Even Batman’s Craziest & Most Dangerous Plan Worked Perfectly

Over the years, Batman has solidified himself as one of the most meticulous and detail-oriented characters in the DC Universe; someone who always seems to have a last-second plan waiting in the wings, ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice. And although he’s had many, many plans both successful and unsuccessful during his tenure as the Dark Knight, there’s only one that can truly take the cake as his biggest and most insane.

Whether big or small, spanning the cosmos or crossing Gotham city, Batman always goes the extra mile to prepare for every outcome imaginable, and with his constant paranoia defining his every waking moment, it’s no secret that he might go a little overboard in his planning from time to time. A perfect example of this was during Grant Morrison’s now iconic Batman run, which showed off how far Batman will go to make sure he comes out on top…

Taking cues from a Silver Age story that saw Batman travel to a distant planet called Zur-En-Arrh to help a scientist (and the Batman of his own world) named Tlano battle it out against an invading army of robots, Grant Morrison used the idea of Tlano taking up the mantle of an alternate Batman and ran with it. Throughout his run, Morrison made it a point to try and keep decades old stories relevant to the greater Batman mythos, and in the case of the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, outdid himself by putting his own twisted spin on a one-off character that ended up having huge ramifications on Batman’s mental state.

Morrison put Batman through the ringer, exposing him to Doctor Hurt – a rich and powerful enemy intent on destroying the Bat’s body, reputation, and mind. Hurt successfully captured Batman and, after using the post-hypnotic trigger phrase of “Zur-En-Arrh” (a misheard phrase the dying Thomas Wayne uttered to young Bruce), pumped him full of drugs and dumped him on the streets. The drugs and trigger word of “Zur-En-Arrh” awoke a version of Batman that Bruce had cultivated for occasions on which his mind was broken or compromised.

Enter the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, a brightly colored version of Batman complete with an unhinged psychotic bent that shed the idea of Bruce Wayne and allowed Batman to survive in a world where Bruce couldn’t remember his lifelong mission nor the set of values that kept him from going off the deep end. This personality wasn’t merely a result of Hurt’s tampering, but rather a back-up plan Bruce had in place to bring him back to himself in the event of psychological devastation. That, coupled with the last shred of his sanity manifesting as Bat-Mite, helped Bruce navigate his mental breakdown, eventually allowing him to discard his back-up personality and shut down Doctor Hurt for good, proving once again that Batman doesn’t mess around when it comes to being over-prepared.

Whatever other plans Bruce puts into practice, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh will stand tall as one of his biggest, most insane stunts – and one that didn’t turn out half bad. The only question remaining is whether or not this alternate personality is gone for good or just hiding in the shadows of Batman’s mind, ready to strike fear into the hearts of criminals when called for.

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