DC Comics · 2019

Batman" City of Bane

Story arc · 16 issues

DC Comics · 2018

Batman" Prelude to the Wedding

Story arc · 5 issues

A series of one-shots detailing the reactions of many of Batman's friends, family and foes to his impending marriage to Catwoman. Non-U.S. Collected Editions Batman: Die Vorgeschichte zur Hochzeit (German)

DC Comics · 2017

Batman" The War of Jokes & Riddles

Story arc · 8 issues

Non-U.S. Editions Batman #13 (German) Batman #14 (German) Batman #15 (German) Batman #16 (German) Batman: Der Joker/Riddler-Krieg (German)

DC Comics · 2016

Batman" I Am Suicide

Story arc · 5 issues

Non-U.S. Editions Batman #4 (German) Batman #5 (German) Batman #6 (German) Batman: Selbstmord-Trip (German)

DC Comics · 2016

Batman" I Am Gotham

Story arc · 8 issues

Non-U.S. Editions Batman #1 (German) Batman #2 (German) Batman #3 (German)

DC Comics · 2014

Batman" Endgame

Story arc · 14 issues

Following the events of "Death of the Family", the Joker returns to Gotham, determined to destroy Batman and the city once and for all. Non-U.S. Editions Batman #41 (German) Batman #42 (German) Batman #43 (German) Batman #44 (German) Batman: Todesspiel (German) Batman Sonderband #46 (German)

DC Comics · 2012

Batman" Zero Year

Story arc · 38 issues

A re-imagination of Batman's origin in the New 52. Telling the story of an inexperienced Bruce Wayne in his formative years in his war on crime before finally honing his skills and truly becoming the Dark Knight. Plot Summary Zero Year is an eleven-part story arc in the Batman comic book, written by Scott Snyder and pencilled by Greg Capullo, which tells the untold tale of an inexperienced Bruce Wayne's formative years in his war on crime, before honing his craft and establishing himself as The Batman. Someone said In this story, a young Bruce Wayne attempts to save Gotham City from the murderous group known as the Red Hood Gang. However, since Bruce has yet to establish a reputation in the criminal underworld, and has yet to turn himself into the fearsome figure of Batman, he has been having a hard time winning his war. His inexperience, carelessness and uncontrolled anger have not only stalled his mission but also strained his relationship with his faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce's uncle, Philip Kane, who had declared Bruce legally dead during his absence from Gotham, has taken control of Wayne Enterprises and is using it to produce weapons. In an attempt to improve the company's public image, Philip attempts to convince Bruce to take control of his family's company, but Bruce refuses, as has no interest in living as "Bruce Wayne", focusing all his attention on his war on crime. To make matters worse, the Red Hood gang is stealing the weapons produced by the company to further terrorize the city. Phil's leading strategist, Edward Nygma, the future Riddler, advises Phil to kill Bruce in order to solve their problems but Philip refuses and still tries to convince Bruce to lead the company. For weeks, while keeping his identity a secret using sophisticated technology, Bruce has been hunting down the Red Hood Gang and sabotages several of their operations, but is unable to take them down. The gang is getting stronger and stronger, equipping themselves with Wayne Tech and causing several random acts of violence throughout the city. However, following a surprise party for Bruce by his uncle, the Red Hood Gang, thanks to a tip from Nygma, ambush Bruce and give him a vicious beating. Bruce barely makes it back to the manor where he is nursed back to health by Alfred. Enraged by Nygma's actions, Philip attempts to kill the villain, admitting that Bruce is a better man than both of them, but Riddler incapacitates Philip and ends their alliance. Bruce comes to terms with the fact that he is losing this war and asks his father for guidance. Then a bat crashes through his window, and Bruce finally decides that he will become a Bat. Finally realizing his purpose, Bruce and Alfred set up their base in a cave under Wayne Manor, and Bruce sets off to strike fear in the hearts of criminals as a vigilante who the press calls Batman. He starts by methodically taking out members of the Red Hood gang, quickly establishing his reputation and finally getting the attention of Red Hood One. While investigating the gang's operations, eventually, with some help from a guilt-ridden Phillip, who was forced into becoming a member of the gang, Bruce discovers that the Red Hood gang are planning to use a dangerous toxin from the Ace Chemical factory to terrorize the city. He holds a press conference in front of the factory and exposes the gang's plans, forcing them to invade the factory right away. As Batman, Bruce fights off the Red Hood gang, but not without the death of Uncle Philip, who was killed by the leader for attempting to stop him. As the GCPD round up members of the gang, the factory burns down and Batman goes after the leader, preventing him from escaping and defeating him, but despite Bruce's efforts to save him, the Red Hood allows himself to fall into a large acid container. In the aftermath, Batman continues setting up his Bat-Cave and establishing himself as a hero in Gotham. Edward Nygma, now calling himself The Riddler, then makes his presence known and knocks out all power from the city, in an attempt to challenge the people to get smarter. During the massive blackout, a heavy storm comes and the city falls into chaos, and Commissioner Loeb makes it the GCPD's priority to take down the Batman, but to no avail, as the hero repeatedly evades them. Bruce is determined to make an enemy out of the police because he sees them as corrupt and untrustworthy, especially James Gordon, who seems to have a connection to the Waynes' deaths and Bruce resents him for it. Bruce is also working on a jammer, because he feels that, even if the police manage to get the power back, they'll only fall into Riddler's trap and another blackout will take place. During this time, a series of suspicious murders have taken place, the victims, who were scientists working for Wayne Enterprises, had been ripped apart from the inside after their bones radically grew out of their body. Bruce investigates these murders and he is eventually led to Doctor Karl Helfern, a former Wayne Enterprises scientist who developed the formula that causes these effects. Bruce decides to visit the only man who may know something about it, Lucius Fox, an engineer who used to work for Bruce's father but was fired by Philip. Fox reveals that Helfern was working on a serum that was supposed to harden bones for protection against trauma, but it became unstable, and so was Helfern. However, Fox reveals that it was also his project and injects Bruce with something that incapacitated him, thus apparently revealing himself as an ally of Helfern, who is now known as Doctor Death. Bruce is kidnapped by Doctor Death, who has apparently injected himself with his own serum but instead of killing him, it has turned into a monstrous figure and becomes even more unstable. He almost kills Fox, but Bruce manages to fight him off. Lucius apologizes for the injection and reveals that it was actually a vaccine against Helfern's serum. As the two try to make their escape, Doctor Death catches up to them, now has become even more monstrous, and almost kills Bruce if it wasn't for the timely intervention of Gordon, who shoots Helfern and knocks him out of the building. Bruce is brought to a hospital where he is confronted by Gordon who wants to help Wayne and seeks to get more information about the killed scientists. However, Bruce does not like Gordon because he believes that, before his parents' deaths, Gordon and his partner, Corrigan, once escorted Bruce, who believes to have seen them take bribes from the neighbourhood. Bruce declares that Gordon and the rest of the police are crooked and that he will never trust them. Full Plot Bruce Wayne In: At the age of nineteen in Rio De Janeiro, Bruce met a criminal by the name of Don Miguel who taught Bruce high-speed driving and several insane driving tricks including colour cover, crowd ducking among others. In their final lesson, however, Bruce was instructed to lose the Policia in a bright red custom-made convertible car. After an intense car chase, Miguel attempted to kill the cops using a dangerous, but Bruce, having learned everything he needed from the criminal and wanting to prevent him from causing any more damage, crashes the car, trapping Miguel before finally knocking him out and leaving him to be apprehended by authorities. At the age of twenty-one, in Egypt, Bruce seeks out an old Russian scientist named Sergei to teach him what they call the impossible. He challenges him to test by trapping him under the Sphinx, where he has limited supplies and oxygen. Bruce spends six months preparing for this test, tinkering with tools and planning for every scenario in order to survive, but Sergei tells him that he needs to go beyond planning and what is called possible in order to survive. Indeed, once Bruce is actually trapped, most of his preparations weren't operational and he was forced to go beyond what he thought is possible in order to escape and pass Sergei's test. At the age of twenty-four, Bruce found himself in the middle of a pit in the Northeast of Harstad, Norway, fighting for twenty-eight hours straight in deathmatch, defeating every fighter to challenge him but avoided killing anyone despite the insistence of the Pit Queen. Bruce came to this pit seeking to use his body to wage war, but the Queen claims that he cannot win this war without killing, and he will continue to fight until he dies. However, Bruce persists, winning battle after battle but without killing anyone, and in the end, there were no more fighters to challenge because they were all afraid of him. Secret City: Bruce's disguise is blown The story starts six years ago, having recently returned to Gotham City after travelling the world, Bruce Wayne decides to use the skills he learned abroad to cleanse his city of crime, his first target being the Red Hood Gang, a growing group of criminals made up of middle and upper class Gothamites who were convinced or blackmailed into joining the group by the leader, whose identity still remains a mystery to Bruce, as he never takes off his mask, not even in front of his crew. Using a disguise, Bruce infiltrated the group but his cover was eventually blown, and he was cornered by the gang. Though he managed to escape and save the hostages held by the gang, this encounter showed Bruce's carelessness and lack of discipline that almost jeopardized the entire mission. Edward Nygma Back at his base, Bruce's faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth, who is heavily against Bruce's crusade, tries to talk some sense into him and attempts to convince Bruce to announce his return to the city, but Bruce says that he wants to remain legally dead as he feels that he's more efficient that way in his war and he doesn't want to be distracted by "Bruce Wayne". On his way out of the manor, Bruce is met by his uncle Philip Kane, much to Alfred's dismay, who reveals that he was the one who declared Bruce legally dead so he could re-built Wayne Enterprises into something new, by merging it with Kane Chemicals, becoming a leader in protective technology, specializing in weapons. Bruce disapproves of what his uncle has done with the company, and despite Philip's attempts to convince Bruce to take control of the company, he refuses because that's not what he's here to do and it's not who he is. Later that night, while meeting with an associate, Philip reveals that he wants Bruce to lead the company to improve the company's public image since they are hated for building weapons, and to make matters worse, the Red Hood Gang is stealing those weapons from them. The associate, who is revealed to be none other than Edward Nygma, tells him that the solution to Philip's problems, or Riddle as Edward calls it, is simple: killing Bruce Wayne. The Red Hood Gang Strikes The Red Hood Gang hijack Luca Falcone's blimp, as part of their plan to take over all other gangs in Gotham. After the leader, Red Hood One, throws Falcone off the blimp, he gloats to his captive, who appears to be Oswald Cobblepot, about having acquired all the drugs, information and advanced weaponry, including a Wayne Sonic Rifle. Then suddenly, "Cobblepot" attacks Red Hood One and reaches for his hood, but gets electrocuted. The Hood then deduces that this is, in fact, the vigilante who has been giving them trouble for the last few weeks. It was in fact, Bruce, having kidnapped the real Cobblepot and trapped him in the blimp's basement, disguised as the villain, in another attempt to take down the gang. Impressed, the Red Hood leader offers Bruce a spot on his team, claiming that they are two of a kind, but Bruce refuses and manages to take down some of the Hood's men, and even stabs the leader with his gauntlet, thereby getting a sample of his DNA. Bruce barely manages to escape unscathed, with the real Cobblepot with him. Alfred slaps Bruce Back at the manor, Bruce is still upset by the fact that he's still losing this war, as the leader's DNA has no match in any records, and he is still unable to stop this gang while it's quickly growing and becoming more dangerous. Alfred tells Bruce that his war is doomed and disapproves of the way in which he is fighting it. At Bruce's insistence, Alfred tells him that fighting from the shadows as a ghost is cowardly, unlike his parents, who fought for their city in public. He also disapproves of the fact that he is letting the Wayne name rot and leaving Wayne Enterprises in the hands of his uncle, who he sees as a sad, angry man with no purpose but glory. A heated argument breaks out between the two, as Alfred claims that Bruce's parents would be ashamed while Bruce tells him that's the real coward, provoking Alfred to slap Bruce in the face, before heading back to the manor. Bruce Wayne vs Edward Nygma After the argument, Bruce meets up with Philip at the Museum and tells him to shut down his operation because gangs have been stealing tech from Wayne Enterprises. Philip is reluctant and again tries to convince Bruce to be part of the company so they can things out, but Bruce turns him down again and insists that Bruce Wayne should stay dead. Philip then turns on the lights and reveals Welcoming Party thereby revealing his return to the city. Bruce angrily storms off and while searching for the Museum's exit, he encounters Edward Nygma. During their conversation, Nygma implies to Bruce that his uncle is giving weapons away to the Red Hood in an attempt keep them away from bigger ones, but refuses to say anymore. After solving Nygma's riddle concerning the Museum's exit, Bruce tells Edward on his way out to try harder next time, to which Edward mutters that there won't be the next time. As he reaches the manor, he is caught in an explosion set up by the Red Hood. Under the mercy of the Red Hood Bruce is then ambushed by the Red Hood Gang, who give him a vicious beating. The Red Hood reveals that the death of Bruce's parents changed his own life as well. The fact that the Waynes, scions of the city, were randomly killed by a nobody for no reason, inspired what the Red Hood gang is all about, acts of randomness inspiring madness, fear and survival. He also reveals that there is another man, like Bruce, who has been fighting them, but promises that, in the end, they will get him just like they got Bruce. Before leaving Bruce to die, the Red Hood thanks Bruce for leaving that theatre with his parents that night, because it inspired him and then proceeds to takes down down the Waynes portraits and puts two bullets through them. Severely wounded, Bruce barely manages to make his way to the lower levels of the Manor before passing out. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Edward Nygma was the one who sent the gang after Bruce, and Philip, enraged by actions, threatens to kill him. However, Nygma says a password that activates the magnetic plate in Philip's head, which was placed there after a childhood accident, causing Philip to collapse and to be incapacitated. Nygma announces his resignation and leaves Philip laying on the floor in pain, but not before Philip taunts him with the fact that despite all his strategies, he's nothing more than a shadow, an empty question mark and that no one will know who he is. Edward simply pauses and tells him goodbye. The moment of truth Bruce is found by Alfred and was nursed back to health. Alfred tells Bruce that despite their differences, he promises that he will always be there to patch him up. Bruce simply taps him on the shoulder as a sign of gratitude. Bruce then wanders the mansion, distraught at the fact that he is unable to win this war, and then faces a statue of his father, asking for guidance. Remembering the traumatic event as a child when he fell into a pit near Wayne Manor, before he was saved by his father, he was attacked by a swarm of bats. His father once told him the lifeblood of Gotham runs under Wayne Manor and asks him what the city told him to be. Just then, a bat crashes through the window and lands on Thomas Wayne's statue. Bruce replies "Yes I see. Yes, Father. I shall become a bat." Dark City Finally realizing his purpose, Bruce and Alfred set up their base in a cave under Wayne Manor, and Bruce sets off to strike fear into the hearts of criminals as Batman. He starts by methodically taking out members of the Red Hood gang, quickly establishing his reputation and finally getting the attention of Red Hood One. Following the gang's heists, Bruce sees no patterns, as all their acts are random, and decides that he needs help from his uncle. Philip is extremely regretful of what happened and reveals that he has been marked by the gang and forced to become a member himself. He gives Bruce access to the system which allows Bruce to realize what the gang's plan is, when and where they are planning on executing it. On the anniversary of the Waynes' murders, the gang is planning on forming a deadly poison using material obtained from the Ace Chemical factory, and exploding at several different locations around the city. Bruce realizes that this is a job for Bruce Wayne, not Batman, so he holds a press conference the day before the scheduled execution of the plan, outside the Chemical factory, to officially announcing his return to Gotham City. He goes on to explain why he came back despite what happened to his parents, because Gotham city, despite its flaws, is transformative and challenges everyone to be the best person they can be. He exposes the Red Hood Gang's plans and encourages the people of Gotham to fight back against this menace. Before he could finish, however, the gang launch their attack in an attempt to kill Bruce, but he is saved by Lieutenant James Gordon. During the confusion, Bruce sneaks into the factory during while Gordon attempts to lead a group of cops through the front door. Inside, Bruce is confronted by Red Hood One, who is impressed by Bruce's efforts but tells him that the cycle of randomness opened with his parents' murder and it will close with his death, and the destruction of the factory with the police inside while the gang escapes through the back entrance with what is available of their toxin, which they will unleash on the city the next day, opening a new cycle. But Bruce tells him that his parent's death may have been random and meaningless but their lives weren't, and he tells Red Hood that his life is an abomination and he is nothing more than an evil man pretending to have a purpose. Just before the leader can pull the trigger, a massive outage takes place in the entire neighbourhood, thanks to Alfred, and in a masterfully executed facade give the illusion that Batman appeared to save Bruce. The light then goes back on, and Bruce, now suited up, as Batman, appears and engages the gang in combat and gains the upper hand while Alfred shuts down the bay doors to prevent the gang from escaping. After defeating most of the gang, Batman is almost shot by Red Hood One, but he is saved by a member of the gang, who is then shot and killed in retaliation by the leader. To Batman's horror, it is revealed to be his very own uncle Philip who was forced into joining the gang. As the place starts to go on fire, Gordon and the police enter the factory and confront Batman, who manages to evade them to go after the fleeing leader. As the police round up the incapacitated members of the gang, on the rooftop, Red Hood attempts to make his escape using a helicopter but Batman grapples onto him and they both plummet into the burning factory. They engage in combat and Batman finally defeats the Red Hood but the railing they were standing collapses. Batman extends his hand and tries to save his enemy but the Red Hood refuses and declares that this is just the beginning before allowing himself to fall into the acid below. In the aftermath, Bruce and Alfred finish setting up the Bat Cave, and they finally reconcile, with Alfred telling Bruce that his parents would have been proud of him and that Batman's legend begins with him saving Bruce Wayne thus cementing their separation into his legacy. Though Bruce has doubts that his identity will be uncovered, Alfred reassures him that if plays his role right, the p

