Bruce Wayne (Earth -52)

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**Bruce Wayne**, the **Batman** of Earth -52, is the Red Death, one of Barbatos' Dark Knights.

## HistoryEdit

  *My name is **Bruce Wayne**. I am **vengeance**. I am **justice**. I am **Batman: the Red Death**.*
— ****Red Death**** src

### Life in the Dark Multiverse

On his world, Batman used to be the hero of Gotham City who fought crime with his Robins. However, the city took its toll on the Bat and claimed the lives of all his sidekicks, forcing Bruce to seek more extreme ways to prevent the crimes he felt he wasn't fast enough to stop. Batman set his sights on his world's Flash, determining that he could use the Speed Force better than the speedster himself could. Batman took out all of the Flash's Rogues and confiscated their weapons to use against the Flash in a fight for his powers. After Bruce bested Barry, Batman drove the two of them into the Speed Force using his Batmobile merged with the Cosmic Treadmill - absorbing the Flash and his powers. When Batman returned from the Speed Force, he donned a new costume and became "Batman: The Red Death" and began murdering members of his own rogues gallery in Gotham, despite the consciousness of Barry constantly pleading to him to stop.

### Dark Nights

Because his world was part of something known as the Dark Multiverse, it was inherently unstable and began collapsing around him. Batman sought a way to save his world and was contacted by the Batman Who Laughs, who told him he could save his world by invading the main Multiverse with Barbatos' Dark Knights. The Red Death accepted and, when Batman of Earth 0 accidentally activated the portal to the Dark Multiverse, the Dark Knights arrived to take over.

The Dark Knights then helped the Murder Machine in subduing Cyborg and taking over the Justice League's Watchtower. A portal was later opened up for them by the Batman Who Laughs using his dark metal cards, to help him take down Green Arrow, Damian Wayne, Nightwing and Mister Terrific, but they were prevented in doing so by Dr. Fate who helped them escape.

Three days after the Challengers Mountain appeared in Gotham City, Red Death made his way to Central City, drawing out this world's Flash by turning Iris and Wally West older. Though he caught the hero off guard, the Flash was saved in the nick of time by Doctor Fate, leaving the Red Death to conquer the city in the meantime. By a week after the Dark Knights' arrival, the Red Death had invoked a new Speed Force storm throughout the city that was made from his own corrupted connection, which aged anyone who touched it to death in seconds.

After Superman escaped from their grasp in Gotham City, the Dark Knights attacked the Oblivion Bar and killed the Nightmaster, but the Justice League was already gone. When the remaining heroes made an attempt to locate deposits of Nth Metal that could be used to defeat the Dark Knights, the Dark Knights managed to cut them off from their allies and trap four Justice League members in Batcaves made specifically for them, including Flash who was trapped underneath Central City when the surface caved in.

The Red Death then proceeded to attack Flash, who started running away and tried to contact Cyborg. With his cave that was filled with nano-particles that responded to his vibrational commands, Red Death succeeds in trapping him by turning them into a giant hourglass-like construct. He then reveals that he has created several Flashmobiles and uses them to further up the pressure.

Barry and the other captive League members were then taken to Gotham City to be used as batteries for the Tuning Fork. They were however freed from their restraints thanks to Cyborg, who had partially given in to the Mother Box inside him. The Dark Knights tried to subdue them, but they were able to escape through Hypertime due to Cyborg.

After Aquaman and Deathstroke obtained the Nth Metal from the center of the earth, Black Manta ambushed and injured them both. The Drowned, the Murder Machine and the Red Death then arrived to take the Nth metal. Aquaman was knocked out and taken back to Gotham. On the House of Heroes, as Bryce Wayne states that what they're doing is against what it means to be heroes, Dawnbreaker states that the Batman Who Laughs won't like it. Red Death however states that he will, since it shows that he controls them while also making them cowardly and superstitious. Bryce in anger smashes him to the ground and states she will destroy the multiverse so she can have her home back.

When the Dark Knights use the Carrier to attack the Ultima Thule carrying Cyborg, Flash and Raven to the Hall of Heroes, Flash releases the gravitational suppression gates keeping the baby universe powering the Carrier from expanding. The Red Death intervenes to try to stop Flash but is hit by pure positive energy from the expanding universe. This causes his polarity to be reversed and the Bruce persona to disappear, causing the Barry Allen of Earth -52 to take over the body. The two then ally to knock the Merciless out. Barry tells his Prime Earth counterpart to run as someone has to stop the Dark Knights from re-capturing the universe before its expansion unless it becomes too big and he will die if he stays there. As the Devastator arrives on the scene, he tells his counterpart to flee as he holds him off. Back on the Hall of Heroes, the rest of the Dark Knights watch him being disintegrated, due to the positive energy hitting his Dark Multiverse body. Before he dies, the Batman who Laughs revealed to his horror that the Carrier's warheads that hit Ultima Thule contained dark baby universes.

