(July 2013 to December 2013)
_______________________________
–Talon #14 Part 1
Over twenty-four hours have passed since Talon #12. Calvin Rose attempts to rescue the kidnapped Sarah Washington at Gotham’s Orchard Hotel, which has been rigged with explosives by Sebastian Clark (as seen in Talon #13). A three-way war goes on inside the hotel as the John Wycliffe’s Court of Owls Talons fight against Clark and Felix Harmon, who also fight against Rose and company. With a true-death serum running through is undead veins, Rose gets manhandled by Harmon, but gets assistance from his team of Joey, Edgar, Anya Volkova, and a cyborg-limbed Casey Washington. Casey blasts apart Harmon’s body. Sarah, brainwashed by Sebastian Clark, slits Rose’s throat and departs for the roof with Clark as the Court Talons all retreat. On the roof, a dying and completely skinless Rose confronts Clark. Batman then intervenes, notifying everyone that he has been monitoring the situation the whole time. The Caped Crusader beats the stuffing out of Clark, citing revenge for his time spent in the Court labyrinth, and demands to know any information regarding the whereabouts of Lincoln March. Clark goes to Blackgate and a comatose Rose immediately goes into dialysis to get the death serum out of his system. As referenced in Talon #14 Part 2, Batman puts the already regenerating body of Harmon on ice in a special facility on Securitus Island. Batman also arranges for the brainwashed Sarah to undergo deprogramming with Leslie Thompkins.
–the second feature to Batman Vol. 2 #19-20 (“GHOST LIGHTS”)
Batman investigates the outside of a building where a supposed supernatural mass murder has occurred. Superman joins him in an attempt to discuss the death of Damian, but Batman doesn’t want to address it at all. (Batman has successfully avoided Superman since Damian’s death.) Batman and Superman enter the building, which resonates with such intense supernatural vibes that Superman suffers from severe nausea and disequilibrium. In a back room, our heroes come across what is obviously an occult ritual gone terribly wrong, as bodies litter the floor surrounding a pentagram and arcane symbols etched into the floor. After chatting with a ghost, Batman and Superman come face to face with the horrific supernatural visitant known as the Will o’ the Wisp. The Will o’ the Wisp is a demonic creature known as a Soul Eater, which literally eats souls. Soul Eaters were featured in a few Modern Age Batman stories, but this is the first appearance of one in the New 52. While Superman fights a losing battle against the Will o’ the Wisp, Batman chats with the ghost and learns how to send the Soul Eater back to the realm from whence it came. Just as Superman is about to get consumed, Batman completes the exorcism ritual and makes the ghouls disappear. Batman thanks Superman for his compassion in regard to Damian, but says he’s not ready to talk about it. The duo then departs to complete the Dark Knight’s routine patrol together.
–Batman Vol. 2 #18
The stark realization that Damian is gone and never coming back has finally sunk in for Bruce. Batman, hoping to take his mind off the loss of his son, fights crime day and night for a full week with no sleep. By the end of the week, Batman is off his game, getting stabbed in the leg by a mugger. A weary Batman then confronts an animal abuser who sics a bunch of genetically modified/Venom-enhanced mutts on him. Harper Row, who has been training to fight crime for months now, shows up and unnecessarily tries to help out her hero. Batman defeats the man and his dogs and then warns Harper to back off by punching her in the face and breaking her nose! The next day, Harper meets with Bruce at the freshly fixed-up and recently re-opened Wayne Tower, hoping to offer a helpful electric grid blueprint to Batman’s venerable financial backer. Bruce, feeling sorry for bruising up the poor girl, accepts the assistance and says he will talk to Batman. Later, back in his Batman gear, Bruce apologizes to Harper. Harper then gives the Dark Knight a motivational speech and delivers a present to him: The Wayne Tower building lights up with a giant “R” that will cycle the word “resolve.” Ironically, the “R” forms a giant Robin symbol and acts as a tribute to the fallen sidekick, although Harper couldn’t possibly know for certain that Robin is dead.
–Batwoman Vol. 2 Annual #1 Epilogue
Editorial tells us that “three weeks” have passed since Director Bones’ DEO assault on Batman and the Kane family. Agent Asaf testifies before a congressional hearing and is appointed as the new director of the DEO. Jake Kane departs for a therapeutic overseas cruise with Beth Kane in hopes of rehabilitating her. Cameron Chase resigns from the DEO and becomes a private eye. And Batman meets with Batwoman, showers her with approbation, and then goes on patrol with her.
–Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #16-18
Batman tries to take down an organized mob that has been committing mass kidnappings for the past week. However, in the process, the Batplane gets shot down with a bazooka. Improvising, the Dark Knight uses the downed plane as a giant roadster to save as many lives as he can. Later, Bruce meets with an upset Natalya at Wayne Manor. They discuss his inattentiveness, mysterious nature, and absence as a real partner in their relationship. Bruce can’t deny any of it, but of course cannot offer any defense. Broken-hearted, Natalya dumps Bruce for the second time. After interrogating Penguin, Batman realizes that all of the criminals have been wearing hats or wigs. They have all been mind-controlled by Mad Hatter! Batman does some “bata-mining” and learns that Mad Hatter has purchased a bunch of corporations and has been using them to fund businesses, events, and stores, from which he literally steals and brainwashes his victims. Batman rescues a boy from Mad Hatter’s Pediatric Hospital fair and thinks he’s located the villain’s hideout, but Mad Hatter is hidden safely away in an underground abandoned missile silo. After shaking down Tweedledee, Batman locates a factory belonging to Mad Hatter and beats up a bunch of his brainwashed soldiers there before taking a lead pipe shot from the a drugged-up Hatter himself, who immediately flees. Batman then has an unsavory conversation with Catwoman, who inquires about his sex life and steals a hubcap off the Batmobile. Across town, Mad Hatter, searching for his perfect Alice, brutally kills his old unrequited love from back in high school, along with a dozen other blondes that just don’t make the cut. Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce thinks about his life and decides to make a huge decision: He visits Natalya and spills the beans about his life as Batman! Natalya is actually cool with it and she gets the grand tour of the Batcave.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman Vol. 2 #19. This flashback sequence starts six days prior to Clayface mimicking Bruce Wayne and framing him for a plethora of public crimes (as will be seen in the main action of Batman Vol. 2 #19-20). Batman broods in the Batcave, viewing old vid recordings of Damian, including his fight against the Reaper. The Caped Crusader snaps out of his funk when he learns his friend Brian Wade has supposedly committed suicide. Batman investigates and runs into Wade, who attacks him and flees.[1] Back at the Batcave, Batman tests Wade’s DNA and discovers that it is none other than Clayface. Clayface can replicate others’ DNA to perfection, but Batman had been unaware of this ability until now, thinking that he was merely a gifted sight mimic.[2] The next day, Bruce meets with Lucius Fox, but it ain’t Lucius, it’s Clayface again. The evolving/mutating villain—who is in the process of losing his own original DNA—then attacks Bruce! (Note that we won’t hear about Clayface’s mutation again, and, in fact, down the road, it will seem as though the mutation has ceased and disappeared. Clayface definitely doesn’t lose his own DNA. This means Clayface’s body must be going through constant radical biological shifts and phases, and it will continue to do so in the future.)
–Batman Vol. 2 #19-20 (“NOWHERE MAN”)
Bruce tries to fight off Clayface in the Wayne Enterprises R&D lab (even activating the GI Bat-Bots in a failed defense), but the latter replicates the former, tossing him into a Star Wars-like trash compacter with Lucius Fox. Clayface, posing as Bruce, then goes on a killing spree and robs a bank. Commish Gordon, Bullock, and the rest of the GCPD are stupefied as “Bruce” mouths-off and holds a hostage for all to see. “Bruce” then shoots Gordon square in his bulletproof vest and flees, but not before Gordon spots the Batman costume underneath his blazer. Back at Wayne Enterprises R&D, Lucius explains that the compactor in which they are stuck is used for destroying malfunctioning or non-cost effective tech. Bruce finds a Batman Beyond costume (Lucius states that it wouldn’t have been completed or cost effective for at least another twenty years), straps it on, and flies Lucius to safety. Snyder, by throwing this black and red Bat-costume into the mix, playfully presages the in-canon Batman Beyond future of the New 52. As referenced in Batman Vol. 2 #50, Batman puts the proto-Batman Beyond costume with his other Bat-suits in the Batcave. The Caped Crusader then tells Gordon about Clayface’s new replication powers, wears an upgraded version of the Haz-Bat Suit, and traps Clayface in a containment cell. As the police arrive, Clayface tries to tell them that Bruce is Batman. Batman fools Gordon and company, claiming that he was wearing a fiber thin skin mask containing Bruce’s DNA, which is why his DNA ostensibly matched Bruce’s DNA. Gordon is presumably convinced, but he has to have more than a sneaking suspicion that Bruce might be Batman following this affair. Clayface then replicates Damian, which causes Batman to completely flip out until Gordon calms him down. Back in the Batcave, Bruce and Alfred shed some tears while watching the old video footage of Damian fighting the Reaper.
–Detective Comics Vol. 2 #21
This issue is said to take place “one week after Batman Vol. 2 #18” and “two days before the death of Natalya in Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #20.” Two days prior to Natalya’s death seems right on the money, but “one week” after Batman Vol. 2 #18 should be amended closer to nine or ten days. Close enough. Penumbra started stalking Bruce Wayne about one month ago (at the end of Detective Comics Vol. 2 #20) but has yet to strike. When a bunch of trained assassins tries to kill a foreign prime minister, Batman easily disposes of them. But maybe it was a little too easy? Sensing a distraction, Alfred warns Batman that the meddling Harper Row is tangoing with Penumbra atop a Wayne Enterprises building. Batman crashes the party and fights the shadow-powered super warrior. During their fight, Penumbra unmasks and reveals herself as Bruce’s ex-lover, Mio, from ten years ago when he was training with Shihan Matsuda in the Himalayas. Ten years ago, Mio betrayed Bruce and murdered Matsuda and his wife. Batman tries to question Mio, who he thought had died long ago, but Mio falls out of a window and disappears. Batman then chats with Harper and gives her some Bat-gear. Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce and Alfred discuss the possibility of Harper joining the Bat-Family. Elsewhere, Mio returns to the League of Assassins and reports back to her master Ra’s al Ghul, who is secretly targeting Batman (likely as revenge for Talia’s death).
