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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_vampire_399.jpg]]
2 %%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
3
4A trilogy published under the Creator/{{Elseworlds}} imprint that involves ComicBook/{{Batman}} becoming a vampire. There are three parts to it:
5
6!!Batman and Dracula: Red Rain
7A bunch of deaths are occurring in Gotham where the victims are found drained of blood with their throats slashed. As it turns out, the slashes are to hide the puncture wounds from vampires. Between his time investigating, Batman has dreams of a woman appearing to him as mist and then materializing. As it turns out, she is a vampire named Tanya (later changed to half vampire) that has spent a good while turning other vamps away from real blood and towards fighting Dracula. She visits Batman in the night and secretly bites him, infecting him with the vampire virus without actually drinking from him, to give him the strength to defeat Dracula, and she later sacrifices herself to destroy Dracula's horde by drawing them into the batcave as Wayne Manor is destroyed to rain sunlight into the cave. Batman faces Dracula and defeats him, but at the cost of the last of his humanity as Dracula bites and drains him in the process.
8
9!!Bloodstorm
10Batman, with his new powers, continues to fight for Gotham. However, he begins to feel bloodlust and struggles with refraining from drinking anyone's blood. Cue ComicBook/TheJoker who steps in to boss Dracula's remaining {{mooks}} around. He begins a spree of killing Gotham's wealthier criminals and taking their belongings. Selina Kyle makes an appearance as a normal person, but is bitten and becomes a [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent werecat]]. She meets Batman and provides her company, which curbs his bloodlust. In a later fight with the Joker, she is killed, infuriating Batman. He succumbs to his bloodlust and sucks the Joker dry. Horrified by what he has done, Batman orders Gordon and Alfred to stake him.
11
12!!Crimson Mist
13Without its Dark Knight, Gotham has fallen prey to its villains. Fearing what may become and convincing himself that his master cannot be evil, Alfred removes the stake from Batman, which, since he wasn't beheaded, allows for him to be revived. Now a vicious monster, however, Batman takes to the skies, killing all of his rogues. He then enters Arkham and kills every inmate. Gordon and Alfred decide to team up with Two-Face and Killer Croc to stop Batman.
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15All three books were written by Doug Moench with art by Kelley Jones (pencils), Malcolm Jones III (inks for ''Red Rain'') and John Beatty (inks for remaining books).
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17Also apparently set in the ''Red Rain'' [[TheVerse Verse]], but not necessarily canon to the original trilogy, are "Red Rain: Blood Lust" in ''DC Infinite Halloween Special'', in which Batman kills the Graysons, and ''[[ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis Countdown]] Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Red Rain'', in which the Challengers of Beyond meet [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]], Vampire Hunter, only for Batman to turn him into a vampiric ComicBook/{{Robin}}.
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19Elements of these story appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatmanVsDracula'' and a version of this world is set in the ''VideoGame/InfiniteCrisis'' game.
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21Please only list Tropes that are unique to this particular Batman story. Tropes that already apply to Batman, such as TheCowl, don't go here.
22
23----
24!!The ''Batman Vampire'' trilogy provides examples of:
25
26* AlternateUniverse: Before ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', this world was listed as Earth-1191. Following ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' it's been designated as Earth-43. According to ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'', Earth-43 is home to an entire Vampire Justice League, which implies Bruce had managed to turn Superman, Wonder Woman, and many other heroes.
27* AndIMustScream: Batman's fate in-between ''Bloodstorm'' and ''Crimson Mist''. As Batman was not [[OffWithHisHead decapitated]] after he was staked, he was only kept in a death-like state, fully conscious and aware of his body's decay and his rampant bloodlust. Needless to say, he's not pleased when Alfred removes the stake.
28* AndShowItToYou: Selina tears out the heart of the vampire that turned her.
29* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: Batman opposed the vampires who killed humans, but by the end of the third book, he has become just as monstrous as them, only just hanging on to his sanity long enough [[spoiler:to let his old allies destroy him after killing his old enemies]].
30* AntiVillain: ''Crimson Mist'' basically turns Batman into one of these, considering that he’s ripping peoples’ throats open with his teeth and cutting off their heads; the only thing that stops him being a full-on villain is that he’s only doing this to members of his old rogue’s gallery, all of whom are unquestionably killers themselves.
31* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:And they all do. Except for Dr. Arkham and (possibly) Ariane.]]
32* ArcWords: In ''Red Rain:'' "Vampires are real...[[DarkIsNotEvil but not all of them are evil.]]"
33** In ''Bloodstorm:'' [[MercyKill "To death, in peace."]]
34** In ''Crimson Mist:'' [[OffWithHisHead "First your blood... then your head!"]]
35* ArrowCatch: Batman easily catches crossbow bolts fired at him by the Joker in ''Bloodstorm'' ([[spoiler:after Catwoman dies TakingTheBullet for him]]) and Two-Face in ''Crimson Mist''.