Shueisha · 2012

Naruto" Ten Tails Revival Arc

Story arc · 8 issues

The Ten Tails Revival Arc is the fifteenth arc of the series. The Akatsuki mastermind has finally been unmasked. Even the full power of the Nine-Tails and the Shinobi Alliance combined may not be enough to save the world from Obito's plot to revive the Ten Tailed Beast.

DC Comics · 2012

Batman" The Night of the Owls

Story arc · 17 issues

A crossover spawning out of the pages of Scott Snyder's Batman, where the Court of Owls attacks Gotham City aiming to assassinate numerous key figures within the city, forcing all of Gotham's heroes to defend the city from the Court's attacks. Overview Within the pages of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo 's Batman , Bruce Wayne has slowly come to the realization that the Court of Owls , a clandestine organization that has embedded into Gotham City for centuries is very much real, and a large threat. Starting in May 2012, the Court of Owls will make their attack on Gotham and it's heros within the pages of various bat related titles. Despite being described as a "crossover" it's not a traditional cross over in the sense that the story continues from one book to another, instead, each book will have their own self contained story about the Court's attack on Gotham, and the hero who fights against them. Titles involved with the cross over are Batman , Nightwing , Batman and Robin , Batgirl , Batman: The Dark Knight (featuring Tim Drake ,) Birds of Prey , Catwoman , Batwing , Red Hood and the Outlaws , and All-Star Western . DC would later announce that Detective Comics would indeed tie into the event, originally being solicited otherwise. Plot Summary Prelude The Talons Strike! Prior to the night the Court of Owls attacked Gotham, they had been making themselves known to Batman, who initially never believed in the Court's existence. First they sent a message that Bruce Wayne would die through the mysterious death of a John Doe. The next day, the Talon attacked Bruce during a meeting with the mayoral candidate Lincoln March . Bruce would survive, and later begin to investigate the death of his Great-Great Grandfather, Alan Wayne , who in his old age went mad with fears of Owls watching him. In the sewers of Gotham, where Alan died, the Talon once again appears, attacking Bruce, stripping him of his utility belt and throwing him into an intricate maze beneath the city. Bruce would be trapped in the maze for eight days, with the Court silently taunting him, driving him to the brink of insanity before the Talon stabs him from behind. Though wounded, Bruce manages to defeat the Talon, and barely escape from the maze with his life. One elderly member of the Court of Owls later decides to "wake up" their army of Talons, individuals who have served as the Court's Talon from as early as the 1600s, who are resting in their graves within the maze. Being revived by a mysterious girl by the name of Harper Row , Bruce stumbles back to the Batcave, where Alfred finds him in the connecting sewers. Bruce is shocked to find the dead body of the Talon who he had fought, restrained in the cave, but eventually goes to work, analyzing the body. He finds that not only is the Talon a man by the name of William Cobb, but he is also Dick Grayson's great-grandfather and Dick was originally supposed to become a Talon. All while this is happening, the Court equips and informs their army of Talons of their mission, and sets their assassins free on Gotham. Batman Shortly after his escape from the Court of Owls Maze , the Talons come after Bruce Wayne while he recovers at Wayne Manor . Bruce manages to spot them coming in time, and tells Alfred to hold up in the Batcave . Bruce manages to deflect most of the multiple Talon's attacks, but they corner him on the roof of the manor. Meanwhile, a Talon has infiltrated the Batcave and begins to stalk Alfred. Bruce manages to enter the cave by way of a secret passage in a chimney, and with the help of Alfred, they manage to trap the Talon in the cave under the giant penny. Bruce pulls a microchip from the Talon's gauntlet, and flees with Alfred to the armory while more Talons enter the cave, cutting lose the captive William Cobb, the first Talon that originally attacked Bruce weeks prior. Bruce tells Alfred to decode the chip and lower the cave's core temperature to sub zero, so the Talon's regenerative abilities would not be able to take effect. To buy Alfred more time, Bruce dawns a suit of battle armor to confront the Talons. Alfred manages to decode the Talon's microchip, and finds that they have a list of nearly every public figure in Gotham, who've they sentenced to die. Bruce orders Alfred to send out a call to all his allies in Gotham, requesting their help, as the Night of the Owls just begins. Though a valiant effort, Bruce begins to succumb to the sheer number of Talons attacking him, as they begin to pick apart his armor. He struggles to stay alive, as the Talons inch closer and closer to finally killing him. Bruce manages to survive long enough for the cave's temperature to drop below negative 20, which causes the resident Bats to attempt to flee the cave, creating chaos around the Talons. Bruce uses the confusion as an opportunity to take down the Talons, ordering Alfred to pump the same freezing liquid through their body, like he did to Cobb. Bruce then drives into Gotham, in an effort to save as many people who are on the Talon's hit list, as he can. After saving Jeremiah Arkham ( See: Detective Comics #9) Bruce then attempts to save friend, and mayoral candidate Lincoln March . Entering March's office, Bruce finds him shooting a Talon with an armor piercing round. Fatally wounded, March tells Batman that he has a message for Bruce Wayne, that needs to be delivered to him as soon as possible. Through researching some of his Donations, March believes he has found the name of three Court members. With his dying breath, he tells Batman to tell Wayne that Gotham can be a good place, and it's worth saving. Nightwing While Dick Grayson is investigating a double homicide where some of his escrima sticks were found at the scene, he gets the call from Alfred Pennyworth about the Talons attacks on key public figures within Gotham. Being closest to City Hall, Dick travels there to protect Gotham's corrupt Mayor, Sebastian Hady . All while this is happening, the origin of first Talon who attacked Bruce Wayne, William Cobb , his great-grandfather, is told. William's father was killed during the explosion of the Cameron Kane bridge (taking place in Batman: Gates of Gotham) leading him to preform juggling acts on the street to help provide for his mother. One day he saved a Haly's Circus worker from getting their wallet pick pocketed, and would be recruited to join the circus. Years later, he would travel back to Gotham with the circus where he met and fell in love with Amelia Crowne , the daughter of Burton Crowne , a wealthy Gothamite. Cobb would describe this as the happiest time of his life, but at the same time, the beginning of the end. In the present, at City Hall, the attacking Talon has already killed numerous security guards and one of Hady's associates, but Dick shows up in time to save the Mayor's life. He enters a brutal fight with the Talon, ending up shoving one of his escrima stick's through the already technically dead assassin's skull, leaving him unable to regenerate. Carrying the Talon's body out, Dick feels a sharp pain, and finds multiple throwing knives in his chest. His great-grandfather William has appeared, proclaiming he is there to kill his kin, Gotham's "Greatest betrayer." Telling Hady to flee to a panic room, Dick tackles his great grandfather out a window and into the streets below, where their fight continues. All the while, William tells Dick about the legacy he betrayed. Years ago, before William became a Talon, he learned that his love Amelia had become pregnant with a son, to her father's disgust. To cover up the fact that a circus performer was the child's father, Burton made Amelia marry a second cousin, and would lock William out of his family's life from there on out. Depressed, William is offered an opportunity to change the situation, to change Gotham by one of the heads of Haly's Cirucs, it is here where he began his initiation as a Talon, and would eventually become one of the best the Court of Owls ever had. Knowing his time would eventually end, William wanted to cement his legacy, so he kidnapped his son, handing him over to be raised in the circus, proclaiming him the "Gray son of Gotham" as he was both a child of Gotham, but not, at the same time. Back in the present, William scolds his great-grandson for abandoning the legacy set up for him, telling him that he's no different than himself, proclaiming Dick is an outsider to Gotham, just like him. Dick thinks different, telling William that Gotham can change, highlighting the liquid nitrogen coating to the subway power lines that had to be installed as the city grew. Before William can realize what is going on, Dick breaks open one of the tubes, freezing William, shutting down his reanimated body. As Dick picks up William's body, he tells his great-grandfather that if there's one thing he believes, it's that "destinies don't exist." Batwing Still in Gotham after chasing his brother Massacre all the way from Africa, Batwing works with his mentor Matu Ba and Wayne Enterprises executive Lucius Fox on upgrading his equipment. Fox invites the two to a gala being held by Batman Incorporated where many international diplomats will be attending. The event later comes under attack by the Alexander Staunton , the Court of Owls' Talon from the 1850s, forcing Batwing to defend Fox and the rest of the diplomats from assassination. With out any ability to freeze Staunton in an effort to slow his regenerative properties, Batwing has a tough time fighting off the assassin. The fight spills into the streets of Gotham where Staunton takes an African diplomat hostage, calling for Fox to show himself. In an effort to spare innocent blood, Fox steps forward, but before Staunton can kill him, Batwing takes a drastic measure, using explosives to completely blow Staunton's arms from his body. Batwing then ties up his foe, with the intent to bring him to Batman's armory in order to freeze him. Detective Comics Despite being advised to find safer ground, Jeremiah Arkham continues his rounds at Arkham Asylum , despite being notified of the impending threat, believing the facilities security to be enough to keep him safe. Despite that, a trio of Talon's infiltrate the Asylum, attempting to assassinate Arkham, leaving Batman to attempt to save him. Facing three Talons, Batman has a hard time fending them off. Arkham decides that they only way to save his own life is to trust an evil he knows, better than the one he doesn't. Arkham bargins with Roman Sionis aka Black Mask that in order to get his mask back, he has to use it's mental control to make the inmates fight the Talons. Sionis agrees, and shortly after, the inmates in Arkham are released, and attack the Talons. Batman manages to seal them all into one room, later finding Arkham, none too pleased with his methods. Batman takes Arkham from his asylum, leaving him in the care of Nightwing, while he continues on through out the night. Batgirl Responding to apparent bombings in a downtown Gotham district, Barbara Gordon comes across the Talon known as Mary prior to being alerted by the call sent out by Alfred. In a bizarre turn of fate, Mary doesn't kill Barbara when she has the chance. Meanwhile, when the Court's attack truly begins, James Gordon , Barbara's father, remains confined to his office, after having the life of his daughter threatened. When he attempts to make a call to warn her, the Court intercepts the call, and begins the attack on the GCPD building. Barbara receives Alfred's call, and rushes to downtown Gotham to help her father, finding Mary waiting for her. The two begin battle once again, but being briefed on the Talon's abilities, Barbara takes into account that the assassins are already dead, throwing Mary off the roof, into one of the many floating bombs, surrounding the building. Feeling pity for the fallen assassin, Barbara asks why her life was spared, and Mary, who due to events in her life prior can't speak, writes in her blood that she saw some of herself in Barbara. Meanwhile, Gordon attempts to light the Bat-Signal , only for the Court's Owl insignia to light up the sky. Batman and Robin While Damian Wayne is on patrol, he receives Alfred's transmission from the Batcave. Despite his wanting to help his father, Alfred suggests he helps defend one of the targets, an Army General by the name of Benjamin Burrows. Damian arrives at the army base to find it already under attack. He attempts to fly Burrows out of harms way, but is brought down by the attacking Talon. With the general injured, Damian desperately tries to transport him to a unit of his men within the forest, as the Talon pursues. When the Talon finally catches up to him, Damian does the best he can to direct the soldiers when and where to attack, but the Talon proves to be too much for them. Singling out Burrows, the Talon reveals that he had been contracted to kill Burrows' colonial ancestor and family, but one of the boys managed to survive the attack, thus why he was picked specifically for this target, so he could finish the job. Before he manages to do, Damian shoots a grappling hook through the assassin, stringing him up by a tree branch. Damian grabs one of the Talon's swords, telling the assassin that he somewhat sympathises with him, seeing as they were both used to do other's biddings, relating his own situation to his mother, Talia al Ghul , before he decapitates the Talon, ending his pursuit once and for all. Birds of Prey Very soon after learning of the night's events and seeing that Poison Ivy had been attacked, Black Canary and Katana are attacked by the Talon formerly known as Henry Ballard . The two struggle desperately to fend off the Talon's attack, to no avail. Canary and Katana retreat to a nearby church, but before Ballard can follow them in, Starling appears, running down Ballard with her car. Not knowing of the Talon's regenerative abilities, Starling approaches Ballard's body, who grabs her, luring the other two to him. Before he can do any permanent harm, Batgirl appears, stringing the Talon up by his neck. Knowing how to stop them, Batgirl suggests they retreat to the nearby train station where they can trap the Talon in a refrigerated freezer car. The team struggles to keep Ballard in the car, until Ivy appears, wrapping him in multiple vines, trapping both of them in the car, telling Canary to live up to her promise, to take her to the Amazon, to the heart of The Green if anything bad was to happen to her. Catwoman Catwoman and her new partner in crime, Spark , fail to steal a set of five ancient daggers, only because the fifth is in the possession of Gotham's notorious gangster, Penguin . On the night they set out to steal the final dagger, just so happens to be the same night where the Court of Owls sends out their assassins to kill some of Gotham's public figures, and Penguin is on the list, turning Catwoman and Spark's simple heist mission upside down. When Catwoman and Spark go to Penguin's office, they see him being attacked by the Talon, Ephraim Newhouse , who has a history with the set of daggers, as he shamed himself years ago by losing one in an assassination attempt. Despite Spark wanting to leave, Catwoman jumps in, defending the Penguin, knowing it isn't a "fair fight." The fight proves difficult for the duo, as the regenerative properties of the Talons are too much for Catwoman and Spark to handle. Newhouse eventually begins to strangle Spark, which leaves Catwoman to try and reason with him. She offers the full set of daggers to him, in an effort to restore his honor, an offer he begins to listen to. But while Newhouse is distracted, Penguin shoots him through the head, killing him again. Despite Spark wanting take the daggers, Catwoman opts to leave them with Newhouse's body, as she leaves it next to the bat signal for Batman to find. Red Hood and the Outlaws After dealing with the situation involving Suzie Su in Gotham's hospital, Jason Todd , Roy Harper , and Starfire intercept the call to arms from Alfred about the Court's attack. Tim Drake notices someone is eavesdropping in on the transmission, and directly please with Jason for help. Jason takes a moment to think, and ultimately decides to stay in Gotham, to defend Mr. Freeze . Jason finds Mr. Freeze in a frozen china town, as he's fighting a Talon. Freeze believes Jason to be working with Batman, and attacks him in return, proclaiming he doesn't need any help. While this is happening, the Talon flees, leaving Jason to give chase, and having Roy and Starfire keep an eye on Freeze. When checking on Freeze, Starfire gets blasted with ice, angering her to no end, leading her to attack Freeze, who reveals that the Court paid him off to use some of his technology to resurrect their Talons. Jason chases the Talon to an abandoned lot where Haly's circus used to stop, where the Talon was recruited by the Court of Owls. Jason begins to level with the Talon, who introduces himself as Xiao Loong , telling him he knows what it's like to come back from "the other side." Xiao tells Jason that while he gave the Court his body, he never sacrificed his soul, and rather than "starting over" he asks Jason to end his life, so he can go out on his own terms. Later that night, Jason drops Mr. Freeze off on the roof of the GCPD building, where he meets Batgirl. Given the circumstances, Batgirl lets Jason go free, as he gives her a message for Batman, telling her to tell him "he's welcome." Batman: The Dark Knight Telling the story of Alton Carver , the final Talon to hold the mantle prior to the Court's selection of Dick Grayson, it begins with his murder of Lincoln March, the mayoral candidate of Gotham City Due to Carver holding the mantle for longer than usual, his skills began to dull with time, and the Court began to plan to retire him when they found Dick. The Court decided to finally retire him when his final assassination was thwarted by Batman, years ago. When he was brought back to life for the Night of the Owls, his skills never recovered to their peak, allowing Lincoln to shoot Carver through the head. His regenerative properties would kick in, just as Batman was tending to Lincoln's body. Carver attempted to gain his revenge on Batman, but due to his dull skills, he was sent plummeting to the streets below. Come the end of the night, neither Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin or Robin could find him, as he escaped into the sewer to live another day. All-Star Western Not actually part of the event set in the present time, Jonah Hex will come across the Court of Owls in the 1880s. Hex had travled to New Orleans with Amadeus Arkham , hunting for a would be estranged Court of Owls member Thurston Moody , who had hired Hex, only to have his underground slavery ring discovered by the bounty hunter. After Hex helps Nighthawk and Cinnamon defeat an anti-immigrant terrorist organization known as the August 7 , they help Hex find Moody. But when they finally find Moody, a Talon has found him first, killing the man, then escaping. Hex would then travel back to Gotham, where he'd find his former lover, Tallulah Black , attacking members of the Religion of Crime , a faction at odds with the Court of Owls. Batman Annual Firmly establishing Mr. Freeze's place in The New 52 , Batman will learn just why the Court attacked his cold foe. The Fall of the House of Wayne Years prior to the actual Night of the Owls, Alfred Pennyworth's father, Jarvis Pennyworth panically writes a letter to his son, as he attempts to leave Wayne Manor , while unbeknownst to him, a figure stalks him as he leaves. In his letter to his son, Jarvis describes the manor as a cursed place, and despite his initial wishes, he wants nothing more for Alfred than to not begin his service under the Wayne family. He flashes back to a memory of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne talking, as Martha was none too pleased with a corrupt Mayor, saying something really needs to be done. As he nears the exit of the Manor, Jarvis' letter reads that he's hesitant to blame everything that is about to happen on Martha, as he knows in his heart, that he is the one who has doomed them all. The gate to exit the manor is lock

