History NightmareFuel / DarkNightsMetal

*** One Dark Universe shows ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} showing Batman failing to retake his mantle from [[BloodKnight Jean-Paul Valley]] with the latter reforming Gotham into his image where criminals live under fear of being killed by him or his goons,

*** ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis highlights that instead of Ted Kord being killed by Maxwell Lord and thus leading to the events of a deadly multiversal war, Ted gains the upper hand and manages to kill Maxwell Lord [[ISurrenderSuckers after feiging that the former is going to side with him]], [[SarcasmMode Everything's swell right?]] He was later inherited the power of the brother eye, halts the Rann-Thanagar War, and even prevents Jean Loring’s possession by Eclipso. But things ''TRULY'' went downhill when Kord's OMAC armor persuades him to [[GodzillaThreshold do something for the better sake of the universe he lives in]].

** ''Tales From The Dark Multiverse'', a spin-off series similar to the Marvel's ComicBook/WhatIf but with a darker turn in some of DC's most famous events, highlights how the Dark Multiverse runs entirely on Main/FinaglesLaw. Such as ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} showing Batman failing to retake his mantle from [[BloodKnight Jean-Paul Valley]] with the latter reforming Gotham into his image where criminals live under fear of being killed by him or his goons, or ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman depicting Lois Lane becoming the Eradicator who later became hell bent on [[RoaringRampageofRevenge seeking revenge on those who let Superman die, superhero and villain alike]]. ComicBook/BlackestNight even portrays Sinestro as a half-White, half-Black Lantern with [[BodyHorror one half of his body clearly decayed]] to emphasize that he is [[NonHumanUndead neither alive nor dead]].

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him and changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he did when the transformation was beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he did something they were unprepared for: pull out a pair of hidden machine guns and gun them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutated them into monsters and they killed Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself. Worse, he then proceeded to take out armies of villains and alien tyrants (victims implied to be like the Legion of Doom and [[GalacticConqueror Darkseid]] respectively), and it is even implied that he even takes out '''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu The]] [[ComicBook/{{TheSpectre}} Spectre]]''' himself! Only with precision, ''and blood''. And the only reason he became Barbatos' lieutenant? So he could do it all again. And again. ''And again.'' '''''And again.'''''

** ''Tales From The Dark Multiverse'', a spin-off series similar to the Marvel's ComicBook/WhatIf but with a darker turn in some of DC's most famous events, highlights how the Dark Multiverse runs entirely on Main/FinaglesLaw. Such as ComicBook/{{KnightFall}} showing Batman failing to retake his mantle from [[BloodKnight Jean-Paul Valley]] with the latter reforming Gotham into his image where criminals live under fear of being killed by him or his goons, or ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman depicting Lois Lane becoming the Eradicator who later became hell bent on [[RoaringRampageofRevenge on those who let Superman die, superhero and villain alike]].

** The Devastator's origin: The Superman of his world went mad and began attacking everything. Batman attempted to stop him with a Kryptonite spear, only to lose his arm in an injury that would surely be fatal. With no other choice and with all hope lost, having seen the symbol of Earth's hope become its greatest threat, Batman injected himself with the Doomsday virus, regenerating his arm and turning him into a Doomsday monster with Bruce Wayne's mind. He killed Superman easily and then proceeded to infect everyone with the Doomsday virus, turning them into mindless Doomsday monsters, under the belief that doing so will protect them against the inevitable disappointment of hope. Oh, and while he was in Prime Earth he effortlessly took down Firestorm, Wally West, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz at the Fortress of Solitude, and finally taking out Lobo by '''[[HurlItIntoTheSun spearing him with his own hook and tossing him into the sun!]]'''

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him and changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he did when the transformation was beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he gunned them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutated them into monsters and they killed Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself. Worse, he then proceeded to take out armies of villains and alien tyrants (victims implied to be like the Legion of Doom and [[GalacticConqueror Darkseid]] respectively), and it is even implied that he even takes out '''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu The]] [[ComicBook/{{TheSpectre}} Spectre]]''' himself! Only with precision, ''and blood''. And the only reason he became Barbatos' lieutenant? So he could do it all again. And again. ''And again.'' '''''And again.'''''

