

- Before he was Batman, Bruce trained with tracker/bounty hunter Willy Doggett.
- In the mountains of Alaska, they were on a manhunt for an assassin named Tom Woodley. Woodley appears and kills Doggett. Bruce and Woodley fight, Woodley slips and falls to his death.
- Bruce wanders, injured and freezing in the mountains until he collapses. An Alaskan Shaman and his daughter find and heal him.
- The Shaman told Bruce an ancient Native American folktale about a bat to heal him. He made Bruce promise to never tell the story to anyone.
- Bruce returns to Gotham, makes his his first attempt at crime fighting, which goes badly. Cue the scene of a bat crashes through the manor window. Bruce decides to adopt the costumed identity of Batman in order to strike terror into the hearts of criminals.
- Batman investigates a break-in at Leslie Thompkins' free clinic. After beating up the thugs, a scare patient screams the word "Chubala" and then stabs herself in the heart.


Shaman - Book One

#1 - Shaman - Book One



- Six months later, two GCPD officers stumble upon the Chubala Cult in the middle of a human sacrifice. One is killed and the other barely escapes. Gordon and Batman check out the scene.
- Bruce tries to find the connection between the cult and the woman who stabbed herself. He attends an Alaskan Exhibition, he meets Dr. Madison Spurlock, an anthropologist. Bruce had told Madison the Native American folk tale that he learned while recovering in Alaska and this knowledge allowed Spurlock to gain notoriety, although he has been spreading the lie that he learned the tale from natives. At the exhibit, Bruce also meets Spurlock's assistant, Bennet Young.
- That night, Batman stops some cultists from finishing off the surviving officer. In the cultists pocket he find a strange substance that was seemingly drugs. He sets up a lab and examines it at Wayne Manor. Realizing Batman needs a base of operation, he explores the caverns below the manor the next morning.
- He receives a phone call from Spurlock's assistant, Bennet Young. Bruce goes to the exhibit to meet with him, but when he arrives, he finds Bennet Young with a spear sticking out of his chest. His dying words are "Baat... Man..."


Shaman - Book Two

#2 - Shaman - Book Two



- Bruce starts looking around the crime scene and discovers that some of the tribal artifacts in the exhibition had been taken. Suddenly, Bruce is attacked with an arrow that he manages to catch before it reaches him but he is unable to find the shooter.
- Batman does some more investigating, ends up fighting more cultists but no more answers. Bruce decides that he should talk to Spurlock about his investigations on the Alaskan tribes.
- The next day, Bruce visits Spurlock at the Gotham University. Spurlock does his best to explain the cult of Chubala, but suddenly Spurlock is killed with an arrow in the back. Bruce dodges a second arrow and he finally sees the murderer, a man dressed in native Alaskan clothes and wearing a tribal bat mask.
- That night, Bruce has self-doubts caused by his inability to catch the killer. He thinks about dropping the Batman business, but Alfred talks him out of it. Alfred suggests Bruce to follow his instincts and Bruce realizes that there must be a connection between the killer and the tribes in Otter Ridge, Alaska.
- Bruce decides to go back, but the whole place has changed. It is now is a big city full of tourists. The shaman that saved is now old drunk man who performs sacred dances for tourists spare change.
- The Shaman’s granddaughter is extremely mad at Bruce as she blames him for all the damage done by Spurlock and his supposed "investigations". She tells Bruce how Spurlock stole the sacred artifacts from the shaman and forced him to reveal the secret stories of their tribes. Bruce is upset about the situation and wants to repair the damage done but it is too late.
- While they are driving to the lodge, a car appears out of nowhere and forces their car off the roadside cliff and into a freezing lake.


Shaman - Book Three

#3 - Shaman - Book Three



- Bruce saves the shaman and the girl from the sunk car, but the girl’s body temperature is dangerously low. Bruce tells the shaman to save the girl by telling her the tale of the bat but the shaman refuses and instead he tells Bruce to do it. Bruce is unsure about it, but the shaman tells him that he has the mark in his eyes and that all he needed was to put on the Batman cowl. Bruce obeys and puts on the cowl, tells the story and the girl quickly recovers.
- The next day, Bruce talks to the girl if there was any other survivor the night they saved him. The girl reveals that they saved another man as well. Bruce realizes that the man they saved was in fact Tom Woodley, the assassin he fought in the mountains.
- Bruce goes back to Gotham, but before leaving Alaska, Bruce gives the old shaman some money and also a generous donation to the hospital were the girl was. The shaman tells Bruce to "become the mask", and Bruce is left pondering about the meaning of that.
- That night, Batman breaks and enters the suspect’s (Fisk’s) place and discovers the hidden Chubala shaman disguise, and evidence showing that Fisk because inspired by Spurlocks who to learn the Chubala rituals and begin his cult leadership. Batman comes up with a plan that would allow him to examine the place more carefully. He (with great effort) get the attention of the building guards, knowing that they would call an inspector to examine the crime scene. The next day, Bruce, disguised as an inspector, places some acid in the shaman’s outfits bulletproof vest, replaces the bullets in his gun with blanks and sets some traps in the shaman disguise.
- At the manor, Woodley, who is wearing a tribal bat mask, holds Alfred captive. Woodley reveals to Alfred that he killed Spurlock for stealing the tribal bat mask and now he will kill the only man that has bested him: Bruce Wayne.


