We have all heard that DC does a fantastic job with dark and nasty villains. Today, we are looking at an evil version of one of DC’s most popular caped crusaders, the powerful Batman. Scott Schneider’s Batman comics’ Dark Knights’s Metal story arc created numerous terrible versions of Batman, all influenced by the Dark Knight’s Justice League comrades, one of which was the terrifying Red Death himself.
Red Death is a superhero who is largely modeled on The Flash and features some of Batman’s darkest nightmares. Because of Batman’s intricate and layered nature, the character is destined to be dark and powerful.
Metal was one of the most recent DC events, thus individuals who are not up to speed are likely to be unfamiliar with Red Death. Let us get started because his story is incredible, and there is a lot of stuff to cover as we tell you about one of the most wicked incarnations of Batman ever created. Do you think you have seen Batman at his most heinous? Reconsider your position.
Red Death is Batman’s worst side ever
The Red Death is essential to “Batman, but also The Flash,” and he appears to exist as an embodiment of Batman’s intense fear of losing his family if he isn’t quick enough when it comes to fighting off villains. The beginnings of the Red Death were disclosed in Batman: The Red Death, a one-shot tie-in issue that depicted an utterly corrupt, deranged Bruce Wayne demanding that Flash give him his Speed Force powers.
Let’s start from the beginning. Batman was still a crime fighter in the alternative universe Earth -52. As far as audiences’ view of the main DC Universe goes, the Batman we all adore is often broken and disillusioned, but the Batman from Earth -52 was far more burdened under the weight of his trauma. He fought side by side a variety of Robins, but several of them fell victim to -52 Batman’s own Rogues Gallery’s bloodthirsty hands.
After outlasting yet again another Robin, the -52 Batman became determined to find new and more severe ways to combat the violence that afflicted -52 Gotham and not lose his friends in the process. There were far too many atrocities and catastrophes that he had failed to stop in time and save people. He had to be everywhere at the same time, and most importantly, he had to be faster.
-52 Batman believed that acquiring the abilities of The Flash would be the only way that he would be able to save his city, and the globe, from the growing forces of doom that afflicted mankind. With the weapons of many of -52 Flash’s Rogues Gallery at his discretion, including Captain Cold’s Freeze Ray, Heat Wave’s Heat Gun, Weather Wizard’s Weather Wand, and Mirror Master’s Mirror Gun, -52 Batman defeated -52 Flash, who refused to surrender his superpowers to him when he was commanded to do so.
After getting blueprints for the Cosmic Treadmill, Batman rendered The Flash unconscious and shackled him to the hood of the Batmobile, which Batman had modified himself. With the Batmobile, Batman drove himself and -52 Flash into the Speed Force, and the incident united them, giving Batman possession of the Speed Force and trapping -52 Flash. Barry Allen was essentially trapped within Batman’s body and that was the birth of a new bringer of justice, Red Death.
The development of Red Death into a crazy villain
Red Death quickly developed into a deranged villain because he was essentially a combination of Batman’s worsening mental health and internal conflict of not being able to save people on time and immense power now that he had all the abilities that The Flash possessed, making him an unstable mix of the two.
Keeping in mind Batman -52’s tortured mind, it is not tough to imagine that once he had the power to go above and beyond, he practically lost all sense of responsibility and logic. Thus, after he brutally cornered The Flash and purposely drove him along with himself into the Speed Force, what emerged was probably the darkest version of Batman we have ever seen.
Making the most of his newly acquired abilities, he was able to quickly murder the entirety of his rogue’s gallery. However, it was not nearly enough and he was far too late to save the world he had sworn to protect. His reality was intrinsically unstable because it was a part of the Dark Multiverse, and it began crumbling all around him. Batman was looking for a method to preserve his world when he was contacted by the Batman Who Laughs, who advised him to invade the main Multiverse alongside Barbatos’ Dark Knights.
This Batman looks menacing in his deep red suit which seems to us to be a likely euphemism for the sheer number of deaths he caused and the blood he spilled in his own quest for satisfaction. His unstable mental health is what makes him most dangerous in the larger scheme of things.
Red Death in Dark Knights: Metal
The Red Death had accepted The Batman Who Laughs’ proposition, and the Dark Knights arrived to take over when Batman of Earth 0 accidentally triggered the portal to the Dark Multiverse in the happenings of Dark Knights: Metal. The Dark Knights then assisted the Murder Machine in subduing Cyborg and capturing the Watchtower of the Justice League.
The Batman Who Laughs later used his black metal cards to open a gateway for them to assist him in taking down Damian Wayne, Green Arrow, Mister Terrific, and Nightwing, but they were stopped by Dr. Fate, who assisted in their escape. Red Death arrived in Central City three days after the Challengers Mountain debuted in Gotham City, drawing out this world’s Flash by making Iris and Wally West age rapidly. This face-off between Flash and Red Death was inevitable and raised the question of who would win this rematch?