DC Comics · 2011

Batman" A Court of Owls

Story arc · 11 issues

A story arc that occurs with Batman facing off against the Court of Owls, prelude to The Night of Owls. Visit the Night of Owls story arc page for information on the events with the Court of Owls attacking all the heroes that are related to Batman. Collected Editions Batman: The Court of Owls Non-U.S. Editions Batman #1 (Spanish; Mexico) Batman #2 ( Spanish; Mexico) Batman #3 ( Spanish; Mexico) Batman #4 ( Spanish; Mexico) Batman #5 ( Spanish; Mexico) Batman #6 ( Spanish; Mexico) Batman #7 ( Spanish; Mexico)

DC Comics · 2011

Detective Comics" The Black Mirror

Story arc · 13 issues

There's no place like Gotham City, an entity in itself that twists and contorts the lives of those who try so desperately to protect it. Both Dick Grayson and Commissioner Gordon must try to stay focused as Gotham tests their moral fibers. Overview "The Black Mirror" is a story arc crafted by writer Scott Snyder. The concept of the story is that Gotham City is its own character that reflects its seedy nature upon those who try and protect it. It focuses on two main protagonists, Dick Grayson as Gotham's Batman and Commissioner Jim Gordon . Gotham puts both of the city's protectors to the test, having Dick discover what it truly means to be Batman in Gotham as he sees a darker side of the city; meanwhile, Gordon's estranged son James Gordon Jr. returns to Gotham, bringing a dark past with him. The story began in November 2010's issue of Detective Comics and wrapped up in August 2011. Originally, the title was planned to have Dick Grayson as Batman in the main feature (drawn by Jock ) and Gordon in a backup role (also written by Snyder), drawn by Francesco Francavilla . When DC dropped backup features from all their books, it was decided that Dick and Gordon would alternate in the book's starring roles. Snyder would come to describe The Black Mirror as "one big story" with both Dick and Gordon's plot lines intersecting and interacting with each other numerous times. The story is notable as the last to appear in Detective Comics before DC's September 2011 relaunch. Plot Overview The Dealer Shortly after Bruce Wayne appointed Dick Grayson to be the Batman of Gotham City , a string of mysterious crimes occur involving weapons from the cast of Batman's rogues gallery. Grayson soon finds out that there is a secret auction called the Mirror House, led by a man called The Dealer who sells weapons and items used by many different villains to the highest bidder. Dick disguises himself as a guest and infiltrates the Mirror House where the Dealer auctions the Crowbar used in the vicious beating of Jason Todd at the hands of the Joker many years ago. Dick's cover is eventually blown and he is exposed to a gas that causes him to hallucinate while being attacked by the crazed members of the Mirror House. He manages to escape, and after recovering from the brutal attack, attempts to take down the Dealer who manages to escape. In the end, Dick recollects how he never expected that kind of viscousness from the Gotham citizen and he feels that the city is getting meaner and wilder. James Jr. Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon has his own problems to deal with; his son, James Jr. has come back to Gotham. When Barbara hears about her brother coming back, she's none too happy, claiming that James Jr. is a dangerous person, claiming he hurt, and possibly killed someone named "Betsy." Gordon doesn't know what to believe, but is soon confronted by his son. James Jr. tells his father that he's alright now, he's come to terms with the fact that he's on medication, and wants to start a new life in Gotham by getting a job at Leslie Thompkin's clinic. In order for James to work at the clinic, he'll need a referral, and knowing that his father is close to the Waynes, he asks if he can get Dick Grayson to help him. Knowing that Dick possibly feels the same way about James as Barbara does, he remains conflicted. While Gordon tries to deal with his son's return, he opens up a cold case, trying to capture a child serial killer known only as the Peter Pan Killer. In his confrontation with the killer, it is revealed that the killer tried to abduct James in the past while the Gordons were on vacation, but was scared nearly to death by everything surrounding the boy. It was this very same vacation where Barbara's friend Betsy went missing, originally leading Gordon to think that James had something to do with it. Unable to get a confession before Batman's intervention, Gordon is left even more confused about who exactly his son is. Sonia Zucco Sometime later, both Gordon and Dick investigate a bizarre crime in which a corpse of a orca whale was left in the lobby of a well known community bank in Gotham. Inside the corpse is the body of a young woman, who was eaten alive. Gordon points out to Dick that the banks owner, Sonia Branch, changed her name sometime back and is actually Sonia Zucco , the daughter of Anthony Zucco , the man who killed Dick's mother and father. By all accounts, Sonia is a good person, completely detached from her father, but someone has it out for her as the woman in the whale's stomach was her co-worker and best friend. Before Dick leaves, Gordon tells him about James, and asks Dick to meet with him. He also asks Dick to give him his honest opinion, if he thinks James Jr has changed, or if there's something still "sinister" about him. That night, Dick tries to investigate why anyone would be harassing Sonia in such a way, but Sonia gives him nothing to work with. Eventually though, through a listening device, Dick comes to find that she's being harassed by a new face in organized crime by the name of Bixby Rhodes aka Roadrunner. Roadrunner Dick confronts arms smuggler, Roadrunner, but is unable to find a definite link between his operations and the murder and whale carcass in Sonia's bank. Later that night he meets with Gordon who has brought Sonia along with him. Sonia admits to Dick that she was scared of him, and that he'd see her just as the daughter of Tony Zucco, what many have pinned her as. She denounces her father and his legacy, and explains that many of Gotham's older crime families had come to her based on her name, looking to see if she could "invest" their money for them, aka clean it up. She would turn them down, and wouldn't have a problem. But the new faces in Gotham wouldn't take no for an answer. One of them was Roadrunner and the other, the criminal who murdered her friend, putting her body in the whale, is a pirate by the name of Tiger Shark . Dick apologizes for his misconceptions of Sonia, and promises to make it up to her, by bringing Tiger Shark down. Off the coast, he searches for Tiger Shark, but doesn't have to look for long, as Tiger Shark's submarine finds him first. Tiger Shark Captured by Tiger Shark, Dick is not impressed with the "King" of pirates, viewing him as just another criminal in a fancy suit. He manages to escape a perilous situation with Tiger Shark's whales, but Tiger Shark gets away in the process, blowing a whole in his yacht, sinking it to the depths of the ocean. Due to his extensive training and planning ahead of time, Dick is able to surface from the wreckage unharmed, and with enough time to make his important meeting with James Gordon Jr. Dick meets with James in down town Gotham, surprised to see how much he's grown, and thanks him for the work he has done at the Thompson clinic. The conversation goes pleasantly enough, James even mentions he ran into one of their old acquaintances, Ben Wolff, a boy who once teased James. He continues to say that Wolff could be none the nicer now, and it's "funny" how some people have to grow into the people they're meant to become. Dick takes these words to heart, realizes something, and excuses himself from James. Later, as Batman, Dick meets again with Sonia Branch. He accuses her of erasing the security footage so he wouldn't know where to start with her friend's murder, that way, Sonia could use Batman and direct him to Roadrunner first, then Tiger Shark, both criminals giving her heat, only one guilty of the murder. The situation becomes tense when Dick claims that he could have caught Tiger Shark if he knew about him first, but Sonia fires back that maybe he just failed. Sonia excuses herself with a falsely pleasant "goodnight, Batman," wich leads to Dick making it a point to say "Goodnight Ms. Zucco" rather than "Ms. Branch." As Dick leaves, he remembers a circus performer from his past, and what he said about his act, jumping from 80 feet in the air to a three foot pool of water, being all about judgement. Dick remembers the time he saw the performer judge the jump incorrectly, snapping his neck, dying instantly. Dick subconsciously relates this to his misjudgment of Sonia Zucco, but elsewhere, James Jr. enters the house that belongs to Ben Wolff, the same Wolff who teased him as a child. He descends into the basement where a tied up, mutilated Ben Wolff, missing all his limbs, jaw, and one of his eye, still alive and in agony, pleads for his life. James picks up a saw and asks Wolff "Now, where were we?" Sometime later, Jim Gordon visits Leslie to get her opinion on his son. Leslie raves about James Jr. saying he's been a great help, and has even volunteered for the infant nutrition program. Though Leslie approves of James, something doesn't sit well with Gordon, and he manages to swipe one of the experimental pills that James takes for his psychosis. Gordon visits Barbara, and asks her to analyze the pill. After some tests, Barbara find that the pill is formulated to actually stimulate the brain to create a psychosis in the one who takes it. The two are puzzled, as there is no way that James could actually spread the drug, and it wouldn't even affect adult minds, due to the dosage. Then it all clicks for Gordon, the nutrition program at Thompkins clinic. James would have access to mass quantities of infant formula, which could affect the young brains of children. With this realization, Gordon books it to James' apartment. All while this is happening, elsewhere at Arkham Asylum , during a routine physical examination, Joker manages to escape from confinement. Gordon reaches James' apartment, but doesn't find him there. After further examination, he finds a box containing the key that belonged to Barbara's childhood friend Bessy, and was last seen the day before she disappeared on their vacation. Amongst that key, there are hundreds of other similar keys. Dealing with the thoughts of his son being what he feared the most, Harvey Bullock shows up and informs the Commissioner that the Joker has escaped. With a gut feeling that the Joker would once again go after his family Commissioner Gordon calls his ex wife and James Jr's mother, Barbara Kean-Gordon , who was in Gotham, to warn her. But it's too late, and as soon as he gets to her hotel room, he finds her curled up in the tub, infected with Joker toxin. With Barbara Sr. in intensive care, Dick goes after the Joker while Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon analyze the toxin and hotel security footage. Dick eventually finds Joker in the catacombs under Gotham. During their confrontation, calling Dick "Little Bird," Joker claims he was waiting for "his" Batman to come back, and wasn't the one who attacked Barbara Sr. With Joker repeating "it wasn't me" something clicks with Dick, at the same time in the medical ward, Barbara Sr. wakes up and tells Jim "It was him, Jim! It was him!" Then, in Kord Tower , just as Barbara sees the face of her adoptive mother's attacker, James Jr. sneaks up from behind her, and attacks his sister. The hunt for Barbara is on, as James keeps her hidden in a platform under the bridge he fell off of when he was a child. He eventually contacts Dick, who he has deduced is Batman, and the truth comes out. James sees himself, a human unable to feel empathy and those like him to be superior, seeing Dick as the exact opposite of him. He returned to Gotham to challenge Dick, ultimately breaking him mentally. Dick tells James that they've already figured out his plan to tain the baby forumla, making children like him, but James informs him that he has no way of knowing if he had done it already or not. The climax of his twisted plan would be the murder of his sister and father, both of whom are great supports in Dick's life, and without them, James thought Dick would give up. Finished talking to Dick, James goes to finally Barbara, but she is able to surprise her brother, stabbing him in the eye. But the pain doesn't stop James, as he stalks his sister who has lost large amounts of blood, only able to crawl away. But before he is able to reach his sister, Dick shows up, finding James via a cellular tracker he implanted when he met with James days earlier. Tending to Barbara's wounds, Dick allows James to escape, knowing what waits for him on top of the bridge. Thinking he's free, James hails his triumph, but is shot in the leg by his father. James pleads with his father to wait, but Jim only says "no" and shoots his son in the other leg. James tumbles off the edge of the bridge, but Jim catches him, promising his son that he's not letting go this time. Sometime later, Jim meets with Dick, who is disassembling the crime lab that the GCPD didn't use. Jim thanks Dick for all his work, but Dick shrugs it off as not a big deal. Jim stops him and thanks him "on all fronts" indicating he may know more than he lets on. Dick tells him he's welcome, and continues on to report that his findings on the baby formula were inconclusive. The two speak for awhile about why they stay in Gotham, despite its nightmarish qualities, but both of them determine that they are to stick to Gotham for the long haul. Though, down in the streets below, a mother walks with her newborn in a baby carriage. The baby's eyes are wide with a eerie look, indicating that James Jr may have succeeded with his plan, but only time will tell. Collected Editions Batman: The Black Mirror Non-U.S. Editions Batman: Der Schwarze Spiegel (German)

