10 Worst Batman Comics, Ranked

Among DC Comics’ illustrious cast of characters, Batman stands out as a timeless favorite, gracing numerous renowned and essential stories. From “Year One” to “The Long Halloween”, there are numerous exceptional, must-read Batman tales that rank among the finest comics ever printed. However, despite Batman’s presence in many remarkable comics throughout the years, it is only natural that some less distinguished works have surfaced. In fact, there are a few that are downright terrible. Throughout his career, Batman has appeared in DC Comics’ best and worst, and these ten comic books represent some of the most abysmal, irredeemable publications ever created.

In some instances, actions were taken that caused immense harm to the character, leaving others questioning the storyline so much that they created numerous YouTube videos discussing why “Batman appears to be the true antagonist.” Now, without further ado, let’s delve into the discussion.

10) Three Jokers

Title “Batman: Three Jokers” turned out to be a major letdown for many fans, given its rocky development history. The intriguing reveal during “The Darkseid War” that there were three Jokers sparked much speculation among fans. Unfortunately, due to various behind-the-scenes complications, the explanation didn’t materialize for five long years. This delay inflated the mystery of the three Jokers to cosmic levels, and with sky-high fan expectations, anything less than a universally acclaimed solution was bound to be underwhelming at best. The resolution we received fell short in many aspects, sometimes even being downright disappointing. Not only was the explanation for the three Jokers convoluted and overly simplistic, but the storyline itself at times seemed offensive.

In a nutshell, this tale disappoints because it consistently introduces intriguing ideas only to provide dull conclusions. For instance, the Jokers take Red Hood captive with the intention of turning him into one of them, but then abruptly abandon the plan without explanation. Later, Red Hood kills one of the Jokers, yet this significant event is swiftly brushed aside to focus on a forced romance between Jason and Barbara.

The Joker masterminded everything to compel Batman to forgive Joe Chill, inflicting the greatest wound upon him, but the story surrounding this revelation is so insipid that it fails to make an impact. Unfortunately, the narrative lacks any lasting appeal and serves primarily to tarnish the concept rather than satisfy fans.

This comic series had a lot of potential, but it fell flat due to its dull conclusions and focus on uninteresting subplots. It’s hard to find anything in it that leaves a positive impression.

9) White Knight

This narrative appears to be a take on Batman, penned by an author who seems to harbor strong dislike towards the character and struggles to empathize with him. The fundamental concept revolves around questioning whether the Joker’s chaotic ideology could hold merit. This is an unconventional angle, given that the Joker is a notorious mass murderer.

The comic book and its subsequent installments depict Batman as a man so blinded by vengeance that he fails to recognize the damage he inflicts upon Gotham. Furthermore, these stories suggest that many of his adversaries are supported by the city’s elite who capitalize on the destruction caused by Batman’s battles to acquire properties at reduced costs.

In a surprising turn, when the Joker is administered a new medication that momentarily restores his sanity, he transforms into a Gary Stu figure who swiftly resolves Gotham’s issues. He does this by presenting indisputable evidence and logical arguments to demonstrate that Batman would be more effective if he were to share all of his resources with the GCPD, despite its notorious reputation for corruption.

Sean Murphy, in his writing, considers Jason Todd as the original Robin and Dick Grayson as the second, not to alter the storyline, but because he genuinely believed that was the conventional lore. If this doesn’t indicate that Murphy lacks knowledge about Batman or his dynamics, I’m at a loss for what would. This whole situation seems rather condescending towards Batman, and honestly, I don’t see the charm in portraying the Joker as the good guy all along. It feels like Murphy is belittling Batman fans, which is quite unusual for a Batman comic.

8) Reptilian

It’s puzzling why Garth Ennis continues to pen superhero comics given his open disdain for the genre. Despite this, he persists in writing about characters he has admitted to not liking or understanding, such as Batman in the series “Batman: Reptilian.” This comic is a grim take on Batman, written by someone who appears to dislike the character. The story revolves around a reptilian beast terrorizing Gotham’s criminal underworld, with Batman attempting to uncover the truth behind the attacks. Throughout the narrative, Ennis includes crude humor and excessive violence, while also highlighting what he perceives as the less intelligent aspects of Batman’s personality.

In summary, Batman decides to utilize the villain Konstantine as a decoy to attract this monstrous foe. When Konstantine attempts to assault Batman, he gets attacked by the creature instead, ultimately leading to his death. Batman allows it to happen, stating that this doesn’t violate his no-kill rule since he didn’t intentionally kill him. This comic is typical of Garth Ennis’s writing style, so if you appreciate his approach, you might find this comic appealing. However, I would advise against reading it if you are a Batman fan, as the narrative and author seem to have a negative portrayal of Batman, with Konstantine showing little resemblance to the usual character depiction.