Turns out that the tables were still skewed in favor of The Red Death and Doctor Fate had to rescue the Flash in the nick of time, leaving the Red Death to capture the city in the meanwhile. The Red Death had come extremely close to killing him because he had snuck up on The Flash unnoticed. Within a week of the Dark Knights’ arrival, the Red Death had unleashed a fresh Speed Force storm all across the city, created from his own warped connection, which instantly aged anybody who came in contact with it.
The Dark Knights invaded the Oblivion Bar and killed the Nightmaster after Superman escaped their grasp in Gotham City, but the Justice League had already vanished. When the surviving heroes attempted to locate Nth Metal reserves that could be used to beat the Dark Knights, the Dark Knights were able to cut them off from their allies and trap four Justice League members in Batcaves built just for them, including Flash, who was buried beneath Central City when the ground sunk in.
The Red Death then attacked Flash, who began fleeing and attempting to find Cyborg. Red Death succeeds in confining him by turning his cave, which was packed with nano-particles that reacted to his vibrational orders, into a huge hourglass-like creation. He then discloses that he has built multiple Flashmobiles, which he employs to increase the pressure. Fortunately, despite these measures, Barry was able to make it out alive.
The Red Death was exposed to a massive quantity of positive energy during a scheme to infect the House of Heroes with darkness, which changed his form and gave Barry Allen of Earth -52 control over the Red Death’s body. How did this happen?
Well, Flash opened the gravitational suppression gates, preventing the Carrier’s baby universe from expanding. In an attempt to stop Flash, the Red Death was struck by pure positive energy from the expanding universe. As a result, his polarity was flipped, and the Bruce personality vanished, allowing Earth -52’s Barry Allen to seize control over the body. That was the end of The Red Death, vanquished by the very hero he had exploited earlier.
Barry immediately regretted what Bruce had done with his talents and joined up with Prime Earth’s Flash to combat the Dark Knights. The Dark Knights have already factored in The Red Death’s betrayal, according to The Batman Who Laughs, because he was the most inclined to turn against them due to his half-Batman status.
Some Insane Powers of Red Death And The Chink In His Armour
Red Death’s powers were more than Batman’s and The Flash’s separately, so one can already tell that he was insanely powerful. Bruce absorbed Barry and his powers, allowing him a warped connection to the Speed Force, after plunging himself and the Flash into the Speed Force using his Batmobile and the plans of the Cosmic Treadmill. Bruce also developed superhuman speed, allowing him to run at unprecedented speeds.
His speed allowed him to produce enormous superhuman force, allowing him to split a man in half with a single blow. He also has reflexes that are significantly greater than those of a regular human. This enables him to respond quickly to threats and situations, as well as experience the environment in slow motion. Red Death’s physique can withstand the strain of moving at superhuman speeds for long periods of time without becoming exhausted or weak.
Red Death’s agility, balance, and bodily coordination were also superhuman. This enables him to turn sharply and leap great distances while going at superhuman speed. According to Barry Allen, a speedster’s body is covered by a “friction cushion,” which protects them from the more dangerous aspects of their speed, such as friction, airborne particulate matter, kinetic impacts, G-Force, and the like. He was granted this talent as well. The Red Death can also withstand massive kinetic impact pressures that would easily shatter or kill a human, all while sustaining no severe exterior or internal injuries, making him far more resilient than any human.
He further has the ability to create the electrical energy he obtains from the Speed Force. He emits Speed Force lightning, especially when he moves at super-speed, and he can create bat-like Speed Force energy forms that radiate hazardous effects if they make contact with others. Red Death’s bat creations infect others, causing those who are infected to wither away terribly as if hundreds of years had passed in an instant.
He can think as fast as he moves, with equally outstanding hand-eye coordination, thanks to the Speed Force’s energies enhancing his already brilliant intellect. Using his speed force powers, he was able to create astonishing technological marvels in a matter of seconds, as well as conjure intricate nano-wear. The Red Death also learned to create more complicated Speed Force constructions, such as command triggered nanotech powered and sustained by the speed energy he emits, thanks to his heightened cognition.
However, he also had a couple of chinks in his armor and they finally led to his destruction. Firstly, his face had been irreparably disfigured by Batman and the Flash’s voyage into the Speed Force, leaving it fractured and broken behind his mask.
However, more importantly, after merging with the Flash in the Speed Force, Batman gained control of the speedster’s abilities, however, he was also forced to share his body with the Flash’s consciousness, which tried to break free on various occasions which was a massive inconvenience, especially when in battle. In addition, when he employs the Speed Force, he disintegrates into a swarm of black bat silhouettes with red overlays that only reassemble when he stays in one spot making it easier for his enemies to deal with him.
The Red Death is easily one of the most contorted versions of Batman born out of his fear of losing members of the Bat-family, as well as his affection for them and regret for those he had failed. All of these worries and stresses are represented by Red Death. Later, his Speed Force Infection suggests that he could be a representation of Batman’s fear of growing old and slowing down, no longer being able to effectively fight crime. Red Death was recently mentioned in a Season 5 episode of The Flash set in the future, leading to speculation over how and if the character might fit into the Arrowverse. Thus, he is definitely a villain to take note of!