36* ArtShift: Crimson Mist is smoothly colored, whereas the first two where inked.
37* AscendedDemon: As revealed in ''Bloodstorm'', vampires who abstain from drinking human blood are immune to crosses and holy water. Joker finds this out the hard way when he lures Batman into a church filled with crosses and the Dark Knight mockingly reveals that they don't bother him in the least... [[spoiler:until he drinks the Joker's blood and they begin to burn him]].
38* AssholeVictim: In ''Crimson Mist'', Batman's RoguesGallery qualifies. All of them are purposely depicted as darker, more homicidal, and less humane compared to their regular versions and are even purposely drawn with creepy, warped features to reflect this. When Batman comes to kill them, it's depicted for [[AlwaysABiggerFish all]] [[BodyHorror the]] horror it's worth, with all of them save Killer Croc reduced to [[VillainsWantMercy pathetically begging for their lives]], but it doesn't take away that most of them had it coming.
39* AwesomeButImpractical: Basically the reason various plans to try and kill Batman in the Batcave are dismissed; the cave is too large to trap Batman inside by filling it with crucifixes, and even if they could flood it with holy water he'd just fly above the flood.
40* AxCrazy: By the time of ''Crimson Mist'', Batman has devolved into little more than a bloodthirsty monster who eagerly beheads his victims and drains them of blood. By the end of the story, he states that perhaps he's become an even bigger monster than ''Dracula himself''.
41* TheBadGuyWins: In ''Bloodstorm'', Batman considers this the case after he [[spoiler:succumbs to his bloodlust and kills the Joker, reflecting that the Joker has finally turned Batman into a killer like himself]].
42* BarrageOfBats: At the end of ''Red Rain'', Dracula relocates to a large spire in Gotham, and the bats swarming around the building attack some firemen. Later, when Batman invades the spire, Dracula says the bats that dwelt at the batcave are under his power, although he never sics them at Batman during their fight.
43* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: In ''Crimson Mist'', Batman has gone from being a noble hero and a ''major'' practitioner of ThouShaltNotKill to a monster who eagerly kills his RoguesGallery for their blood. Gordon even acknowledges it, citing it to Alfred as proof that [[ThatManIsDead the Batman they knew is gone]]. Even Batman is aware of this, stating that he's now a bigger evil than Dracula himself.
44* BeePeople: In ''Bloodstorm'', the remnants of Dracula's horde are unable to think beyond their next victim with their master's death... Which helps the Joker to convince them to join him.
45* BetterTheDevilYouKnow: Discussed between Alfred and Gordon in ''Crimson Mist'', regarding the massive crime wave that has occurred since Batman's staking.
46-->'''Gordon''': Sometimes I actually wonder if we did the right thing, Pennyworth, driving that stake through his heart. At least the devil we knew... was once a dark angel.\
47'''Alfred''': Indeed, sir.
48* BeyondRedemption: In ''Crimson Mist'', Batman has fully succumbed to his vampire nature and feeds on his RoguesGallery before beheading them. He's fully aware of what a monster he's become, but is no longer capable of fighting it and is convinced he's taken in too much evil from his victims to be redeemed, reflecting he may very well destroy the world if he isn't stopped. Commissioner Gordon even insists to Alfred that they have to put him down, making the point that Batman killing ''anyone'' is proof that the good man he was [[ThatManIsDead no longer exists]].
49-->'''Batman''': I have lost all life, so I steal it. I am death, so I bring it. I am damned, and the world may be doomed, its sheep without shepherd, ready for its slaughter. And the worst horror of all... the last shepherd... was me.
50* BigBad: Dracula in ''Red Rain,'' the Joker in ''Bloodstorm,'' and Batman himself in ''Crimson Mist.''
51* BigNo: Both Batman and Alfred let out more than one over the course of the trilogy, notable examples including;
52** Alfred's reaction when he finds the 'dead' Batman after Dracula's final defeat in ''Red Rain''.
53** Batman after [[spoiler:Selina's death]] and the moment after he [[spoiler:first drinks human blood]] in ''Bloodstorm''.
54** In ''Crimson Mist'', Batman lets out a wordless roar of defiance as he realizes how he may destroy the world in his new state as he succumbs to his thirst.
55** Alfred gives one in ''Crimson Mist'' when [[spoiler:he watches the impaled Batman falling into a chasm in the former Batcave]].
56* BittersweetEnding: By the conclusion of the trilogy, Batman has managed to [[spoiler: put an end to Dracula, the remaining vampires, and his own RoguesGallery (in that order), but at the heavy cost of his own life and the lives of his allies, including Tanya, Selina, Gordon and Alfred]].