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him and changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he did when the transformation was beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he gunned them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutated them into monsters and they killed Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself. Worse, he then proceeds to take out armies of villains and alien tyrants (victims implied to be like the Legion of Doom and [[GalacticConqueror Darkseid]] respectively), and it is even implied that he even takes out '''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu The]] [[ComicBook/{{TheSpectre}} Spectre]]''' himself! Only with precision, ''and blood''.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[EvilCounterpart I'm right here]]]]

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him and changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he did when the transformation was beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he gunned them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutated them into monsters and they killed Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself. Worse, he then proceeds to take out armies of villains and alien tyrants (victims implied to be like the Legion of Doom and [[GalacticConqueror Darkseid]] respectively), and it is even implied that he even takes out '''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu The]] [[ComicBook/{{TheSpectre}} Spectre]]''' himself! With just precision, ''and blood''.

** ''Tales From The Dark Multiverse'', a spin-off series similar to the Marvel's ComicBook/WhatIf but with a darker turn in some of DC's most famous events, highlights how the Dark Multiverse runs entirely on Main/FinaglesLaw. Such as ComicBook/{{KnightFall}} showing Batman failing to retake his mantle from [[BloodKnight Jean-Paul Valley]] with the latter reforming Gotham into his image where criminals live under fear of being killed by him or his goons, or ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman depicting Lois Lane becoming the Eradicator and becoming hell bent on [[UnstoppableRage taking revenge on those who let Superman die]].

** ''Tales From The Dark Multiverse'', a spin-off series similar to the Marvel's ComicBook/WhatIf but with a darker turn in some of DC's most famous events, highlights how the Dark Multiverse runs entirely on Main/FinaglesLaw. Such as ComicBook/KnightFall showing Batman failing to retake his mantle from [[BloodKnight Jean-Paul Valley]] with the latter reforming Gotham into his image where criminals live under fear of being killed by him or his goons, or ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman depicting Lois Lane becoming the Eradicator and becoming hell bent on [[UnstoppableRage taking revenge on those who let Superman die]], and even going so far as to prevent the ''Reign of the Supermen'' before they even appear in the first place!

[[caption-width-right:350:What's worse than an [[EvilCounterpart Evil Batman?]] [[UpToEleven Seven Evil Batmen!]]]]

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him and changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he did when the transformation was beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he gunned them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutated them into monsters and they killed Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself. Worse, he then proceeds to take out armies of villains and alien tyrants (victims implied to be like League of Assassins and Darkseid respectively), and it is even implied that he even takes out '''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu The Spectre]]''' himself! With only precison, ''and blood''.

** ''Tales From The Dark Multiverse'', a spin-off series similar to the Marvel's ComicBook/WhatIf but with a darker turn in some of DC's most famous events, highlights how the Dark Multiverse runs entirely on Main/MurphysLaw. Such as ComicBook/KnightFall showing Batman failing to retake his mantle from [[BloodKnight Jean-Paul Valley]] with the latter reforming Gotham into his image where criminals live under fear of being killed by him or his goons, or ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman depicting Lois Lane becoming the Eradicator and becoming hell bent on [[UnstoppableRage taking revenge on those who let Superman die]], and even going so far as to prevent the ''Reign of the Supermen'' before they even appear in the first place!

** The Devastator's origin: The Superman of his world went mad and began attacking everything. Batman attempted to stop him with a Kryptonite spear, only to lose his arm in an injury that would surely be fatal. With no other choice and with all hope lost, having seen the symbol of Earth's hope become its greatest threat, Batman injected himself with the Doomsday virus, regenerating his arm and turning him into a Doomsday monster with Bruce Wayne's mind. He killed Superman easily and then proceeded to infect everyone with the Doomsday virus, turning them into mindless Doomsday monsters, under the belief that doing so will protect them against the inevitable disappointment of hope.
** The Red Death's origin: A Batman who, after losing his entire family, kidnapped the Flash in an attempt to go back in time and save them. Flash told him to stop, but Batman didn't listen and strapped him to the Batmobile to utilize the Speed Force, but instead of going back in time, Batman and the Flash fused into a single being with the latter reduced to an impotent voice in the Red Death's head. The Red Death then learned to use the Speed Force to age people to death, slaughtering all who cross him while what's left of the Flash can only watch and beg Batman to stop.