DC Comics · 2009

Batman" Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

Story arc · 6 issues

Neil Gaiman's story showing what happened to Batman after the events of Batman R.I.P. Collected Editions Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

DC Comics · 2008

Batman" R.I.P.

Story arc · 34 issues

Batman battles the mysterious Doctor Hurt and his Club of Villains. Long forgotten secrets from the past are dug up, and the Dark Knight is forced to fight for his very sanity. Plot Summary At an unknown location, a group of international supervillains are gathered together under the behest of the Black Glove , led by Dr. Simon Hurt , the man responsible for the isolation chamber experiment that Batman underwent and the creation of the three replacement Batmen. They are planning a danse macabre for Batman and arrange for the sending of an invitation to the villainous Joker . Back in Gotham City , Batman and his new girlfriend Jezebel Jet receive an invitation to attend a party being held by the Black Glove, of which the theme is that of a danse macabre. This causes Batman to react in fear, as he believes that Jezebel (who has recently learned that Batman is Bruce Wayne) could conceivably be targeted for death by the Black Glove. Elsewhere, Commissioner Gordon tries valiantly to convince a local newspaper into not running a story on a dossier that the publication has recently came into possession of. The dossier, allegedly compiled by a detective hired by the parents of Martha Wayne (Batman's mother), contains many shocking revelations: that Alfred Pennyworth (Batman's loyal butler/confidant) is Bruce Wayne's true biological father, that Thomas Wayne was a drunk who got his wife Martha addicted to heroin, as well as photographs of an orgy involving Thomas and Martha Wayne, Alfred, and the stars of a noir film "The Black Glove". The editor also tells Gordon even bigger revelations: that Thomas Wayne may still be alive and that the "murder" of his wife Martha was part of an elaborate scheme to kill his unfaithful wife and fake his own death. The dossier itself is part of a larger game being played by the Black Glove and his League of Villains, of which Doctor Simon Hurt is leading in their campaign against Batman. Having drugged Batman with a slashing from a tainted blade, Hurt gives Monsieur Le Bossu and his henchmen the gargoyles, the location the Batcave . As Le Bossu and his minions attack Alfred upon their entrance of their cave, Batman has the Batcomputer analyze all known data he has on the Black Glove and Simon Hurt. The result Batman receives, just before he collapses due to the drug he was exposed to, is that the Black Glove is Zur-En-Arrh..... An explosion occurs and Batman is dead. The scene changes and Nightwing is holding Batman's cape and mask. Both the Robin and Nightwing titles will be stopped and in their place will be a spin off of Batman R.I.P called " Battle for the Cowl ". In which the new Batman will be decided. ISSUES ====================== Batman #676-#681 Detective Comics #846-#850 Nightwing #147-#150 Robin #175-#176 Batman and the Outsiders #11-#13 Collected Editions Batman: Heart of Hush Batman: R.I.P. Batman: R.I.P. Deluxe Edition Nightwing: The Great Leap Robin: Search of a Hero Related Issues DC Universe Non-U.S. Editions Batman #24 (Germany) Batman #25 (Germany) Batman #26 (Germany) Batman #27 (Germany) Batman #28 (Germany) Batman #29 (Germany) Batman #30 (Germany) Batman #31 (Germany) Batman #32 (Germany) Batman #33 (Germany) Batman #34 (Germany) Batman #54 (Germany) Batman #80 (Brazil) Batman #81 (Brazil) Batman #82 (Brazil) Batman #83 (Brazil) Batman #84 (Brazil) Batman Sonderband #19 Batman Sonderband #20 Batman Sonderband #21 Novos Titãs #62 Novos Titãs #63 Novos Titãs #64 Novos Titãs #65 Novos Titãs #66 Novos Titãs #67 Novos Titãs #68

