Summary

  • Batman's alter ego, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, has bigger multiversal goals and plans to eliminate crime on every Earth in the multiverse.
  • Zur-En-Arrh has been influencing Batman's decision-making and has now taken control of his body in order to kill the Joker.
  • Zur-En-Arrh is preparing to wage war across the multiverse and become the most dangerous person in the DC Universe.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #140!The most twisted contingency Batman ever created has his sights set on bigger, multiversal goals. For some time now, Bruce Wayne has been battling his unhinged alter ego, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. But as his latest mission goes sideways, the Dark Knight is realizing his problem is so much worse than he'd previously thought.

In a preview for Batman #140 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez, by variants of Zur-En-Arrrh from across the multiverse.

The Zur-En-Arrrh variants reveal that the Prime Zur-En-Arrh recruited them during Bruce Wayne's trek across the multiverse as Bruce met the Batmen of other Earths. Once Zur-En-Arrh defeats crime on Bruce's world, the collective will move on to other worlds and stop crime on every Earth in the multiverse.

Batman's Backup Persona Has Built a Multiversal Army to Stop Crime

Batman Zur-En-Arrh Cover DC

Batman created his persona as an emergency backup to help Bruce deal with intense trauma and protect him from mental attacks. The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh re-emerged in Bruce's life when Batman was attacked by another contingency he created, Failsafe. Since then, Zur-En-Arrh has been influencing Batman's decision-making more and more. During the "Gotham War" crossover, Zur-En-Arrh took advantage of the stress Batman was under and led him to make incredibly poor decisions such as attempting to expose his family's identities and brainwashing Jason Todd. Zur-En-Arrh has succeeded in isolating Batman and is now guiding him to end the Joker's life.

Zur-En-Arrh is Batman taken to his most terrifying extreme and the fact that he's had such control over Bruce for so long is already a disturbing prospect. But the reality is that Zur-En-Arrh's mission to destroy crime isn't going to end with Joker, Gotham City or even Earth. He's not going to rest until he's eliminated it in every world. And who else better to help him do that than an entire army of Zur-En-Arrh's? It's been a mystery as to why Bruce has had so many garish doppelgangers of his most dangerous side living in his head. Now it's known that Zur-En-Arrh is preparing to wage war across the multiverse to completely eradicate crime.

Batman is Becoming the Most Dangerous Person in the DC Universe

Several overlapping images of the modern version of Zur-En-Arrh Batman.

If there's one thing the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is known for, it's that he doesn't stop once he has a plan in mind. Zur-En-Arrh was created to be a Batman without the things that hold Bruce back, and Bruce would obviously never be mad enough to launch a crusade across the DCU. But Zur-En-Arrrh is and right now, he's close to getting what he wants. He's already assumed control of Bruce's body and is close to killing the Joker. If Batman's twisted self manages to accomplish his goal on the Prime Earth, then the rest of the DC Universe could be in serious danger.

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