Everyone knows thatBatmanis a force for good inDC Comics, and as the most popular superhero, it seems that nothing can stop his path to justice. Yet, despite how heroic the mainline Batman is, in plenty of otherDC Comics, Batman has been evil, something to fear not just because of his beatings on criminals, but because of the sheer power he exhibits when it’s time to kill.
The worst Batman is one who doesn’t have a no-kill rule, one that transcends the morals of the Batman known and loved by all. These evil versions of Batman have Bruce’s mind and fighting prowess, but without the limitation of morals, and a continuing lust for power that sees them able to almost takeover the Multiverse.
Updated on June 23, 2025, by Jake Fillery:The Dark Multiverse in DC Comics is filled with an infinite amount of possibilities, and as such, it’s no surprise that the DC Universe has seen a multitude of evil Batman variants pop up. The best evil Batmen have often taken hold of Gotham City, annihilated the Justice League, and shown how truly evil and genius Batman can be when he lets go of his no-kill rule to sink into the abyss of criminals and villains that he battles every day.
12Failsafe
The Contingency Plan for Batman in the Body of a Killer Robot
Batman might be infamous for his mistrust of his allies and his constantly evolving and secret contingency plans to stop them should they ever go rogue. With the shoe on the other foot, a backup personality of Batman, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, created a contingency to deal with Batman, and that was the super-intelligent android, Failsafe.
Failsafe had Batman’s personality and mission in his database, with the sole goal of stopping Batman should he ever go rogue. While it’s not exactly Batman in the same way his DNA would be associated with the character, it’s still an android variant of Batman that can topple Gotham City and kill without mercy.
11The Grim Knight
A Batman Who Breaks the Golden Rule By Using Guns to Kill
If there is one golden rule to follow when it comes to Batman, it’s that he doesn’t use guns and he definitely doesn’t kill. This rule should never be broken, but the Dark Multiverse is filled with infinite possibilities and dark variants of Batman, where the Grim Knight loads his weapons to commit to justice through the barrel of assault rifles, pistols, and other deadly weapons.
The Grim Knight aids The Batman Who Laughs, and uses all sorts of guns to kill villains and those who are just doing their jobs. While he’s not as twisted as the Joker or the Batman Who Laughs, he’s still a killer, which makes him just as dangerous and just as evil.
10Black Lantern Batman
A Clone of Batman, Resurrected to Turn the Justice League Into Black Lanterns
The Black Lantern Batman came forth at a time when Bruce Wayne had been “dead” for quite some time after the events ofFinal Crisiswhen Darkseid annihilated Batman with his Omega Beams, sending him back in time. To fake his death, Darkseid created a clone, which Nekron later resurrected as a Black Lantern to trick the Justice League’s emotional tether to turn them into Black Lanterns.
Black Lantern Batman may not have lasted long due to the fact that he was more of a weapon to Nekron, but he did later reappear, resurrected through the Lazarus Pit where he would attackthe entire Bat-Familybefore being defeated. This might not be the strongest evil Batman, but he certainly has an interesting place in the lore.
9Omega
The Authoritarian Elder Batman of a Dying Elseworld
In a post-apocalyptic future from a distant world, Bruce Wayne becomes Omega, a tyrant who rules across his Earth by destroying those who oppose him. This world’s Bruce Wayne became a conqueror, and used his powerful batsuit to destroy the very superheroes that were once Earth’s protectors and his friends.
Omega has dreams of Anti-Life, and his grasp on the world is tightening with nobody available to stop him.This Elseworld shows a Batmanwhere morality is out the window, and the powers of Batman with a new suit and no opposition to killing, present a truly deadly and evil Batman.
8Red Death
A Bruce Wayne Who Absorbed Barry Allen Through the Speed Force
A rather metal creation, Red Death was the Batman of Earth -52 after Bruce Wayne failed to save Gotham and his Robins. In an effort to raise further powers against evil, Bruce kidnapped Barry Allen and forced the Flash to merge with him by breaking into the Speed Force with his Batmobile and the Cosmic Treadmill.