DC Comics · 2002

Batman" Hush

Story arc · 17 issues

Batman faces a new enemy who knows his secret identity and is out to destroy both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Plot Summary A mutated Killer Croc holds the young heir of a wealthy family for a ten million dollar ransom which he plans to use to fix his mutation. Batman arrives on the scene, defeats Croc and saves the child. During the fight, Catwoman snuck in and stole the ransom money. As Batman chases after her high above the rooftops of Gotham, his bat-rope is mysteriously cut and he fall right in the middle of Crime Alley, fracturing his skull. He is saved by Huntress and Oracle who brings him back to the Bat-Cave using the Batmobile. With Alfred unable to help him, a barely conscious Batman signals to his butler with Morse code the name "Thomas Elliot", a famous surgeon and a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. Dr. Elliot manages to save Bruce's life. Killer Cros escapes from jail and goes after Catwoman who reveals that she was being mind-controlled by Poison Ivy when she stole the money, but Croc doesn't care and tries to kill her only to be stopped and defeated by Batman again. Catwoman thanks Batman with a passionate kiss causing Batman to start to develop feelings for her. She also reveals that Ivy is in Metropolis. There, the two track her down only to be confronted by her latest mind-controlled victim, Superman. Using a kryptonite ring, underground tunnels and his own wits, Batman manages to hold off Superman's long enough to break Ivy's control over him. After that, they manages to finally take down Poison Ivy. Later on, Bruce Wayne is invited to the Opera House by his friend Tommy Elliot along with Selina Kyle and Leslie Thompkins. Harley Quinn then crashes the show and attempts a robbery. As Batman chases after here, he is horrified at the site of Joker standing over the dead body of Tommy. Enraged, Batman quickly takes down Harley and then proceeds to savagely beat Joker almost to death until he is stopped by Jim Gordon. Later on, after stopping a robbery by Riddler, Batman finds traces of the Lazarus Pit in the crime scene and so tracks down Ra's Al Ghul to Africa where, after defeating the villain, learns that someone has been using Ra's' Lazarus Pit. Following Nightwing's advice, Batman finally gives in to his feelings for Catwoman and reveals his identity to her. Later on, Scarecrow is on the loose in a cemetery, and after Batman takes him down, a man with a bandaged face appears, holding Robin hostage and reveals himself to be Jason Todd, the Robin who dies many years ago. As Batman gives chases, he finally realizes that it's actually Clayface in disguise. Part 1: The Ransom Batman breaks into a building in a shipping yard. He knocks out several miscellaneous people (a Gotham city wrestler, an FBI agent, a military veteran). We see in the captions that Batman is out to rescue a kidnapped boy who is the son of a major Industrialist and a close friend of Lex Luthor . Batman rescues the boy but Killer Croc (the kidnapper) attacks him. Batman and Croc fight. Batman says that this is too smart for someone like Croc, that's why he had to get involved but he would have anyway. Batman and Killer Croc fight and Batman wins and chains up Croc. Several FBI field operatives swarm the place. They take the boy with them but the ransom money is missing since it was with Croc a while a ago. Batman activates the Heat sensors in his mask and sees Catwoman swing away with the ransom money. Batman chases her and Batman acknowledges there is something strange about this even for Catwoman to just come and steal the ransom money. He chases her and just when he was about to catch her something cuts the bat line and Batman falls. He grabs a gargoyle but slips and crashes to the ground in crime alley. Catwoman meanwhile goes and delivers the ransom money to Poison Ivy . A street gang surrounds Batman, one of them tries to take off his mask but it releases a pepper spray. Another one tries to hit Batman with a metal pipe but the batsuit electrifies him. Oracle meanwhile finds out Batman is down and calls for help. A gang member was about to shoot Batman in the head. Huntress then arrives on her bike and kicks the would-be shooter. She takes on the gang. Batman, unconscious is able to hear Huntress fight and compliments her in his head that she is just like he was in his first year. Oracle sends the Batmobile by remote control and Huntress puts him in it. Poison Ivy arrives in a dark street, a voice in the dark ask if it is his half. She says yes and hands it over to him. A while later, Bruce is able to hear Alfred. Bruce's injuries are too big even for him to operate on. Bruce's skull is fractures and has many other injuries. Bruce begins to tap morse code of the operating table, Alfred hears it as Dr. Tommy Elliot a childhood friend of Bruce. Bruce is taken to a hospital and Dick wreaks the Wayne car to fake a car accident. Tommy Elliot arrives from Philpedia, now a world renown surgeon. He operates on Bruce with several other surgeons, Bruce has a brief flash back of both of them playing antique war games, Bruce loses because he can't think like the enemy. Bruce recovers from the head injury and will leave the hospital soon. Later a shadowy figure is reading an article on the accident written by Lois Lane . He crushes the paper and cuts through the Wayne's picture with a sharp object. He declares war so "That we may live in peace". Part Two: Beast Batman, now recovered, visits Killer Croc in Arkham Asylum . Killer Croc shouts to Batman saying the money was his. Batman ignores him and speaks to the guards. Killer Croc gets mad and shatters the shatterproof glass. He attacks the guards and Batman attacks him only to get a choke hold on his neck. Croc throws him at the guards and escapes through the drainage. Amanda Waller was watching this, she tells Batman he has until midnight to find and interrogate Croc after that the FBI will recapture him and he becomes a federal criminal since Croc had kidnapped the son of a close friend of President Lex Luthor. Batman goes after Croc, Batman was counting on his escape since he had jammed a tracking device on him, he was hoping that it will lead to the person who orchestrated the kidnapping. Meanwhile, Tommy Elliot visits the Wayne Manor. He talks to Alfred and leaves when he finds Bruce gone. Before he leaves he says that Bruce is playing a dangerous game, going out about. Batman has a flashback of a similar night, Tommy comes to visit him during a storm his parents just had a car crash and were near death. Bruce promises to Tommy that his father will save them. Thomas comes out and says Tommy's mother survived but his father had died. Tommy gets angry and punches Bruce, Thomas comforts Tommy and tells Bruce to be quiet despite the fact that Bruce was bleeding. Back in the real world Batman is still on the trail of Croc. Something blows out one of the tires of the Batmobile. The car loses control and crashes into a wall. Batman escapes with no injuries. Killer Croc arrives at a Greenhouse to find Catwoman. Croc believes she has his money and Ivy passed the word to her in Arkham. Catwoman denies of having the money and that Ivy was supposed to meet her there. Croc almost eats Catwoman but Batman ties Croc's jaws with a bat bola, connects it to the grapnel hook and shoots it outside taking Croc with it. Batman begins to talk to Croc who says he needed the money to fix himself to, become human again, but before he could go further the FBI arrives and catches Croc. A figure perched on a roof top quotes "All men by nature desires knowledge". Batman turns around to see no one there. A few nights later, Batman meets with Catwoman. She says that she's found Poison Ivy and that she is in Metropolis . Catwoman and Batman have a moment and she kisses for saving her life. After a moment they separate Batman gives her a tracking device. If she finds Ivy first she has to alert him with that. Catwoman then takes off into the night. Part Three: Metropolis Bruce Wayne goes to Metropolis he remembers a long time ago, when he was a kid, he wanted to come to Metropolis. He has brief flashbacks of him kissing Catwoman. He walks around the airport and several women seem to admire him. Tommy Elliot is there and he calls Bruce. They meet up and talk friend to friend. They talk about the first time they visited Metropolis. Thomas Wayne took them there once Tommy came along when Martha Wayne suggested Bruce could bring a friend. While Bruce and Tommy were waiting for Thomas to come out of the Metropolis hospital, they see Green Lantern ( Alan Scott ) fly over them. They both follow him and sees him fighting with Icicle . Tommy gets excited about the battle and wants to follow them, but Bruce suggested they go back. Thomas finds out that both of them had wandered off and the two had to stay at a hotel room the entire time they were in Metropolis. Bruce and Tommy are talking about this in the Limo, Tommy mentions Bruce hadn't given himself enough time to heal, ("You're not Superman , you know"). Tommy also mentions that he had to take a bone chip out of Bruce's skull while operating in him. They arrive at the Daily Planet ("It's always nice to see Lois" Bruce thinking) and Tommy departs for a little walk. Bruce enters the Daily Planet and brings a bunch of roses to Lois. Clark and Lois were working on a story and Lois pretends to flirt with Bruce. Bruce asks whether he could use Lois's computer. He establishes a link with Oracle, about a plant called Aztec Gilia according to Oracle it requires ethylene which Lex Corp has bio engineered to withstand temperature changes. Lois secretly read some of that and Perry arrives and talks with Bruce, they both go on away from the newsroom. As for Lois ("So much for flirting with the billionaire playboy to find out what he is really doing here, hope I didn't make you too jealous, Mr Kent"). Clark says that there is another way to find out what Bruce is really doing here, he then pulls on his collar. That night, Batman breaks into Lex Corp tower, now that Lex is the President of the U.S.A, Talia Head is in control of the company. They both talk and Talia ("There is something different about you."). Batman asks her whether anyone in the city had obtained large doses of ethylene. She agrees to give him the information he needs and Batman gets a signal Catwoman had found Poison Ivy. Batman and Catwoman meet on an elevated train. Catwoman explains to Batman that she wants to get her revenge on Poison Ivy. She had taken control over her Catwoman's mind and now that she is out of it she wants to make her pay for violating her like that. She then tells Batman that he has to wait his turn when they confront Poison Ivy. At the docks, Poison Ivy is tending her plants, Catwoman comes in still pretending to be under her control but (Poison Ivy: *yesss, ;but I can always tell when someone is pretending!) She slaps Catwoman but she fights back, and cuts a shallow cut on her neck when one of Poison Ivy's vines attacks her, a flying batarang cuts through the vine killing it. Poison Ivy smiles and says she's got her own champion, the building begins to shake (..no, not here), two hands begins to lift the entire building("not now..:") and turns it over and it falls into the water. (Not HIM) Batman gets up from the rubble, Catwoman is unconscious and Superman stands in front of Batman with Poison Ivy in his arms. He warns Batman: If you come near her, you are going to have to go through me. Part 4:Batman vs Superman Catwoman wakes up from the rubble then Poison Ivy orders Superman (under her control) to kill them both. Superman uses his heat vision, Batman grabs Catwoman and ducks. The heat vision cuts through Batman's cape and Batman (still holding on to Catwoman) jumps into the water with her. He gives her a breathing mask and Batman presses a button in his belt and jet propellers propel them through the water. Poison Ivy looks down at her plants, all of them were dead. She tells Superman that he killed them and they were like children to her, (*I'm sorry) she smiles and tells Superman that there's one more thing she likes for him to do, she kisses him again to bring him to her control. Batman and Catwoman enter a tunnel accessed through the water and Oracle guides them through the maze. Batman explains that Superman will be back and plants several devices on the wall, and takes out a green kryptonite ring (You don't come to Metropolis, not expecting to meet him). Catwoman agrees to Batman's plan and kisses, she says next time he may not be able to do that. The walls suddenly begin to shake and Catwoman leaves. Superman bursts through the wall and Batman throws the first punch. They both fight and Batman activates a button in his belt and a hypersonic sound wave disrupts Superman's super hearing and gave him a massive headache. Superman fights back freezing Batman's hand . Batman activates the devices only the wall, a blinding light fills the tunnel. As Superman recovers (Clark! I've activated a gas leak, if you used your heat vision you will take out the entire block, and you know what building we are under!) Batman shoots his grapnel, Superman throws another punch but Batman swings away saying he lied about the gas main and Superman ends up hitting a power line. After Batman comes to the surface and melts away the ice on his hand, Superman comes out of the hole, angry, and picks up a truck to crush Batman (Look up, you can either save her or fight me) Superman looks up and sees Catwoman forcefully, taking Lois on a flag pole and she hits Catwoman on the stomach and falls. (C'mon Clark be the boyscout...please*). Superman super speeds into the air and catches Lois, breaking Poison Ivy's spell. (No offense Clark, but you look like hell. Lois). Superman lands on the roof top and so does Batman. He explains about the Poison Ivy's mind control and that her lipstick was laced with kryptonite for her spell to work, Clark knew what he was doing but couldn't control it. They talk about how to catch Poison Ivy and Batman picks up a leaf on Superman and points it to his face and Superman knew what he meant. A while later Poison Ivy is in a rich hotel room with her cash when Batman (it's over Poison Ivy) and she turns to the other side to see Superman now out of her spell, she runs to the door and opens it, only to face Krypto : the Superdog (All the detective work in the world can't beat a Superdog with super smell). Poison Ivy turns around to see Catwoman (Hello, Ivy) and she punches her lights out (Bye, Ivy). The sun begins to rise on Metropolis, Catwoman is with Krypto and Batman is on a gargoyle speaking with Superman. Clark says that Bruce could have hurt Lois, Batman answers that he knew Superman would react as he did. Superman: But still, you might have hurt Lois Batman: No, I believed in you. Superman: All the good work including the JLA. Batman: Meaning? Superman: (smiles) Always the detective? Batman: Ever the boy scout Superman: (shakes hand) Thanks now more than ever, I know I gave the ring to the right person. Batman: What are friends for? A bandaged figure on a distant roof with binoculars: "What are friends for?" Ha Ha Ha Part 5: Opera Bruce Wayne is back in Gotham and Alfred straightens Bruce's bow tie. He is attending an opera which he doesn't like. Selina Kyle is there too and so is Tommy Elliot and Dr. Leslie Thompkins . They enter the balcony and Tommy helps Leslie to the chair. The show begins and a figure in robes was banging a drum. Bruce and Selina became a bit suspicious then the figure bursts out of the robes and was really Harley Quinn . A gang of masked men come out with guns. Harley leaps acrobatically to the balcony and grabs a necklace Tommy is wearing she then shoots them and jumps away. Tommy goes after Harley, Bruce is missing and Leslie asks what Selina is keeping in her purse since it looks heavy. Tommy has a flashback of both childhood him and Bruce playing Bruce sees the necklace and jokes to dip it in water. Tommy explains that it is mother's necklace. Batman comes in uses a smoke grenade, mace and razor sharp batarangs to stop them. He goes after Quinn, then Catwoman swings in and kicks Harley. They both fight and Catwoman gets seriously injured and falls of the stage prop. Batman catches her on stage and the spectators clap thinking that its all part of the show. Leslie comes on stage with a medical bag telling Batman that she will help her while he goes after Harley. Tommy is still running after Harley but she has already dropped the bag with the necklace. Batman runs after them and finds that they are out of the Opera house. Batman runs through the rain and into an alley way and comes across (No) Tommy's corpse shot dead and the Joker near it with a....gun. Batman goes mad and contemplates on killing the Joker this time. He begins to strangle the Joker and meanwhile on the roof a bandaged figure is watching this. The police force arrives at the Opera house with Jim Gordon . He gets a call from the bandaged man telling him to come to the back. Gordon does so and sees Batman strangling him. Gordon stops Batman from doing it and allows the Joker to be sent to Arkham Asylum. Batman deals with Tommy's death and at his funeral Dick asks whether he should reveal his identity to Selina. At Arkham the bandaged figure come in and tears it off revealing it to be a bald Harvey Dent with no scars. He has the Joker released because he believes him to be innocent. At the Batcave, Alfred is tending some of Bruce's injuries and Catwoman is there and she asks about them. She sees a particular one on his chest where their is scratches. Batman (you don't remember?) it was the one she gave to him during their earlier encounters. He then reveals his identity to her. *[I haven't read the issue where the events in paragraph 2 takes place, most of them are important events mentioned on the internet.] Part 6: The Assassins It's a dark night over the skies of Metropolis. Lexcorp 1 is making a routine flight out of Metropolis. The Batplane is flying behind it. (Oracle, I'm in position), Batman presses a button and a device comes out and shoots a cable at Lexcorp 1. (Even for you, this is crazy, you got civilians in there Batman) Batman does not listen to her and swings down the rope. Batman thinks about his talk with Lucius about the design in the Lexcorp 1 and how it's similar to the Wayne Tech aircrafts. Batman places a gadgets near the hull and the cabin door opens. The plane begins to de-pressurize and Oracle jams their distress call. The guards confronts Batman who beats them easily. Batman had only seconds left before the cabin door re seals (by then I will have came for.) Talia. She was on the plane and Batman takes her out of the plane and jumps. Batman releases his parachute and Talia asks why he is doing this (Ask your father.). They parachute down into the bat boat. Batman believes it's Ras Al Ghul who is responsible for all that is happening. He has kidnapped Talia to get his attention. Some after midnight, Pete Ross runs into President Lex Luther's office explaining there's been a kidnapping and hijacking on Lexcorp 1. Pete explains that it was Batman and asks whether he wants to take action. Lex smiles and says (Not...yet). Batman returns to the Bat cave leaving Talia elsewhere. He comes in to find a sword embedded on the computer console. Batman picks up the sword and ("If he accompanied by any of his League of Assassins..then") Batman screams Alfred he runs up the stair case and out of the cave. To his relief Alfred was safe, they have a conversation and Alfred suggests that Ra's Al Ghul might want to draw Batman to his homeland and leave something or someone unprotected. Somewhere in Gotham, Catwoman is holding Talia hostage. Talia says she knows about Catwoman and Batman and she can never have him. Catwoman replies she's gone through life without having to have someone. Catwoman was thinking about gagging Talia when Lady Shiva comes in through the window. Catwoman jumps at