** ''Tales From The Dark Multiverse'', a spin-off series similar to the Marvel's ComicBook/WhatIf but with a darker turn in some of DC's most famous events, highlights how the Dark Multiverse runs entirely on Main/MurphysLaw. Such as ComicBook/KnightFall showing Batman failing to retake his mantle from Jean-Paul Valley with the latter reforming Gotham into his image, or ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman depicting Lois Lane becoming the Eradicator and becoming hell bent on taking revenge on those who let Superman die, and even going so far as to stop the ''Reign of the Supermen'' before it even came into fruition!

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him and changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he did when the transformation was beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he gunned them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutated them into monsters and they killed Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself.

** And there comes Tales from the Dark Multiverse, where it highlights some of the biggest DC Events and shows what would happen if things take on a turn for the worst (similar to the ''What If?'' series by Marvel), and those scenarios ''ain't pretty''.

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him and changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he did when the transformation was beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he gunned them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman are massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutated them into monsters and they killed Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself.

* And then there's Barbatos' himself. He was once a giant dragon who was responsible for destroying unstable worlds born from the Forge of Worlds while the stable ones lived on. But he eventually turned on his master, the Forger of Worlds and allowed the unstable worlds to survive past their normal expectancy, creating the Dark Multiverse.

* When the heroes finally start to get the upper hand thanks to the Element X/Tenth Metal, Barbatos decides to use his final contingency plan: have the Batman Who Laughs' dark matter mix with the Monitor's matter and the Anti-Monitor's brain's anti-matter, resulting in a catastrophe that will leave nothing but darkness, allowing the Dark Multiverse and Barbatos to rule all of existence.

** The Dawnbreaker's origin: A teenage Bruce Wayne was given a Green Lantern ring immediately after the deaths of his parents, when his fear has been obliterated by grief and hate. Bruce overpowers the ring's law against killing through sheer willpower, enabling him to use lethal force and vaporize Joe Chill. After attempting to revive his parents only to put them down when they came back as reanimated corpses, Bruce goes on a killing spree, eliminating all of Gotham's criminals and anyone who criticizes what he's doing, including Jim Gordon when he tries to talk him down. Bruce sees no real reason for anyone to live in the void left by his parents' death and "unlock" a new ability, Blackout, which extinguishes all light by bringing that void into the world and slaughtering his targets with eldritch constructs; this is how he kills the Green Lantern Corps when they try to reclaim the ring.

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him and changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he did when the transformation was beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he gunned them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman are massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutates them into monsters and they kill Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself.

** The Murder Machine's origin: A Batman who was forced to watch Alfred die at the hands of Bane, he worked with Cyborg to create an artificial intelligence based on Alfred. The Alfred Protocol began killing Batman's enemies to keep Bruce safe, leading Cyborg to declare that it had gone too far; Bruce wanted to reprogram the AI, but when Cyborg insisted on deleting the AI, it forcibly merged with Bruce into a robot Batman capable of controlling nanotechnology and creating hardlight copies of himself and Alfred. Batman then killed the entire Justice League, leaving Cyborg for last. Cyborg begged him not to become this "Murder Machine" but "Batman" renounced his humanity as well as Thomas and Martha Wayne, considering the Alfred AI to be his real father, before killing Cyborg by ripping his head and spinal cord out of his body.
** The Merciless' origin: A Batman who was in love with Wonder Woman and who fought alongside her against Ares. When Wonder Woman was apparently killed Batman stole Ares' helmet and became the new God of War, killing Ares but became corrupted by the power of the helmet. What he didn't know was that Wonder Woman had just been stunned and when she regained consciousness, she begged Batman to remove the helmet; he refused and killed Wonder Woman when she tried to take it by force, an act which he still seems to regret despite going on to wipe out the Amazons as well as the gods themselves. Later, he stole the coins required to enter the Underworld from the Amazons, turning them into restless souls under his command.
** The Devastator's origin: The Superman of his world went mad and began attacking everything. Batman attempted to stop him with a Kryptonite spear, only to lose his arm in an injury that would surely be fatal. With no other choice and with all hope lost, having seen the symbol of Earth's hope become its greatest threat, Batman injected himself with the Doomsday virus, regenerating his arm and turning him into a Doomsday monster with Bruce Wayne's mind. He kills Superman easily and then proceeds to infect everyone with the Doomsday virus, turning them into mindless Doomsday monsters, under the belief that doing so will protect them against the inevitable disappointment of hope.
** The Red Death's origin: A Batman who, after losing his entire family, kidnapped the Flash in an attempt to go back in time and save them. Flash tells him to stop, but Batman doesn't listen and straps him to the Batmobile to utilize the Speed Force, but instead of going back in time, Batman and the Flash fused into a single being with the latter reduced to an impotent voice in the Red Death's head. The Red Death then learns to use the Speed Force to age people to death, slaughtering all who cross him while what's left of the Flash can only watch and beg Batman to stop.

