Batman has fought many enemies over the years who pushed him to his limit in one way or another, but only recently were readers introduced to Batman’s most dangerous villain ever, in the form of Failsafe. While Failsafe is still a fairly new antagonist, he’s managed to cause tons of destruction in Batman’s life. As Batman moves forward after the chaotic events of the past year, understand just how dangerous Failsafe is.
Batman’s latest, and most dangerous villain, Failsafe, first appeared in Batman #125 by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles. Failsafe was an android created by Batman’s alternate personality, Zur-En-Arrh. If Batman ever went too far and broke his “no-kill” rule, then Failsafe would activate and take Batman down.
Because of the risk of false flags, Alfred was put in charge of resetting Failsafe’s activation, but with the death of Alfred, and Batman unaware of Failsafe’s existence, he was eventually activated when Penguin faked his death and framed Batman for it. This led to a massive battle that nearly destroyed Gotham City.
“You Can Walk Away and Live For Once”: Batman’s Most Personal Villain Is Offering Bruce a Guilt-Free Retirement
Batman has fought dozens of villains in his past who have tried to beat him, but now he’s facing a real threat – the opportunity to stop fighting.
Failsafe Is A Superman-Level Threat To The DC Universe
One of the biggest parts of Batman’s character is his staunch refusal to ever take a life. This line is so strong that Batman’s backup personality, Zur-En-Arrh, created the android Failsafe specifically to enforce that rule. If Batman ever crosses the line and kills someone, then Failsafe will activate and hunt him down. After Failsafe was activated prematurely, the android tore through Gotham City. He took out the entire Bat-Family, took over Gotham City, and even brought down the Justice League. Failsafe is the ultimate evolution of Batman’s contingency plans; this was best shown when he took down every member of the Bat-Family and Justice League with little resistance.
Failsafe was designed to take down Batman, along with anyone who could potentially protect Batman. In his first story arc, he was shown as capable of bringing down Superman, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Aquaman, and the entire Bat-Family. Failsafe was only “defeated” when Batman managed to inject him with a virus that forced him to feel compassion. Instead of killing Batman, Failsafe sent him to another universe. Considering his job finished, he left. However, this isn’t the last time readers would see the android. Failsafe recently re-appeared as the new Batman, with Zur-En-Arrh’s personality inhabiting the android body.
Zur-En-Arrh And Failsafe Have Merged Into One Unstoppable Supervillain
The reason Failsafe is Batman’s most dangerous enemy in years is because Failsafe represents Batman’s worst habits: creating contingency plans and mistrusting other people. Zur-En-Arrh is a “pure” Batman, a version of Batman who cares nothing for friends or family and only about the mission. Now that they’re fused into one, Failsafe has become a complete mirror of Batman’s darkest habits. While Batman has gone up against dark reflections before, they’ve always been twisted nightmares. Rarely are they actually from Batman’s own mind. Batman created Zur-En-Arrh as a contingency, and Zur-En-Arrh created Failsafe as a contingency. Now the two have joined together to be Batman’s most dangerous enemy yet.