Shaman - Book Four

#4 - Shaman - Book Four



- Bruce arrives at Wayne Manor. Woodley attacks, they fight but Woodley escapes.
- Batman tracks the Shaman him with the tracker he placed in the Shaman robes.
- Batman finds the Shaman in the midst of a sacrifice, and belittles and shames the fake Shaman in front of his men by using all the props and traps he prepared earlier, and so the cultists lose faith in the fake shaman, who turns out to be banker Carl Fisk. Batman ties up and leaves the Shaman for the police.
- Back in Wayne Manor, Batman looks for any sign of Woodley and after looking for a while, he finds the man agonizing in the middle of the snowy forest, having stabbed himself. Batman tries to save him but its too late. Before dying, the man surrenders the mask of the bat-shaman to Batman and Bruce decides to deliver it back to where it belongs.
- Bruce travels to Alaska and finds out that the shaman that cured him is already dead. The granddaughter teaches Bruce a very important lesson and he finally realizes that he must become the mask, for that is his destiny. Bruce returns to Gotham, places the bat-mask in the Batcave and goes out to patrol his city at night.


Shaman - Book Five

#5 - Shaman - Book Five



- In a warehouse, two men torture a third, interrogating him about a missing shipment of drugs. As they are dousing their captive with lighter fluid, they hear music.
- One of the torturers goes to check out the music but never returns. The other torturer follows, but it suddenly killed by another man, who then sets the captive ablaze.
- There are more strange killings. A mobster named Jack Kane phones another criminal, Ottavio, that Mr. Whisper has returned and is killing members of the mob. He is then killed.
- Members of the mob gather and decide they need help against Mr. Whisper. They DIY an upside-down Bat-Signal, calling Batman.


A Romance, Volume One: Man Without a Shadow

#6 - A Romance, Volume One: Man Without a Shadow



- Batman answers the inverted Bat-Signal and meets with the mob members.
- They tell him how twenty years ago they killed Mr. Whisper, the man with no shadow, and how he has returned to kill them one by one. They ask Batman to help find Mr. Whisper, they will cease criminal activity until he is found. Batman tells them no deal and leaves.
- At that moment, a young woman claiming to be the Bride of Christ is kicked out of the Gotham Cathedral, where Mister Whisper is hiding.
- The next morning, Bruce Wayne tells Alfred about the recurrent nightmare that he’s been having. He also reveals a painful memory from his childhood - as a kid, Bruce went to a private boarding school with vicious bullies and an even crueler headmaster, Mr. Winchester. Bruce recalls that this man had no shadow.
- That night, Mr. Whisper appears in Ottavio's penthouse, ready to kill him. Batman crashes in through the window and chases Whisper.
- When Batman calls Whisper by the name of "Winchester", the evil man realizes he knows the man behind the mask and decides to let himself fall from the edge of the building to the street below.


A Romance, Volume Two: The Death Ship

#7 - A Romance, Volume Two: The Death Ship



- Bruce Wayne goes back to his old childhood school and find a recording of Winchester's poetry tapes.
- Back in the Batcave, Batman analyzes the recording and learns it was created somewhere in Austria. However, the tape switches that of Thomas Wayne and Bruce Wayne, many years ago. The voice of Thomas talks about Lake Dess and Batman deduces that this fortunate mix-up has given him the location to learn the secret of Mr. Whisper.
- At that moment, the mob boss Morgenstern starts to take over the Gotham Organized Crime and he is glad to see Batman leaving Gotham in the Batgyro (helicopter).
- Batman arrives to Austria and goes to an old monastery near Lake Dess in order to ask for directions. The Abbot helps Batman, and tells him the story of an ancient monk called Manfred, who fell into temptation and led an entire monastery into a sinful path. Legend has it, Manfred struck a deal with the devil and surrendered his soul in exchange for 300 years of life. Finally, the Abbot gives Batman directions to reach the drowned monastery in Lake Dess and Batman goes to investigate.
- The locals believe that the place is haunted by the soul of the last nun, who was burned at the stake and will not rest in peace until Manfred is gone.
- Inside the partially submerged building, Batman notices a strange light on a hallway and when he approaches, he is shocked to see the burning spirit of the nun. However, this was all a trick of his own mind, as he was simply staring into a mirror.
- Batman continues the investigation and finds a secret safe, which is locked with a rose combination. Batman recalls his nightmare and the words "unlock the rose". After opening the safe, Batman finds an old blueprint of a building resembling the Gotham Cathedral.


 A Romance, Volume Three: The Burning Nun

#8 -  A Romance, Volume Three: The Burning Nun



- Batman returns to the Batcave and studies the blueprint before he decides to follow the last clue, given to him by Morgenstern, and goes to the industrial district. Inside a warehouse, Batman finds several bodies hanging from the ceiling. Whisper surprises Batman, attacking and managing to capture him.
- With Batman trapped, Whisper tells the story of how the deal with the devil prevented him from dying, but gave him enough time to come up with a plan to cheat the devil. Whisper managed to trap his soul inside a cord, which removed his shadow. Then, developed a deadly plague and a way to trap it in glass. He hid his soul cord in the foundations of Gotham Cathedral and used the plague glass to decorate the place. When the church-bell shatters the glass on May Day, it will kill most of the people in Gotham. Whisper intends to offer the Devil all the victims' souls in exchange for his, allowing him to live forever.
- Before leaving, Whisper then lights a candle and tells Batman that when the candle goes out a chain reaction will crush his skull, killing him.