–REFERENCE: In Talon #14 Part 2. Bruce isn’t shown in the second part of Talon #14, which takes place now, but he plays an integral role. Three weeks have passed since the end of Talon #14 Part 1. Bruce purchases Casey Washington’s former company, Securitus, and reinstates her as CEO. Bruce also puts Casey onto the Board of Directors at Wayne Enterprises. Calvin Rose wakes up from his coma right as rain and is filled-in on everything going on by his now legit romantic interest Casey. But Casey saves the biggest news for last. Batman gives her total control of the brand new Batman Incorporated, which will be headquartered on Securitus Island. (Bruce will bankroll Batman Inc, but it’s not really his baby anymore.) Including a staff of Securitus engineers, scientists and GI-Robots, the new Casey Washington-led Batman Inc lineup features Calvin Rose, Joey, Edgar, Anya Volkova, Dark Ranger, and Nightrunner. Obviously, in light of the history of Batman Inc, this new Batman Inc will have to remain totally secret from the public (and I’m guessing will function more like a clandestine superhero team more than a Blackwater operation). Batman Japan, Lolita Canary, and Master Hong also join Casey Washington’s Batman Inc team (as revealed in Batman Eternal #9). As does Batwing (David Zavimbe) (as referenced in Batwing #19).
–Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #19-21
Love is in the air now that Bruce has revealed his big secret to Natalya. In fact, Natalya is so comfortable that, after spending the night at Wayne Manor, she then casually checks-in on Bruce in the Batcave before departing for a recital. Despite all of his recent trauma regarding Damian, Natalya actually brings a smile to Bruce’s face and he ponders that he might be in true love for the first time ever. But love isn’t the only thing in the air. So is terror. The Mad Hatter murders several hundred people in an hour’s time. Mad Hatter also targets Natalya to be his “Alice” when one of his mind-controlled minions reports seeing Batman showing a little TLC to her before a piano performance. Batman continues to search for Mad Hatter, pausing momentarily to take stock of his life, now in a healthy loving relationship with Natalya but still reeling from the death of Damian. Bruce tells Alfred that he may consider hanging up his crime-fighting boots for good. But before further contemplation can occur, Mad Hatter kidnaps Natalya and ruthlessly tries to beat the secret identity of Batman out of her. Natalya, bloodied and bruised, remains stalwart and refuses to spill the beans. For her courage, Mad Hatter throws Natalya out of a helicopter and into the proverbial fridge, where so many female characters wind up these days. Natalya crashes to her graphically violent death, right into the Bat-Signal atop the GCPD HQ, and also right before Batman’s very eyes as he arrives a second too late to save her. An enraged Dark Knight, like we’ve never seen before, charges to confront Mad Hatter. Hatter doses him with a Fear Gas-like hallucinogenic, but Batman fights off its effect and beats the bloody stuffing out of both Hatter and his henchmen. Batman stops short of murdering the super-villain, but only because Alfred begs him to stop. Back in the Batcave, gravitas resonates between Bruce and Alfred as the latter stitches-up the former’s wounds. Bruce has now lost everything: his family, his son, and his lover. Devastated, Bruce decides to hang up the boots for what writer Gregg Hurwitz tells us is a full month. Indeed, Batman stays on hiatus and remains out of action for an entire month. At the end of a quiet thirty days, Batman is ready to return. He suits back up and responds to the patched-up but spider-webbed Bat-Signal, which has been lit by Commissioner Gordon. After meeting with Gordon, Batman works a robbery case at the Gotham Depository.
–REFERENCE: In Batman and… #28 (“Batman & Two-Face”). Presumably, Batman delivers a new Bat-Signal to the GCPD, replacing the damaged one. Or it is possible that he or the GCPD simply replaces the spider-webbed glass.
–REFERENCE: In Batman and… #21. Batman, distraught over the loss of Natalya, will begin the practice of going on “complete communication blackout” while on patrol, even in regard to Alfred. This will last for several weeks. Of course, “complete communication blackout” is an exaggeration—Bruce may not respond to calls, but, he will make occasional calls (to Gordon and Alfred, for example).
–Batman and… #19 (“Batman & Red Robin”)[3]
College student Carrie Kelley (her first ever appearance in any mainstream continuity!) pops by Wayne Manor looking for Damian. Bruce visits Carrie at school, learning that Damian had befriended her a few months before his death. He had been taking acting lessons, playing video games, and getting burned copies of classic TV and movies from her. That night, obsessed with resurrecting Damian, Batman hacks into the computer database of the secret government peacekeeping agency known as SHADE (Super-Human Advanced Defense Executive), knowing that their top agent is the patchwork living-zombie Frankenstein. The Caped Crusader learns the secret location of Castle Frankenstein near the North Pole and spends the next six days turning the castle into his personal science lab, complete with sci-fi tools and cadavers stolen from a hospital. Batman then kidnaps Frankenstein and steals him away to the castle, hoping that the original re-animated man can somehow help him bring back Damian. When Frankenstein refuses to help, Batman takes him apart (literally) and begins a bizarre autopsy/experimentation using his dismembered body and the cadavers. Worried, Alfred sends Red Robin to check-up on/stop Batman. Batman argues with Red Robin and sends him away. Seeing that Batman is being unreasonable, Red Robin destroys the entire lab with a hail of Teen Titan warship artillery. A pissed-off Batman simply glares at Red Robin and departs, leaving Tim to piece Frankenstein back together again. Back in Gotham, Bruce sends Carrie a check for the outstanding amount that Damian owed her (plus a lot more) for the various lessons. (The check that Bruce gives to Carrie is dated “2/27/2013,” but this can nowise be correct—not even close.)
–FLASHBACK: From the second feature to Superman Unchained #2. Bruce completes his several-yearlong anti-Superman suit project. He now has a fully functional Bat-suit that is completely invisible to Superman. Bruce contemplates destroying the suit (along with the Kryptonite ring), but ultimately decides that having these items is necessary and also what Superman would want.