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be released into him changed his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he does when the transformation is beginning? He called upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They told him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he revealed that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he gunned them all down like dogs. A week later, he had ''all the Justice League except Superman are massacred! Not just killed, massacred!'' And then he proceeded to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutates them into monsters and they kill Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself.

** The Batman Who Laughs' origin: a Batman who did the one thing everyone wanted him to do: Kill the Joker. Unfortunately, this caused a special Joker toxin to be absorbed into him that changes his moral code into that of the Joker's while keeping Bruce Wayne's orderly mind. What's one of the things he does when the transformation is beginning? He calls upon Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Red Robin to explain what has happened to him. They tell him they'll do everything in their power to save him. But then he reveals that the real reason he called them was because he knew they would be the first people to realize something different about him and alert the other heroes...something he cannot allow to happen. And then he guns them all down like dogs. Then we cut to a scene where ''all the Justice League except Superman are massacred! Not dead, massacred!'' And then he proceeds to kill Superman, Superboy and Lois Lane by exposing the former two with a special strain of Black Kryptonite, which mutates them into monsters and they kill Lois before they tear each other apart. He did the same thing to Supergirl off-panel. Oh, and he somehow "convinced" his version of Damian Wayne into becoming a Joker monster himself.

** The Merciless' origin: A Batman who was in love with Wonder Woman and who fought alongside her against Ares. When Wonder Woman was apparently killed Batman stole Ares' helmet and became the new God of War, killing Ares but became corrupted by the power of the helmet. What he didn't know was that Wonder Woman had just been stunned and when she regained consciousness, she begged Batman to remove the helmet; he refused and killed Wonder Woman when she tried to take it by force, an act which he still seems to regret despite going on to wipe out the Amazons as well as the gods themselves. Later, he steals the coins required to enter the Underworld from the Amazons, turning them into restless souls under his command.

** The Drowned's origin: Bryce Wayne, a female version of Bruce Wayne, lost her lover Sylvester Kyle (a male Selina Kyle) at the hands of metahumans, causing Bryce's suspicions towards metahumans to become full-fledged hatred and fostering an intense paranoia that resulted in Bryce killing any metahumans she encountered as potential threats. When the Atlanteans tried to make peace Bryce killed their queen, Aquawoman, and started a war. Bryce painfully experimented on herself to gain metahuman powers, not only Atlantean abilities as well as those of all manner of sealife but also the ability to corrupt anything she came into contact with into aquatic monsters. Finally, Bryce used the corruption effect of her "Dead Water" to flood the world and turn everyone into her thralls.

** The Dawnbreaker's origin: A teenage Bruce Wayne was given a Green Lantern ring immediately after the deaths of his parents, when his fear has been obliterated by grief and hate. Bruce overpowers the ring's law against killing through sheer willpower, enabling him to use lethal force and vaporize Joe Chill. After attempting to revive his parents and putting down their reanimated corpses, Bruce goes on a killing spree against Gotham's criminals and anyone who criticizes what he's doing, including ''Jim Gordon'' when Gordon tries to talk him down. Bruce sees no real reason for anyone to live in the void left by his parents' death and "unlock" a new ability, Blackout, which extinguishes all light by bringing that void into the world and slaughtering his targets with eldritch constructs; this is how he kills the Green Lantern Corps when they try to reclaim the ring.