A Romance, Volume Four: The Hangman's Tale

#9 - A Romance, Volume Four: The Hangman's Tale



- Batman frees himself from the deathtrap and makes his way to the Gotham Cathedral. At that moment, Mr. Whisper is awaiting for midnight to strike so that his plan can be finished.
- Batman appears and chases down Whisper, with only minutes to spare. Whisper tries to use a vial of plague on Batman, but his plan fails as Batman uses a rebreather. The fight continues into the subway underneath the cathedral. Batman sprays Whisper with Mace and Whisper grabs Batman, forcing him to stand on the tracks in front of an oncoming train. Batman flips Whisper into the train and dodges the train himself.
- While Whisper is taken to the next train station, Batman climbs to the belltower, where deactivates the bell.
- Whisper returns to his low rent apartment, where the devil has come to claim his soul.
- The next morning, Bruce Wayne receives a package with Whisper’s heart. He decides to take it to its rightful place, Lake Dress, hoping to bring peace to Mr. Whisper’s victims.


A Romance, Volume Five: Walpurgisnacht

#10 - A Romance, Volume Five: Walpurgisnacht



- While pursuing leads on Manny "the Fish" Cardona's drug ring, Batman finds himself clashing with several police officers, particularly a vigilante-hating zealot named Max Cort.
- Mayor Wilson Klass also has contempt for Batman.
- Gordon is forced into a televised roundtable with Klass and renowned psychologist Hugo Strange to discuss Batman's growing prominence. Strange psychoanalyzes Batman to be a mentally-disturbed egomaniac, motivated by nothing but past trauma and a lust for power. Gordon disagrees with this sentiment, but is forced to admit that Batman is technically a criminal.
- Klass announces a new anti-vigilante taskforce, with Gordon as commander. Klass hires Strange as consultant on the Batman.
- Bruce sees this announcement, and tries to distract himself by focusing on building a new crimefighting vehicle.
- Gordon reluctantly gathers personnel for the taskforce, beginning with Cort - thought too unintelligent to be a serious threat - as second-in-command.
- That night, an overeager Cort gathers his own draftees for the taskforce - for a raid on Cardona's main warehouse. Unfortunately, it turns out several of the officers on the taskforce are corrupt, and the Cardona has warning - the warehouse is empty, except for Batman who was also there to raid Cardona. The men attack Batman. Batman fights them off and escapes.
- Meanwhile, in the privacy of his own penthouse, Strange tries to simulate Batman's psyche by donning a homemade Batsuit. He grows enthralled by the idea of being Batman, of sowing violence and terror in total anonymity.


Prey, Part One

#11 - Prey, Part One



- Batman returns to Wayne Manor.
- Hugo Strange continues to play-act his own "Batman" identity, but quickly sobers when he nearly falls off the edge of his penthouse; embittered by his physical shortcomings.
- Strange and Bruce Wayne attend a dinner party hosted by Mayor Klass. Strange continues to extol his theories about Batman, only to be repudiated by the mayor's strong-willed daughter Catherine.
- As the week wears on, Strange redoubles his efforts to unravel Batman's psyche and true identity. A warrant for Cardona's arrest is soon issued, allowing Cort and his men to stake out Cardona's brownstone in hopes of ambushing Batman. All this worries Gordon.
- Batman - having wiretapped the brownstone long before - avoids the ambush, but nevertheless acknowledges to Gordon the taskforce's growing threat. Batman hunts down and apprehends Cardona as a peace offering to Cort, however he is upset at being "upstaged”, sparking another shootout that Batman barely escapes.
- Cort catches Gordon installing the bat signal, and then searches his office for proof he is withholding evidence form Strange’s investigation. Cort brings the files to Strange himself.


Prey, Part Two: Dark Sides

#12 - Prey, Part Two: Dark Sides



- After a disastrous dinner-date with Catherine Klass, Hugo Strange retreats to his penthouse and reconvenes with Sgt. Cort to discuss their next move against Batman. Strange has been physically and demographically profiling Batman, and Strange's key hypothesis is that Batman is driven by trauma from some recent crime.
- Strange uses hypnotherapy and an armor-like costume to mold Cort into a new, violent, vigilante called the Night-Scourge. Strange exploits this rising tide of anti-vigilante sentiment, accusing Batman of inspiring the Night-Scourge.
- Batman finds Strange's campaign taking a heavy toll on his psyche.
- Batman chances upon the Night-Scourge's attacking Catwoman and saves her - although she strikes his for the unasked-for rescue. The Night-Scourge is unnerved by the encounter; he flees to Strange's penthouse. There, a fresh session of hypnosis coaxes him into obedience and a new costume: Strange's own homemade Batsuit.
- Shortly after, "Batman" invades Mayor Klass's home and kidnaps Catherine, demanding amnesty from the horrified mayor in exchange for her return.


Prey, Part Three: Night Scourge!

#13 - Prey, Part Three: Night Scourge!



- Mayor Klass demands that Captain Gordon recover his daughter and capture Batman within five days - or else be fired and blacklisted for life. With no other options, Gordon reluctantly allows Cort and the rest of his taskforce to pursue Batman with maximum firepower.
- Batman finds his psyche fraying, his nightmares of his parents' murder growing sharper and sharper. He learns of Catherine's kidnapping from a passerby's radio. Immediately suspecting Strange is trying to frame him, Batman invades Strange's penthouse and demands answers, only to trigger a trap full of hallucinogenic dust.
- As Batman reels from the hallucinations, Strange attacks with a baseball bat, and eventually forces Batman off the penthouse balcony. As he falls, Batman desperately cries out for his mother and father, inadvertently correcting the one flaw in Strange's psychoanalysis: his motivation stems not from some recent crime, but one from his childhood.
- The concussed Batman helplessly scrambles through Gotham, barely evading the police vision of his parents' killer completely overwhelms him.
- Meanwhile, Captain Gordon finds Cort similarly exhausted; though unaware of Cort's activities as the Night-Scourge, Gordon investigates, and the files Cort has been secretly passing to Strange, chief among them a dossier of all family murders within the past twenty years.
- With these files, Strange has already deduced Batman's secret identity.
- On returning to Wayne Manor, the exhausted Batman is horrified to find Alfred unconscious, and every room occupied by mannequins of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Through tape-recorded messages, these mannequins relentlessly blame their "son" for their deaths, driving Batman into a complete breakdown - and a panicked flight into the depths of the Batcave.