Red Death was born of this impact, and Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne clash in one body and mind. It’s effectively a Batman with the powers of the Flash, and one who will not be slowed down in his corrupting fight against crime, and one who takes pleasure in the invasion of the Dark Multiverse.
7The Merciless
Batman With the Powers of the God of War
Hailing from Earth -12, this world’s Batman had a war on crime like most other Bruce Wayne variants across the Multiverse. Yet, the key difference here is that his compassion and mercy were put to the test when the Greek god of war, Ares, helmed a reign of terror thanks to a new helmet to amplify his powers. In the final fight against Ares, Batman placed the god of war’s helmet upon his head and was embedded with the corruption and power that made him the Merciless.
With his new strength, Batman’s morality was gone, and nothing mattered more than wielding the helmet, not even Wonder Woman, whom he loved more than life itself. Batman went on to slaughter gods and brought his never-ending war to the Multiverse through the other Dark Knights.
6Flashpoint Batman
Thomas Wayne Attempts To Break His Son So He Abandons Being Batman
Thomas Wayne became the Batman of the Flashpoint timeline when his son was killed in that alleyway all those years ago. Ever since, Thomas Wayne has been far more ruthless and uses guns to slaughter those who get in the way of justice, in an attempt to eradicate the crime that brought his life to disarray and killed his son.
Yet, things went from bad to worse, as Thomas Wayne was supposed to die when the Flashpoint Timeline was wiped, but the Multiverse is not so forgiving, at least, Reverse Flash isn’t. Reverse Flash decided to leave Thomas Wayne stranded in the main continuity, where he would have to see Bruce as Batman. Thomas would try and break his son in an attempt to bring him to a peaceful life where he could be happy.Thomas is a killer, and his acts are horrible, but at the end of the day, he just wants to save his ten-year-old son who lost his parents.
5Zur-En-Arrh Batman
The Alternate Personality Within Bruce Wayne That Isn’t Afraid Of Killing
Whilst first introduced as an alien with the Batman moniker, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh has later been retconned and repositioned as an alternate personality of Bruce Wayne, a far moreviolent version of Batmanthat lives deep inside his mind when his psyche is compromised. In the most recent continuity, Zur-En-Arrh is an absolute threat who wants to finally push past the abyss to kill Joker and cross a line where Batman will never go.
Zur-En-Arrh is basically Batman but not held back from the no-kill rule, and his mental instability makes him dangerous to allies and foes that try and stop him. Zur-En-Arrh is powerful and definitely dangerous, but otherBatmans in the Multiverseare far worse.
4Owlman
An Alternate Earth Batman With An Opposite & Oppressive Morality
Thomas Wayne, Jr. was always evil, and it didn’t take his parents getting gunned down in Crime Alley to change that. Thomas hated his parents and how they squandered their Gotham wealth, so he killed them. Growing up without a brother, butler, or parents, Bruce adopted the persona of Owlman, where he would create more corruption in Gotham under his grasp.
Owlman eventually teamed with other villains toforge the Crime Syndicate, and with their conquering of their Earth, they decided that it was time to invade the Prime Earth and bring forth a new age of gods. Owlman is still Batman, just with a different identity, and goals that align with an evil warlord rather than a hero.
3The Devastator
A Batman With The Powers Of Doomsday
Combine Bruce Wayne with Doomsday, and the Devastator is born, a being with Batman’s intelligence and Doomsday’s brutality. This creature is one of darkness, one who wishes for nothing more than to destroy worlds with his strength, infecting the populous with a Doomsday Virus to mutate them and turn them into ghastly beings from other worlds.
The Devastator became that way after the Superman of Earth -1 became evil, and Batman injected himself with a serum comprised of Doomsday’s DNA in order to become a monster tobeat the Man of Steel, yet, it took Bruce’s humanity. The Devastator is perhaps the strongest thanks to his combat prowess and his Doomsday strength, but the virus constantly mutates to the point where he won’t even remember he is Bruce Wayne.