7) Batman Odyssey

Neal Adams was a groundbreaking artist who significantly shaped Batman’s visual identity, establishing a benchmark for all subsequent adaptations. As an artist, I hold him in high regard, but his writing style could use improvement. The plot of “Batman Odyssey” is intriguing, though challenging to describe due to its complex and sometimes bizarre nature. Each issue opens with Bruce Wayne narrating the story directly to the reader, with scenes becoming increasingly sensual and intimate. The listener is unveiled as Superman in the final issue, implying he was the only one who could endure such a lengthy account without interruption. This narrative is disjointed, convoluted, and at times, seems more like a stream-of-consciousness reflection of a dream rather than a traditional Batman story.

Notable moments include Batman instructing Robin about the dangers of guns by handing him one, only for Robin to react impulsively; Aquaman intervening against a villain but disappearing as if he were never there; and Batman setting up an explosive device in Robin’s costume. Rest assured, Robin survived somehow. The story is so eccentric that it’s hard to put into words, making it an intriguing read for understanding its unique qualities.

6) “War Games” / “War Crimes”

The narrative seems to straddle two distinct story arcs, yet they are intrinsically linked and both seem unjustifiably detestable. The plotline, however convoluted, echoes one of the most egregious instances of fridging since Alex DeWitt. Stephanie Brown, newly appointed as Robin, is abruptly dismissed at the story’s outset due to Batman’s lack of trust. In a bid to prove her worth, she executes a strategy she discovered on the Batcomputer aimed at eradicating all gang crime in Gotham. This plan involved a felon named Matches Malone for execution. Unfortunately, Stephanie was unaware that Matches was one of Batman’s covert personas, leading to his absence when she initiated the scheme, which subsequently ignited a city-wide gang war. Tragically, Stephanie meets her end after being brutally tormented by Black Mask. The subsequent storyline, “War Crimes,” suggests that Leslie Thompkins allowed Stephanie’s demise as a lesson to Batman about the perils of jeopardizing children’s lives, which might be one of the most questionable character developments I’ve encountered.

In this tale, every character must consistently choose poorly at the most inopportune times for it to unfold. It becomes so improbable that even when they act out of character and foolishly, it still manages to occur. The public wanted to dismiss this narrative completely, which is why in “Under The Red Hood,” a story centered around a deceased Robin reappearing, there wasn’t a single reference made to this story. This tale marked an unfortunate close to Stephanie’s abbreviated tenure as Robin, and it merits being consigned to oblivion.

5) “Gotham War”

Discussing the theme of character defamation, this tale holds something intriguing for all readers. There’s indeed a substantial amount of character defamation taking place in it. This latest addition to our list is undeniably worthy of inclusion due to the significant impact it had on the Bat Family and my own perception. The narrative revolves around Catwoman devising a strategy to eradicate crime in Gotham by transforming all henchmen into skilled thieves like herself, with the intention of them only targeting the wealthy. Yes, Catwoman instructs them not to harm anyone and requires them to donate part of their loot to charity; however, it’s crucial to note that they are still breaking the law! Interestingly, the entire Bat Family supports this plan, except for Bruce and Damian. The portrayal of Bruce opposing it is presented as negative, while Damian only stands with his father due to being written as a constantly contrary ten-year-old.

In simpler terms, the story portrays all Gotham’s superheroes, including the Bat Family, accepting crime as tolerable if it targets only the wealthy, disregarding the loss of innocent lives. This behavior contradicts their fundamental principles. The narrative takes a disturbing turn when Batman resorts to brainwashing Red Hood, essentially altering his mindset to prevent him from being a vigilante. Although Batman’s actions are attributed to Zur-En-Arrh influence, the other characters lack such an excuse for their questionable decisions throughout the story.

The plot further deteriorates as it portrays the Bat Family inadvertently protecting a criminal network. The climax is particularly disappointing, featuring Vandal Savage attempting to regain immortality by absorbing a meteor. To add insult to injury, the story ends with a random thug, trained by Catwoman somehow, breaking into Batman’s house and revealing his identity. There are numerous issues with this narrative, but for the sake of brevity, let’s move on.

4) The Dark Knight Strikes Again

In my opinion, the follow-up story to one of Batman’s most iconic tales sadly falls short of its predecessor. Instead of building upon the depth and gritty realism found in “The Dark Knight Returns,” “The Dark Knight Strikes Again” seems to disregard those elements entirely. Unlike the brooding hero who was willing to make sacrifices for the sake of inspiring hope in Gotham, this version of Batman appears cynical and monstrous, fixated on destroying Lex Luthor’s corrupt regime at any cost. He even breaks his vow against taking lives, allowing Hawkman and Hawkgirl’s child to throw Lex from a great height and refusing to aid in fighting a rampaging monster that was slaughtering innocents due to his suspicion of being trapped. To make matters worse, the comic degrades other beloved characters such as Superman and Wonder Woman, who are depicted as engaging in behavior so reckless it causes earthquakes and tsunamis on a global scale, resulting in the deaths of countless individuals at minimum.