Prey, Part Four: The Nightmare

#14 - Prey, Part Four: The Nightmare



- Batman stays in the solitude of the Batcave, for several days to reaffirm his purpose and heal his psyche. Meanwhile, the Night-Scourge has free rein over Gotham; and Strange publicly threatens to reveal Batman's secret identity.
- Batman contacts Gordon and asks for one last chance to prove his innocence.
- He then confronts Strange, who is dressed in a Batman costume; Strange gloats that he has defeated Batman, only to be confused when Batman claims 1) that he never dreams and 2) that his parents are alive in Paraguay. This undermines Strange's confidence in his analysis of Batman.
- Gordon and a police officer then storm the apartment, having overheard Strange confessing to his plans, and discovering the Mayor's daughter. GCPD tries to arrest Strange but he flees. Before he can escape, he encounters the anti-vigilante taskforce, who mistake him for Batman and shoot him. He falls into the river.
- Batman hunts Max Cort, who is preparing to resume his activities as the Night Scourge; the two fight, and are evenly matched until Catwoman appears and disarms Cort to return the debt she owes Batman for previously saving her from Cort. Batman overpowers Cort, who flees to police headquarters; Batman pursues him the new Batmobile
- On arriving at headquarters, his fellow officers realize he is the Night-Scourge. Batman and Gordon reveal Cort's role in Strange's plan. Cort draws a gun and tries to shoot Batman, but is killed by his fellow officers.
- The Mayor orders the disbanding of the anti-vigilante taskforce; while Batman is still not officially endorsed, he nevertheless is trusted more by the authorities and people of Gotham.
- Gordon reveals that Strange's body was never found.


Prey, Conclusion: The Kill

#15 - Prey, Conclusion: The Kill



- A girl is kidnapped and ransomed for her father’s (Dr Randolph Porter) designer drug.
- Batman fails to save her.
- Batman decides to take the drug so he’s stronger. 
- But the drug is making him a little bit unstable and more anxious. Plus he’s enjoying inflicting pain a little more than he should.


Venom: Part 1

#16 - Venom: Part 1



- Batman is still using Porter's drug to improve his strength. But he is acting strangely. He's been patrolling with violent impudence, without the Batsuit - "It just doesn't feel comfortable anymore". Alfred accuses him of being ashamed to wear the suit.
- Batman goes to pickup more pills from Porter. A man (General Slaycroft) l is there, discussing a plan with him. After Batman leaves, Porter says "Another week and he's ours."
- On his way out, Batman impulsively attacks a kid - turns out its General Slaycroft son, who was just waiting for his dad.
- Batman does more patrolling. He's again too violent, yet he is still unable to avoid a man being shot and killed.
- Batman stops in at GCPD. Apparently he hasn't talked to Gordon in a while. He ironically comments on Gordon's nicotine addiction.
- Alfred quit! Bruce has been treating him like shit and doing vigilante things Alfred doesn't support.
- Batman goes to get more pills. He learns that Slaycroft has been funding Porter to create these drugs to use for creating improved soldiers. They were using Batman as an experiment.
- They demand Batman kill Gordon to earn more drugs.


Venom: Part 2

#17 - Venom: Part 2



- Batman goes to Gordon and warns him that Porter and Slaycroft want him to kill him. Batman says he will try to handle them that night, but if he fails, passes the responsibility to Gordon.
- Batman attacks Porter and Slaycroft, but they distract him with more drugs, so he fails. Disappointed in himself, he calls Alfred and asks him for help - to lock him in the batcave to detox.
- Porter and Slaycroft, awake that Gordon is on their trail, fly to Santa Prisca to lie low. Then continue testing this drugs on the General's son, Tim, turning him into a dumb but strong and obedient soldier.
- After six months, Bruce is recovered and becomes the bat again.


Venom: Part 3

#18 - Venom: Part 3



- Batman is back. He tells Gordon he is tracking Porter and the General to Santa Prisca.
- Porter and Slaycroft has been making more obedient super soldiers.
- Bruce and Alfred go Santa Prisca as civilians as in private jet. Is shot down, as a private chartered jet from Gotham is pretty suspicious. They parachute out of the place, and Bruce puts on the batsuit.
- Porter and Slaycroft find Alfred and spot batman. They lure out the bat by tying Alfred to posts in shark infested waters.
- Batman boops a shark in the snoot (kicks its nose) and saves Alfred.
- They make it back to the shore, were the General commands Tim (his son, made into a brainwashed soldier) to kill Batman.