–Batman and… #20 (“Batman & Red Hood”)
A couple nights after Batman and… #19, Carrie Kelley visits Wayne Manor to find out what happened to Damian and to return the extra cash. Bruce tells her that Damian is on a several-yearlong study abroad program. Bruce also tells her to get lost. Alfred, who is much more congenial, escorts her out and offers her a job as Titus’ permanent dog-sitter! (Bear in mind that Carrie won’t actually start for about a month from now.) Later, Jason Todd gets the results of his final blood-workup from Alfred, certifying that there is no lingering Joker Venom in his system. (Jason has been getting blood tests done by Alfred for the past three months or so.) Bruce then asks Jason to accompany him to Ethiopia to get revenge against some snipers who tried to collect on Talia’s bounty on Damian a while back. Batman and Red Hood fly to Africa and violently kick some serious ass. Red Hood gets the green light from his former mentor to use guns (non-lethally, of course), and Batman permanently disables a few of the bad guys. Batman then reveals the truth behind the mission, taking Jason to the exact spot where he died in Qurac. Jason refuses to go any further. Batman orders Jason to tell him the details behind his resurrection, but Jason refuses and they have a good ol’ fashioned slugfest. The weary and overly-emotional Batman unmasks and takes a few heavy shots to the face. Jason, disgusted, leaves poor Batman standing in the desert, alone and bloody. Elsewhere, Two-Face flips his coin in preparation for a big return. Writer Peter Tomasi really captures a tortured side of Batman that we’ve never seen before. With Nightwing in Chicago, Batgirl and Red Robin more distant than ever, Red Hood ostracized, Natalya dead, and Damian dead, Bruce truly has lost his family, and it’s really hurting him deeply.
—[4]
–Batman Vol. 2 Annual #2
This item takes place “some months before” Detective Comics Vol. 2 #28—by my estimate about two months before. Batman volunteers to test out the new Tartarus Wing of Arkham Asylum to see if he can escape the supposed “inescapable.” During the test run, the powerful metahuman known as The Anchoress (Arkham’s first ever inmate, imprisoned since the early 20th century), escapes and attacks Batman. During their scuffle, the Anchoress reminds Batman of their prior meeting during Zero Year. She then uses her “quantum tunneling” ability to force Batman to relive his hardest memories, like the death of his parents, the reemergence of his supposed brother, and the death of Damian. With some help from Arkham’s staffers—Dr. Mahreen Zaheer and rookie orderly Eric Border—Batman fights off the Anchoress, who tells the Dark Knight that Arkham was a sanctuary before his existence. Eventually, the Anchoress is talked down by the orderlies and Batman leaves. Border exclaims that he truly believes Arkham can be a sanctuary for hope instead of a place of evil. MEGA SPOILER: Eric Border is none other than Joker himself! Using strong muscle relaxers, pigmentation medication, reconstructive surgery, and makeup, Joker has made up the role of “Eric Border” to secretly embed himself both into Arkham and into Batman’s life.
–NOTE: In Batgirl Vol. 4 #19-20. Batman isn’t involved, but this occurrence weighs heavily on upcoming events. Babs falsely believes that she has murdered her brother James Junior. Upset by this, Babs removes the Bat-symbol insignia from her costume.
–Batgirl Vol. 4 #22
Babs goes on a hot date with Ricky Gutierrez (a fella she saved in Batgirl Vol. 4 #10-13). In the morning, Babs meets her dad on the shooting range. That night, Commissioner Gordon meets with Batman and punches him in the face! Gordon angrily tells Batman that he should have never let Batgirl become a part of the Bat-Family, citing that James Junior is dead because of her. Gordon also laments the fact that he must now apprehend and bring to justice a good-hearted hero in Batgirl. Batman backs down and Gordon vows to jail Batgirl at any cost. There’s a strange subtext seemingly going on here as if there is an insinuation that Gordon knows that his daughter is Batgirl—but then why the pronouncement that he’s going to hunt her down as if she is a separate character? Gordon definitely doesn’t know. And if he does, he’s in denial.
–Batman and… #21 (“Batman & Batgirl”)
Batgirl is down in the dumps. The Bat-Family has fallen to pieces. Babs, still upset because she thinks she has killed her brother, wails on some heroin dealers. Batman arrives and helps her out, but is quite curt and un-talkative, especially when he notices her Bat-symbol has been removed. A couple days later, Babs tails Batman and video records him violently ending a hostage situation at a car dealership. Batman uses excessive force and even kicks Lieutenant Harvey Bullock when the detective tries to intervene. (Don’t forget that this isn’t really Bullock—it’s super-villain mimic Jane Doe impersonating him, as we will learn in Detective Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2.) Batgirl then confronts Batman in the Batcave regarding his behavior, shows him the video, and scolds him for being so out of control ever since Damian’s death. Batman ripostes with heated words and by smashing a monitor screen. Babs responds by yelling back and smashing the glass case that holds Damian’s Robin costume. Batman then kicks Babs out of the Batcave. Yikes.
–Detective Comics Vol. 2 #22 Prologue
A mystery super-villain that seems to mirror Batman in every way kills some GCPD officers. Some of the bereaved cops think Batman is the killer. Batman fights some these angry cops and quickly makes them realize that he is on their side. SPOILER: The new super-villain is The Wrath (gazillionaire business tycoon ED Caldwell).
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2. This item takes place after the Wrath has started killing cops but one week before the main action of Detective Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2. Batman chases after an identity thief in the financial district. This ID thief is the mysterious master of mimicry known as Jane Doe. Batman is unable to nab Jane Doe thank to some secret assistance from the Wrath, who helps her escape. Jane Doe vanishes, leaving only her false face behind.
