TV & Beyond on 2025-06-29 21:10:00

by | Jun 29, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles | 0 comments

TV & Beyond on 2025-06-29 21:10:00

via Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins.” In the two decades since that film was released, the character has been revised several times in film and television, such as Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” with Robert Pattinson.

However, in the comics, the character is regularly changed in more dramatic ways. DC Comics has written the Caped Crusader as Owlman, the villainous crime lord of Earth 3 and the gun-toting Batman Thomas Wayne, who took up the mantle in a world where Bruce Wayne died in the alley that night. Sometimes he’s depicted as a hero flung eons into the past or future, turning him into a prehistoric barbarian or an immortal crimefighter. Despite these variations, however, it’s quite rare that DC changes Batman’s powers — or, rather, his lack of powers. When they do, they often can’t help but turn him into a dangerously overpowered superhuman to be feared by anyone who stands in his way.

Here are the most powerful alternate versions of Batman, ranked.

Darkfather

The Darkfather with ParaRobins

DC Comics

Since the “Dark Knights Metal” event in 2017, it’s become next to impossible to discuss powerful alternate versions of Batman without getting into the Dark Knights themselves. The multiversal variants of Bruce Wayne hail from the so-called “Dark Multiverse,” which contain countless doomed universes born of the worst things Batman has ever done.

One of these “Dark” variants of Batman is the Darkfather, a version of Bruce Wayne who has embraced the truth of Anti-Life. This granted him an appearance similar to that of Darkseid and seemingly enhanced physical capabilities similar to a New God. At first glance, and given the general narrative conceit of “Dark Knights Metal” and its sequel “Death Metal” (which were both basically written around introducing versions of Batman wielding the powers of various heroes and villains from the DC Universe), it would be easy to assume that the Darkfather would be just as, if not more powerful than Darkseid.

However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Though he boasts enough superhuman might to subdue Wonder Woman, he’s ultimately dispatched by a single punch from Superman. Still, a New God Batman is stronger than most other variants we’ve seen in the comics, so he just barely makes it onto our list.

SuperBat

Superman and Batman loom over SuperBat

DC Comics

Many stories throughout the DC multiverse have explored what Batman might do with Kryptonian powers, but this combination has never been quite as strong as it is within the pages of a Rebirth-era issue of “Batman/Superman: World’s Finest.” In a short arc that takes place chronologically toward the beginning of Batman and Superman’s friendship, the two came up against a magical demon called Nezha who was uniquely capable of attacking their biggest individual weaknesses (Superman’s being any form of magic and Batman’s being anyone who isn’t a scary clown or trivia emcee).

Things get even worse when Nezha uses his powers of possession to take over the minds of other superheroes, including the Green Lantern Hal Jordan. In this brainwashed state, however, Hal’s will is weakened just enough for the combined will of Batman and Superman to lure his ring away — and when we say combined, we mean really combined. The ring fuses this dynamic duo into one being with all the physical gifts of a Kryptonian and all the intellectual prowess of a traumatized rich orphan, as well as some limited Green Lantern construct-building ability.

All jokes aside, a true combination of Superman, Batman, and a Green Lantern ring could be a nearly unstoppable force for justice. The only reason SuperBat is so far down on this list is that, at least in the form we’ve seen thus far, it can only exist for an extremely short amount of time before the ring’s power is completely exhausted.

Vampire Batman

Batman with glowing red eyes, surrounded by bats

DC Comics

Given their shared affinity for bats, there’s arguably no adversary more perfect for Batman than the original bat man himself, Count Dracula. The two have actually fought each other numerous times in various continuities depicted in comics, TV shows, and even two movies you’ve probably never seen. For our purposes, however, we’re going to focus on one trilogy of comics that not only follows the darkest and most epic encounters between these caped masters of the night but sees Batman himself transformed into a true creature of the night.

