History NightmareFuel / Batman

[[Franchise/{{Batman}} The Dark Knight]] has been up against some truly terrifying moments, no doubt in part due to his extensive RoguesGallery and the latter being made of a good chunk of dangerous and scary psychopaths. Below are but a smattering of the scariest moments.

Heavy spoilers for several comic series are below. Non-comic books examples for Batman belong on those appropriate pages.

* As [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief unbelievable]] as people find it, the ''No Man's Land'' storyline had quite a bit. First, the very premise: Gotham City is mostly destroyed and public facilities are practically destroyed, then cut off from the rest of America, all laws, and all support, while the wackos run free and split the remains of the city into a GangsterLand. Add multiple references to cannibalism, constant moral ambiguity, and the Joker doing classically barbaric Joker-things like kidnapping babies and inciting insane cops to shoot their own, and you have a horror that's near impossible to laugh off. It was so bad that people wanted to stay in the HellholePrison that was being run by [[KnightTemplar Lock-Up]] just to avoid living in the streets of Gotham.

* Doctor Hurt and the Black Glove's plan for Batman's final fate: bury Batman alive, not long enough to kill him, but long enough to shut down his brain and make him into practically a vegetable. They then plan to dig him up, deform him to look like his worst enemy the Joker, and keep him as a brain-dead slave for the rest of his life.

* In ''The Man Who Laughs'', we see the effects of the Joker venom from Batman's perspective. Even though he gets better soon (as it's all part of a plan), the loss of sanity is terrifying. And you can't help but wonder if he was ever fully cured...
* In Creator/ScottSnyder's run on the 2011 reboot of Batman, we're introduced to an AncientConspiracy in Gotham. One who knows Gotham better than Batman. This, in of itself, isn't particularly terrifying. However, the more Batman investigates, the more he discovers just how powerful they are. And then they capture Batman himself, drug him and start to drive him completely insane in an enormous maze beneath Gotham. Seeing someone as cool and collected as Batman raving and terrified is shocking.
** And now Snyder's added the Joker to his run. And thus we're greeted with a [[http://assets1.ignimgs.com/2012/07/02/batmanpromojpg-9d705f_800w.jpg terrifying, horrifying image of Joker]] holding his cut off face, as it was cut off at the beginning of the ComicBook/New52 reboot of Detective Comics, teasing his return. And the storyline title? it's called "Death of the Family". [[TonightSomeoneDies That's right, somebody close to Batman will die again]].

* Batman #497, [[WhamEpisode also known as the 11th issue in the infamous]] ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' [[WhamEpisode story arc]], but better known by its title of ''[[GameBreakingInjury The Broken Bat.]]'' Imagine being a little kid, or a long time Batman fan (which many of us likely were at that time) wondering how things would go with Bruce's confrontation with Bane, Batman gives a big speech, slaps on his mask... [[CurbStompBattle and then spends the whole issue getting his ass kicked.]] Really, after the first few pages where Bane lays out his motives, it's a one-sided confrontation from start to finish. Imagine the horror that must have gone through the minds of many readers as they watched their hero get massacred, his every attempt to fight back failing pitifully. the battle was over before it even began, and both Bane and Batman knew it. And then final terrifying moment [[https://comicbookclog.com/2015/05/14/knightfall/ where Bane puts Batman out of his misery and breaks his back.]]

** Jane Doe casually takes the identity and life of Dr. Carver before the events of the story. Anyone who knows Jane Doe in the DC Universe takes the very essence and identity of her victims through various information on her victims and taking their guise BodyHorror style.
* In ''Arkham Asylum: Tales of Madness'', an innocent Arkham guard named Greg is held hostage by a bunch of villains, all in [[ArtShift different art styles]], as they take turns telling scary stories for the right to kill him. Greg narrates at the beginning of the story that he survived the ordeal, but at the end, they ask who told the scariest story, and when Greg says they're ''all'' scary and can't choose, they close in on him. Cut to weeks later where Greg's fiancee wants to see him, but when she does she finds he's in a catatonic state with the villains' names carved into portions of his body, his sanity utterly shattered. To top it off he reveals they call him "Jigsaw Man".