–Detective Comics Vol. 2 #22 Part 1
Bruce meets with ED Caldwell, multi-billionaire weapons manufacturer that wants to take over Bruce’s spot as top business dog in Gotham. Caldwell, as Alfred curiously remarks, is a Gotham native who has only recently returned from a lengthy absence overseas. During their meeting, Bruce tells Caldwell that his spot in Gotham isn’t for sale.
–Detective Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2 Part 1
The main action of part one of this issue takes place one week after Jane Doe was saved by the Wrath in the flashback from Detective Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2. The main action of part one of this issue also features the first face-to-face meeting between Batman and Gordon since Batgirl Vol. 4 #22. Batman examines the scene of another Wrath cop-killing with Gordon, Bullock, and Bullock’s new girlfriend, department shrink Abby Wilburn. Batman is now aware that the new super-villain (probably thanks to scouring underworld channels) is named “The Wrath.” At the scene, Batman and the cops discover another corpse, this one offed by Jane Doe. Batman begins hunting both the Wrath and Jane Doe.
–Detective Comics Vol. 2 #22 Part 2
The Wrath sends his high-tech partner Scorn—a canon immigrant from the animated The Batman show—to kill more cops. Batman manages to save Officers Hector Melendez and Nancy Strode, but Scorn gets away despite the Dark Knight’s interference. (Batman’s fight against Scorn is also shown in a single panel of Detective Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2). Across town, the Wrath executes Scorn for having failed in his mission.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics Vol. 2 #23. This item occurs immediately after Scorn’s death and three days before the main action of Detective Comics Vol. 2 #23. Batman examines Scorn’s corpse with Commissioner Gordon and recognizes him as crook Clyde Anderson.
–Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #22-23
Batman responds to a break-in at a jewelry store only to witness Commissioner Gordon kill one of the thieves. It’s Clayface, of course, who has kidnapped Gordon and replaced him. Clayface takes the jewels and runs, but not before unsettling Batman by morphing into Natalya. Batman then rescues Gordon, who alerts the Dark Knight to his location by making a ghetto Bat-Signal. (Batman’s fight against Clayface, which takes place right after Scorn’s death, is also shown in a single panel of Detective Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2). Later, Clayface attacks the Gotham Securities Exchange. Batman is on hand to stop him, but Clayface gets away again. Batman then confronts Mad Hatter at Arkham and learns that he told one of Penguin’s henchmen about Natalya. After shaking-down Penguin, Batman learns the obvious, Penguin has been manipulating Clayface for his own personal gain. In the crepuscular hours, Gordon and a bunch of his officers all dress up as Batman in order to scare Clayface. Sure enough, upon having a swarm of Batmen surround his hideout, Clayface panics and runs into the real Dark Knight, who encases him in an airtight cage and ships him back to Arkham.
–Detective Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2 Part 2
After taking down a rogue GCPD cop, Batman has a dialogue with Bullock and Wilburn, but something seems off. Batman winds up at a mannequin factory where he confronts Bullock and Wilburn about his suspicions. After a razor Batarang to the dome, “Bullock’s face” falls off, revealing him to actually be Jane Doe in disguise! With Bullock locked up in a warehouse, Jane Doe had been impersonating him for weeks—the info in this issue tells us it was at least three weeks. Batman fights Jane Doe and puts her behind Arkham bars.
–Detective Comics Vol. 2 #23-24
Three days have passed since Scorn’s death. After fighting the Wrath to a stalemate, Batman decides to use a new strategy against him. Bruce and Alfred meet with ED Caldwell at his HQ under the false pretense that they might now be interested in selling Wayne Enterprises. While Bruce has an exhibition judo match with the eccentric Caldwell, who grills the former about Batman’s tech, Alfred snoops around and locates a giant armory, confirming that Caldwell is the Wrath. The Wrath then takes out the majority of the GCPD by activating electric shockers on their newly delivered Caldwell-manufactured weapons and then takes Alfred hostage. Wrath goes after Batman in an exciting air-chase, but Batman blows up the Batplane and glides to safety. Reunited with Alfred, Batman learns that Wrath hates the GCPD because his dad was an ex-cop that got screwed and murdered by his cop peers long ago. Later, Batman dons his alternate mech-suit (the one he used against Terminus and during the “Night of the Owls” as opposed to his Hellbat-suit) to take down Wrath, but allows Commissioner Gordon to make the arrest. Caldwell’s assets are taken away and he winds up in Blackgate. Caldwell will befriend Emperor Penguin within a few day’s time. Also in a few day’s time: Francine Langstrom (in she-bat form) will kill again, this time using a swarm of little bats to assist her hunt.
–FLASHBACK: From second feature to Detective Comics Vol. 2 #22. This flashback takes place a “few months” after Detective Comics Vol. 2 #19. To be precise, it’s been about three months. Ever since Detective Comics Vol. 2 #21, a series of man-bat-style murders have been occurring sporadically throughout Gotham. The latest of these murders was shown at the very end of the recent Detective Comics Vol. 2 #24. A scruffy Harvey Bullock consults Batman about the murders, the latter appearing via hologram in the morgue. Kirk Langstrom, who secretly can now morph into a man-bat without injecting or ingesting Man-Bat Serum is the top suspect. However, Francine Langstrom has secretly been turning into a man-bat (she-bat) as well, and is the one actually responsible for killing people. This arc continues in the Batman-less second feature to Detective Comics Vol. 2 #23: Kirk confronts his wife, who not only admits to an addiction to Man-Bat Serum and the murders, but also reveals that she only married Kirk as an undercover gig to obtain the secrets of the Man-Bat Serum for none other than ED Caldwell! (This is a stark difference between their loving devoted marriage in the Modern Age and the pathetic Total Recall false relationship that is shown here—why must everything be so sad in the New 52?) Man-bat then fights she-bat, the latter escaping into the night. The Langstrom marriage is officially kaput.
