Barbatos

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Barbatos (巴巴托斯)
Alias(es)	Dark Multiverse Dragon; Dragon of Bats; God of Bats; Bat God; Lord of the Dark Multiverse; Lord Barbatos
Species/Race	Dark Multiverse Dragon; a creation and former pet of the World Forger
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Dark Multiverse; World Forge; Dark Knights
Occupation/Role	Ruler of the Dark Multiverse; guardian of the World Forge; manipulator of fate
Status	Active
First Appearance	559

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Dark Multiverse Dragon	576	Having devoured the World Forger, Barbatos possesses acquired Sixth-Dimensional power but has not fully mastered it. He gains knowledge of the three brothers and the Multiverse’s origins through the Anti-Monitor.
Empowered by the Anti-Monitor Dragon	581	Replaces power lost to Batman’s theft of part of the Dark Multiverse Dragon status by absorbing Anti-Monitor-derived power and antimatter energy.
Weakened outside the World Forge	688 690	Leaves the Forge to intercept Parallax Hal; without the Forge’s advantage, he is substantially weakened and struggles to use even seventy percent of his strength while protecting the Over-Time Stream.
Forge resonance restored	711	Chen Tao’s borrowed dark-matter power temporarily completes Barbatos’s missing “circuit,” allowing him to fight at greatly increased strength within the World Forge.
Exhausted and compromised	730 735	Repeated battles, outside interference, and the World Forger’s control leave him heavily weakened, mentally unstable, and vulnerable to being turned into a puppet.
Regains bodily control, then subdued	835	Expels the Anti-Monitor and Monitor’s control from his body, but Supreme Superboy’s attacks and Chen Tao’s mental assault leave him unable to resist capture.
Severely diminished post-conflict	868	Battles with Perpetua and the Empty Hand leave him far below his former peak, though he expects to recover given sufficient time.
Defies the World Forger	946	After absorbing a light-being and experiencing unfamiliar positive emotions, he attacks the World Forger despite his ingrained fear of his creator.

Background / History

Barbatos was created by the World Forger as a pet and destroyer of failed Dark Multiverses. His original purpose was to consume the Forge’s defective creations, making destruction an intrinsic part of his nature rather than a learned role 690.

He eventually betrayed and devoured the World Forger, taking control of the Dark Multiverse and the World Forge. However, his divine status remained incomplete: unlike the World Forger, he was not a Sixth-Dimensional deity directly created by Perpetua, and much of his power was acquired rather than innate 576 711.

Before the main conflict, Barbatos laid extensive groundwork to invade the Prime Universe. He repeatedly infected the Prime Universe’s Batman with Metal, cultivated Dark Knights and Anti-Batmen, and intended to use Batman as a gateway into the Light Multiverse 563 576.

His apparent victory over the World Forger proved incomplete. The World Forger had tampered with his own corpse before Barbatos consumed it, leaving Barbatos vulnerable to hidden manipulation, fear conditioning, and later attempts at direct control 720 728.

Appearance

Barbatos usually appears as an enormous hooded dragon-like being with bat traits. He conceals most of his face beneath a heavy hood, leaving his purple eyes, ragged wings, and weapon-like claws as his most recognizable features 693 946.

• Tattered bat wings and a long tail 693 775
• Giant, emaciated claws capable of tearing through opponents 714 946
• Purple eyes beneath a heavy hood 946
• A surprisingly handsome face when unveiled, offset by a mouth full of sharp white teeth 946
• Can assume or be reduced to a juvenile form when fragments of the World Forger’s corpse affect his mind 945

Personality

Barbatos is calculating, possessive, and intensely self-serving. He views allies, subordinates, and even empowered followers as resources to be used, replenished, or sacrificed when his plans fail. When Parallax Hal’s arrival threatened his schemes, Barbatos immediately considered betraying Brainiac and the Black Death Emperor to recover his losses 693.

Despite his power, he is deeply fearful of the World Forger and highly vulnerable to perceived loss of control. His fear is not merely tactical: the World Forger planted an ingrained ideological fear of himself within Barbatos, which repeatedly causes panic, hesitation, and madness 735 946.

