There is only one Dark Knight. For sure? Batman Day is a good time to look at different versions of the Batman.
Batman/Green Lantern z Batman: In Darkest Knight
DC, like any major publishing house, has non-permanent series with cult heroes. However, they are also famous for the so-called Elseworlds . These are single stories throwing famous characters into completely new stories, setting them in different historical realities or significantly changing their origins. In Batman: In Darkest Knightwe have a great example of such a scenario. We see the Dark Knight early in his career as a crime killer. However, this is not a successful start. Bruce is getting hit hard on his first patrol. Sitting in the mansion dressing up his wounds, Wayne vows to find a way to plant fear in the hearts of criminals. Then a figure appears to him that leads him to the crashed ship Abin Sura, a member of the Green Lantern Corps. He, being on the verge of death, gives his ring to a young millionaire. This is where the changes begin for the familiar DC universe. The most obvious is, of course, the absence of Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern. Nor is the Joker in this world, James Gordon is killed and Sinestro connects the mind of Bruce’s parents’ killer Joe Chill with his own.Dark Knights Metal – Dawnbreaker from Earth-32. – Krzysztof Płociński
Batman from the Television Crisis in the Infinite Earths
There is no need to convince anyone that DC is doing epic crises. It is in the last of them, called Crisis on Infinite Earths , that an extremely interesting role of Batman appears, by the way played by … Batman. Kevin Conroy, known to fans of Gack’s voice in animated series, plays here in an extremely dark role of the protagonist, who not only has numerous kills (Superman, Joker, Riddler …), but also by fighting the Man of Steel he moves only thanks to metal rack. This Bruce from Earth-99 has nothing to lose. He is selfish and by far the toughest vision of Batman I have ever faced. The actor himself admitted, however, that he had great fun playing this character live. – Jarosław Trzpis
Batman from Gotham in the light of gas lamps
Batman already had a ton of different versions and incarnations. My special attention was drawn to the version of the Bat from the Gotham series in the light of gas lamps. The year is 1889 and Bruce Wayne is traveling around Europe. Eventually, he goes to Vienna, where Dr. Freud becomes his mentor. Batman is still tormented by dreams about the murder of his parents and decides to return to Gotham. On the spot, it turns out that women are starting to die, and people suspect Batman. It soon becomes clear that Kuba the Ripper has arrived in the city. Even though the comic is set in the late 19th century, we still feel at home. The Whitechapel Killer is a perfect match for Batman’s enemy. Brian Augustyn efficiently mixed reality with fiction. The killer’s modus operandi remained the same, and added Jack the Ripper’s confusion in the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. The whole series focuses on solving a criminal puzzle, which for me is a huge plus and reminds us that Batman is primarily a detective. – Paweł Grzelczyk
Batman among the Nazis
If Batman had appeared in the Third Reich, which side would he be on. Nazi law and justice or opponents of Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship? Well, in comics we can get to know two faces of this ruthless bat.
The Berlin Batman is a short comic story, created by Paul Pope and published in 1998. The author decided to model the comic book hero on an authentic figure from the first half of the 20th century, an Austrian merchant of Jewish origin – Ludwig von Missesie. Batman is presented as the Jewish counterpart of Bruce Wayne – Baruch Wane. Rather than a fashionable playboy, Baruch is a wealthy man who is interested in contemporary art trends, including cubism. He begins the fight against the system on the day his parents are murdered by the Nazis. As the years went by, it got worse and worse, the persecution of his brethren was increasing, until the Jews were exterminated. In this situation, Baruch decides to administer justice, even at the expense of opposing the despotic power.
In turn, on Earth X, Batman is a Leatherwing part of the New Reichsmen, fighting alongside Overman to maintain the thousand-year-old Third Reich. Not much is known about this character, however, like his original counterpart, he uses a lot of tricks, gadgets and exercises to fight evil. With evil from the point of view of the Third Reich. – Bartosz Stuła
Batman from the cartoons of Hanna-Barbera
As you know, Batman wasn’t always the Dark Knight as we know him today. He started out more as a masked detective than a superhero. From 1966, we could watch him in a TV series, where Adam West played the main role. And for a long time, the Batman was seen a little more as a comedy-adventure game than in the style of the fearless defender of Gotham, at which the worst criminals tremble. His less dark image was used by Hanna-Barbera studio and cast in their cartoons.