DC Comics · 1996

Batman: The Long Halloween" The Long Halloween

Story arc · 15 issues

Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent go on an year long case to track down a mysterious 'Holiday' killer. Plot Summary It is June in Gotham City, and Johnny Viti, nephew of Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, is getting married on the hottest day of the year. The Roman rules over an intricate crime family which in turn rules over Gotham. However, the Falcone mob is in desperate need of a means to launder their ill-gotten gains, and the Roman sees the Gotham City Bank as a likely source. To that end, the Roman has used his influence on several members of the bank's board of directors, including bank president Richard Daniel, to persuade them to accept his family's business. Carmine takes advantage of the occasion of his nephew's wedding to similarly convince Bruce Wayne, but Bruce is not swayed and leaves in a huff. The Roman confides in his bodyguard Milos that he is disappointed at Wayne's refusal, but that the deal still has enough votes to get through. Bruce listens in on the conversation from the hallway until he is discovered by Alberto Falcone, the "good son" who shows Bruce the door and eyes him menacingly as he goes. Bruce is eager to leave and pursue his regular night activities, until he meets up with Selina Kyle. Selina seductively convinces Bruce to stay, and their dancing attracts the attention of Carla Viti, mother of the groom and sister to the Roman. Carla is in turn being watched over by the Roman, spying from his office and ruminating on his less-than-smooth relationship with his sister. When Alberto informs Carmine about Bruce listening at the door, Carmine tells him to stay out of the family business. Meanwhile Harvey Dent, district attorney of Gotham City, has been in the basement parking garage of the Roman's home, copying down the license plate numbers of various cars. But his actions have not gone unnoticed, and the Roman's goons come and give him a beating, warning him to lay off for his own sake. Luckily Bruce and Selina soon arrive, on their way home for the evening, and help him to his feet. Harvey brushes himself off and curtly walks away. Although Selina asks Bruce if he has further plans for the evening, Bruce claims he is tired and they part company. Harvey meets up with Captain Jim Gordon of the Gotham City Police later that night and the two discuss possible means of bringing the Roman down, including involving the Batman. Similarly, Bruce and Selina meet again in the Roman's penthouse, this time in their costumed guises of Batman and Catwoman. Their presence quickly attracts the presence of the Roman's guards, but they manage to escape under a cloud of smoke and a barrage of bullets. The Roman, furious over this invasion of his privacy and at being taunted by his chief rival Sal Maroni over the break-in, puts a million dollar bounty on both of their heads. Batman chases Catwoman through the city but she eludes him even as she dodges his questions regarding her motivations against the Roman. Batman loses her and gives up the chase to answer a Bat-signal sent out by Harvey and Jim, who discuss the mutual strains put on their marriages by long hours at work while they await Batman's arrival. When Batman appears, the three discuss the lengths they will go to bring the Roman down. The three enter a pact (Batman however agreeing rather reluctantly) to bend the rules if necessary but never break them. Batman then disappears into darkness, but he leaves behind for Harvey and Jim the Roman's ledger, an incriminating piece of evidence Batman stole from the safe in the Roman's penthouse. Soon, Bruce is in a meeting of the board of Gotham City Bank, very vocally protesting the position of the other board members in favor of accepting the Falcones' money. When he proves unable to sway them, Bruce storms out, but that evening Batman pays a visit to Richard Daniel, the bank president, warning him to keep the Falcone money out. Daniel subsequently resigns from his position and Bruce steps in. In August Falcone meets with his family and, enraged over Daniel's betrayal, orders his nephew Johnny to come home from his honeymoon as soon as possible to take care of the problem. In September Johnny Viti kills Richard Daniel, gunning him down as he is on his way home from a movie. Jim and Harvey both receive the news at home later that night. On the day of Halloween, Johnny Viti is shot twice in the head by an unknown assailant while taking a bath. The perpetrator leaves behind the murder weapon, a .22 caliber pistol with the nipple of a baby bottle used as a crude silencer, as well as a jack-o-lantern. That night Harvey, Batman, and Jim discuss the murder, and Harvey lets it be known that he couldn't care less about the death of a mafia hitman. The three discuss the particulars of the murder and toss about possible suspects, when Batman notices that their conversation is being eavesdropped upon. Catwoman, listening in on their discussion from the rooftop, offers to help Batman hit the Roman where it hurts the most: his money. Catwoman's information leads Batman and Harvey to a warehouse on Gotham Harbor, where they discover that the Roman has stockpiled over twenty million dollars. Harvey contemplates stealing some of it, but Batman puts a curb on such thoughts. Instead they together set fire to the warehouse and destroy the money. Harvey cheerfully returns home to help his wife Gilda give out candy to trick-or-treaters. But as he is rummaging through his mail, a bomb hidden inside a package goes off and blows the Dent house sky high, with Harvey and Gilda barely surviving. For months afterward, the killings continue.On New Year's Eve, the scheming Joker intends to release his gas on Gotham Square at midnight, killing the crowd and hopefully Holiday. To that end the Joker has hijacked a plane and killed the flight crew. Batman arrives just as the Joker is taking off and hitches onto the plane. As Batman fights with the Joker in mid-air, Harvey Dent is working late on the Holiday case. Just as he is leaving, his new assistant Vernon comes in with new information on the Roman case. He has searched old police files and discovered a connection between Carmine Falcone and Bruce Wayne On Carmine's yacht in Gotham Harbor, the Roman is talking with Maroni during the New Year's party Carmine is hosting. Sal says that the Holiday killings have been bad for business and that they should put aside their differences to put an end to it. But Carmine subtly suggests that Maroni might be behind Holiday, using as evidence the fact that the hits have all been on members of the Falcone family. Then while Carmine is talking with Carla, she points out his tendency to surround himself with enemies. Carmine's response implies that she too could be counted among that number. Carla stomps off to go out on deck, just in time to see Alberto fall overboard, shot by Holiday. Harvey arrives home, apologizing to Gilda for his lateness. She notes his hair is wet despite the fact that he was wearing a hat. Harvey enters the living room to find the Gordons there to celebrate New Year's with them, but Harvey heads off for the kitchen. Jim follows, leaving Gilda and Barbara to discuss the possibility of the Dents having children. Gilda however feels like it's a lost cause, since Harvey is always working. Barbara tells Gilda that business is a taboo subject that evening, but in the kitchen Harvey and Jim are discussing Harvey's recent discovery about Bruce Wayne. And high above the city, just as the clock strikes midnight, Batman pummels the Joker and aims the plane toward the harbor. At the last possible moment he grabs the Joker and leaps to the nearby clock atop a skyscraper. The plane harmlessly splashes down into the water and Gotham is saved. The murders continue, and soon it is August 2, Falcone's birthday, and the date on which Maroni is going to trial to testify against Carmine Falcone, but before Harvey can leave home and head for court, Gilda stops him. She is disturbed by something she has found in the basement--a .22, just like one of Holiday’s guns. Harvey claims that it’s simply evidence he brought home from work, curtly ignoring Gilda’s surprise as he goes. Batman has other things on his mind than the trial, namely finding the Riddler, who Holiday let live on April Fool’s Day. Batman tracks him down at a small tavern and challenges his connection to Holiday. Riddler explains that the Roman hired him to find out who Holiday was but kicked him out when the solutions he gave were less than satisfactory. This information leads Batman to posit that maybe Riddler was left alive to spread the word that the Roman was looking for Holiday. Carmine is similarly being disputed by Carla, who disapproves of the family hiring freaks like Poison Ivy and the Riddler, as they have done of late. Sofia interrupts the argument to lead Carmine away... to a surprise party in his honor. August 2 is the Roman’s birthday, after all. In Sal’s cell before the trial, Jim Gordon pats Maroni down to make sure he’s not carrying any weapons into the courtroom. But Vernon meets Sal at the door of the court to give him stomach medicine for his ulcer. Harvey is optimistic as Sal takes the stand that his testimony will bring organized crime in Gotham to a halt. Once under oath Maroni admits to killing two members of the Gazzo family, a mob operating in Metropolis. When Harvey inquires if the Roman ordered the hit, Sal fakes a coughing fit and reaches for his stomach medicine. It is not medicine but actually acid. Sal hurls it in Harvey’s face and he falls to the floor screaming. Harvey is rushed to the hospital but once there he stabs a doctor and escapes. And Carla Viti, investigating the coroner’s files on the Holiday victims, becomes one herself. As of Labor Day, Harvey Dent has been missing for a month since last issue’s incident in the courtroom. He has been hiding out in Gotham’s sewers where he crosses paths with Solomon Grundy. At first Grundy attacks him, but when Harvey begins reciting the nursery rhyme from which Grundy received his name, he stops and calms down. Batman and Jim Gordon are baffled by the turn of events that have befallen Harvey. Jim has come to the conclusion, based on his discovery that Harvey possessed a .22, that Harvey is Holiday. Batman refuses to acknowledge it, but Jim needs proof otherwise before he believes Harvey is innocent. Jim needs to hear it from Harvey himself. Batman first searches at Falcone’s penthouse, asking Carmine if he knows where Harvey is. The Roman is enraged at Batman, accusing him of knowing that Dent was Holiday but standing aside while he killed, because criminals were the only victims. Batman departs and seeks out Catwoman, demanding to know why she is so interested in Falcone. As usual she runs away rather than reply. Batman confronts Gilda next about her husband’s whereabouts, inquiring about the .22 they found. Batman tells her that he found gun metal shavings on Harvey’s workbench, as if he had filed away the serial numbers there, but Gilda can provide no explanation. Batman finally ends up at Arkham Asylum, talking to Julian Day, the Calendar Man. Batman tells Day that they know Harvey is Holiday but not how to find him. Julian suggests that, it being a holiday, there is only one option as to the location of Holiday. That night Jim Gordon, at Batman’s request, moves Sal Maroni to a new cell. Batman believes that Maroni is most likely destined to be Holiday’s next victim. Sure enough, Batman’s prediction comes true when Holiday surfaces to shoot Sal twice in the head during the prisoner transfer. Sal’s helmeted guard lunges toward Holiday, who shoots him multiple times in the chest and takes him down. Holiday trains his gun on Jim Gordon, who can only helplessly stare up into the face of the man about to kill him... Alberto Falcone. Sal’s helmeted bodyguard leaps up. It is Batman, who was protected from the .22 bullets by a kevlar vest. Batman pummels Alberto and almost kills him, but Jim stops him. Alberto is placed under arrest and jailed. A few days later Carmine comes to visit his son Alberto in jail and offers his assistance. He tells Alberto that he can get him out if he will plead guilty to Maroni’s murder alone and drop any notion of being “Holiday.” Alberto spurns Carmine, saying he felt slighted when Carmine sent him to Oxford and kept him out of the family business. He says that Gotham now belongs to the freaks, and he is one of them. On Halloween Jim and Barbara Gordon go to visit Gilda to check up on how she is managing alone. She is still left wondering where Harvey is and if he is even still alive. Meanwhile at Arkham there has been a breakout. All of the maniacs have been set free by a solitary figure who, after flipping a coin, decides to leave Calendar Man in his cell. Carmine is furious over Alberto’s unwillingness to accept his help, which has subsequently led to his impending execution for the Holiday murders. As he is ranting in the kitchen to Sofia, the lights cut out suddenly. The two explore the house with their guns drawn, finding guards dead all around. They burst into the Roman’s office to find all of the Arkham escapees there, along with Solomon Grundy, Catwoman, and their mysterious leader, who reveals himself to be Harvey. Harvey is about to kill Carmine when Batman drops in, taking down the villains one by one under the cover of a smokescreen. The distraction of Batman fighting the villains has allowed Harvey the opportunity to grab Carmine, however, and he faces down Batman with a gun to Carmine’s head. When Batman appeals to Harvey to let Carmine go, Harvey tells him that his name is now Two-Face. Two-Face then flips his coin which lands scarred side up. Evil wins; Two-Face shoots Carmine twice in the head from point blank range. Sofia screams and rushes forward to attack Two-Face, but Catwoman stops her. The two wrestle and fall through a glass window. Outside Catwoman is able to grab onto a ledge, but Sofia plunges to the ground many stories below. Two-Face knocks Batman out and goes to take revenge upon Vernon for his part in Harvey’s disfigurement, giving Maroni the acid. Batman finds Vernon’s dead body later and, following the Bat-signal to the police department, then discovers Harvey on the roof ready to turn himself in. Harvey says that justice has been done now that he has killed the Roman. As Gordon slaps the cuffs on Harvey, Two-Face drops one final bombshell as they take him away; he tells them that there were TWO Holiday killers. Later Jim and Batman discuss what Harvey might have meant with his final statement, since Alberto has confessed to all the Holiday murders. Batman postulates that, since Harvey killed the Roman on Halloween, he was the second killer. Jim goes home to his wife Barbara and says that he has to keep fighting for the good of Gotham, despite what it has cost. Batman similarly says to himself that he must keep up his work, for the sake of the promise he made to his parents years ago on the night of their deaths. And on Christmas Eve Gilda is packing up boxes for her move away from Gotham, but before she leaves, she takes a box down the basement furnace. She describes aloud to herself how she read in Harvey’s case files about the removal of the serial numbers of guns and how baby bottle nipples could be used as silencers. She then removes from the box a .22 pistol and drops it into the flames of the heater, along with a familiar-looking hat and coat. And she claims that she took it upon herself to start the Holiday killings, in an attempt to end the Roman’s hold on Gotham and thus lighten Harvey’s caseload so that they could have a child Her belief is that Harvey took up the killings on New Year’s Eve and that Alberto is lying to the police with his confession. She also says that she knows Harvey will eventually be alright and that they will reconcile, because she believes in him. Collected Editions Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween Batman: The Long Halloween Non-U.S. Editions Batman: Das Lange Halloween (German) Batman: Das lange Halloween #1 (German) Batman: Das lange Halloween #2 (German) Batman: Das lange Halloween #3 (German) Batman: Das lange Halloween #4 (German) Batman: Das lange Halloween #5 (German) Batman: Das lange Halloween #6 (German) Batman: Das lange Halloween #7 (German)