57* BodyHorror:
58** As a direct result of his body's decay in ''Crimson Mist'', Batman is little more than a walking skeleton with [[RedEyesTakeWarning piercing red eyes]]. Not even drinking the blood of Penguin's entire gang will restore him to a more human like appearance.
59** Creach, Joker's [[TheDragon Dragon]] in ''Bloodstorm'', spent a long time crawling out of his grave; as a result, the flesh on his abdomen has decayed, exposing his stomach and intestines.
60* BreakingAndBloodsucking: A variation occurs in ''Red Rain''. Tanya repeatedly visits Bruce in his sleep and bites him to infect him with vampirism, without actually drinking his blood. As a result, Batman gains vampire powers while still remaining essentially human, giving him the strength to fight Dracula.
61* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: In ''Red Rain'', Batman succeeds in destroying Dracula once and for all, but not before Dracula completely drains his blood and turns him into a full-fledged vampire.
62* CannotCrossRunningWater: In ''Bloodstorm'', Selina escapes from a vampire by falling into a river.
63* CanonForeigner: Ariane, Creach and Tanya.
64* CatGirl: Selina Kyle becomes a were-cat in ''Bloodstorm'' after being bitten by a vampire in wolf form.
65* CessationOfExistence: According to Dracula, this is the end result for someone who dies and doesn't turn into a vampire. Gordon refuses to believe it.
66* ChildrenAreInnocent: To the extent that the mere sight of Dracula about to attack an innocent child allowed Tanya to break free of his control and escape.
67* ContinuitySnarl: ''Crimson Mist'' states that stakes to the heart only incapacitates the vampire in a death-like state unless the head is also removed, whereas Dracula was completely dusted and KilledOffForReal after Batman ran him through on a splintered utility pole. Though in all fairness, he was also hit by lightning which would have been the possible cause, the point still remains for all staked vampires that weren't beheaded previously.
68* CouldntFindAPen:
69** In ''Red Rain'', after being slashed across the chest by Dracula, Batman uses it to his advantage to draw the image of a cross on the wall in his own blood. Dracula is left at a stalemate, both drawn to the blood and unable to approach the cross, and is ultimately forced to flee when the sun rises.
70** In ''Crimson Mist'', after slaughtering every homicidal inmate in Arkham Asylum, Batman leaves a note to Dr. Arkham in blood. The note reads, "Go home. Your work is done.".
71* CrapsackWorld: Gotham, as per usual. When Dracula comes to town, his murder spree goes largely unnoticed under its already high crime rate.
72* {{Crossover}}: Between Batman and Dracula.
73* CurbStompBattle: After Batman becomes a vampire, it's virtually pointless for any human to try and stop him in a straight fight; in ''Crimson Mist'', Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow, Ivy and Black Mask are brutally killed without doing any damage to Batman.
74* CurbStompCushion:
75** Batman and Dracula's fight. Batman finds himself unable to match Dracula's strength even with his own vampiric powers, but is able to do some damage with his silver Batarangs.
76** Killer Croc is the only non-vampire to give Batman any kind of trouble, as his tough hide makes it harder for the vampire to bite him and he's strong enough to force the undead monster back for a moment, even if Croc isn't actually stronger than what the Dark Knight has become.
77* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: Batman goes through this in ''Crimson Mist'' after succumbing to SanitySlippage and his vampire nature. As he falls deeper and deeper into corruption, he reflects that he can no longer understand the {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s of Tanya and Selina, now regarding them as foolish rather than selfless and noble.
78* DarkerAndEdgier: Invoked and Lampshaded with the Riddler, who has gone from extortion and robbery to drug trafficking and murder, combining the two by using a murder victim's body to store heroin. Within the work itself, both ''Bloodstorm'' and ''Crimson Mist'' are much darker than ''Red Rain'', both ending on near-complete downers compared to the BittersweetEnding of ''Red Rain''.
79* DealWithTheDevil: Invoked in ''Crimson Mist'' when Gordon and Alfred observe the vampire Batman ascending from the roof of the GCPD in a reddish mist, as though their plea has been sealed in blood as they turn the demonic Batman on Gotham's more conventional criminals.
80* DeathSeeker: During one of his private monologues in ''Crimson Mist'', Batman remarks that he isn't sure if he's killing people to sate his bloodlust or to provoke Gordon and Alfred into taking action against and killing him. He even consults Ariane, asking her if there was any way vampires like him could truly die.
81* DeathTrap:
82** In ''Bloodstorm'', the Joker sets one up for Batman in the form of a church full of crosses. [[spoiler: Since Batman hasn't drunk anybody's blood at that point, [[EpicFail it totally fails to work]]... Until he kills the Joker and feeds on him.]]
83** In ''Crimson Mist'', Gordon and Alfred, in an EnemyMine with Two-Face's gang, set another one up for Batman in his new lair in the remnants of the Batcave, planting explosives in the roof with the intention of setting them off and exposing Batman to the sun, along with a large cross stationed at the entrance in the hope of containing him for a short while if they miss the deadline. [[spoiler:After a struggle that ends in the deaths of Alfred and Two-Face's gang, Batman willingly convinces Gordon to continue with his plan and set off the bombs.]]