–REFERENCE: In the second feature to All-Star Batman #6. September. Batman prepares for Riddler to attack the city on the anniversary of his Zero Year attack. Sure enough, as he does every year (whether he is in prison or not), Riddler initiates a new pre-planned puzzle-themed strike on Gotham in commemoration of Zero Year. Since the reference to the anniversary attacks in the second feature to All-Star Batman #6 is vague and does not give specifics, we don’t know what this attack entails. Nor are we told whether or not Batman is able to stop Riddler’s plot.
–Catwoman Vol. 4 #18
This issue takes place both a few days before Batman and… #22 (“Batman & Catwoman”) and right before the debut of the JLA. It is also written as if it occurs a couple months after “Death of the Family,” but really it’s been about five months. Catwoman steals a bunch of famous paintings depicting Arkham Asylum, partly for the money given to her in exchange for the items, but also because she knows it will personally irk Batman. Batman angrily chases her down and smashes her snazzy bike helmet. The Bat and the Cat then have an evocative repartee about Joker’s actions during “Death of the Family.” (This is the first time Catwoman has talked to Batman about it—they had a brief encounter in Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #18, but the topic didn’t come up.) Eventually, they calm and embrace. Catwoman begs Batman to open up, but he coldly leaves her as he always does. Later, Selina visits GCPD HQ in search of her best friend Gwen Altamont, who has been arrested. Gwen walks thanks to some shady new underworld friends—Selina enters the building just as Gwen exits, the two just missing each other. That night, Catwoman steals back the paintings and returns them to the museum as a gesture of goodwill towards Batman.
–NOTE: In the second feature to Justice League of America Vol. 3 #2. A non-Batman note, but important nevertheless. President Barack Obama introduces the Justice League of America to the world. The team officially debuts on the steps of the US Capitol Building! The JLA is a publicly-endorsed US Government team directed by Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor. In addition to Trevor, the JLA features an active lineup of Martian Manhunter, Katana, Vibe, Stargirl, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Simon Baz, and Catwoman (the team’s lone secret member). Notably, Stargirl wields a sentient Cosmic Staff as a weapon. Simon Baz is not present at the public intro, but he is also announced as the team’s Green Lantern. Waller has secretly designed this group to act as an anti-Justice League and plans on warring with the JL in the near future.
–Batman and… #22 (“Batman & Catwoman”)
Carrie Kelley has been working as Titus’ caretaker for two full weeks. (Carrie was hired four weeks ago, but waited two weeks to officially start.) Carrie, who still thinks Damian is alive, makes Bruce promise that Damian will call her in exchange for a video she made of Damian. Bruce puts together a digitized audio fake of Damian’s voice, clipped from one of their earlier cases, that gives his regards from abroad. Batman then meets with Catwoman, who reveals her secret JLA membership. Batman and Catwoman then infiltrate the Chinese Embassy where a five-year-old girl is being held against her will by a bunch of Chinese metahumans (and inhuman monsters) that were genetically enhanced by the girl’s defecting dad. The Bat and the Cat defeat the Chinese opponents and save the girl, swinging into the night with smiles on their faces. Later, Batman drops off a new bike helmet for Catwoman to replace the one he ruined a few days ago (in Catwoman Vol. 4 #18). Batman also leaves the fake Damian message on a voicemail for Carrie. Elsewhere, Two-Face makes his grand return to Gotham, but flips his coin “good side up” so nobody gets hurt.
–Batman & Robin Vol. 2 Annual #2[5]
This issue is said to take place “several months” after Damian’s death. It has been about four months since his death. Bruce finds Damian’s secret “Robin Cave” in an attic space in Wayne Manor, from which he takes a small box addressed to Dick. Dick flies in from Chicago and opens the package with Bruce and Alfred. Inside is the only remaining tusk belonging to Dick’s arch-rival Tusk—Damian, at some point before his death, tracked down the long-gone-off-the-radar villain, defeated him, and took the tusk as a trophy for Dick.
–Batman and… #23 (“Batman & Nightwing”)
Batman plugs himself into an Internet 3.0 simulation that replicates the events surrounding Damian’s death. For four days straight, Batman unsuccessfully tries to simulate a situation where Damian might have survived. Nightwing, still on his trip home from Chicago, joins him for some 2-player mode, which results in a positive scenario where Damian lives. Afterward, Nightwing tells Batman that he should use Damian’s loss to motivate himself. Later, Alfred plugs into the Internet 3.0 simulator and reenacts an alternate history where he prevents Damian from leaving the cave on that fateful night. Bruce and Alfred then share a cry.
–FLASHBACK: From Robin Rises: Omega #1. Bruce and Alfred stand in the pouring rain and pay their respects over the empty graves (thanks to a grave-robbing Ra’s al Ghul) of Talia and Damian. (This flashback somewhat mirrors the scene where Bruce learns that Ra’s al Ghul has taken the corpses of Talia and Damian from Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #13 and it also implies that Ra’s al Ghul takes their corpses here and now, following Batman and… #23. However, this is a wholly different scene. Ra’s took their corpses at the conclusion of Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #13—about four months ago.)