--->'''Dr. Ryan''': Has it ever occurred to you that these '''imaginary''' fans of yours are really just '''figments''' of your '''imagination?'''

*** The buildup to this deserves mention, [[SpotTheThread due to how it was seeded throughout the story]]: When the Joker first met Dr. Ryan, he opened with [[BrickJoke a joke about a brick that seemingly goes nowhere.]] As the sessions progress, the Joker is given a teddy bear to help with stress. A later session has Dr. Ryan mention how the asylum's security discovered [[OhCrap some loose mortar in his cell, along with a brick being missing from the wall]]. And so, as Dr. Ryan gets zonked out, the Joker tells one final joke, where he basically outlines that he's about to die... as he rips the brick out of the bear.

--->([[YouCanSeeMe the Joker suddently turns to directly face the audience,]] [[SlasherSmile wide-eyed and wide-mouthed]])

** Speaking of Scarecrow, his great-grandmother was [[EvilOldFolks one scary old lady]]. [[FreudianExcuse If you were wondering why her great-grandson turned out the way he did, some very creative child abuse was involved]]. Specifically, Grandma Crane made young Jonathan do all the chores on the family's run-down farm all by himself, which would be bad enough. If he ever disobeyed or got in trouble, she'd punish him by soaking his clothes in rat blood and psychotropic drugs and lock him in an abandoned aviary to be attacked by birds. Is it any wonder that, when Jonathan became the Scarecrow, [[AssholeVictim Granny was his first victim?]]

* Professor Pyg is what would happen if Creator/DavidLynch created a Batman villain. He's a middle-aged man with a pig mask and butcher clothing and he's ''terrifying.'' In his first appearance, he has a bunch of Dollotrons (human zombie dolls) holds a criminal accomplice down so Pyg can make him one as well and tells said accomplice that he'll then help Pyg do the same to the man's niece. Then, in the third appearance, he gives a tied Robin (Damian Wayne) a very odd and disturbing MotiveRant that seeps quickly into a VillainousBreakdown, all while dancing with power tools to "sexy hot" disco music. Robin simply responds as he breaks free, [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7mn1u1v1p1qz742do1_1280.jpg "You just redefined 'wrong'."]]

---->'''Narration Boxes''': For those of you joining us, allow me to '''explain...''' ...I'm not '''beating''' the poor doctor's '''brains''' out. [[DistinctionWithoutADifference I'm proving a]] '''[[DistinctionWithoutADifference point.]]'''
---->'''The Joker''': (standing over Dr. Ryan, brick in hand; [[BreakingTheFourthWall to the audience]]) '''SEE?'''

* [[spoiler: The Heretic's face: the head of a baby in a body of an adult.]]

** Jane Doe casually takes the identity and life of Dr. Carver before the events of the story. [[spoiler: Anyone who knows Jane Doe in the DC Universe takes the very essence and identity of her victims through various information on her victims and taking their guise BodyHorror style!]]
* In ''Arkham Asylum: Tales of Madness'', an innocent Arkham guard named Greg is held hostage by a bunch of villains, all in [[ArtShift different art styles]], as they take turns telling scary stories for the right to kill him. Greg narrates at the beginning of the story that he survived the ordeal, but at the end, they ask who told the scariest story, and when Greg says they're ''all'' scary and can't choose, they close in on him. Cut to weeks later where Greg's fiancee wants to see him, but when she does she finds [[spoiler: he's in a catatonic state with the villains' names carved into portions of his body, his sanity utterly shattered. To top it off he reveals they call him "Jigsaw Man"]].

** Notably, as is noted multiple times by both Batman and Riddler's henchmen, Riddler's ''lethal'' streak is flat-out uncharacteristic of him, not least because he flat-out kills a security guard, almost hangs another by the neck with a hangman's noose, and left a baby to choke to death... it gets worse when you find out that [[spoiler: Batman rescuing the hanged guard by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and Batman opening the baby's throat to perform a tracheotomy were all part of Riddler's plan, but TheReveal gives no such reason for him killing the unfortunate other guard]].