Subsequently, there’s Dick Grayson, who was dismissed by Batman, seemingly due to his supposed inefficiency in the field. Instead of accepting this, he went mad and endured grueling procedures to acquire a healing trait, eventually transforming into a relentless slayer of superheroes. Throughout their battles, Batman constantly belittled Grayson’s strength, even going so far as to behead him, which proved ineffective. When that failed, he threw him into a pool of molten lava. This tale is nothing short of bizarre and regrettably tarnishes the excellent comic it followed, which is truly unfortunate.

3) The Widening Gyre

This comic doesn’t give off the usual vibe of a Batman story; instead, it focuses on Bruce Wayne rekindling his romance with Silver St. Cloud and the appearance of a new vigilante named Baphomet in Gotham. However, there are two significant issues with this comic. Firstly, it incorporates an excessive amount of crass humor that seems out of place in Batman comics. For instance, the scene where Batman intimidated all of Gotham’s elites in “Year One,” one of his most serious moments, is depicted as if he had an accident and wet himself. Additionally, the portrayal of Batman and Silver’s romantic encounters on their private island is so loud and frequent that even the dolphins alerted Aquaman because they thought someone was in distress.

The second issue lies in the portrayal of characters’ intelligence. Quickly, Baphomet earns Batman and Robin’s trust despite being an unfamiliar figure. He manipulates Batman with a fabricated backstory, which could easily be debunked, but the World’s Greatest Detective fails to verify any details and accepts this stranger as worthy of knowing his secret identity. Consequently, Baphomet is brought to the Batcave where he unmasks as Onomatopia, slays Silver, and leaves the storyline on a suspenseful cliffhanger that an unreleased sequel aimed to address. The narrative itself is illogical, and if Batman paused for even a brief moment to consider, the problems could be resolved. However, this thought process never seems to occur. The plot progression is problematic, moving too slowly in some areas while racing through others, creating a disjointed feeling. This story includes some remarkable scenes like Batman attacking his fiancée after pushing her off the road due to suspicion, when alternative, less distressing solutions were readily available for obtaining a sample of her hair.

2) Fortunate Son

In this narrative, Batman harbors a strong dislike for rock and roll music, viewing it as the source of all wickedness. This prejudice stems from his personal tragedy; the day his parents were murdered, his father expressly forbid him to listen to such music. The story unfolds with a renowned musician descending into madness, convinced he’s lost his talent, and imagining an evil, blonde Elvis figure who commands him to carry out destructive acts like bombing buildings. His actions are fueled by the fear of a video being released that he doesn’t want made public. The conflict between Batman and Robin intensifies as they clash over their contrasting views on rock music and similar genres. Batman is adamant in his dislike due to its association with his parents’ death, further reinforcing this view by referencing the tragic event involving Sex Pistols’ bassist and his girlfriend. Robin, however, demonstrates an unstable mentality as he shows leniency towards the musician-turned-terrorist because of the allure of his catchy tunes.

In this tale, every figure behaves irrationally, and the absurdity is consistently presented without irony. Batman actually commits Robin to Arkham Asylum, suggesting that punk music leads to insanity. What makes this story peculiar is its ambiguity regarding whom we should align with. The antagonist is sometimes depicted with sympathy, yet he switches between being heartlessly wicked and sympathetic. However, Batman remains unquestioned in his convictions throughout the narrative. The story concludes abruptly with the villain’s death, leaving no emotional closure. This tale lacks intelligence, and it fails to be amusing because it is excessively serious without any humor or lightheartedness.

1) All-Star Batman and Robin

Among all Batman comics, it’s possible that there might be one that surpasses the rest in terms of poor quality, and that could only be “All-Star Batman and Robin“. This comic is riddled with issues, borrowing from other problematic entries while adding its own share of flaws. The narrative, which should center around Batman mentoring Robin (Dick Grayson), instead transforms into a relentless barrage of excessive violence and awkward dialogue.

The portrayal of Batman in this series is questionable, as he behaves like a psychopathic toddler, frequently engaging in heated disputes with the child Dick. The use of the r-slur and other inappropriate behavior towards Dick is concerning, not to mention the scenes where Batman sets criminals on fire and engages in sexual acts near them, such as with Black Canary.

The series also features an instance where Batman locks Dick Grayson in the Batcave and forces him to survive by eating rats for a month, using this as a form of “training”. He even threatens Alfred when the butler purchases food for the boy. This comic is a prime example of what not to do in Batman storytelling.

This entire comic book resembles a train colliding with a fireworks factory, filled with scenes that are excessively intense even for an average fan of “Preacher.” The character Batman frequently uses phrases like “goddamn Batman” and employs more profanity than a student in a Call of Duty lobby. This comic is the epitome of late-era Frank Miller, as it’s confusing and appalling in a manner only his work can achieve. It’s hard to believe that this man wrote one of the best Batman stories with “The Dark Knight Returns,” but also some of the worst Batman comics ever published. Reading this comic makes me feel like I need to clean my eyeballs due to its terrible nature. This is, without a doubt, the most disappointing Batman comic I’ve ever encountered.

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2025-08-04 19:20