–Batwing #19
Let’s get caught up to speed. Less than a week ago in Tinasha, DRC, during a fight between Batwing and Matu Ba versus Sky-Pirate (a super-villain hired by the evil billionaire Phillip Marksbury), Matu was seriously injured. As Matu lay in the hospital, clinging to life by a thread, Batwing got revenge by expelling Marksbury’s hired assassin Dawn (Rachel Nomo) from Africa, arresting his serial killer son Ancil Marksbury, blowing up Sky-Pirate’s ship, and punching-out Marksbury himself. A few days later, Matu succumbed to his injuries. Cut to now. Devastated, David Zavimbe not only quits his job as a police officer but also meets with Batman by Matu’s grave in Tinasha to proffer his resignation from Batman Incorporated. (Remember, at this point, Batman Inc is still under Batman’s control but is being secretly run by Casey Washington.) David hands over his Batwing suit and Batman wishes him well on his future endeavors. The timing couldn’t be more propitious. Luke Fox has already been training to become a new Bat-Family member for the past five months with Tsunemoto and Chu Chin Li. Since Luke was Batman’s original choice to become Batwing, he is the perfect replacement for Zavimbe! Luke’s training will continue for one more month before he is officially sworn in.
–FLASHBACK: From Batwing #20. Editorial places us about one month prior to the main action of Batwing #20. David Zavimbe has just quit as Batwing. In the Batcave, Batman officially deputizes Luke Fox, who has been training for around five months now, as the new Batwing.
–REFERENCE: In Batwing #24. Batman takes Luke Fox to Bat-Bunker 3 and gives him his Batwing costume.
–Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #25[6]
Editorial tells us that six months have passed since “Death of the Family.” Clayface breaks out of Arkham Asylum and goes on a rampage, kidnapping several people. This prompts Batman to ask for assistance from Birds of Prey members Black Canary and Condor (Benjamin Reyes). Clayface injects his victims with Joker Venom (which he got from Joker during the events of “Death of the Family”) and forces them to watch him “perform” on stage. Batman, Black Canary, and Condor scour the city and the Caped Crusader eventually finds Clayface, defeats him, and saves the day. Clayface then goes back to Arkham in a new kiln-fired containment unit where he remains alive but hard as a rock.
–REFERENCE: In Superman Unchained #1. Evil media mogul and owner of the Daily Planet Morgan Edge sends Jimmy Olsen to snap a paparazzi photo of a shirtless Bruce Wayne working out at a Gotham hotel. Bruce sends Jimmy packing immediately.
–REFERENCE: In Superman Unchained #1-2. Superman, having recently discovered that a person with super-powers may have been responsible for downing a US spy satellite (after finding a metal panel with a hand-print burned into it), drops off the handprinted panel with Bruce at the Batcave so that the Dark Detective can analyze it.
–the second feature to Superman Unchained #2
Batman, via the strained uncomfortable behavior of the bats in the Batcave, senses that Superman is on his way back to the Batcave—(it’s been two days since Superman dropped off the handprint-damaged satellite panel). Bruce decides to surprise Superman by putting on his newest anti-Superman failsafe: A Bat-suit that is completely invisible to the Man of Steel. (Bruce has spent a few years perfecting this baby.)
–Superman Unchained #2[7]
Superman returns to Gotham, having just fought the “terrorist organization” known as Ascension, which had unleashed a stolen construction mech upon Dubai. In the Batcave, Batman shows off the new Bat-suit that is completely invisible to the Man of Steel. Batman also discusses the rise of Ascension before telling Clark the results of his satellite panel findings. Whoever took down the satellite is a immensely powerful solar-powered being and this mystery person actually did Clark a favor by destroying the satellite because Ascension was about to take control of the satellite. After following Bruce’s lead to Utah, Superman comes face-to-face with Lois Lane’s asshole dad, US Army General Sam Lane. There, a seventy-five-year-old super-powered warrior with beefy musculature (the creator of the satellite handprint) emerges from a secret underground Army base. This guy, called WRAITH, is a US Government-sponsored super-power that predates almost all others on Planet Earth. Superman Unchained #5 gives us a bit more backstory about WRAITH. WRAITH is actually an alien being that first made contact with the US Government in 1938. The aliens delivered WRAITH along with a geological mathematical equation that would allow for great technological military advancement. WRAITH and the equation have been kept secret and been controlled by the secret military branch known as “The Machine” ever since. Sam Lane now heads the Machine and commands WRAITH, although the alien equation was deliberately jumbled up by the Machine’s original founder, who was fearful of what it might do.
–REFERENCE: In Superman Unchained #6. Superman commissions Batman to create a synthetic mineral that can be used as a “Kryptonite” against WRAITH. Batman begins working on it, based upon WRAITH’s energy signature.
