The Merciless

The Merciless is a Multiversal version of Batman from Earth -12 of the Dark Multiverse. To end the "Final War" against Ares, Bruce Wayne donned the God of War's helmet to usurp his power and use it against him to stop the war. However, the helmet's corruption overpowered the Dark Knight's moral code, turning the hero into

Background
When the Olympian God of War Ares created a helmet that amplified his powers a hundredfold, war broke out in the effort to stop him. For two years, Batman and Wonder Woman fought side-by-side to get close enough to attempt to stop Ares and in the process succumbed to their love for each other. While the two were able to get the helmet off the war god, but at the cost of Diana's life. Batman, driven by grief, put the helmet on in order to take down Ares. Despite his belief that he could keep himself under control, Batman was corrupted by the power and killed Ares. Afterwards, he learned that Diana had only been stunned by Ares. Afraid of what Ares power would do to Bruce, she tried to remove the helmet. However, Bruce was so addicted to the power, he chose to kill the woman he loved rather than risk losing the helmet. With virtually unlimited power and no sense of morality, Bruce went on to wage war on the entire world. Starting with killing only villains, he quickly escalated to killing his fellow heroes when they tried to pull him out of the darkness. Soon no one was left to stop his rampage.

Involvement

 * The style is themed after him.

Associated Equipment

 * Costume Style

Trivia

 * The Merciless first appeared in Dark Nights: Metal #2 (November, 2017)