84* DepletedPhlebotinumShells:
85** During the final showdown with Dracula in ''Red Rain'', Batman attacks him with silver Batarangs. In ''Bloodstorm'', his primary weapons are wooden throwing daggers weighted with silver.
86** In ''Bloodstorm'', the gag flower on Joker's lapel squirts holy water, which he uses to keep the vampires at bay while convincing them to join him.
87* EarlyBirdCameo: In ''Red Rain'', Gordon sees a man in a long coat and a top hat walking with a cane through Gotham's slums. The man only appears for one panel, but reappears early on in ''Bloodstorm'' - turns out he was the Joker.
88* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Batman becomes one after being turned.
89* EnemyMine: Two-Face and Killer Croc's gang join forces with Commissioner Gordon and Alfred to stop Batman in ''Crimson Mist''. [[spoiler:As soon as Batman appears to have been killed, Two-Face and Croc end the alliance and try to kill Gordon and Alfred]].
90* EvilCannotComprehendGood:
91** The Joker whines that Batman should have already gone on a killing spree ever since he became a vampire, failing to take his moral fibre into account.
92** As Batman becomes increasingly corrupted, he reflects that while once saw Tanya and Selina's {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s as noble, he now sees them as foolish.
93* EvilIsPetty: The Scarecrow is shown stalking and killing the former {{Jerk Jock}}s who tormented him in high school.
94* EvilMakesYouMonstrous: Batman in ''Crimson Mist'' barely resembles anything human, having decayed for too long.
95* EvilerThanThou: Invoked. At the end of ''Crimson Mist'', Batman remarks that he's become worse than criminals like Two-Face, perhaps even worse than Dracula himself.
96* FaceMonsterTurn: Could basically apply to Batman, as he didn't choose to become a vampire (even if Tanya's original plan was just to make him ''stronger'' so he could fight Dracula rather than transform him completely) but he eventually succumbs to his new instincts and finds himself unable to control the urge to feed.
97* FallenHero: By the time of ''Crimson Mist'', Batman has turned into a fiend who targets supervillains to sate his thirst for blood. Even if he's currently only killing killers, everyone else knows that it's only a matter of time before he runs out of criminals to feed on and starts targeting innocents.
98* FemmeFatalons: Both the vampire Batman and Dracula have razor-sharp talons for nails. Batman uses his in ''Crimson Mist'' to rip Victor Zsasz's chest open, leaving the scar meant to represent Zsasz's own death before draining him.
99* FightDracula: The plot of ''Red Rain'' in a nutshell is Batman battling Dracula.
100* {{Fingore}}: The Scarecrow decorates his costume with the severed fingers of his victims.
101* FullFrontalAssault: Were-cat Selina Kyle and Killer Croc fight in the nude, but Selina's fur in her transformed state covers everything important and shadows cover Croc's crotch (although his mutated state raises the possibility that he isn't entirely human anyway).
102* GodzillaThreshold: Several during ''Crimson Mist'':
103** With crime running rampant throughout Gotham since Batman's staking, Alfred becomes so desperate to give the city a savior again that he removes the stake from Bats' body, reviving him. Sadly, Batman has been driven completely insane by his bloodlust and his body's decay, and embarks on a rampage, killing nearly all of Gotham's villains.
104** After Batman kills most of his RoguesGallery, including the inmates of Arkham Asylum, Gordon agrees to an EnemyMine with Two-Face and Killer Croc to stop him.
105* GoneHorriblyRight: Alfred revived Batman in ''Crimson Mist'' to give Gotham a savior and put an end to the crime wave. Batman does so... by killing all of Gotham's villains and draining them of their blood.
106* GoodScarsEvilScars: The Riddler bears two noticeable question mark-shaped scars, one on his face and the other on his torso (the latter using his belly-button as the dot).
107* GunsAreWorthless: Against vampires, anyway; Tanya and Batman are each shown taking three shots to the chest at different points in the three books with no effect.
108* HalfHumanHybrid:
109** In ''Red Rain'', Tanya bites Batman to infect him with vampirism while not actually drinking from him, thus giving Batman vampire powers while still remaining essentially human. He becomes a full vampire during the final showdown with Dracula.
110** Tanya herself is later {{retcon}}ned to be a half-vampire herself in ''Crimson Mist'' (although this may just be Batman's AlternativeCharacterInterpretation to "justify" his own fall from grace).
111* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:While a FallenHero in ''Crimson Mist'', Bruce is among the many deaths in that story; in fact, his is the last death]].
112* HeroicBSOD: Batman has one in ''Bloodstorm'' after [[spoiler:he drinks the Joker's blood, only 'snapping out of it' when he begins to feel the pain of the crosses around him]].
