The Batman Who Laughs burst onto the scene during Dark Knights: Metal. A denizen of the Dark Multiverse, the Batman Who Laughs was a Bruce Wayne who finally killed the Joker and paid the price, as Joker had created a special Joker toxin for just that event. It transformed Bruce Wayne into a twisted amalgamation of Batman and the Joker. The Batman Who Laughs ended up killing everyone on his Earth before joining Barbatos.
The Batman Who Laughs was a big deal for a few years, giving readers an evil version of Batman. While the two characters started out in similar places, they were very different. Looking at who they are, it's plain to see that there are a lot of variations between the two.
10 The Batman Who Laughs Makes Jokes
Batman is known for being serious. Most heroes assume that Batman doesn't have a sense of humor. This is patently impossible - everyone has some kind of sense of humor—but Batman is the type of person to not show his until he trusts someone. Batman isn't the type of superhero to constantly make jokes in battle, and he doesn't pull pranks on his fellow heroes after the mission is over.
Because of the Joker toxin that transformed him, the Batman Who Laughs is completely the opposite. The Batman Who Laughs makes jokes as much as possible, although his sense of humor is definitely of the more brutal variety. The Batman Who Laughs takes after the Joker in most ways, after all, so it makes sense that he would be a humorous (or at least his idea of humorous) Batman.
9 The Batman Who Laughs Always Manipulates And Betrays Those He Works With
Batman and the Batman Who Laughs both work with others, but they do it in two very different ways. Batman is a team player. Batman understands that the best way to solve problems is by working together. While he can be hard to work with, most heroes know that Batman means well and that he can be trusted. Batman has on occasion been underhanded in these relationships, but for the most part, Batman is on the up-and-up with his teammates.
The Batman Who Laughs is all about manipulating those he works with. For example, the only reason he joined Barbatos is to get off his doomed world; he had no loyalty to the dark god. Later, the Batman Who Laughs fought for the right to be Perpetua's right-hand henchman, yet he meant to betray her the whole time. Batman has had problems being on teams in the past, but he still means well. The Batman Who Laughs only sees others as tools.
8 The Batman Who Laughs Isn't Sentimental
Batman puts on airs as if he's the hardest person in the world, yet he has a strong sentimental streak. The Batcave is the perfect example of this. Batman keeps all kinds of reminders and mementos of his battle against evil, and even constructed a shrine of sorts to Jason Todd during the long years that he believed Jason dead. Batman doesn't have just one sentimental bone in his body—the majority of his bones are sentimental.
The Batman Who Laughs has no sentimental side, which makes sense. The Joker was never one much for sentiment, and this has extended to the Batman Who Laughs. The Batman Who Laughs doesn't care about anything or anyone.
7 The Batman Who Laughs Has A Different Design Aesthetic
Batman is known for being dark, something which has extended to his design aesthetic. Batman has used the darker colors of the spectrum for a long time—grays, blacks, and blues—to design everything and put bats all over everything he's made. It's almost like a compulsion at this point, as Batman has picked a theme and stuck with it.
The Batman Who Laughs' design aesthetic changed after the Joker toxin took effect. Instead of having bats on everything, it was all black leather, spikes, and chains. This cosmetic change definitely sets the two apart. It's like the difference between a Victorian Goth and a Cyber-Goth.
6 The Batman Who Laughs Doesn't Use Powered Armor As Much As Batman
Batman loves his various armor. The Dark Knight knows his limits, just like he knows that he's going to face foes who will push him past his limits. Batman has created multiple armors over the years for this reason, from the Justice Buster to the Hellbat, all made to even up the odds against foes who have much greater power than him. Powered armor might not be a weapon he uses daily, but it is an important part of Batman's arsenal.
The Batman Who Laughs almost certainly had powered armor back on his original Earth and probably used it when he was killing every person in that world. However, since the Batman Who Laughs came out of the Dark Multiverse, he's stopped using it nearly as much. He has other strategies to use against his enemies.
5 The Batman Who Laughs Doesn't Care About Gotham City
Gotham City is extremely important to Batman. Both of Batman's dual lives revolve around helping Gotham City. Bruce Wayne donates to every charity he can and employs as many Gothamites as possible in his various corporations. Batman risks life and limb to keep the city safe, a mission that he has prioritized over everything else. Gotham is in Batman's blood, and while he will defend the planet from evil, Gotham City is the focus.
The Batman Who Laughs seemingly has no attachment to Gotham, which is actually pretty strange. Both Batman and the Joker are obsessed with Gotham for different reasons, but the Batman Who Laughs doesn't care for the city at all. The Batman Who Laughs used it in one of his attacks on Batman, weaponizing his knowledge of the city, but other than that, Gotham wasn't his home base or a major part of his plans.
4 The Batman Who Laughs Is Physically Smaller
Batman has worked all his life to bring his body to the height of human perfection. Batman doesn't have superhuman strength or speed, but he is as strong as a human can possibly be. Batman is quite muscular, although as someone who uses his muscle for more than show is smaller than a typical bodybuilder of similar lifting capacity, and is a big person. Batman looks like he can punch a hole in a brick wall.
The Batman Who Laughs looks physically smaller than Batman. While the Batman Who Laughs is strong and fast, something about the Joker toxin that transformed him also shrank his musculature. The Batman Who Laughs physically looks like the Joker—a slimmer specimen than he was while he was Batman. However, the strength and speed are still there in the Batman Who Laughs, despite being smaller.
3 The Batman Who Laughs Doesn't Depend As Much On His Detective Skills
Batman has been many things over the years. One of the main things that everyone thinks about when they think of Batman is his detective skills. It's a skill that has helped him immensely over the years in Gotham, allowing him to solve crimes that perplex everyone else. There's a reason "Dark Knight Detective" is one of his nicknames and Ra's al Ghul calls him "detective."
The Batman Who Laughs is frighteningly clever, but he rarely uses his detective skills. It can be argued that as a villain, and one who knew a lot about the superhero community, he didn't really need them. However, the Batman Who Laughs also doesn't really seem like someone with the patience to be a detective anymore. The Batman Who Laughs was all about action, and being a detective takes someone more contemplative than him.
2 The Batman Who Laughs Isn't Surrounded by Allies
Batman has built a network of allies. Bruce Wayne lost his family at a young age and has spent the ensuing years building a new one. Alfred, Dick Grayson, and Barbara Gordon formed the first iteration of the Bat Family, and as the years went by, more heroes would be added to it until it was basically a superhero team of its own. The Bat Family is a feared unit in battle. While Batman may seem like the heartless drill instructor/commander, he loves the members of his Batman family.
The Batman Who Laughs doesn't have anything similar. There are the Robins, and later the Robin King, but they aren't allies—they're weapons. The Batman Who Laughs takes after the Joker in that regard, as he has no deep relationships other than the ones that are useful to him.
1 The Batman Who Laughs Kills
Batman's no-kill rule is an important part of his war on crime. Batman believes that if he were to kill a killer, it wouldn't mean there was one less killer in the world, because he would take their place. There are a lot of problems with this, and it can be argued that Batman saving lives by killing someone like the Joker is warranted. This is obviously what the Batman Who Laughs eventually believed, and it cost him dearly.
This one difference—that the Batman Who Laughs was willing to kill his greatest enemy—set him down the road to ruin. This is the biggest difference between the two Batmen. Batman has thought of killing the Joker multiple times, but never actually will. The Batman Who Laughs did, and it doomed everyone on his Earth and beyond.