Batman is a badass, but he's not invincible. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top ten times any version of Batman died.
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00:00 Batman!
00:01 Batman!
00:04 Bruce!
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 times any version of Batman died.
00:13 We won't include times he faked his death, but we'll count Batman who expire and get resurrected later.
00:18 We'll also throw up the Bat-spoiler signal before we begin.
00:22 Are we done with your bad stand-up routine?
00:25 Almost.
00:27 But you always gotta end on your best joke.
00:31 Number 10. Dying Beside the Joker. Batman Vol. 2, Issue 40.
00:39 In many stories, there are hints that the Clown and the Dark Knight will die side by side.
00:45 Perhaps you'll kill me. Perhaps I'll kill you. Perhaps sooner. Perhaps later. You know that, don't you?
00:53 That ominous premonition came true in the Batman Endgame storyline.
00:57 After Joker releases a contagious toxin in Gotham, Bruce dives underneath the city to get a healing substance.
01:03 Unfortunately, the villain triggers an underground explosion and fights the hero.
01:08 The two get into a brutal fight that ends with both of them clinging to life.
01:13 Silly goose, it's all a joke! Everything anybody's ever valued or struggled for! It's monstrous!
01:20 Why can't you see the funny side?
01:23 Batman then uses his remaining strength to ensure that Joker doesn't heal and that the cure gets to the surface.
01:30 Unable to escape the cave-in, he dies next to the Clown.
01:34 Fortunately, the healing substance later brings Bruce back to life without memories of his Batman career.
01:40 We guess that's the price of cheating death.
01:42 I'm not a hero. I don't have that kind of courage.
01:45 Your courage seems to have gone missing with your memory of the Bat.
01:49 Number 9. The Dark Knight loses his head. Countdown to Final Crisis 13.
01:54 Earth-51's Batman had no problem killing his enemies.
01:59 I've lost track of how many people I've killed.
02:03 The Bruce I knew had a code.
02:05 You start with the code.
02:07 Not only did he personally slay his version of the Joker, but he made it his mission to put every supervillain he saw into the ground.
02:15 So, when this trigger-happy Batman saw an alternate version of the Clown, the hero swooped in to collect another kill.
02:22 But this Bruce variant didn't know that the villainous Ultraman was watching.
02:26 Everybody does what we say or else.
02:29 You're bluffing.
02:30 The evil superbeing instantly swooped down and stopped Batman with one punch to the head.
02:35 While we can't show it here, trust us when we say that Ultraman didn't hold back his super strength.
02:41 In the wake of Batman's death, a nearby Jason Todd follows in his twisted mentor's footsteps and kills the Joker.
02:47 Execution was an order carried out by me.
02:52 Number 8. Resisting Superman to the end. Superman, Red Son.
02:57 Game's over, Batman.
03:00 You don't understand at all, do you? It may be a game to you, but not to me.
03:07 There was a version of Batman that spent his childhood watching his parents die in a Russian gulag.
03:13 When this bitter boy grew up, he became a rebel who wished to topple the government that imprisoned his family.
03:19 After a Soviet version of Superman took over, Batman tried to capture and slay the Kryptonian.
03:25 But Wonder Woman eventually thwarts the Dark Knight's plan.
03:28 Superman was ready to retaliate by brainwashing Batman.
03:32 Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you.
03:37 Just a few hours of brain surgery, and then a nice job in a Moscow laundry for you.
03:43 Rather than be captured, this Dark Knight detonated a bomb that claimed his own life.
03:49 While the explosion doesn't harm Superman, it does have another effect.
03:53 The fatal lengths Batman went to avoid capture made it impossible for Wonder Woman to look at the Kryptonian the same way.
04:00 I couldn't let you die, Superman.
04:05 But I can no longer call myself your friend.
04:10 Number 7. Assassinated by AI. Batman Urban Legends, issue number 7.
04:18 Don't get up, Bruce. It's just an old friend come by to say hello.
04:24 Years after Bruce became too old to continue on as the Dark Knight,
04:28 he passed the mantle on to the young Terry McGinnis.
04:31 Although the two worked well together, they often butted heads.
04:35 But all of the bitterness between them was forgotten when Terry found a dying Bruce in the Batcave.
04:41 Under... table.
04:49 The former Batman uses his final words to encourage the new Dark Knight to uphold the honor of the mantle.
04:55 And when Terry finds Bruce's AI killer, the young hero decides to spare the new villain's life.
05:01 The original Batman is ultimately able to rest easy because he knew that the next Dark Knight would continue to protect Gotham.
05:09 It's not Batman that makes you worthwhile. It's the other way around.
05:15 Never tell yourself anything different.
05:18 Thanks.
05:19 Number 6. Put down by Alfred. Deceased, number 2.
05:23 Darkseid usually wants to get his hands on the anti-life equation so he can take away everyone's free will.
05:29 Anti-life is found, and we will stop at nothing to possess it.
05:37 In one reality, his pursuit of this formula accidentally caused a techno organic version of a zombie virus to spread across the universe.
05:46 Even heroes like Nightwing and Tim Drake aren't immune to the spread.
05:50 After they get infected, they both bite Batman.
05:54 The Dark Knight quickly realizes that the virus will completely consume him too.
05:58 It won't kill you. Oops.