113* HeroicSacrifice: Selina and Tanya both sacrifice themselves to save Batman and stop Dracula, respectively, while [[spoiler:Alfred willingly lets Batman drink from him to give him the strength needed to save Gordon from Two-Face, explicitly asking his old master to kill him in the process]].
114* HonorBeforeReason: Gordon initially refuses to work with Two-Face because he's a crook. After Batman slaughters Black Mask's gang, mounts their heads on Blackgate Prison's fence as a warning to the prisoners inside, and then butchers all the inmates in Arkham Asylum, he changes his mind.
115* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
116** Batman beheads Scarecrow with his own sickle knife.
117** Gordon has the roof of the Batcave rigged to explode as part of a DeathTrap to defeat Batman by exposing him to the sun. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:Gordon miscalculates the explosive force necessary to blow the roof, and the resulting rockslide traps him in the cave and crushes him]].
118* HostileWeather: The red rain, which is acidic.
119* HumanoidAbomination: In ''Crimson Mist,'' Batman has been reduced to little more than a rotted skeleton enshrouded by his tattered costume, capable of transforming into mist and flying as a winged beast at will.
120* HunterOfHisOwnKind: Batman acts as such in ''Bloodstorm'', using his new vampire powers to hunt and kill other vampires.
121* ImAHumanitarian: Killer Croc, who is explicitly shown eating a prostitute and later rants about his plans to eat [[spoiler:Alfred]] while chasing him through the remains of the Batcave.
122* IHateYouVampireDad: Tanya isn't exactly thankful to Dracula for vampirizing her.
123* ImmunityAttrition: Batman is revealed to be immune to crosses and holy water, since he's abstained from drinking human blood, which works to his advantage when Joker lures him into a church filled with crosses as part of a DeathTrap. However, Batman soon succumbs to his bloodlust and sucks Joker dry, losing his immunity.
124* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice:
125** In ''Red Rain'', Batman defeats Dracula by pushing him down onto a splintered utility pole.
126** In ''Crimson Mist'', he kills Killer Croc by running him through with a stalactite, and then sticks two crossbow bolts in either side of Two-Face's head.
127* ItsAllMyFault: In ''Crimson Mist'', Alfred blames himself for removing the stake and releasing the monstrous Batman on Gotham, but Gordon assures Alfred that he's just as much at fault for wishing for aid against the current crime spree.
128* JokerImmunity: Averted. Not just the Joker himself, but all of Batman's major enemies get killed off, and it sticks.
129* LegallyDead: At the end of ''Red Rain'', in the wake of Wayne Manor's destruction and Batman being turned by Dracula, Bruce Wayne is declared dead, with one-tenth of his estate being willed to Alfred and the rest given to charity.
130* LivingEmotionalCrutch: A good description of Selina's relationship with Batman in ''Bloodstorm'', as her affection helps to ease Batman's thirst for blood and give him some sense of control.
131* MadnessMantra: In ''Crimson Mist,'' Batman repeats the same phrase with each villain he hunts during his purge of Gotham.
132-->'''Batman:''' First your blood, then your head!
133* MakeAnExampleOfThem: What Batman does to Black Mask and his gang in ''Crimson Mist''; he kills them all, and then mounts their severed heads on the fence of Blackgate Penitentiary as a warning to the prisoners.
134* MakeSureHesDead: Throughout ''Bloodstorm'', Batman comes across vampire victims, and stakes them in the heart to prevent them from rising as vampires themselves. In ''Crimson Mist'', he also beheads his RoguesGallery to ensure they don't rise once more after he's drained their blood.
135* MoralMyopia: Batman basically imposes this on himself; while he regards Tanya as a noble ally even when fully aware that she killed people before breaking free of Dracula's influence, he considers himself permanently damned when he succumbed to rage and pain and drank the Joker's blood.
136* MrExposition: Ariane, an occult researcher who Batman consults at least once in each part of the trilogy for information on supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves.
137* MurderMakesYouCrazy: Batman reflects at one point in ''Bloodstorm'' that should he succumb to his bloodlust even once, he'll become a monster like Dracula. Ultimately downplayed; draining the Joker got the ball rolling, but it was the months he spent [[AndIMustScream in a false death rotting]] that sent Batman over the edge.
138* MusclesAreMeaningless: Batman in ''Crimson Mist''. He's little more than a skeleton, but easily overpowers Killer Croc in a straight-up fight.
139* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Alfred spends months having nightmares after staking his master (even when Batman requested it), but explicitly states this after he removes the stake and witnesses Batman's new insanity and rants for blood.
140* NeckSnap: During their confrontation, Batman strikes Joker in the face with enough force to snap his neck, but this doesn't immediately kill him; Bats drains him dry.
