It is safe to say that Batman has the most twisted and warped super villains in the history of the comic book industry. Bane, Scarecrow, Professor Pyg, Victor Zsasz, Poison Ivy, the Penguin, Two Face, and the likes have terrorized Gotham City, giving Batman sleepless nights since time immemorial. But the one who has truly made Batman have his colloquial “One Bad Day” is the Clown Prince of Crime. The Joker is the greatest super villain ever. Period! Nobody could ever top his menace and villainy. But DC Comics is trying to change that notion. They have recently introduced a character more sinister and demented than even the Joker!
We are talking about the new Death Metal super villain – Robin King. There are going to be a lot of Spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal down here ladies and gentlemen. Please ensure you know what you are getting into.
Also Read: Demystifying a Brilliant Fan Theory: Is Everything Happening within Batman’s Mind?
The Batman Who Laughs was thought be the Crowned King of all Batman Villains. He had the best elements of Bruce Wayne and the worst elements of the Joker all rolled into one. He finally met his end and it showed the end of the line for a legendary super villain. But it is later revealed that the death of The Batman Who Laughs was just the beginning. A newer, deadlier villain is about to challenge The Batman Who Laughs for the Greatest Freak Show in Batman’s Rogues’ Gallery.
It was only in Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 when it was revealed that Perpetua and The Batman Who Laughs have joined forces and shrouded the planet in perpetual darkness, The Batman Who Laughs had used his personal army of Evil Batmen to subdue the rest of the superheroes, eventually taking control over every super hero of the DC Universe. Then Wonder Woman did the impossible by using the Chainsaw of Truth to kill The Batman Who Laughs after luring him into hell and vanquishing the darkness from Earth.
The fans were relieved to see this demented freak bite the dust for good. But a villain like him is hard to top. There might never be a villain as amazing as The Batman Who Laughs. That has not stopped DC Comics from trying though. Their next villain introduction called the Robin King is everything you could have ever asked for in a Batman Rogue that is supposedly scarier than even the Joker.
After The Batman Who Laughs’ death, DC teased his protege will take over the reins and rule the Kingdom of the Dark Batman from another Universe. It does seem like Robin King might be a Young Damien Wayne. Since only Damien tends to have such aggressive tendencies that the Robin King possesses. But on closer inspection, that is found to not be the case. Another theory claimed that the Robin King is actually the “Final Bruce Wayne”. That theory may hold some water but we have a better candidate who fits that description.
As you can see in the logo of the costume for the Robin King, it is a blend of the logo of the Batman and Nightwing. Nightwing is the first Robin and the greatest protege Batman has ever had. He has been claimed to be better than Batman at Batman’s job. He is a better fighter and his powers of deduction are apparently greater than even Bruce Wayne’s, who is called the World’s Greatest Detective. We believe that the Robin King is actually an alternate version of Dick Grayson who was mentally conditioned to become a psychopath by The Batman Who Laughs.
The Batman Who Laughs is an alternate universe Bruce Wayne that was corrupted by the Joker and driven mad. He was infected by the Joker Toxin and started seeing the world in his arch nemesis’ image. He killed the entire Justice League as well as the Bat Family. After gaining the ability to jump across universes, he started kidnapping and torturing Robins from different Earths and adding them to his Robin Army. Many of those feral Robins were also James Gordon Junior’s alternate reality versions.
The Batman Who Laughs considers his Robin Army Hounds to be expendable and uses them as cannon fodder/foot soldiers. There is this One Robin though, that occupies a special place in The Batman Who laughs’ heart. This particular Robin was so trusted that The Batman Who Laughs was ready to make him his successor if he ever dies fighting the good fight.
Scott Snyder, creator of the character of The Batman Who Laughs and Robin King, states the sole difference between his two new super villains. The Batman Who Laughs was once a Good Guy. When the Joker infected him and twisted his mind, that version of the Batman was at the peak of his mental, moral, and physical prime. The complete turn to evil from a point of total nobility and heroism means that The Batman Who Laughs has seen both ends of the curve and decided to stick to the bitter one! It is this transition that makes him dangerous.
The Robin King on the other hand never had the luxury of looking at the world from a good guy’s perspective. He was born that way and conditioned by The Batman Who Laughs to always think evil. Snyder claims that the Robin King has spent his entire childhood doing one thing – thinking up ways to kill each and every superhero in the most creative and deadliest way possible. His skills are good enough to make even The Batman Who Laughs proud. When a mere kid has the acknowledgement of the greatest Batman Villain that ever was, we have to assume there might be more to the Robin King than what meets the eye.
And that is why we believe that the Robin King is the rightful successor to the Joker’s throne. He was once the greatest there ever was but this new guy in town is about to change all that. All Hail Robin King – the Clown King of Crime.