In the 1991 DC Elseworlds graphic novel “Batman & Dracula: Red Rain,” Bruce Wayne finds himself powerless to stop a horde of vampires who have descended on Gotham in secret to feed on the city’s most vulnerable at night. He is thus turned into a vampire himself, giving him the strength he needs to kill his enemies — including Dracula. This act of murder forces Bruce Wayne to cross a threshold that literally and symbolically turns him to a monster for good, condemning him to an eternal afterlife of insatiable bloodlust (during which he murders most of his rogues gallery) until he ultimately chooses to end his life.

It’s a particularly bleak story that impressively explores the dark corners of the human psyche through tragedy and violence, giving it a classically gothic tone (if you haven’t read the trilogy yet, it’s one of the best “Batman” comics you need to read). As for this vampire variant of Batman, he is all but unstoppable and unkillable, and he could have wiped out all of Gotham City with relative ease had he not stepped into the sun before it was too late. Had we seen him take on the wider DC Universe, he might even be several places higher on this list.

The Drowned

The Drowned floats near an octopus in the water

DC Comics

On the gender-swapped world of Earth -11, Bryce Wayne is not a superhero, but she’s a serial killer who targets anyone with super powers indiscriminately. She does this to avenge the murder of her one true love, Sylvester Kyle (the Catman of Earth -11). Her final enemy on this bloody quest turns out to be Aquawoman, who, in this reality, had never revealed the existence of herself or Atlantis. Her fight with Batwoman evolves quickly into all out war between Atlantis and the Surface World, with Aquawoman eventually using her powers to drag all of Gotham City underwater. The undeterred Bryce simply uses advanced technological and scientific bio-augments to transform herself into a superpowered aquatic being. Further, after killing Aquawoman personally, she steals her enemy’s trident of power.

Like all of the Dark Knights mentioned on this list from here on, this Batwoman — self-christened “The Drowned” — possesses all the physical and mental capabilities of the Batman we know, in addition to her ill-gotten supernatural gifts. The Drowned specifically can manipulate water and infect and control the minds of certain enemies (effectively turning them into aqua-zombies with superpowers). She also possesses superhuman physical capabilities.

The Red Death

Red Death runs through skulls

DC Comics

Like the Drowned, Red Death is traumatized by loss and represents the main Bruce Wayne’s biggest fears — particularly the fear of losing his family. On Earth -52, Bruce has not only lost both of his parents but all of his children, each of whom were presumably killed because of their activities as Batman’s sidekick. Because he seemingly can’t stop those closest to him from dying in the present, he becomes obsessed with the idea of traveling back in time to prevent the deaths of all of his loved ones.

To do so, however, he needs to harness the power of the Speed Force, which is currently tied to its usual steward Barry Allen, aka The Flash. Using the stolen powers of the Rogues, Batman defeats The Flash, permanently freezes him in place, then straps him to the hood of a Batmobile outfitted with machinery from the cosmic treadmill. When he puts the pedal to the Death Metal, Bruce disintegrates Barry and makes himself one with the Speed Force, becoming the murderous vigilante speedster known as the Red Death. (Readers may recognize Red Death from the disastrous final season of the CW series “The Flash.”)

The combination of the Speed Force makes Batman’s usual skills lethal, and conversely, Batman is able to take advantage of the Speed Force in ways Barry couldn’t, such as learning to project energy that can instantly age someone to death. His only weakness is the faint consciousness of Barry himself, who is seemingly trapped in Bruce’s head to helplessly plead with him to return to sanity.

The Dawnbreaker

The Dawnbreaker surrounded by constructs of hands and tentacles

DC Comics

Batman has been gifted and/or cursed with several different rings of power over the past two decades. In the “Blackest Night” event, he was turned into a zombified Black Lantern and later revived as a fully-powered White Lantern. He has also proven himself worthy of the fearsome Yellow Lantern Ring of the Sinestro Corps at least twice (once in a 2005 issue of “Green Lantern” and again during the “Forever Evil” New 52 event). He’s also donned the ring of the Green Lantern several times — in one universe, this led to an era of darkness unlike anything the Green Lantern Corps has ever seen.