Venom: Part 4

#19 - Venom: Part 4



- Slaycroft's son, Tim, now a brainwashed solider, attacks Batman. Porter intervenes before he is killed, expelling that Batman is worth more as a test subject than a corpse. 
- Porter imprisons Batman in a cell that will fill in water in 24 hours, which he can only escape by lifting an 800lb door. Porter knows that is how Batman failed to save Porter's daughter at the start of all this, so assumes Batman will not be able to do so without taking the drugs he offers.
- By the way, Alfred got away from the shark hostage situation earlier - is padded out on a boat until he found another ship. He tried to have Gordon call in help to Santa Prisca but Gordon can't - it might start a war.
- General Slaycroft turns on Porter, tiring him to a chair and threatening him with a knife, demanding his research notes. He claims Porter has become unreliable (Porter has been taking his own drugs).
- Batman doesn't give in and take the pills. Instead he looses from stones from the prison walls to make a weighted bully system to move the door. He escapes the cell.
- Batman stops Slaycroft's interrogation. But Porter, cleverly plays back parts of the interrogation recording to play Slaycroft commanding "you want to kill me". This triggers Tim to kill his own father. Tim is upset by this and cries, despite his brainwashing.
- Porter is taken into custody, but later dies due to withdrawal form his own drug.


Venom: Part 5

#20 - Venom: Part 5



- Joker poses as a clown in a parade and uses explosives to kill and injure many.
- Then he poses as a cab driver and kidnaps Councilwoman Elizabeth Kenner. He takes her to the Comedia Theater, and beats her when she doesn't laugh at his jokes.
- Joker makes his presence known, mimicking the Bat-Signal with a Joker Signal. Batman turns up but it turns out the Joker has swapped places with on of his goons, Frank Maguire. Maguire gives Batman a map to where Joker has Kenner.
- Batman takes his Bat-Copter to Joker's location. Without warning, Joker shoots Kenner, but it turns out to be just a blow-up doll, as he had released her hours ago in the cold woods. Before Batman can take him down, Joker escapes via a trap door.
- Batman suddenly the cabin is wired with explosives. Batman is caught in the explosion, leaving him half dead and half unmasked. Joker doesn't buy it, and demands Batman to get up. With no movement at all from Batman, Joker finally accepts that he's dead.
- Joker returns to Gotham and accepts the fact that since there is no more Batman, there is no need to continue with his run as the Joker.
- Back upstate, two kids run to Dr. Lynn Eagles' house and tell her they found a near-dead man lying beside the river.


Part One: Into the Rushing River

#65 - Part One: Into the Rushing River



- Three weeks have passed.
- Joker has been living in an apartment. He has deluded himself into inventing a generic name for himself, Joseph Kerr, and that he just moved to Gotham City from someplace he cannot seem to remember. He has himself believe he has the life of an average guy. 
- He bumps into a pretty young woman from across the hall named Rebecca Brown and the two quickly become a couple and get engaged.
- Weeks pass and Alfred still wonders if indeed Batman is dead.
-  Joseph as he suffers from horrible nightmares and comes across various links to his former life as Joker.
- The GCPD pull a body from the bay, identified as Dr. Elias Bruckner; a plastic surgeon who specialized in new faces for criminals, last time with the Joker before he disappeared. Rumors abound that the Joker is still at large and Batman is dead.
- To Alfred's relief, Bruce returns.


Part Two: Swimming Lessons

#66 - Part Two: Swimming Lessons



- Joseph and Rebecca find themselves outside the dilapidated Comedia Theater with Joseph telling her how he loved the place as a kid. Rebecca doesn't understand, as she was told he just moved to the city less than a year ago. 
- Batman resumes his search for Joker nearby while various flashbacks of his missing time come to his mind. He recalls how Dr. Lynn Eagles, from the upstate little town of Accord, did emergency surgery on him for his various life-threatening injuries. She comes to call Bruce "Lazarus" during his time there, but secretly realized he was Batman, and encouraged him to return from the idyllic small town life to protect Gotham.
- Batman appears assured Captain Gordon he will bring Joker to justice.
- Batman confronts Dorothy Bruckner, the widow of recently deceased plastic surgeon Dr. Elias Bruckner. Batman deduces that Joker hired him before killing him.
- Batman to cross-check rentals classic comedy films at local video stores, and seeing the name of Joseph Kerr makes Batman wonder why Joker would be so obvious.
- Batman visits Joseph and Rebecca's apartment. The superintendent, Mikey Sansonia, tells Batman that Joseph and Rebecca are engaged went on vacation weeks ago. This solidifies for Batman that this is a just a deception by Joker to throw him off the trail. 
- However, in another part of town, Joker reappears.


Part Three: Breaking the Surface!

#67 - Part Three: Breaking the Surface!



- During a harsh thunderstorm in Gotham City, Batman comes face to face with Joker, who is once again holding Councilwoman Elizabeth Kenner hostage. 
- A flashback shows Joseph Kerr and Rebecca Brown on vacation. He is so happy about Rebecca's acceptance of his proposal that his happiness seems almost like lunacy. 
- Joseph sees Batman's picture in a newspaper with the story proclaiming his return. Joseph leaves, jumps into a river which washes him downstream. When he comes out of the water, the Joker persona has once again taken over him completely.
- Present day, Joker now has Kenner on a boat, speaking to her as if they are lovers going on a honeymoon. Batman catches up to them in his own ski-boat. Joker proclaims that Batman will not take him down and will not take Rebecca away from him, a statement that confuses himself.
- Batman tells Joker to give up Kenner. At first, he refuses, but suddenly sees Rebecca's face instead for a split second and finally gives her up to the police chopper.
- Joker has his boat wired to explode in thirty seconds and tries to leave with his jet pack, but Batman grabs onto him. Unfortunately for both men, the jet pack runs out of gas, and the two are caught in the explosion. Batman is able to grab an unconscious Joker as well as a helicopter ladder, which takes them to safety.
- Joseph Kerr is proclaimed missing and presumed dead with no body having ever been found, leaving Rebecca sad and grieving for the love of her life, Joker is locked up in Arkham Asylum.


