The Batman Who Laughs may have finally defeated Batman in issue No. 6

In the penultimate issue of the series, Batman faces off against the Batman Who Laughs, but when both win, is Gotham the loser?

Batman had locked Jim and James Gordon from the Last Laugh system, and activated the system himself on the command of the Batman Who Laughs. Now, the deadly toxin has been disseminated across all of Gotham. But Batman has an ulterior motive for his actions, as we find out in The Batman Who Laughs No. 6. Batman only has hours before his body finally gives into the Batman Who Laughs’ toxin, but the Caped Crusader intends to use every second of his remaining sanity to protect his city.

The Gordons are despatched to protect Batman’s armoury and fight off the Grim Knight; meanwhile, Batman has to take it slow as any exertion on his part will speed up the spread of the toxin in his blood cells. The Dark Knight and Alfred Pennyworth come up with a possible plan to foil the Batman Who Laughs – they require Dark Metal, portals to other universes and another Bruce Wayne. Every moment is planned perfectly, but some villains are just too evil even for the world’s greatest detective.

The Batman Who Laughs No. 6 variant cover (Credit: DC Comics)

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The Batman Who Laughs No. 6 is the penultimate issue in the series, and it ends on yet another bleak note. The set-up for much of this chapter seemed to be headed for a climatic triumph, but that doesn’t pan out. The Grim Knight is much better equipped than Batman and the Gordons believed, but the greatest weapon in the Grim Knight’s arsenal is his knowledge of the Jim Gordon on his world. Father and son have been desperately trying to make their uneasy alliance work, but will the Grim Knight’s revelation be the final straw that breaks James Gordon?

Batman is his, and Gotham’s, own worst enemy in this series. His every move has played right into the Batman Who Laughs’ hands, and the denouement of this installment is no different. Batman faces off against the Batman Who Laughs, ostensibly with some aces up his Bat-sleeves to win the day. Of course, Batman overestimates himself and underestimates just what an evil genius his nemesis is. What does this mean for Gotham?

Because this series is set out of continuity, none of the other heroes have been called into action – Batman is basically a lone gun (aside from Alfred and the Gordons), making the same mistake he made in Dark Nights: Metal. He is keeping information to himself and dooming everyone else because of it. How many times is Batman allowed to mess up before people realize that is not the best way to write this character? At this point, the series creators are going to require a deus ex machina in the finale so that the Caped Crusader can save the day, and the series.