141* NeverHurtAnInnocent: Batman makes it a point in ''Crimson Mist'' ''not'' to kill innocents and it is made clear that every villain he targets for their blood has killed on a regular basis; he even reflects that most of the prisoners of Blackgate are in for theft or less and don't deserve to be drained by him. However, even Batman himself knows that it's only a matter of time before he runs out of criminals to feed on and turns to civilians out of a lack of options.
142* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
143** A key reason Dracula's killing spree goes largely unnoticed for so long in ''Red Rain'' is because the mayor largely covers it up out of fear of causing panic and giving himself, Gotham's first black mayor, a bad impression to the public. When the crisis is resolved, the mayor resigns from office and turns himself in on charges of criminal neglect in repentance.
144** Batman's rampage in ''Crimson Mist'' was all caused because Alfred has the bright idea to take the stake out of his corpse to deal with Gotham's massive crime wave. Though, under the circumstances- said massive crime wave in the absence of Batman or anyone else capable of curbing the tide of crime and sin- this could just as easily fall under GodzillaThreshold.
145* OffWithHisHead: Apparently, the only way to permanently kill a vampire is to stake them and then chop their heads off, as revealed in ''Crimson Mist''. After draining his victims, Batman always makes sure to take their heads so they won't come back as vamps (save in the case of the Scarecrow, whom he decapitated ''before'' feeding on him).
146* TheOnlyOne: When Batman goes on the rampage in ''Crimson Mist'', Gordon muses to Alfred that he's willing to risk his cops against Two-Face or Killer Croc, but feels he doesn't have the right to ask them to face the creature from Hell that Batman has become. Alfred suggests seeking federal aid, but Gordon rejects that, observing that any outside agencies would likely think he was crazy and send him to Arkham, and even if he could convince them it would take too long and they'd ultimately just run around Gotham before getting killed anyway.
147* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The vampires are of the old-school style, being that Dracula is involved; as a result, as well as the standard superhuman strength and speed and vulnerability to sunlight, silver and holy relics, they can also turn into bats, mist and wolves, although only Dracula, Batman and Creach are specifically shown transforming (another vampire is implied to have transformed while escaping Batman in his first encounter with one of the undead in ''Red Rain'', apparently turning into mist to escape into a storm-drain, but is never explicitly shown doing so).
148* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: In ''Bloodstorm'', Selina Kyle becomes a werecat after being bitten by a vampire in [[{{Animorphism}} the shape of a wolf]]. She transforms during the full moon, but is [[spoiler: killed by a conventional wooden arrow]].
149* ThePowerOfLove: The touch of a woman's love serves as replacement for drinking blood to a vampire that hasn't fed yet. This is used by Selina to keep Bruce sane, with Bruce finding his urges lessened as he spends his days in her bed and his nights fighting alongside her... [[spoiler: until the Joker kills her.]]
150** Alfred [[spoiler:sacrificing himself to restore Bruce's strength]] gives Batman enough control to [[spoiler:allow Gordan to detonate the explosives in the Batcave so that he willingly walks into the sun, ending the threat he poses to Gotham and the world for good]].
151* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: The trilogy basically charts Batman's fall from grace;
152** In ''Red Rain'', Batman is obviously a hero as most of his direct kills are feral vampires who would tear him and Alfred apart, and gives the last of his human life to kill Dracula himself.
153** In ''Bloodstorm'', Batman is basically an anti-hero, as he outright kills almost all of his opponents. However, every foe he kills is a vampire (he is shown sparing a group of human muggers in the opening scene), and while these vampires are more capable of planning and engaging in moral debates with him than his previous victims, they all make it clear that they will kill to feed and Batman knows there is no other way to stop them.
154** By the final battle of ''Crimson Mist'', Batman has basically regressed to an 'anti-villain' as he kills virtually all of his human rogue's gallery, only able to restrict himself to killing those who are already killers, but makes it clear that he will start killing innocents if he isn't stopped here and now.
155* PsychicAssistedSuicide: When Dracula first reveals himself to Batman and Tanya's pack, he [[CompellingVoice orders]] Tanya's pack to their knees, and then to stake themselves. Batman breaks the spell by attacking Dracula before they can carry out the latter.
156* PsychopathicManchild: Scarecrow has shades of this in ''Crimson Mist'', since his primary victims are former {{Jerk Jock}}s who bullied him in school, which he ''still'' holds a grudge over. When Batman confronts him over it, Scarecrow whines that contrary to Batman's statements, his victims are ''not'' innocent and they tormented and terrified him.
157* ThePurge: During ''Crimson Mist'', Batman hunts down every major criminal and supervillain in Gotham, culminating in breaking into Arkham Asylum and slaughtering all the homicidal inmates.
158* RedEyesTakeWarning: Batman's eyes turn red when his blood cravings flare up. In ''Crimson Mist'', his eyes are almost permanently red.