Barbatos has little understanding of friendship or equality. His only model for close relationships was the hostile bond between the World Forger and Anti-Monitor, so he initially interprets cooperation in terms of masters, servants, pets, and ownership 710. He nevertheless becomes unusually attached to Chen Tao during their alliance and attempts to frame their partnership as a bond between “brothers” 714.

Abilities & Skills

Dark Matter Universe Energy

Barbatos absorbs Dark Multiverse energy and brands it as his own dark-matter cosmic energy.

• Consumes Dark Multiverses, leaving ruined shells while converting their energy into his personal reserve 762
• Empowers Dark Multiverse Batmen and marks all beings who accept his energy, allowing him to sense his servants 697
• Can restore destroyed Dark Multiverse legions, though each revival permanently costs dark energy 673
• Grants followers immense power but can corrupt, suppress, or directly control them through the connection 722

Fate Manipulation

Barbatos can weave fate within the Dark Multiverse and uses this authority to arrange events around Batman and the Prime Universe.

• Manipulates fate across Dark Multiverses as part of his long-term conspiracies 559
• Planned to establish a fate in which William Hand would not die by dragging Earth-One into the Dark Multiverse 714
• Uses Batman’s importance to fate as a means of directing outcomes toward his own advantage 775

World Forge Dominion

The World Forge is Barbatos’s principal stronghold and the source of much of his practical power.

• Can seal or open the Forge’s gates at will 709
• Commands the Forge’s lava, structure, and defensive environment in battle 710
• Is significantly stronger within the Forge than outside it 576 706
• Cannot leave the Forge without suffering a major reduction in power unless his status is properly completed 576

Dragon Transformation and Combat

Barbatos possesses immense physical strength, regeneration, dimensional mobility, and destructive combat ability.

• Drove Parallax Hal and Supreme Superboy from the World Forge, albeit through advantageous conditions and tactics 589 868
• Can cross dimensions and move through timeline fractures and the Over-Time Stream 762
• Projects purple lightning and fights with claws, fangs, wings, and overwhelming dark-matter force 775
• His regenerative ability is tied to his dominion over the Dark Matter Universe 696

Creation and Enhancement of Servants

Barbatos creates and strengthens Dark Multiverse forces to act as extensions of his will.

• Maintains Dark Knights empowered by his energy; they are described as, to some extent, parts of Barbatos himself 710
• Enhanced Dawnbreaker so completely that Dawnbreaker became psychologically and mentally subservient 709
• Maintains lesser Dark Multiverse legions, including monsters that destroyed their own universes 589

Weaknesses & Limitations

• World Forger’s control — The World Forger understands Barbatos’s body and mind better than anyone and implanted hidden dangers into his power and consumed corpse 728 946.
• Fear conditioning — His creator’s implanted fear can induce paralysis, panic, irrational behavior, and susceptibility to manipulation 735 908.
• Nth Metal — Prime Universe Batman deduces that Nth Metal can harm Barbatos 867.
• Anti-Matter Universe Energy — Anti-matter energy can react dangerously with Barbatos’s Dark Matter Universe Energy 867.
• Death energy — The Black Death Emperor’s death energy counteracts Barbatos’s regeneration 696.
• Leaving the World Forge — Outside his fortress, his strength drops sharply and he loses much of his environmental advantage 576 690.
• Incomplete divine status — His power was stolen and accumulated rather than fully inherited, leaving gaps that a compatible “Barbatos Dragon” or co-deity can exploit 711.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Anti-Monitor’s brain — Kept for schemes involving Dark Multiverse energy, repairs, and the proposed creation of weapons 576 762.
• World Forger’s corpse — Barbatos sits upon and consumes portions of his former master’s remains, unaware for a time that the corpse had been altered to poison and influence him 708 720.
• Metallic constructs and concealed metals — Batman identifies Barbatos as carrying metals and constructs that may be capable of harming him 867.