DC Comics · 1993

Batman" Knightfall

Story arc · 17 issues

Seeking Gotham as his ultimate prize, the Santa Priscan crime lord Bane wages a slow-burning war to wear Batman down - bringing the Dark Knight to his knees before Bane breaks him. This storyline follows Batman in the aftermath of the massive breakout at Arkham Asylum, leading up to his confrontation with Bane and the fallout from that. Knightfall is broken up into two parts " The Broken Bat " and " Who Rules the Night ". The Broken Bat Following Bane's massive break out at Arkham Asylum Batman hunts through the city of Gotham tracking down the escaped inmates. He confronts multiple enemies in rapid succession including Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Zsasz, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and Joker (among others). With no rest between battles he quickly wears down but refuses to give up or stop. Finally when he is at the end of his rope, he is confronted by Bane right inside Wayne Manor and after a brutal and bloody battle, Bane lifts Batman above his head and breaks his back over his knee. He then throws Batman's broken unconscious body into a crowd in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne is now in a coma with severe spinal trauma. Who Rules the Night With Bruce stabilized but out of commission, Gotham City still needs a Batman, so Bruce asks Jean Paul Valley (Azrael) to step in as Batman. His first battle is with Scarecrow and he begins to get more and more comfortable in the role of Batman. However his previous brainwashing begins to kick in and his Batman becomes more and more ruthles s as time goes on. He develops a pair of razor claws that he wears out as Batman and eventually even attacks Tim Drake (Robin in the Bat Cave.) Meanwhile, Bruce leaves the country to rescue Tim Drake's father and Dr Shondra Kinsolving and is unaware of his replacements behavior. Increasing in madness, Jean-Paul in his new Batman-like aromor tracks down Bane and beats him within an inch of his life however at the last minute pulls back and spares him. He hands Bane over to the police and expels Robin from the Bat Cave at the end of the storyline. KnightQuest This storyline continues in KnightQuest: The Crusade which follow Jean Paul and his violent rampage as Batman against Gotham City villains and KnightQuest: The Search which follows Bruce Wayne quest to find Frank Drake and Shondra Kinsolving. Collected Editions Batman: Knightfall Vol. 1 Batman: Knightfall Omnibus #1 Related Items Batman - Mitefall Novelization In 1994, DC Comics brought readers a landmark story featuring Batman. The Dark Knight has been Gotham City's protector for years, challenged by its many villains. But now there's a new villain on the scene, determined to conquer where others have failed. Known as Bane, he starts his campaign against Batman and Gotham by emptying Arkham Asylum, where so many of Batman's enemies are imprisoned and have spent their time plotting revenge. Almot single-handedly, Batman fights off these long-time opponents only to find himself so exhausted after it all that his strength fails him when Bane follows the onslaught to face Batman himself. Now Bruce Wayne is confined to a wheel-chair and must turn over his cloak and cowl to his apprentice, Azrael. But Azrael's philosophy of crime-fighting is much more violent and harsher than Batman's ever was. And now Bruce faces two challenges: the first is dealing with his incapacitation; and the second is dealing with Azrael who, it's become clear, is a loose cannon with an agenda all his own. Written By: Dennis O'Neil Publisher: Bantam Books (July, 1994) ISBN-10: 0553096737 ISBN-13: 978-0553096736

DC Comics · 1988

Batman" A Death in the Family

Story arc · 10 issues

The ground-breaking story where people got to vote on the fate of Jason Todd, the second Robin. If you were referring to the Marvel Comics/Spider-Man Story Arc : A Death in the Family . Plot Summary Jason Todd had never been a popular choice to replace Dick Grayson even after the retcon of the Crisis on Infinite Earths . When the public was allowed to choose whether he would live or die the count went against him. Cue the Joker... and a tire iron. Collected Editions Batman: A Death in the Family Related Issues Deadman: Dead Again #2

DC Comics · 1988

Batman: The Killing Joke" The Killing Joke

Story arc · 8 issues

The Joker tries to turn Commissioner Gordon crazy through a series of devised methods, proving that anyone can have a bad day. By Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. One night Batman goes to visit the Joker in Arkham Asylum. While contemplating the futility of their relationship, and that it will only result in either his or the Joker's death in the future, he discovers that the Joker sitting before him is not actually the Joker, but an impostor. Batman threatens the imposter, and asks his infamous question "Where is he?!" Meanwhile, the Joker is looking to buy a run-down old theme park for then unknown reasons. Through flashbacks, Moore reveals parts of the Joker's past, and shows he had a significant other named Jeannie who was pregnant with his child. Joker kills the owner of the theme park with his joker venom (the same one that made him the way he is) and makes the land his own. Later, Barbara Gordon answers the door only to find the Joker on the other side. The Joker shoots Barbara and takes nude photos of her on the floor and bleeding. His goons abduct Commissioner Gordon. In another flashback we see that the Joker was a failed comedian who, out of desperation for the life of his unborn baby, joins the mob for one job and becomes the Red Hood. Barbara is later revealed to be paralyses from the waist down. Batman consoles Barbara, and she tells him that this time its different. "The look in his eyes" she utters, while crying. Commissioner Gordon is stripped naked and sent through an insane carnival ride, bombarded with the nude images of his daughter in an attempt to to break his sanity. He is ridiculed and made fun off by the Joker, to an audience of carnival freaks. Another flash back shows that before the Joker could even begin the job, Jeannie had died. Distraught, he has doubts about the job, but gets bullied into going through with it anyway. When Batman ruins the job, the Joker (while trying to escape) accidentally falls into a river of chemical waste and after removing his red helmet/hood, he sees what he has become. It becomes evident that he is insane, as he is shown laughing with blood dripping from his eyes and mouth. Back in the present, after gathering clues, Batman finds his way to the carnival and proceeds to fight the Joker and free Gordon. He tries to comfort Gordon, but is told to continue in the pursuit of the Joker, and to "bring him in by the books". The Joker attempts to shoot Batman with what would seem to be the same gun he used to cripple Barbara Gordon. The gun turns out to be a fake and Batman lives. The Joker tells an unusual joke about two insane men, and as he laughs uncontrollably, Batman utters a solitary chuckle. The story ends as it starts pouring rain and the police show up. Some time later, she decides to become the omniscient computer presence known as the Oracle . She ends up being more useful and dangerous as the Oracle than Batgirl . The Killing Joke has gained notoriety due to its labeling as a graphic novel, despite it's short length. Tim Burton stated "I was never a giant comic book fan, but I've always loved the image of Batman and The Joker. The reason I've never been a comic book fan - and I think it started when I was a child - is because I could never tell which box I was supposed to read. I don't know if it was dyslexia or whatever, but that's why I loved The Killing Joke , because for the first time I could tell which one to read. It's my favorite. It's the first comic I've ever loved. And the success of those graphic novels made our ideas more acceptable." He has stated in the past that The Killing Joke was his inspiration for his Batman movie. There is however speculation as to whether or not this is a legitimate claim as Tim Burton's depiction of the Joker was much different to the one portrayed in the Killing Joke. Collected Editions Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore Vol. 2