Batman is one of those characters with a very interesting reception among his fans. On the one hand, Batman is the most popular character in comics. I would honestly say that everyone who buys monthly comics buys at least one Batman book a month. DC publishes an insane amount of the Dark Knight every month and they all sell enough to keep doing that; not too long ago, Batman stuff kept DC afloat. However, even those who love the Caped Crusader will tell you that the character is overexposed and that sometimes, they just want him to sort of go away. It’s just the way it works with the character – we all love him but we also all kind of hate him. It’s a paradox, and one of the most interesting in pop culture.
Because of his popularity, DC has given readers every variation on Batman you can imagine, with evil Batmen being something of a cottage industry. In 2017, DC decided to take villainous Batmen to the extreme, introducing the Dark Knights in Dark Knights: Metal. These Batmen came from the Dark Multiverse, worlds where everything went wrong (think more Marvel What If… than Earth-2), each of them taking on the powers of the Justice League to kill their fellows. This led to the ultimate evil Batman – the Batman Who Laughs. The Batman Who Laughs is a name that has become infamous since his debut almost a decade ago. He’s become one of the most hated characters in DC history, but I’ve always felt that hate was overwrought. While there were definitely problems with the Batman Who Laughs, a lot of the myth that has sprung around him is just that – myth.
If you’re here reading this, I don’t think I need to go too much into detail about the Batman Who Laughs, but I will just in case you saw my handsome picture and decided to read this article while knowing nothing about comics (it could happen; I’m quite good-looking) The Batman Who Laughs came from an Earth where he decided to kill the Joker. However, this played right into the Clown Prince of Crime’s hands, as he made a special Joker toxin that would be released if Batman killed him, one that would transform the Caped Crusader into the villain – a man with no sanity. He became just as dangerous as you can imagine, killing everyone on his Earth before being recruited by Barbatos and becoming the scourge of the DC Multiverse from 2018 to 2020.
The Batman Who Laughs was one of DC’s most overpowered characters; he was, after all, Batman but evil. He could beat anyone, outplan anyone, and was known for turning the tables on his foes. I remember at first liking the idea of the character and being happy that he had returned in Justice League (Vol. 4) during Scott Snyder’s run. I’d end up picking up Batman/Superman (Vol. 2), which would kick off with a story arc where he was the big bad (and barely appeared), his miniseries, and Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen. The Batman who Laughs has a reputation as an overexposed character; however, I just listed for you his main appearances between 2018 and 2020.
There’s an idea that he was everywhere in the years between Dark Knights: Metal and Dark Knights: Death Metal. He was a rather important villain, but he was only important if you were seeking him out. For example, the main book driving the overall story of this era was the aforementioned Justice League (Vol. 4); he hardly appeared in that book at all, and never as a part of the Legion of Doom. In fact, if you went from Justice League to Dark Knights: Death Metal without reading Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen, you won’t understand why he’s suddenly Perpetua’s right hand and not Lex, who was groomed for that position from issue #1 of Justice League (Vol. 4) and was at her side in the battle in issue #39 that led directly to Death Metal.
This idea of the Batman Who Laughs as this omnipresent villain you couldn’t escape if you were reading DC books in the late ’10s is laughable to me. However, it was always going to go this way. The Batman Who Laughs was the coolest looking of the Dark Knights; he was basically designed to be popular. A lot of people really liked the character right away and DC knew they would, so they made him a big part of their upcoming stories. I think a lot of fans got mad that they were “taken in” by this character who was all but designed in a lab to appeal to the kind of people who like superhero comics.
No one really likes to admit that they’re a Batman fan. He’s the character everyone likes, so there’s a backlash against him. This can happen with something when it gets popular; people like it, but it’s stops being cool to like it. This was the Batman Who Laughs in a nutshell. He got popular very quickly, fans realized that he wasn’t some organic creation but a character meant to be a big bad, and they rebelled. It’s the John Cena Effect. Basically, back in the day, wrestling fans hated John Cena after a while because he was the “corporate baby face”. He was the hero pushed by the company and fans don’t like to realize that the things they like are dictated by someone else. The Batman Who Laughs was designed to be popular and then pushed by the company, and the fans rebelled. It’s a tale as old as time.
I don’t think there’s any universe out there that exists where the Batman Who Laughs became popular and faced no backlash whatsoever. To begin, there’s no such thing as a Batman without a backlash. He’s just one of those characters that fans love and are tired of at the same time. The Batman Who Laughs was always going to face the same thing. There was always going to be some inevitable hatred of the character. However, it feels like the Internet comic community has pushed it to comical levels.
The villain was never as omnipresent as everyone thought and, when it comes right down to it, he’s not a bad character. He’s a Joker-ized Batman and when done right, he’s one of the most chilling villains you can imagine. There’s really nothing wrong with him as a villain, other than he’s Batman so he wins a lot. However, for some reason, it feels like everyone has built up this myth of the BWL as this character who was in every book, beating up every hero, and making all the villains cry. It’s fine to not like him, but the hyperbole with which the Batman Who Laughs is hated will always be funny to me.
