Joseph Bauer was the leader of the Momentum Labs private think tank and the husband of Doctor Lucy Bauer. When he and his wife discovered the Darkhold, they experimented with the book, but technician Eli Morrow was tempted by the book. Morrow attempted to beat the information on its whereabouts from Joseph, putting him into a coma, and then attempted to kill Lucy and their colleagues with the machine, blaming their apparent deaths on an "explosion". Eventually, Bauer was awoken by his wife, who had become a ghostly figure seeking the book, who infected him with fear which eventually killed him.