Unlike other Dark Knights, the Bruce Wayne of Earth -32 never became Batman. Instead, having chosen to chase down his parents’ killer immediately after their murder, Bruce’s will was so strong from such a young age that he was chosen to be the Green Lantern of Earth. However, the vengeful child’s will was ultimately so strong that he was able to overpower the constraints of the ring, unlocking its lethal capabilities and turning him into the most powerful member of the corps. He definitively proved this by overpowering every member of the Green Lantern Corps soon after they discovered he was murdering any criminal or cop (including Jim Gordon) who opposed his “justice.”

The Murder Machine

The Murder Machine aims a palm repulser

DC Comics

On Earth -44, the defining loss of Bruce Wayne’s life is that of his butler Alfred Pennyworth, who is brutally beaten to death by Batman’s worst enemies late into the hero’s career. Overcome by guilt and grief, Bruce enlists the help of his fellow Justice League member Cyborg to help create an autonomous artificial intelligence that will honor Alfred’s legacy of service. Together, they create the Alfred Protocol, an A.I. capable of operating a vast network of nanites to construct innumerable physical bodies that resembled Bruce’s late father figure.

The Alfred Protocol is driven by a single goal: Prevent Bruce from being harmed ever again. To do so, it executes every villain in Batman’s rogues gallery, including those imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, before returning to what it deems to be the last remaining threat to Bruce’s life: Bruce himself. Using the nanites, the Alfred Protocol traps Bruce in a suit of armor that slowly strips him of all humanity — as well as his flesh, bones, and emotions. He is now the Murder Machine, an unfeeling robotic creature capable of taking out his world’s Justice League. In a technologically-driven world, the Murder Machine’s mastery of technological manipulation (including the abilities to commandeer and transform any piece of technology on Earth at a given moment) makes him almost omnipotent.

The Merciless

The Merciless raises a sword above his head

DC Comics

The Dark Knights may possess some god-like powers, but only one of them is truly a god. The Merciless (the Bruce Wayne of Earth -32) was born at the end of a devastating war between Wonder Woman and Ares (the god of war, seen on-screen in the 2017 “Wonder Woman” movie). Batman fights with Wonder Woman during this time, the two eventually falling deeply in love and, ultimately, taking Ares down.

However, Ares’ powers had been increased thanks to a magical helmet, which Bruce takes for himself in a moment of arrogance, believing that appointing himself as the new god of war was the only way to ensure warfare would finally be morally just. Though he was successful in absorbing all the powers of the supercharged Ares, he also absorbed Ares’ code of ethics, leading him to “realize” that the only code to live by is victory alone.

His instincts were so corrupted that, when Wonder Woman awoke from unconsciousness to see that Bruce had taken the helmet for himself, he killed her to stop her from taking it from him. After that point, no hero, villain, or god could withstand his wrath.

Castle Bat

Castle Bat takes on the Justice League

DC Comics

Gotham City is easily the most iconic location in DC Comics. Whether rendered as the muted, Chicago-esque metropolis seen in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy or as the colorfully terrifying gothic carnival seen in the Tim Burton films, Gotham often feels like a character in and of itself. In “Dark Knights Metal,” however, that was actually, literally true.

In one of the negative earths of the Dark Multiverse, Bruce Wayne aged out of crime fighting and passed the mantle of Batman down to his son, Damian — who was, apparently, a pretty disappointing crimefighter. Bruce thought so, at least, and he was so distressed by Damian’s work that he set in motion a plan to take back his job, despite his advanced years. If getting fired by his own Bat-dad isn’t bad enough, Bruce murders Damian as part of an old sacrificial ritual that will allow Bruce to become one with the city of Gotham.