06:03 Where is the cure? Who has it?
06:06 Before he turns into a mindless zombie, Batman gives his allies advice on how to handle the crisis.
06:12 And shortly after the Dark Knight turns, his loyal butler Alfred puts him down.
06:16 Batman's sacrifice inspires his son Damien to step up and save the world from this terrible virus.
06:23 They've all been infected. No one's left.
06:26 Number 5. Sacrificing himself to stop Parademons. Earth 2, issue 1.
06:32 You better run.
06:34 No, they're assembling, waiting for whoever's behind this to launch the attack.
06:38 When an army of Parademons arrived on Earth, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman rose to stop the invasion.
06:45 The Dark Knight came up with a plan to stop the evil aliens by planting a virus in a crucial enemy tower.
06:52 I'll see to it that your world will be just another that has fallen to Darkseid.
07:00 And what if you never see it?
07:02 As Batman made his way to the vital location, both Wonder Woman and Superman were killed.
07:07 Just when it seemed like the Dark Knight would be the only living member of the trio,
07:11 he told his daughter Helena that he wouldn't survive the mission.
07:14 There's barely any time to process this loss before the tower explodes and kills Batman.
07:20 Fortunately, when the smoke clears, the Parademons fall and the Earth gets a second chance.
07:26 You know what you have to do, mate. Clear the board. Start again.
07:32 Number 4. Expiring as a vampire. Batman Crimson Mist.
07:37 Destroy me, Jean. You must change our orbit.
07:42 Orbit?
07:43 After the Dark Knight got turned into a vampire, he tried to fight crime while keeping his impulses in check.
07:49 But as soon as he lost control and drained the Joker of blood, Batman decided to let himself get staked in the heart.
07:56 In a surprising twist, this drastic act just put him into a deep sleep until Alfred revived him to fight crime again.
08:03 Batman tried once more to balance crime fighting with his bloodthirst.
08:07 As much as I try, I can't suppress it. So instead, I'll feed it.
08:13 And I know just where to find a more satisfying meal.
08:17 Upon realizing that he'd lose control again, he willingly embraced the sunlight and burnt to a crisp.
08:22 Although this Dark Knight committed some grim acts, his final deed prevented the world from being overrun by a horde of vampires.
08:36 Number 3. Wounded during war. Justice League The Flashpoint Paradox.
08:41 Don't worry, Batman. I'll stop the blood flow. You'll be as good as new.
08:46 Don't be stupid, Alan.
08:48 Technically, the film adaptation of a legendary Flash story features two Batman deaths.
08:54 After the speedster alters the timeline running to the past, a young Bruce Wayne dies in Crime Alley.
09:01 This dark incident inspired Thomas Wayne to become Batman.
09:05 Years after this Dark Knight became infamous, he was recruited to help stop a war between Atlanteans and Amazons.
09:12 During the heat of battle, this Batman receives a fatal wound from Ocean Master.
09:17 Batman and Grifter, the boy idiot. Take your team up the right flank.
09:22 What makes this death stand out is what the Dark Knight accomplishes after getting injured.
09:33 At the last of his strength, Batman shoots the sinister reverse Flash.
09:37 After killing this villain, Flash is able to run back in time, fix the world, and deliver a message from Thomas to Bruce.
09:45 You're one hell of a messenger. Thank you.
09:49 Number 2. Destroying the Lazarus Pit. Gotham Knights.
09:53 In the event of my death at the hands of Crazy Quilt? Seriously?
09:58 The 2022 DC video game begins with Batman fighting the nearly immortal Ra's al Ghul in the Batcave.
10:05 After the supervillain pledges to kill the Dark Knight's family, Bruce triggers an explosion that ends his life and eliminates the supervillain.
10:13 I know you have to. I'm sorry it's come to this.
10:20 After the rest of the Bat family arrives in Gotham to fight the evil Court of Owls group, players are hit with a shocking twist.
10:28 It turned out that Talia al Ghul brought Bruce back to life with a magical Lazarus Pit.
10:33 But before his family can celebrate, the Court of Owls arrives to claim the immortality pool for themselves.
10:40 To prevent the evil alliance from living forever, Bruce sacrifices his life again to destroy the Lazarus Pit and keep his family safe.
10:48 Because I won't let you.
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11:09 Number 1. Repeatedly eliminated by Emperor Joker. Various realities.
11:15 Nice try, Joker.
11:24 What would the Joker do if he was given godlike power in multiple realities?
11:29 The clown uses his virtually limitless fifth dimensional abilities to kill Batman in a variety of cruel and twisted ways.
11:37 After each death, the Joker resurrects his longtime enemy so he can find another painful way to slay the Dark Knight.
11:44 In one reality, Batman is so traumatized by his many deaths that he had to get his memories erased just to keep going.
11:51 There's no telling how many times Joker killed the Dark Knight after he became the Emperor.
11:56 It's safe to say that the clown is the only villain that turned the idea of slaying Batman from a nigh impossible task into a sick game he loved to play.
12:05 I can't take it anymore, Joker. Put me out of my misery. There's nothing more you can do to me.
12:12 Except...
12:14 Which Batman death shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below.
12:17 I mean, if you want some advice on being dead, I got you covered.
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12:30 [music]