Read more about Vampire Batman at: Wikipedia Official Site: DC Comics Batman & Dracula: Red Rain is a 1991 graphic novel by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones, in DC Comics' Elseworlds line of alternate reality stories. It spawned two sequels by the same creative team; Batman: Bloodstorm and Batman: Crimson Mist. Investigating a series of murders of Gotham's homeless, the victims' throats having been slashed, Batman discovers that the murders are being committed by a family of vampire led by Dracula himself, still "alive" and well. With the aid of a rogue vampire called Tanya -- who was once a member of Dracula's brood until the sight of an innocent child drove her to flee from him, creating a "blood substitute" to spare her from the cycle of death and murder -- Batman, himself bitten by a vampire- Tanya herself, who seeks his aid in defeating Dracula as all Vampires created by Dracula are powerless against his abilities and mental powers, is able to acquire the strength necessary to stand against Dracula's minions while still retaining his humanity. Determined to destroy Dracula's minions, Batman lured them into the Batcave, where Tanya and her followers kept them occupied until Batman detonates multiple explosive charges, destroying Wayne Manor and exposing the cave to sunlight, destroying all the vampires within it. Using his new bat-like wings, Batman flies to confront Dracula, eventually impaling the vampire lord on a tree that has been destroyed by lightning, but at the cost of the last of his humanity as Dracula drains the last of his blood. However, after his "will" has been read by Alfred, Batman assures his old friend that he has nothing to fear; Bruce Wayne may be gone, but the Batman, thanks to his vampiric powers, will now go on forever. Sometime later, the remaining vampires of Dracula's horde are now led by the Joker, having convinced them to follow his orders after pointing out their current inability to think beyond their next victim with the death of Dracula. Although they manage to take control of most of Gotham's major crime families, the vampires are eventually destroyed by a team of Batman, Catwoman (as a real werecat, transformed by the bite of a vampire in the form of a wolf), Commissioner Gordon, Alfred, and their vampire hunters made up of many Gotham PD detectives; Gordon, Alfred and their team staked the former crime lords during the daylight, and Batman and Catwoman confront the last vampires in a warehouse. Catwoman is killed in the final battle after defeating the vampire that made her what she has become, taking a crossbow bolt for Batman. Enraged at the loss of the only person able to control his bloodlust, subsequently drains the Joker of his blood. Horrified by what he has done, after staking the Joker to ensure he cannot come back as a vampire, Batman has himself staked by Gordon and Alfred, determined to stop himself committing further murder. Unfortunately, Gordon and Alfred never cut off his head, and, as a result, Batman is restored in Crimson Mist when Gotham is in the grip of a crime wave and Alfred removes the stake in an attempt to provide Gotham with a savior once again. Driven mad by the decay of his body and his new longing for blood, Batman drains and decapitates all of his old enemies (the Penguin, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Black Mask, the Scarecrow, and various Arkham inmates), until Two-Face and Killer Croc, the only two left, form an alliance with Commissioner Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth to kill Batman, the two acknowledging that the man Batman once was would not wish to go on killing his opponents like he is. Having tracked Batman to his new lair in the former Batcave- Wayne Manor having collapsed in on the cave after the explosion settled-, Alfred will lure him into the main part of the cavern, and they will subsequently trigger bombs to expose Batman to the sun. During the struggle, Two-Face and Croc attempt to kill Alfred and Gordon after Batman is nearly fatally injured, but Alfred gives his life to give Batman the strength needed to save Gordon. Having killed Croc and Two-Face- impaling Croc on a stalagmite and sticking arrows into both sides of Two-Face's head- Batman convinces Gordon to trigger the trap, and the roof of the Batcave is destroyed. Gordon is crushed by falling rubble, and Batman walks into the sunlight, hoping that, in death, he shall finally find the peace that he has been unable to find since his demonic transformation. CBUB Match Record:
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