Through the years, Bruce Wayne has become one of comics', movies', and even video-games' most beloved and favored characters as his alter-ego, Batman. The world's greatest detective has always shined as the badass vigilante with a moral code. Yet, comics have always pushed boundaries and asked themselves the question: what if?
While not trying to copy Marvel, DC's given birth to dozens, if not hundreds, of alternative Batmen over the years. From his own universe and fellow heroes/villains to the ever-popular Elseworlds and the Dark Multiverse, alternative Batmen always seem to be popping up all over the DCU, for better or worse.
Batman Beyond
It wouldn't be a Batman list without mentioning the future version of Batman. In the futuristic Neo-Gotham, Bruce Wayne has given up the mantle of Batman. However, when Terry McGuinness comes across the Batcave, Bruce trains the boy to become the next Batman.
Batman Beyond ended up being an amazing animated series. Giving Terry time to grow and utilize the different gadgets and futuristic Batsuit, he took on amazingly strange villains, like Blight, Inque, and a future Joker possessing Tim Drake's body, all while under the mantle of Batman.
Jean-Paul Valley
Just about every Batman fan worth their salt knows of the events after "Knightfall", one of the best Batman comic arcs. After Bane broke Batman's back, Jean-Paul Valley, a university student who sees Bruce's tactics as Batman as obsolete and not as brutal as they should be, Valley took the mantel of Batman.
Equipped with a high-tech Batman suit, Valley brutally beat down Bane, took back Gotham, and declared himself its savior. After Batman healed from his injury, he fought and defeated Valley, who would later take on the name Azrael, forming an odd friendship with Black Canary and continuing his methods.
Jason Todd
Fans may know of Terry or Jean-Paul becoming Batman, but how many remember the time Jason Todd took the name? When Batman is presumed dead after the events of "Final Crisis," the cowl is up for grabs and somehow, Jason Todd manages to grab hold of it.
Still using guns and behaving as if he's still the Red Hood, Todd was just as brutal as Jean-Paul, viciously killing criminals without mercy. Although his time as Batman was brief, with Nightwing serving as a better Batman, Todd proved that he should never again take on the mantel.
Vampire Batman
There have always been crazy rumors in the comics about Batman being a demon or a vampire. Of course, none of them are true ... on the main earth, that is. On "Red Rain's" earth, Batman does in fact become a vampire after a battle with Count Dracula.
Even after the count dies, Batman continues to protect Gotham as a vampire before giving in to the bloodlust after killing the Joker. Afterward, Batman became the undead, killing without remorse and throwing his code to the wind, embracing being a prince of darkness.
Lovecraftian Bat
Many fans assume that a vampire version of Batman is as crazy as the Elseworlds can get. It wasn't. "The Doom That Came To Gotham" is a Lovecraftian style comic written by Mike Magnolia and it turned Batman from an Urban Myth into a supernatural beast.
When the demonic Ra's Al Ghul rises from the grave, many citizens slowly begin to mutate into creatures, including Batman. By the end of the comic, Batman's able to bring down Ra's, but is stuck in the form of a massive Bat, forever protecting Gotham.
Elliot Ness: Batman
Mixing history and fiction is a fun concept, but it's always going to get weird. In another Elseworld, Bruce Wayne doesn't take up the mantle of Batman. Instead, Elliot Ness, in a bid to take on Al Capone, becomes the caped crusader.
It's as strange and awesome as it sounds, with Ness not even getting the name for dressing up as a bat, but rather for utilizing an actual baseball bat to beat on Capone's goons. With this strange new Batman fighting crime, Capone didn't stand a single chance.
The Batman Who Laughs
Beyond the typical Elseworlds and iterations who've taken up the mantle, there's always the Dark Multiverse. While there are plenty of awesome candidates, like the Devastator or Red Death, The Batman Who Laughs needs to be mentioned.
Recently, fans have felt like the Batman who became infected with Joker Toxin and became a twisted dark version of himself has been overused, even becoming a Doctor Manhatten version of himself called Darkest Knight. Despite this, The BWL is still a terrifying and intriguing version of Batman without rules or his code.
The Drowned
Again, there are plenty of Dark Multiverse iterations of Batman, too many to fit on one list. Yet, it's worth noting the Batman from Earth -11: Bryce Wayne, a female version of Batman who became the villain known as The Drowned.
After killing the leader of Atlantis, Aquawoman, Batwoman's world was devastated by a tsunami. Bryce was forced to resort to experimentation, changing herself into a Batman that breathed underwater and could corrupt anyone with her Dead Water. Add that to wiping out all metahumans and that's one crazy Bat.
Dark Claw
Crossovers are always fun, but there's always the chance they may go too far. When Marvel and DC comics joined forces to create a combined universe known as Amalgam, the craziness was elevated with the introduction of Dark Claw, a combo of Wolverine and Batman.
After watching his family die, Logan Wayne slowly unlocked his mutant ability and became the hero known as Dark Claw. Utilizing the Wolverine's claws and Batman detective skills, Dark Claw took on villains like the Hyena and became one of Amalgam's most popular characters.
Zur En Arrh
Unlike the other Batmen, Zur En Arrh is from the mind of Bruce Wayne. Originally an alien from the planet Tiano featured in Batman The Brave And The Bold, Zur En Arrh was updated for modern comics as being an alternative personality, with his flamboyant costume even being introduced to the Arkham games.
Absolutely insane, Zur En Arrh's origin is much darker than the originals. Leaving the theatre after a show, Thomas Wayne had remarked to his son that "Zorro would be locked up in Arkham" moments before the Waynes were gunned down. Those words became twisted in young Bruce's mind and gave birth to Zur En Arrh.