159* TheRenfield: Nicely inverted in ''Bloodstorm'', where The Joker has the vampires working '''for him''' without turning him into one of them.
160** Could arguably apply to Alfred in ''Bloodstorm'' in particular, but he serves Batman through loyalty to the man Batman was rather than any desire to become a vampire like his master.
161* ResistTheBeast: ''Bloodstorm'' sees Batman trying to do this as Tanya's blood substitute becomes increasingly ineffective, forcing Alfred to leave him so that he isn't tempted. The Dark Knight is able to turn to his new ally, Cat-Woman Selina Kyle, for help controlling his urges, until [[spoiler:her death drives him to despair as he drinks the Joker's blood in a moment of blind rage]].
162* RogueProtagonist: Batman, by the time of ''Crimson Mist''. He's failed to uphold his no-kill rule and succumbed to his vampire instincts, becoming a monster who hunts criminals and kills all of the homicidal patients in Arkham Asylum.
163* RoguesGallery: The most well known Batman foes are in it; the Joker is the main antagonist of ''Bloodstorm'' and Two-Face and Killer Croc are key figures in ''Crimson Mist'', while the Penguin, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and Black Mask appear as part of a large-scale crime wave sweeping Gotham after Batman's 'death'.
164* SanitySlippage: Starting in ''Bloodstorm'', Batman begins to lose his mind as he becomes increasingly tempted by his new need for human blood, culminating in the former hero ranting about how he will drain the blood of his old friend James Gordon if Gordon won't kill him.
165* SenselessSacrifice: During the final clash in ''Crimson Mist'', [[spoiler:Alfred lets Batman drain him so he can be strong enough to save James Gordon from Two-Face and Killer Croc, but Gordon winds up getting killed almost immediately after anyway by falling rubble from the destroyed batcave]].
166** Arguably also appears in ''Bloodstorm''; [[spoiler:with the revelation in ''Crimson Mist'' that staking just immobilises the vampire unless they're decapitated, there was no need for Selina to sacrifice herself to save Batman from the Joker's crossbow arrow, as she could have just let the bolt hit him, taken out the Joker, and then pulled the bolt out of Batman's chest]].
167* SerialKillerKiller: How Batman operates in ''Crimson Mist''; he focuses his bloodlust on the more monstrous members of his RoguesGallery. At one point, when contemplating his dwindling supply of crooks to kill, he muses that most of the prisoners of Blackgate are in for theft or less and don't deserve to be killed.
168* ShutUpHannibal: Batman gives one to Scarecrow when he insists that his victims aren't innocent, and that they tormented and terrified him, while crushing his hand, exposing him to fear gas, and beheading him with his own sickle.
169-->'''Batman''': You think you know fear, Crane? You think you know true terror? You know ''NOTHING''!
170* StakingTheLovedOne: After he succumbs to his thirst and drinks the Joker's blood, Batman orders Gordon and Alfred to stake him so that he cannot become a monster like Dracula. While they go through with this request, Alfred ultimately removes the stake so that Batman can stop Gotham's new crime wave, but the corrupted Batman vows that he will not allow his old allies to pierce his heart again. Forced to accept that their old friend is basically dead, Gordon and Alfred ally with Two-Face and Killer Croc to lure Batman into a trap, destroying the roof of the former Batcave so that Batman will be destroyed by the sun when a stake proves an impractical alternative.
171* SuicideBySunlight: Done by both Tanya and [[spoiler: Batman himself]].
172* TakingTheBullet: Selina takes a crossbow bolt for Batman.
173* ThatManIsDead:
174** This line from the final panel of ''Red Rain'':
175-->'''Batman''': Bruce Wayne may be gone... but the Batman will go on... ''forever''.
176** In ''Crimson Mist'', everyone in the story, including Batman himself, openly acknowledge that Batman is no longer the man he was, because Batman, no matter what, [[ThouShaltNotKill would never take a human life]].
177-->'''Gordon''': We both needed him, but it was wrong. It doesn't matter who his victims are. He's still killing them- something the man we lost would never do.
178* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: In this comic, Dracula looks like a plain and average man instead of a ClassicalMovieVampire or resembling Vlad the Impaler like in most stories. He can take a more demonic form for sure, but in his normal form, he could easily disappear into a crowd.
179* TearOffYourFace: In ''Bloodstorm'', Creach rips off the face of one of his victims with his teeth.