The animated Batman made his debut alongside… Scooby-Doo! On September 15, 1972, an almost 1.5-hour episode of the series New Scooby-Doo was broadcast , where the Avenger from Gotham and his faithful Robin chase the Joker and Penguin, and they are helped by the aforementioned dog and the rest of “those pesky kids”. Of course, the cartoon Bruce Wayne and the other heroes were practically identical to those appearing in the series in the 1960s. As the crossover turned out to be a huge success and the kids loved Batman, the studio also made the cartoon Super Friend in 1973., where apart from the aforementioned characters known from DC comics, we could also see Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman. In 2018, the Dark Knight had the opportunity to meet Scooby-Doo again. This time, the more serious Bruce and the same talking dog played Scooby-Doo! and Batman: Odważniaki and scarecrows . It is also worth mentioning that Bruce Wayne had contact with children before. In 1970, together with Robin and Joker, he performed in Sesame Street , where he taught the youngest how to properly cross the street. Here he also appeared in an animated version and was modeled on Adam Wescie. Did you know Batman from this side? – Piotr Markiewicz
LEGO Batman
Po ponurych, quasirealistycznych filmach Christophera Nolana ponownie potrzeba było spuścić powietrze z nadętego wizerunku Mrocznego Rycerza. Twórcy animacji LEGO Przygoda zrobili to w pięknym stylu, przedstawiając klockowego Batmana jako zadufanego w sobie pozera, któremu bardziej niż na walce ze złem zależy na utrzymywaniu swojego wizerunku oraz przebywaniu z popularnymi bohaterami. Jeszcze dalej poszła ekipa stojąca za spin-offem LEGO Batman. Film, w którym snobizm i egocentryzm Gacka zestawiono z najbardziej przeszarżowanymi i zwariowanymi wersjami jego przeciwników. Przygody plastikowego Batmana są pełnym fanowskiej miłości hołdem do najbardziej kiczowatych i kampowych perypetii Bruce’a Wayne’a oraz bezlitosną satyrą na jego przesadnie „poważne” i pełne patosu wersje. – Damian „Nox” Lesicki
Dark Claw – Earth-9602
By searching the DC multiverse, you can find all sorts of weird versions of Batman. However, to find this perhaps the craziest vision of the Dark Knight, you have to turn your gaze partially towards Marvel. So what does DC’s biggest rival have to the bat? Well, in the 90s two publishers collaborated and the Amalgam Comics project was created. The effect of this partnership was, among others, series depicting the adventures of heroes who are a mixture of characters from both sources. This is how we got Super Soldier (Captain America and Superman), Doctor StrangeFate (Doctor Strange and Doctor Fate) and Dark Claw. And that’s what we’re going to focus on now.
The hero is a combination of Batman and Wolverine. Logan Wayne has the same powers as the Marvelian mutant – accelerated healing, sharpened senses, claws extended from the hand, and an Adamantine skeleton after undergoing experiments as part of the Weapon X project. detective. As if that was not enough, it also has a wide arsenal of gadgets. It is a truly lethal combination. His biggest rival is Creed Quinn or Hyena (a mixture of Joker and Sabertooth), Wayne’s trusted helper in this world is Sparrow (a combination of Robin and Jubilee), and the main place of operation of New Gotham City (i.e. a mix of Gotham and New York as presented by Marvel). The most distinctive feature of Dark Claw is, of course, his costume, which combines, the best of Batman and Wolverine. When he’s not fighting crime, Logan is a wealthy playboy and artist. He uses his inherited fortune to promote his art and travel around the world. – Krzysztof Płociński
These are just some of the most interesting versions of Batman. The DC world has much more to offer.