As a result Bruce is enveloped by the city and able to manipulate every inch of it at will — he can even turn it into a large, anthropomorphic Bat-city capable of taking on the entire Justice League with ease. It’s difficult to even conceptualize exactly how powerful “Castle Bat” is, especially since he was only taken down because Lex Luthor happened to have access to the city-harvesting technology of Brainiac. But clearly, he’s powerful enough to be close to the top of this list.

Devastator

Devastator roars in Gotham

DC Comics

Speaking of Lex Luthor, he’s likely the character that comes to mind for most comics fans when they think about Superman’s greatest villains. While he’s certainly up there, however, it’s easy to forget that his most dangerous adversary is arguably Doomsday, the Kryptonian monster that killed “Superman” in one of his best comic book stories ever.

Wealthy, brilliant, and buoyed by advanced tech, Bruce Wayne already has everything he could possibly gain from Luthor on Earth -1. So when the Superman of that Earth goes rogue and murders Lois Lane, he borrows the skills of Superman’s other big bad and turns himself into a Doomsday-like creature known as the Devastator. In this form, Batman overpowers Superman in an instant and kills him with a single infectious breath — before going on the customary mindless murder rampage expected of all the other Dark Knights.

Devastator possesses all the powers of the original Doomsday, including his unique ability to adapt to any situation in order to survive and kill his adversaries. In terms of raw physical strength and durability, this power alone easily makes him one of the most dangerous Batman variants.

Bat-Mobius

Batman sits in the Mobius chair

DC Comics

Finally, we can get out of the world of the Dark Knights and the Dark Multiverse and tip our caps to a Batman from a more mainstream reality — in fact, for most of the 2010s, he was from the mainstream reality (kind of).

Reboots are complicated but, suffice it to say, for a literal hot second, the Batman of the New 52 Prime Earth was one of the most powerful beings in the entire universe. This came about during the “Darkseid War” event, which (to put it as simply as possible) dredged up a whole bunch of New God nonsense that eventually led to Batman commandeering a chair of absolute knowledge forged by Mobius the Anti-Monitor. This seat is usually occupied by the New God Metron, but Bruce was able to steal it, after Wonder Woman dragged him off of it with her Lasso of Truth.

While sitting on the chair, Batman is omniscient and as close to being omnipotent as one can be without gaining reality manipulation powers. He can know anything (including the identity of the Joker and the ultimate secret of his universe — that it’s secretly controlled by Doctor Manhattan), can be anywhere, and, in theory, can prevent any crime from taking place. The only limit is that the chair itself has a will of its own which, if subverted, can cause the chair to inflict damage upon its user. After realizing this, Batman is liberated from its control by Hal Jordan.

The Batman Who Laughs (The Darkest Knight)

The Darkest Knight in a form of shadows

DC Comics

The Batman Who Laughs quickly became one of the most popular new characters of the DC Rebirth era by (checking our notes here) smushing together two of the most iconic characters in the history of fiction and then jamming him into every story and merchandising opportunity possible. (You’re not running around Fortnite dressed up as City Boy or Red Lantern Vladimir Sokov. Just saying.) He had become ubiquitous by the end of the original “Dark Knights Metal,” so when the sequel rolled around, the only thing left to do with the character was to kill him. First, however, he’d need to become a god.

As a quick refresher, the Batman Who Laughs is a version of Bruce Wayne created by the Joker in one of his most vile acts yet. Having goaded Batman into killing him, the Joker’s corpse releases a toxin that transforms Bruce into an insane criminal mastermind with a sort of unpredictable genius that allows him to take over his entire world. Fast forward past “Dark Knights Metal” to “Death Metal,” this Batman is ready to attempt total multiversal domination once more, this time by having his brain transplanted into the body of a version of Bruce Wayne from another earth who gained the omnipotence of Doctor Manhattan.

With this power, The Batman Who Laughs is untouchable, a cosmic being capable of creating and reshaping worlds according to his whims. Few entities in the DC Universe could face this version of Batman, more than earning him the title of the Darkest Knight.

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