10 Darkest Batman Comics of All Time

Since 1939, Batman has stood out as one of DC’s darkest heroes, something that has only intensified since Frank Miller got ahold of the character. With the company assigning some of their star creative teams to the hero, every writer has left their own spin on the character. While some creators do try and give The Dark Knight a lighter touch, others have made a point of outdoing one another in seeing just how grim a story they can write.

Batman may be thought of as one of the darkest heroes at DC, but that actually wasn’t always the case. Before the Bronze Age, the Caped Crusader was a relatively lighthearted figure, whose adventures were closer in tone to the Adam West show than modern stories. During the 1970s, however, he returned to his darker Golden Age roots, and the company hasn’t looked back since. As a result, he has starred in some of the darkest comic book stories of all time.

10 Legends of the Dark Knight: Venom

Dennis O’Neil, Russell Braun and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

1989’s Legends of the Dark Knight was made with the intention of giving star creative teams freedom to tell great Batman stories out of continuity. One of the most famous stories from the series is “Venom,” a five-part story that focuses on the hero turning to Bane’s super serum to help him fight crime. However, the more he uses it the more aggressive he becomes, threatening criminals with death and alienating Alfred.

“Venom” is a clear exploration of drug addiction, from how it affects the user to its impact on loved ones and the difficulty of recovery. The story pushed Batman to his psychological limits, culminating in the hero asking Alfred to lock him in the Batcave for a full month to beat his addiction.

9 Batman: Death of Innocents

Dennis O’Neil, Joe Staton and Bill Sienkiewicz

Death of Innocents follows Batman as he travels to the fictional, war-torn nation of Kravia to rescue the orphaned daughter of a Wayne Enterprises employee killed by a landmine. There, the danger of hidden explosive devices becomes devastatingly personal to the Caped Crusader as he navigates the country in search of the girl. Throughout the story, it shows its title is quite literal.

Death of Innocents was created for a sole purpose: to spread awareness about the dangers of landmines. Following conflicts like the Bosnian War, the threat of stray explosives became very real, and United Nations efforts to clear various countries of the threat were underway. In this PSA-style graphic novel, readers are shown the raw, heartbreaking reality of what people in conflict zones have to live with — and concluded with a direct appeal to the reader.

8 The Black Mirror

Scott Snyder, Jock and Francesco Francavilla

As the story that put Scott Snyder on the map for DC fans, “The Black Mirror” follows Dick Grayson taking on the role of Batman in the aftermath of Final Crisis (Grant Morrison and JG Jones). In the wake of Bruce Wayne’s death, the city spirals into an even darker place than before, and Dick investigates a villain named the Dealer, who sells classic artifacts from Gotham’s villains to wealthy citizens.

“The Black Mirror” alternates between exploring how Dick Grayson would fill his adoptive father’s shoes as well as the return of James Gordon Jr, whose grim past makes a comeback. The story paved the way for Snyder and Capullo’s legendary run on Batman, and answered a long-running question from readers as to how the original Robin would respond to the loss of Bruce Wayne.

7 Death In the Family

Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo and Mike Mignola

“Death In the Family” begins with Joker taking Jason Todd hostage and infamously beating him almost to death with a crowbar — and letting an explosion finish the job. With vengeance in his heart, Batman sets out to find the Clown Prince of Crime and bring him to justice. For the Modern Age, the story stands out for being one of the few canonical stories that suggested Bruce could be pushed to lethal force, something he thankfully didn’t follow through with.

“Death In the Family” is notable in DC history for several reasons, not least of which is the fact that readers themselves voted for Todd to be killed off. Combined with the fact that the story centers around the murder of a child and drove Batman to the edge, it broke boundaries for its time, and raised the stakes for ’80s comics considerably.

6 Batman Who Laughs One-Shot

James Tynion IV and Riley Rossmo

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Dark Nights Metal event follows the arrival of a small group of Nightmare Batman variants from the Dark Multiverse, in their war on reality for Barbatos. As the main story is told, readers are also given an exploration of the origins of the various evil Batman. The crowning jewel of these tie-ins is Batman Who Laughs.

