a DCEU hero does still save the day. Perhaps Nightwing could step up even?

In a world where Batman is the shining symbol of justice and heroism, it would be a smart deviation to see just how awful and cruel he could have been had he not chosen the path of a vigilante. That is particularly interesting given the focus of Matt Reeves’ The Batman on Pattinson’s Dark Knight exploring where he fits in the moral spectrum of Gotham. Add to this the very real potential for any film with the Batman Who Laughs in to feature a Batman vs. Batman fight, and it’s hard to really argue against the Batman Who Laughs coming to the DCEU – aside from the potential upped age rating should they show too many of his more bloodthirsty antics.