The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight # 1 2019 NM-

The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight # 1 is a 2019 one-shot comic that serves as the dark origin story for one of the most dangerous alternate versions of Bruce Wayne. This Batman, known as the Grim Knight, comes from a Dark Multiverse reality where he abandoned his no-killing rule as a child. 

The issue reveals a pivotal "what if" moment that diverged the Grim Knight's life from the standard Batman's: 

• The Killing of Joe Chill: On the night his parents are murdered, young Bruce Wayne does not just witness the crime; he picks up the fallen gun and immediately kills Joe Chill.
• Total War on Crime: Instead of training to be a symbol of justice, this Bruce Wayne trains as a lethal soldier, mastering firearms and high-tech weaponry.
• A High-Tech Police State: As Batman, he uses the vast resources of Wayne Enterprises to install surveillance and lethal technology across Gotham, turning the city into a fascist police state where he acts as judge, jury, and executioner.
• No Rogues Gallery: He systematically murders his villains (such as the Penguin, Killer Croc, and Red Hood) before they can ever become major threats. 

In the main story timeline, the Grim Knight has been recruited by the Batman Who Laughs to serve as his top lieutenant. The issue follows his personal mission to capture and humiliate Jim Gordon, whom he views as his greatest adversary in his own world. Gordon was the only one brave enough to lead a legal resistance against the Grim Knight's brutal rule on his home Earth. 

Creative Team 

• Writers: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV
• Artist: Eduardo Risso
• Colors: Dave Stewart