Batman Who Laughs explores the titular villain’s creation as Bruce Wayne is corrupted by Joker’s toxin following his death. As the chemicals start to take hold, they twist the Caped Crusader’s mind, culminating in him gunning down the entire Bat-family. To make things even harsher, he uses Black Kryptonite to drive Superman and Jon Kent mad, resulting in them killing Lois and dying from its effects.

5 Death of the Family

Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Gail Simone, Ed Benes, Peter J. Tomasi, Eddy Barrows, Daniel Sampere, Tom DeFalco and more

The New 52 has gone down as one of the darkest tonal shifts in DC history, something that was especially true for Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman run. In the story “Death of the Family,” the Joker returned to Gotham City, where he targeted the entire Bat-family, believing the sidekicks were holding back Batman. Beginning with the gruesome reveal of the villain having his face surgically reattached, giving him a horrific appearance, the story is a great representation of Snyder’s grim style.

“The Death of the Family” follows Joker as he takes over Arkham Asylum and begins capturing and psychologically torturing various Batman allies. Ranging from Alfred to Batgirl, the story made it clear that nobody was safe, and takes the villain’s obsession with Batman to a whole new level. The story effectively combines elements of classic stories, such as Arkham Asylum and “Death in the Family” and takes them to extremes.

4 Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth

Grant Morrison and Dave McKean

As the centerpiece of Gotham City’s war on crime, Arkham Asylum has been the focal point of some of Batman’s best stories. In A Serious House On A Serious Earth, Joker leads a revolt in the asylum, taking its employees hostage and forcing the Caped Crusader to respond. What follows is a terrifying exploration of the building and its patients as the hero fights to bring things under control.

A Serious House On a Serious Earth brings readers one of the best creative pairings as Morrison’s psychological plot is turned into a surrealist horror story by Dave McKean. The story itself shows just how terrifying Gotham’s villains are, especially when they’re all trapped inside the same building as the prisoners literally take over the asylum.

3 Batman Damned

Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo

Batman Damned begins with an injured Batman learning that the Joker may be dead, and the idea quickly spreads that the hero himself is responsible. Setting out to learn the truth of the events he blacked out from his memory, the Caped Crusader is joined by John Constantine, who guides him on an exploration of the supernatural side of Gotham. As their journey continues, Bruce begins to question his own sanity and culpability.

Batman Damned ushered in the Black Label imprint at DC Comics on the perfect note, with its creative team turning in an eerie exploration of the psychological and spiritual side of the character. Leaving readers on a perfectly ambiguous note, the three-issue miniseries stands out as one of the best collaborations between Azzarello and Bermejo, replete with the infamous “Bat-wang” panel.

2 Batman: The Cult

Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson

Batman: The Cult follows the hero’s investigation of a murderous cult in Gotham City led by the fanatical Deacon Blackfire. While on the cult’s trail, The Dark Knight is captured and brainwashed, later being conditioned into aiding them as they carry out the murder of the city’s homeless population. Thanks to a stroke of luck, Wayne is able to get away from the killers, and begins to recover his senses. Alongside Robin, he returns to try and bring down the cult.

Batman: the Cult explores the effects of psychological trauma on the hero as he is forced to cope with PTSD and the memory of what he did for the cult. The miniseries explores the character at his most vulnerable and shows that, despite the reputation he has today, The Dark Knight is still just a man.

1 Batman: The Killing Joke

Alan Moore and Brian Bolland

Batman: The Killing Joke explores the origins of Joker as a former failing comedian turned fall guy who, after tripping into a vat of chemicals, becomes the villain. In the present day, the Clown Prince of Crime tries to take Batman over the edge by targeting those closest to him, all in the hopes of shattering his rival’s moral code.

The Killing Joke is a book so dark that even Alan Moore regrets having written it, lamenting its effects on the industry as younger writers tried to duplicate his success. From the heavily-implied sexual assault of Barbara Gordon to the psychological torture of Jim, the comic dragged Batman into his darkest story of all time. While it stands out as a fan favorite, it’s also been responsible for making the Bat-books increasingly grim. Readers should also note that the story received a long-demanded sequel in Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s Batman: Three Jokers.