** Not only that, having to witness the rise and fall of empires and containing many world knowledge makes him a worthy and terrifying foe in Batman's gallery of pure evil. And if that wasn't enough, there’s always the dreadful temporary side effects of the Lazarus Pit. [[spoiler: The user would undergo temporary insanity and blood lust, often attacking friend or foe alike with little to no remorse]].

** Possibly worse than his drug addiction is seeing the little girl drown on-panel as he tries desperately to save her by lifting a heavy rock. The waters rise every panel and page until she's completely submerged, and Batman finally lifts the last of the debris, only for her still body to be shown in a single panel on the following page.

* Batman's disturbing portrayal of drug dependency in Venom which has a good dose of NightmareFuel and TruthInTelevision thrown in full spades. Part of the Legends of the Dark Knight anthology series (issues 16-20). Batman's reason for turning towards the fictional synthetic drug is because he failed to save one little girl from drowning to death in a cavernous section of the sewer. He ends up working unwillingly with the creator of the very drug and the father of the said aforementioned girl, Randolph Porter, and begins developing sensational use of the drug. Batman starts undergoing many changes (physically, psychologically, and through motor functions). It's hard to read the whole story from beginning to end since we get to see firsthand that Batman's reliance and dependency on Venom end up showing an almost rarely seen human side of him. Begging and pleading for more of the stuff and wallowing in himself inside. And besides being weak, he becomes more highly deranged with occasional roid rages and enjoys causing pain and suffering on his foes (surprisingly without nearly killing them!). It's both [[NightmareFuel disturbing]] and [[TearJerker sad]] to see the beloved Dark Knight turn into a big shambling drug user. And not only does it affect him, but it also nearly destroys the kindled friendships of Commissioner James Gordon and Alfred, with him beginning to question Bruce's health and well-being. For Bruce to overcome the addiction, he needed to isolate himself for a straight 30 days in his cave! As you might expect, during his detoxing period, he undergoes various craves and also [[SanitySlippage suffers horrific hallucinations]]. This very arc from beginning to end is just NightmareFuel, to begin with. Oh! And if you think just the description itself is bad... [[SchmuckBait Wait till you]] [[http://i.imgur.com/4RSZD6K.png get a]] [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11112/111121690/3690821-1951947864-batma.jpg load of]] [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_large/6/67663/2403056-new_edition.jpg This!]]

* '''''ComicBook/TheJoker'''''. Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, it doesn't matter - he is the TropeCodifier for MonsterClown for a reason. In his very first appearance, he utilizes his horrible Joker Venom without a second thought, laughing off any inevitable deaths he causes. Chronologically speaking, even when you read a goofy Silver Age story where he's pulling some harmless heist, you're still looking at a MonsterClown with [[LackOfEmpathy completely apathetic]] spree-killings on his criminal record[[note]]which, not counting unearthly forces, contains the single biggest kill count in the DC universe (being over 2,000 murders)[[/note]]. Another part of what makes him so scary is how ''random'' he is -- he can be a harmless jester pulling elaborate pranks one minute and without warning try to poison the whole of Gotham. The worst part is that the Joker doesn't seem to notice any difference; pin-balling from HarmlessVillain to crossing the MoralEventHorizon is as easy as breathing for him. Lastly, he instills fear into many in-and-out-of universes, especially if you happen to be coulrophobic (scared of clowns). All of this is manageable by someone who has no powers apart from an utterly unhinged mindset.

* The unnamed man who simply calls himself "an innocent guy" in the story of the same name in ''ComicBook/BatmanBlackAndWhite'' that was also included in a special edition of ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''. Essentially, this is a guy who's been decent and well-behaved his entire life. However, he wants to test this theory that the only way someone can be actually good and not just fear retribution is to commit something very evil to see which feeling wins out. What evil act does he want to do? Well, he initially thinks of chaining up a little girl in a sewer until she dies, but he then decides to assassinate Batman. He details his plan in disturbing detail where he'll just show up after Batman defeats one of his rogues, shoot [[BoomHeadshot him in the head]], and just leave and destroy the evidence. Sure, it's arguably noncanon, he's a one-off character (though some fans notice the aforementioned Jim Gordon Jr. bears an awful resemblance to him), and his plan is more likely to fail than work, but he leaves a disturbing impact precisely ''because'' of how [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse normal he looks]].