Part Four: The Deluge!

#68 - Part Four: The Deluge!



- Batman continues expanding this territory; he tags Crime Alley.
- Elsewhere, Scarecrow sees people burning books for warmth, but never the Bible. He gets an idea.
- Nearby, a pair of priests, Fathers Chris and Papaleo, have created the Ark Project Refugee Center. They do not accept protection from GCPD because they fear a police state and worried cops were scare off marginalize people.
- Elsewhere, a splinter group of the False Face Society break into an abandoned police station looking take bullets from corpses.
- One member can’t abide by this and decides to leave. He is confronted by Batman, who brings him to the ARC. Huntress recognizes him as a former Black Masker, Batman tells her to leave him alone.
- At GCPD, Gordon argues that they must remain cops, not soldiers. Gordon tells his wife that Father Chris is afraid of Gotham becoming a police state, but Gordon is afraid that his fear may kill more people than it saves.
- Huntress checks on the ARC center and see Scarecrow there. She tries to convince people he’s dangerous but Father Chris makes her let him stay, saying she is in no position to judge.


Fear of Faith, Part One: Fanning the Flames

#116 - Fear of Faith, Part One: Fanning the Flames



- People are still disrespecting the Batman tags. News doesn’t travel fast enough now in Gotham. Bats decides he needs and audience.
- Meanwhile, the Blue Boys fight against the Wreckers and the Xhosa to expand their territory. The Blue Boys win the fight but one of them die. Foley is upset and believes they should be working to maintain their current territory, not expanding. Com. Gordon secretly agrees.
- The Penguin reopens the Iceberg Lounge inside Davenport building and he is managing an underground trade market. Secretly, a man inside the place is a spy for Oracle and keeps tabs for her.
- A unknown voice speaks to Com. Gordon. He offers Gordon his help to keep law and justice working. Gordon tries to refuse but in the end he agrees on making an alliance w/ the undisclosed man (probably Two-Face).
- Batman contacts Oracle in order to learn about the hangout for criminals in the "new Gotham". Oracle tells him about Penguin's Iceberg Lounge.
- At the longe, Penguin is hosting fighting tournament for food. Batman stops it and tells the Penguin that there is a boss in town.


Bread and Circuses Part One

#117 - Bread and Circuses Part One



- Alfred is invited to Leslie Thompkin's refugee center to tell some stories to the kids.

- Alfred tells a story about a squire and a gallant knight who would fight for his kingdom until a cataclysm devastated his castle and homeland, forcing the knight to leave the kingdom and leaving the squire behind. Alfred was speaking of course of Batman, Gotham City, the earthquake that devastated Gotham and his story as well.

- Alfred tells about the squire's adventures and how he helped the people in the devastated kingdom until the knight came back. As Alfred tells them about the time when the squire tried to fight evil like the knight, he remembers when he was almost killed by some crooks before the Knight arrived back to save him.

- Alfred then finishes the story, then leaves and goes to the Batcave, where Batman was waiting for him and says from that point on, Two-Face has their undivided attention.


Balance

#118 - Balance



- Two-Face and Penguin strike a deal. Two-Face agrees to give Penguin Batman's territory, freeing Two-Face to expand west, into GCPD territory. Batgirl calls Oracle and asks for info on Batman's behalf, but Oracle tells Batgirl she will only speak to Batman. Later, Batman shows up at Oracle's apartment and tells him something is brewing at City Hall but it might be a trap.

- Gordon tells his men that they are going to take Penguin's territory, even knowing that they don't possess the manpower to do it by themselves. Gordon asks something of Renee Montoya; something that they both are not proud of, but in the end Renee agrees and does as Gordon asks.

- Batman goes to City Hall where he finds a group gathered to watch a fight. Rhino is fighting a wisp of a woman (she was paid off by Two-Face). While Batman stops the fight, Two-Face, Penguin and Gordon's men all attack each other's territories. Batman save the woman, but then she knocks him unconscious.


Claim Jumping, Part Two

#119 - Claim Jumping, Part Two



- Batman visits James Gordon, who tells him to leave and punches him. Before leaving, Batman tells Gordon that Two-Face is not the best person to trust as an ally. Gordon replies that he can't trust Batman either.
- Back at Oracle's, the new girl, Azrael, Robin and Nightwing have assembled. After the necessary introductions, Batman shows up and asks Nightwing to come with him.
- Batgirl is kneeling atop the roof of a building, praying. She climbs down, enters and apartment and takes off her mask, revealing that she is Helena Bertinelli (Huntress). Batman and Nightwing step out of the shadows. Batman tells Huntress that if she wants to work with him, she has to learn to follow orders. She refuses to blindly follow his orders and Batman tells her to stay out of the way. She says that she can't do that either.
- Batman and Nightwing return to Oracle’s. Batman recognizes he cannot fix No Man’s Land alone, and assigns them all tasks. Oracle gathers info, Batman and Robin will work on a project in Robinson Park, Nightwing will focus on Blackgate and Azrael and the new girl with deal with Scratch.
- He also gives the new girl a Batgirl costume. The group questions if they cat trust her and Batman insists that they can - assassins are trained to kill but they do not have to, and the girl has chosen not to, that is why she left her father. But no one cares what Bruce has to say so Barbara also vouches for the girl.