## Powers and AbilitiesEdit

### Powers

* **Speed Force Conduit**: After driving himself and the Flash into the Speed Force using his Batmobile and the schematics of the Cosmic Treadmill, Bruce absorbed Barry and his powers, granting him a corrupted connection to the Speed Force.
	+ **Superhuman Speed**: Bruce can run at vast superhuman speeds. The intensity of his speed allows him to generate immense superhuman force, which allowed him to punch a man in two with a single blow.
	+ **Superhuman Reflexes**: Bruce possesses reflexes far greater than a normal human being. This allows him to easily react to danger and events, and perceive the world in slow motion.
	+ **Superhuman Stamina**: Bruce's body can handle the stress of moving at superhuman speeds for extended periods of time without getting tired or weak.
	+ **Superhuman Agility**: Bruce's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to superhuman levels. This allows him to easily make sharp turns and leap far distances while moving at superhuman speed.
	+ **Speed Force Aura**: As explained by Barry Allen, a speedsters body is surrounded by a "friction cushion", which provides protection from the nastier elements of their speed, including friction, airborne particulate matter, kinetic impacts, G-Force and the like.
		- **Superhuman Durability**: Bruce is capable of resisting tremendous kinetic impact forces that could easily crush or kill a human, without suffering any serious external or internal injuries, making him much more durable than any human.
	+ **Electrokinesis**: Bruce can generate the electrical energy that he draws from the Speed Force. This Speed Force lightning emanates off of him, especially when he moves at super-speed.
	+ **Energy Construct Creation**: Bruce can generate bat-like Speed Force energy constructs that emit dangerous effects if they come into contact with others.
		- **Infection**: Bruce's bat constructs cause infection in others, making those effected by it to wither away painfully, as if worn down by hundreds to thousands of years passing in an instant.
		- **Nanite Fabrication**: With his enhanced intellect, The Red Death learned to generate more complex Speed Force constructs, such as command activated nanotech powered and fueled by the speed energy he gives off.
	+ **Enhanced Intellect**: Because of the Speed Force's energies augmenting his already genius acumen, Bruce can think as fast as he moves with equally impressive hand/eye coordination. Having been able to fabricate impressive technological wonders in mere seconds time, as well as conjure complicated nano-wear activated using his speedforce powers.

### Abilities

* **Acrobatics**
* **Gadgetry**
* **Genius Level Intellect**
* **Science**
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)**
	+ **Martial Arts**

### Weaknesses

* **Monstrous Appearance**: Batman and the Flash's trip into the Speed Force has permanently scarred Bruce's face, leaving it cracked and broken underneath his mask.
* **Power Instability**: After fusing in the Speed Force with the Flash, Batman now has the speedster's powers, though he's forced to share his body with the Flash's consciousness, which occasionally tries to break free. Furthermore, his use of the Speed Force causes him to momentarily disintegrate into a swarm of black bat silhouettes with red overlays, only coalescing when staying in one place.

## ParaphernaliaEdit

### Equipment

* All of the Rogues' weapons, stolen by Batman for his fight against The Flash for his powers.
	+ **Captain Cold (Earth -52)'s Cold Gun**,
	+ **Weather Wizard's Wand**
	+ **Heat Wave's Heat Gun**
	+ **Mirror Master's Mirror Gun**

## NotesEdit

* Red Death represents Batman's fear of losing members of the Bat family, his love for them and regret for those he failed. His dialogue and his Speed Force Infection imply he might also represent Batman's fear of old age slowing him down.

## Related

* 2 Appearances of Bruce Wayne (Earth -52)
* Images featuring Bruce Wayne (Earth -52)
* 1 Quotations by or about Bruce Wayne (Earth -52)
* Character Gallery: Bruce Wayne (Earth -52)

### Footnotes

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 *Batman: The Red Death* #1
2. ↑ *Dark Nights: Metal* #2
3. ↑ *Batman: The Murder Machine* #1
4. ↑ *Green Arrow* (Volume 6) #32
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *Dark Nights: Metal* #3
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *The Flash* (Volume 5) #33
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 *Justice League* (Volume 3) #32
8. ↑ *Justice League* (Volume 3) #33
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 *Dark Nights: Metal* #5
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 *Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt* #1
11. ↑ *The Flash* (Volume 5) #2

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