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The Joker and Batman characters would be two different actors for the first act however, the "Mental Joker" Bruce Wayne battles internally (and ultimately loses to) could actually be the same actor playing Bruce Wayne, in Joker makeup. Third Act - A full-on comic book horror action flick, as "The Batman Who Laughs" persona is born, and kills his family and friends, consuming the world.A thorough examination of who Bruce Wayne/Batman is, and final twist when things go full slasher film, as Batman commits his first Joker-style murder on a close friend or ally. Second Act - A psychological sci-fi/horror drama, as Bruce Wayne spends days in Wayne Manor/Batcave trying to figure out Joker's toxin, as his Joker psyche emerges, causing a fierce internal battle with the man (or clown) in the mirror.Joker face-off, with lots of great dialogue between the foes, and a final left-turn into horror movie territory with the murder of parents, infection of kids, and Batman's brutal murder of Joker. First Act - An intimate and thrilling Batman vs.The Batman/Joker hybrid is discovered too late and ends up murdering most of the Batman Family, his Justice League allies, and transforming his son Damian into a Mini-Joker, while the infected kids become a pack of "Rabid Robins." With no heroes to oppose him, The Batman Who Laughs conquers his world - and now is running rampant, threatening the entire DC Multiverse (in the current Dark Nights: Death Metal event series). Joker's new toxin is one that slowly infects Bruce with Joker's twisted psyche.
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The "experiment" works: Batman snaps and finally crosses the line, murdering Joker - but that dark act comes at a terrible cost. In that timeline, Batman suffers a horrific loss to his nemesis The Joker, in which the psycho clown abducts Batman and forces him to witness horrific events, like murdering the parents of a group of hostage children and infecting all the kids with a new experimental Joker Toxin. The Batman Who Laughs is Bruce Wayne/Batman of Earth -22, a region of the Dark Multiverse.
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The Batman Who Laughs is a recent creation of DC Comics, who made his debut in the 2018 "Dark Nights: Metal" event.
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