Assembly

#120 - Assembly



- In Gotham’s Chinatown, Batman finds that several gang members frozen in ice.
- A rival gang appears and attacks Batman; Batman defeats them and questions a man about the frozen victims. He says they were attacked by Mister Freeze. The man also tells Batman about Freeze's location near the power plant.
- Batman goes to the power plant, where they are burning stolen furniture to generate energy. Mr Freeze has an ice castle next to the plant.
- Mister Freeze is alone, remembering his deceased wife Nora Fries and how he holds Batman responsible for her death. Batman arrives and questions if Freezes wife, who was a kind woman, would like to see his action now.
- They fight. Eventually Mr. Freeze freezes Batman with the cold gun. Freeze thinks it is all over, but the castle starts to crumble. Batman sabotaged the powerplant before the fight, and it explodes. They both fall into the river. Freeze escapes.


Power Play

#121 - Power Play



- Batman realizes that Gotham City's Chinatown has electricity, despite Freeze’s plant getting blown up. He goes to investigate how that is possible.
- He finds dead bodies in the streets, there has been gang fighting here and control of the territory has changed hands.
- Batman listens to some noises, its Lynx (member of Ghost Dragons gang), the only survivor of the street gang war. Lynx attack him, but as they fight Batman learns that they both want to stop what’s going on here. They decide to work together to find out is going on.
- They discover that The Fist of Heavenly Serendipity, a gang of organized crime, has taken over and is behind the disappearance of a lot of immigrant people, forcing them to pedal some static bicycles that transforms mechanical energy to kilowatts. Lynx reflects upon slavery as she suffered from it when she worked for King Snake, and feels compelled to help them.
- Batman and Lynx plan to free the immigrants, but soon they are surrounded by members of the gang.


Low Road to Golden Mountain: ...Where the Lights are Burning Low

#122 - Low Road to Golden Mountain: ...Where the Lights are Burning Low



- Former police officer Mackenzie "Hardback" Bock leads his old neighborhood, an area of 100 square blocks.
- Batman is proud of was Bock has done for the area.
- Westside High is used as HQ for the area. There, people learn survival techniques and they have a medical center. Vanessa DeVries, a former veterinarian who is now the nurse for the medical center, tells Bock they are low on medicine.
- The next day, Vanessa and Bock arrive at the market, a free territory used for exchange goods between the Gotham gangs. They don’t find medicine so they go to the Penguin. Vanessa advises the Penguin how to take care of his sick beloved birds, and he gives them the medicine.
- After they leave, Joker shows up and tries to get Cobblepot to work with his. Penguin refuses and the Joker kills one of his birds. Sad.
- Many people in Bock’s group as injured when a building collapses. They need more medicine. Also, they see a man on the new that they saw at the market yesterday - how did he get out of the city? They go back to the Penguin.
- Penguin refuses to give anything for free. He offers to help if Bock enters and wins a cage and fight in a public match. Bock agrees
- Bock trains with Vanessa’s father in the art of siloh, which will teach him how to move and fight without feeling pain.


Underground Railroad: Part One

#123 - Underground Railroad: Part One



- A man named Flowers makes a deal with some gangsters to get out of the city. But it turns out he gangsters don’t have a way out - they take his valuables and throwing him down an underground hatch, into a group of starving people who cannibalize him.
- The leader of this gang, Shank, and his girlfriend Delphine are stashing away the valuables hoping to cash them in when No Man’s Land eventually ends.
- Batman hears about Flowers supposed escape, which he is doesn’t believe. He poses as Matches Malone and goes Shank. Shank agrees to help him escape, and Matches is thrown in the pit too.
- Matches escapes the cannibals, quickly changes into Batman, them frees them. He reminds the cannibals that they aren't allowed to kill anymore, just like they promised.
- Shank is arrested but Delphine escapes. Delphine wanders the streets begging for food, offering the loot she stole from Shank. No one gives her anything.


Captain of Industry

#124 - Captain of Industry



- Robin and Oracle are waiting at Oracle's Watchtower for Batman and James Gordon to discuss the future of their alliance. Meanwhile they try to discover who was responsible for the construction supplies that have been getting into Gotham City.
- Batman and Gordon mope and talk about their relationship in Gordon’s garden.
- Jim felt abandoned when No Man's Land was declared and Batman was gone. He also tells Batman that he doesn't like the lack of respect towards him as he never told him about his plans, and disappearing act is quite rude.
- Batman is feeling bad for Jim and wants to give him something in return. Batman takes off his cowl and wants to reveal his true identity to Gordon, but the former commissioner closes his eyes and refuses to see the man behind the mask. Gordon tells him that if he wants to know his identity he would already have discovered and also hinted that perhaps he already knows it.
- Bruce puts his cowl back on and they talk about their next move. They agree to work together and in order to arrange the plans, they set the time and place for their next meeting.