Relationships

• World Forger — Creator, former master, and greatest psychological weakness. Barbatos devoured him, but the World Forger’s lingering influence repeatedly attempts to reclaim control 576 720 946.
• Chen Tao / Batman Dragon — Temporary ally, vassal-god candidate, and eventual adversary. Their shared dark-matter connection lets them fight effectively together, but both continually try to manipulate the other 711 721 835.
• Prime Universe Batman — Desired gateway to the Prime Universe. Barbatos captures and injects him with Metal, but Batman resists being used as a dimensional portal 762 867 869.
• Anti-Monitor — Former ally and pawn. Barbatos turned the Anti-Monitor Dragon into his own servant, but the Anti-Monitor later breaks free and seeks to exploit Barbatos’s vulnerability 576 775.
• The Batman Who Laughs — Former Dark Knights leader and manipulator who understands Barbatos’s psychology well enough to predict his distrust of subordinates 697 710.
• Dawnbreaker — Dark Knight enhanced and stripped of free will by Barbatos; valued for the Lights Out Protocol’s effectiveness against Emotional Spectrum users 709.
• Black Death Emperor — Former ally whom Barbatos attempts to betray after expending enormous energy on him; later joins the siege against Barbatos 693 696.
• Brainiac — Ally turned enemy during Barbatos’s failed betrayal and subsequent siege 693 694.
• Monitor — Requests Barbatos’s help purging Mandrakk’s influence, eventually persuading the reluctant dragon to act 908.
• Perpetua — One of the forces whose whispers and control contribute to Barbatos’s instability and madness 735 775.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Prime Universe Invasion Conspiracy

Barbatos manipulates fate and prepares a long-term invasion of the Prime Universe. His plan centers on infecting Prime Universe Batman with Metal, creating Dark Knights, and using Batman as a gateway between universes 559 563 576.

Anti-Monitor Alliance

After the Anti-Monitor becomes associated with the Barbatos Dragon, Barbatos gains knowledge and power from him. He offers Chen Tao a deal: merge with the Anti-Monitor, take Barbatos’s place at the World Forge, and allow Barbatos to repair dangerous future timelines 576.

Conflict with Parallax Hal

Barbatos leaves the World Forge to stop Parallax Hal’s arrival but cannot prevent Hal from reaching the current timeline. Forced to protect the Over-Time Stream while fighting, he becomes exhausted and resorts to plotting against his own allies to offset his losses 688 689 693.

Siege and the World Forge Crisis

Brainiac, the Black Death Emperor, Emperor Joker, the First Lantern, and the Anti-Monitor Dragon besiege Barbatos. Batman Dragon intervenes, breaks the Emotional Spectrum restraints binding him, and temporarily partners with him within the Lights Out Protocol 694 696 697.

Alliance with Batman Dragon

Barbatos and Chen Tao cooperate to save William Hand and stabilize their situation. Chen Tao borrows Barbatos’s power without accepting full servitude, briefly creating the resonance Barbatos previously enjoyed with the Anti-Monitor Dragon 710 711 714.

World Forger’s Retaliation

The World Forger exploits the hidden influence he planted within Barbatos, driving him into madness and attempting to make him a controllable puppet. Chen Tao temporarily absorbs Barbatos’s power to prevent his escape, while the World Forger’s and Perpetua’s whispers further destabilize him 721 730 735.

Attempted Prime Universe Entry

Seeking to recover his strength, Barbatos captures Prime Universe Batman and tries to use him as a portal. He injects Batman with Metal, but Batman and Batman Dragon outmaneuver him, forcing Barbatos to accept an arrangement that prevents him from using Batman as the gateway 762 867 869.

Defiance of the World Forger

After a light-being induces unfamiliar positive emotions in him, Barbatos breaks through space and attacks the World Forger. Although fear conditioning initially takes hold, his former master realizes that the ideological stamp once controlling Barbatos has been weakened or broken 946.

Notable Quotes

“Now you are my dog!” 576

“I am now the guardian of the Over-Time Stream.” 721

“No, I’m not a supervillain, I’m a superhero.” 867