180* TragicMonster: Batman eventually becomes as such over the course of the second and third parts. He repeatedly struggles with his bloodlust, and briefly finds solace from it in his relationship with Selina Kyle... until [[spoiler:Joker kills her]]. In a fit of grief and rage, Batman finally succumbs to his bloodlust and [[spoiler:drains the Joker's blood]]; immediately horrified by what he has done, Batman arranges for Gordon and Alfred to stake him so he doesn't commit further murders. Sadly, Gordon and Alfred neglected to [[OffWithHisHead behead him]] after the staking, so Batman was [[AndIMustScream paralyzed in a death-like state, fully conscious and aware of his body's decay and his rampant bloodlust]]. In the midst of a massive crime wave, Alfred becomes desperate enough to remove the stake in an effort to give Gotham a savior once more, but Batman has gone completely insane from the experience, and while he's lucid enough to be tormented by grief and guilt over the monster he has become, he's now nothing more than a slave to his vampire nature.
181* UndyingLoyalty: Even after everything the corrupted Batman has done over the course of ''Crimson Mist'', Alfred refuses to abandon or give up on him. [[spoiler:When Alfred and Gordon are forced to work reluctantly with Two-Face to stop Batman only to be double-crossed, Alfred offers his own blood to give Batman the necessary strength to finish his enemies]].
182* VampireRefugee: Batman fits the bill in ''Bloodstorm'', using his vampire powers to fight crime and the remnants of Dracula's brood while resisting the urge to drink blood, initially surviving on an artificial blood substitute.
183* VegetarianVampire: Tanya and her pack survive on a specially made artificial blood substitute. Batman initially survives on it as well, but his bloodlust soon overtakes it and he finds that the substitute no longer satisfies him. He speculates, but never determines, that this may be because he's a more 'natural' predator than Tanya, or the fact that he was bitten by Dracula exposed him to a more virulent strain of the vampire 'virus'. Curiously, Tanya and the others had originally fed on blood and ''then'' were exposed to the artificial plasma, which turned out to be something Tanya herself ''developed'' after breaking ties with Dracula. This might have even been the only way the serum ''could'' work on a Vampire, as she is shown as being completely without any sign of bloodlust by the time she meets Batman. However, Batman never drank blood until the Joker, and never tried the serum afterwards, so there's no way to know if exposure to the serum post-Joker would have helped him. It's also worth noting that Tanya subsisted on ''animal'' blood while conducting her experiments with the serum, so she didn't quite fit the 'vegetarian' side of the trope altogether.
184* VillainousLegacy: Dracula is dead by the end of ''Red Rain'', but his legacy continues throughout the remainder of the trilogy. ''Bloodstorm'' sees the Joker take control of the remnants of his pack, and Batman's fall to villainy and madness in ''Crimson Mist'' is entirely due to Dracula's bite.
185* VillainsWantMercy: Riddler, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Black Mask [[spoiler:and Two-Face]] all beg for mercy before Batman kills them; Joker just laughed about his 'victory' and Penguin [[spoiler:and Killer Croc]] didn't have time to properly react.
186* WalkingWasteland: Only shown once, but in ''Crimson Mist'', when Batman attacks Poison Ivy, his mere presence causes her plants to wither and die.
187* WhatIf: Batman became a vampire?
188* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''Bloodstorm'', between Batman and the newly vampiric mob boss Cardona:
189-->'''Cardona''': The old Batman never killed! Now you're a one-man Holocaust, killing every night!\
190'''Batman''': Eliminating you from Gotham is not killing... You're not even alive.
191* WhatTheHellAreYou: Riddler asks Batman as such after shooting him has no effect. Batman's response:
192-->'''Batman:''' "The answer to life's every riddle: death and hungry darkness."
193* WhoWantsToLiveForever: In ''Crimson Mist'', Batman ponders over this trope during one of his private monologues, reflecting upon the certainty that he will eventually run out of criminals to kill, and, like Dracula before him, will create his own vampire brood to escape the loneliness of eternity:
194-->'''Batman''': How long before I can no longer bear the loneliness? How long before I stop [[OffWithHisHead taking heads]]? How long before I start taking brides? Before I have spawned a 'family' even larger than the Cult of Dracula? ''Not long''.
195* WingedHumanoid: Both Batman and Dracula manifest wings while transformed (although Dracula tended to become a more bat-humanoid figure where Batman 'restricted' himself to manifesting wings in a human state most of the time).
196* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Batman's tragic situation in ''Crimson Mist''. Restored from a paralyzed state as little more than a shambling, ravenous corpse, he barely maintains enough of a conscience to direct his vicious bloodthirst toward the super-villains of Gotham who have already killed people themselves, all the while knowing that eventually he will run out of criminal victims to gorge himself on and turn instead on the innocent. He knows what a monster he has become, but no longer is capable of fighting it.
197* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Near the end of ''Red Rain'', Batman and Alfred sacrifice Wayne Manor and most of the Batcave to ensure the destruction of Dracula's horde and that Batman's SecretIdentity remains a secret.
198** Essentially subverted in ''Crimson Mist'', when Batman returns to the remains of the Batcave to make his lair after surrendering to his vampire instincts.
199* YouFool: Batman's first words to Alfred upon being restored in ''Crimson Mist''.

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