Falling Back

#125 - Falling Back



- Dawn, November 29th: Gotham is invaded by members of the United States Army, S.T.A.R. Labs, Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp with supplies to Gotham into livable city by January 1st.
- Not everyone is happy with the reopening of the city. Joker is thinking of something to make himself the center of attention. Joker realizes that he can strike near the opening day of Gotham to make it much more dramatic.
- Batman is worried - Joker has disappeared from the map, which means he is plotting something.
- Meanwhile, at William Pettit's territory, he commands his people to stay in their base during Christmas eve and threatens their lives if they leave. It is clear now that Pettit is unstable.
- With their Headquarters reopened, the GCPD is back in action and James Gordon is reinstated as Police Commissioner. Montoya is promoted to detective second grade.
- On Christmas Eve, the people of Gotham are having the traditional Christmas dinner. The Gordons are at Barbara's place, Montoya and Bullock are at the Montoya's place, Tim Drake and his father have returned to Gotham and are at their old place while Bruce, Dick, Alfred and Leslie are staying at one of Wayne Enterprises buildings.
- Pettit’s camp is attacked during Christmas dinner. Pettit tells everyone to stand and fight but Huntress tries to tell them that it is a trap. Outside the camp, Joker along with Harley Quinn have just killed the guards and are calling the rest of them to come out.


Endgame, Part One: Silent Night

#126 - Endgame, Part One: Silent Night



- Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a zoologist who specializes in bats. He is deaf and uses a hearing aid.
- Engaged to Francine Lee. She's loyal af.
- Doesn’t think Batman is real
- Develops an extract intended to give humans a bat's acute senses and tests it on himself. It works but transforms him into a monstrous human/bat hybrid creature.
- Batman gets himself a sick glider (batwings).
- Stuck in bat form Kirk flies into the bat cave because, well, he’s a bat. Batman is jealous this bat is scarier than him so he tranqs him and brings him back to Francine, who has been working on a cure. It works, at least for now.


Wings

Annual #5 - Wings



- Scarecrow is trying to blow the electrical grid.
- Batman hunts down scarecrow, but get hits with fear toxin in the process. It doesn't seem to effect him.
- At a party are Wayne Manor, Bruce flirts with Jillian Maxwell. They start dating. This lady just lets herself into the manor way too often.
- Scarecrow escapes police custody.
- Batman fights Scarecrow again, but he hallucinating his fears, trapped in a poisonous thorn maze. He contemplates the life he is missing out on due to his mission. This is preying on his fear that he will lose sight of his mission.
- He escapes the maze and captures scarecrow.
- Alfred figures out Jillian is a gold digger who kills her husbands and tells Bruce.
- Bruce realizes Batman isn’t something he’s forced to be. It’s his choice every time


Choices / Fears

Halloween Special #1 - Choices / Fears



- Batman fights the Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch) but hatter gets away.
- Batman is patched up by Dr Leslie Thompkins at her clinic in crime alley / park row.
- Barbara (Gordon’s niece, although he is trying to adopt her) and Commissioner Gordon argue over whether Barbara should be allowed to leave their home by herself which ends with Barbara leaving and the Commissioner regretting yelling at her.
- Barbara gets captured by the Mad Hatter and she wakes up in a reenactment of the tea party from Alice in Wonderland. 
- Bruce’s mom used to read him Alice in wonderland. He misses her.
- The police are ready to swoop in on Hatter after being tipped off by one of his escaped hostages, but Batman tells them to wait. Batman goes inside and begins to pursue the Mad Hatter. He fights a few of his guards, but then the Hatter has Barbara at gunpoint. 
- The Commissioner bursts through the window, causing the Mad Hatter to attempt to flee, but is is stopped and defeated by Batman.


Madness

Halloween Special #2 - Madness



- The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) crashes a Wayne Enterprises dinner party and Batman fights him off.
- Bruce goes home and to sleep, has a dream similar to that of the story of a Christmas story. He is visited by the spirit of his father who tells him he shall be visited by three spirits.
- The first spirit takes the form of poison Ivy who shows him his past of Halloween and how his father was never around to take him out trick or treating. She also shows him how he met Lucius Fox and how he saved Lucius' life and turned down his help with Wayne Enterprises.
- The second ghost is the Joker, showing him how he's changed since he became Batman both good and bad. Says they are alike, with no friends, only fear.
- The last is a hooded man who shows Bruce when he dies in the future and how few will miss him if he goes on being alone as he is. The hooded man the proceeds to take off his hood and reveals to be Bruce himself, in the Batsuit but rotted to a skeleton.
- Bruce then wakes up as Trick or treaters approach his home. He offers them a bowl of candy and tells them "Happy Halloween".
- Bruce starts the “Wayne foundation to help the less fortunate” with Lucius fox.


Ghosts

Halloween Special #3 - Ghosts



A comic book anthology series featuring Batman. Its deliberately geared toward new and 'casual' fans, the series consists almost entirely of self-contained stories - which may run anywhere from one to five issues - from a wide variety of creative teams. No two consecutive stories feature the same writer or artist(s).

Continuity-wise, most of the stories are set in some nebulous period during Batman's early career (indeed, several of the early stories are direct followups to Batman: Year One), with no other costumed heroes active in Gotham City and James Gordon still holding the rank of captain. Few characters or events from the larger DC Universe are ever acknowledged.

Overall, the series is ostensibly part of Batman's Post-Crisis history, but with very little concrete impact on subsequent stories or events (exceptions such as Venom usually being contributed by writers with authority on more continuity-heavy titles).

On four occasions the series participated in crossover storylines with other Batman titles:

- Issue #27 participated in Destroyer.
- Issues #59 through #63 participated in Knightquest and KnightsEnd.
- Issues #116 through #126 participated in No Man's Land.
- Issues #182 through #184 participated in War Games.

The series was discontinued in early 2007 with issue #214, and subsequently replaced by Batman Confidential (Volume 1). In 2012, however, the title and general premise were revived in the digital-first series Legends of the Dark Knight (Volume 1).


Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Volume 1 (1989 - 2007)

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