Batman's 5 Most Disturbing Comic Book Moments Of All-Time, Ranked

The Caped Crusader might have sworn an oath to uphold truth and justice, but it might be time to give him a performance review to check if he's making an actual positive difference. See, if you look at Batman's most disturbing comic book moments of all time, it indicates that there's still a lot of work that needs to be done in the DC Universe. Those streets just aren't safe!

It isn't only the villains running amok and turning Gotham into a cesspool, because the Dark Knight is also to blame for all the bad vibes and trauma. He demonstrates some questionable behavior and actions, which often make it difficult to differentiate him from the supposed rogues of the city. In many ways, it's as if the insanity feeds off each other.

With that said, let's rank the most chilling moments from Batman's pages. These examples suggest that DC doesn't only stand for Detective Comics but also Darker Comics.

Look, Batman isn't exactly father of the year material on any given day. He enlists child soldiers in his crusade against crime, and his use of the silent treatment would have psychologists filling up mountains of notebooks. However, in Frank Miller and Jim Lee's "All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder," the Dark Knight turns out to be more shockingly unhinged than usual.

The series reimagines Dick Grayson's journey to becoming Robin. Yet after losing his parents, Batman doesn't relate to him, put an arm around the boy, or tell him he's going to be okay. Instead, he chucks the kid into the freezing Batcave for the night and tells him to survive. When Dick asks if he can have any food at the very least, the Caped Crusader suggests he hunt his own food in the cave. In other words, bats or rats.

It's a jaw-dropping moment that showcases Batman might be truly psychotic. When Dick awakens in the morning, he discovers a juicy burger waiting for him. Thankfully, it isn't a rat burger, as Alfred Pennyworth had enough and scolds Batman about his treatment of the child. Rightfully so. Who the heck kidnaps a child then forces them to eat rats for survival? Oh, that's right — the supposed protector of Gotham City. Will someone call child services on this sadist, please?

Joe Chill plays a transformative part in Batman's origin story. He's the mugger who shoots Thomas and Martha Wayne in an event that changes young Bruce's life forever. Part of Batman's whole schtick is that he doesn't murder criminals — well, in most adaptations — since he wants justice to prevail. As a result, he never hangs Chill from the Gotham Bridge.

In Grant Morrison, Tony S. Daniel, and Jonathan Glapion's "Batman" #673, though, readers get insight into what the Dark Knight would have loved to do to Chill — and let's just say that Gotham's criminals should be thankful that he hasn't broken bad. The story sees Batman hallucinating after he goes into cardiac arrest. One of his fantasies involves him torturing Chill by visiting him every night and turning him into a nervous wreck. Consequently, Chill doesn't leave his penthouse anymore.

The Bat doesn't stop here, however. He visits Chill one more time and brings him the gun that the villain used to shoot the Waynes. It's here that Chill realizes he's responsible for the creation of Batman and understands that other criminals will come for him if they find out. However, Batman has left one bullet in the gun's chamber for Chill's use. Even if it's only a hallucination, it demonstrates what darkness resides inside the Dark Knight and how far he'd love to go for revenge.

Grant Morrison returns! The writer collaborated with artist Klaus Janson on "Batman: Gothic," another sinister DC story that features one of Batman's most disturbing comic book moments of all time.

The main villain of this story is a mysterious figure known as Mr. Whisper. The character has no shadow. When the Dark Knight finds out about this rogue's unique trait, he's reminded of an event from his past — specifically his time at boarding school. As Bruce Wayne recalls, he detested this chapter of his life because of the behavior around him. He mentions a few unsettling incidents, including how the kids had "to fight off the advances of degenerate old teachers with doctorate degrees."

The story gets more twisted from there, as Bruce remembers a friend called Robert who disappeared not long after telling Bruce about the headmaster, Mr. Winchester, who also had no shadow. Bruce experiences his own encounter with Mr. Winchester, who beats him, but what's even worse is what Bruce sees in the headmaster's dustbin: the head of a child! While everybody points to the murders of Bruce's parents as the tragic backstory that leads to him becoming Batman, maybe we should go back further and include whatever trauma happened to him at this appalling private school. 

The New 52 provides a swift shake-up of DC lore, while also introducing some of the best versions of Batman villains. One such rogue is the Dollmaker, who feels like Leatherface from "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" stuck inside a David Fincher movie. Right out of the gate, Dollmaker terrifies in the rebooted "Detective Comics" as he helps the Joker to cut off his own face, because what are friends for, right?

It doesn't take too long for Batman to encounter this fiend and discover the depths of his depravity. As it turns out, Dollmaker loves to make his own human dolls by harvesting body parts and stitching it altogether. Like a twisted human version of Build-a-Bear.

In "Detective Comics" #3 — by Tony S. Daniel and Sandu Florea — it's one giant disturbing moment. Here, Batman discovers the true identity and origin of Dollmaker, realizing his real name is Barton Mathis, who used to go on hunting trips with his father then eat the victims. Now, he's developed an obsession with building human dolls — oh, and he's wearing his deceased father's face. In this issue, he freaks out the Dark Knight with a replica of Jim Gordon; however, Batman realizes it isn't actually his pal. Instead, it's a combination of parts of some other poor souls whom Dollmaker killed. Why does Gotham City attract all the weirdos, huh?

When it comes to the Joker and disturbing comic book moments, there's enough material for a hardcover 1000-page compendium. The Clown Prince of Crime is a horrid human being who's done everything from beat up Jason Todd with a crowbar to paralyzing Barbara Gordon. However, one of his most sickening moments occurs in "Detective Comics" #741 — by Greg Rucka, Devin Grayson, Damion Scott, Dale Eaglesham, Sean Parsons, Sal Buscema, and Rob Hunter — which is a part of the famous "No Man's Land" story arc.

In this issue, Joker kidnaps a bunch of babies and holds them hostage at Gotham City Police Department's headquarters. Jim Gordon's wife and fellow cop, Sarah Essen, walks in and notices the villain holding an infant. She pulls out her gun and attempts to arrest him, but the Ace of Knave taunts her with the baby in his arms. He pulls out his own gun and points it at the baby's head, while Sarah pleads with him to put the child down safely. Joker drops the baby, so Sarah rushes in to catch the infant. As she does so, Joker shoots her in the head, killing her and leaving the babies in a pool of her blood.

Yeah, this is literally one of Joker's evilest moments. Not only does he threaten to kill babies, but he also murders someone in their presence. At this point, Batman isn't needed. Someone needs to get the Punisher to deal with this devil.