–Superman Unchained #5-7
Mere days have passed since Superman Unchained #2. Lois Lane has been kidnapped by Ascension. While Superman and WRAITH look for her, the leader of Ascension, Jonathan Rudolph, explains the history of WRAITH and the Machine to Lois deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean in a submarine. Rudolph, grandson of the original founder of the Machine, reveals a giant cache of Earthstone, the culmination of scientific application of the geological mathematical equation given to the US Government by aliens in 1938. Rudolph has unscrambled the mixed-up equation to create the Earthstone crystals, which can be used to control almost any technology on the planet. Meanwhile, Superman allows WRAITH into the Fortress of Solitude. There, Batman secretly sends Superman the data needed for the anti-WRAITH mineral. WRAITH betrays Superman and demands that he, like him, serve the US Army. But before a fight can break out, Batman and Wonder Woman alert Superman—from a Watchtower video feed—that Ascension has launched every single high-alert nuclear missile on Earth. By tracing the energy signature of the Earthstone used to launch the missiles, Batman locates Ascension and sends Superman there. Batman also contacts Green Lantern for help as well. At the Atlantic Ocean HQ of Ascension, Superman rescues Lois and takes a piece of Earthstone, which prompts Rudolph to blow everything in his base to smithereens. Superman is able to use the Earthstone sliver to destroy every nuke safely. When WRAITH comes to collect the crystal, Superman refuses and a brawl breaks out. Superman uses Batman’s anti-WRAITH mineral weapon to subdue the beastly warrior. Superman then invites Lois back to the Fortress of Solitude for the first time ever (!) and they examine the Earthstone, which seems to emit very strange vibrations. But before further analysis can be undertaken, General Sam Lane and his Machine unit launch a government-backed US Army strike on the Fortress of Solitude. Meanwhile, Batman teleports back to the Batcave to find an angry WRAITH waiting for him. Batman slips on his anti-Superman suit and begins fighting WRAITH. Wonder Woman comes to help Batman. During the epic brouhaha every single Bat-vehicle is destroyed, the Bat-computer is damaged, and Batman’s T rex and penny trophies are wrecked. Meanwhile, in the Arctic, Sam Lane and his troops level half the Fortress of Solitude, prompting Superman to don medieval-looking Kryptonian armor to battle them. Lois uses the Earthstone to help Superman claim victory. The Man of Steel then rushes to assist Batman and Wonder Woman in Gotham, grabbing WRAITH and tossing him to a remote location in the Gobi Desert to fight one-on-one.
–Superman Unchained #9
Superman, having just defeated WRAITH, regroups with Sam Lane, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen near the ruins of the Fortress of Solitude. A hologram video feed of Lex Luthor appears and explains that an armada of alien spaceships piloted by WRAITH’s brethren, are en route to conquer Earth. Luthor, via a secret implant he had previously put into Jimmy, provides a solar syringe, which Superman can inject himself with, turning himself into a massive suicide bomb with enough power to blow up the whole armada. Batman reports in, citing that the space armada has sent an energy wave across the planet, neutralizing all global defense systems. Superman says goodbye to Lois and bolts into the stratosphere. In Earth’s orbit, Superman is blitzed with alien space rays, nearly getting killed in the process as the solar syringe floats out from his hand. All looks bleak when all of a sudden WRAITH, having found respect for Superman, arrives, injects himself, and sacrifices his own life to destroy his invading kin. A beat-up Superman then recaptures Luthor and puts him back in jail.
–REFERENCE: In Batman Eternal #22. Batman repairs the giant penny and his Tyrannosaurus rex, both of which were damaged by WRAITH.
–Batman: Joker’s Daughter #1
This issue takes place immediately following the recently occurring Batman-less Catwoman Vol. 4 #26. In this issue, an Arkham orderly states that “Death of the Family” happened “a few months ago.” It happened about six months ago. Our tale starts with Joker’s Daughter, a homicidal teenager that has found Joker’s sliced-off face and wears it as a tribute to her “father.” JD recently ruled (for a short time) a large chunk of Gotham’s Underworld—a vast system of labyrinthian tunnels and underground sci-fi structures that exist deep below Gotham. This Underworld is constantly warred-over by rival post-apocalyptic gangs and bizarre super-villains. Now obsessed with locating her “father,” JD sets a school bus on fire to lure out Batman. Instead, Batman lures JD to the exact spot where Joker fell down a waterfall during “Death of the Family,” not far from the Batcave. After an unsuccessful attempt to talk some sense to the gal, Batman turns her over to the GCPD. However, JD escapes custody and busts into Arkham looking for answers about Joker’s whereabouts. There, JD fights both Mahreen and Eric Border (SPOILER: Border is actually a disguised Joker) and then kills an orderly named Roger. The intervention of the Anchoress is the only thing that sends JD running. JD visits Dollmaker and gets him to surgically graft Joker’s old face onto her face! He also gives her a vial of Joker’s blood, which she injects into her body. Later, in an abandoned house outside of Gotham, JD (and her pet kitty named Ugly Cat) get a purple note delivered that says, “Hello beautiful.” Could it really be from the Joker? Likely so, since Joker would have just met her (and been impressed) while disguised as Eric Border.
–Batwing #20-21
It’s been nearly one month since Luke Fox was officially deputized as the new Batwing, but he still hasn’t seen any action. Until now. Luke, having lied to his dad (Lucius), saying he was going on a yearlong world tour, now begins his in-costume tenure as Batwing. Luke’s first mission as Batwing 2.0 is a trip to Africa to take on The Marabunta, an army secretly hired by Charlie Caligula, complete with robotic fire ant-themed queens and tons of ant drone soldiers. Batman guides Batwing via radio while the rookie kicks ass in his debut. In Tinasha, Batwing interrogates Lady Marabunta (using Scarecrow’s Fear Gas no less) and learns of an illegal diamond mining operation that funds the Marabunta army. At a bizarre underground palace, Batwing comes face-to-face with even more bizarre metahuman super-villains: Shango, Qandisa, Ngai, and their leader, the part centaur-part lion man known as Lion-Mane. Batwing defeats Lion-Mane and returns home to Gotham.[8]
–FLASHBACK: From Batwing #22. Immediately after Batwing’s defeat of Lion-Mane, Bruce purchases the former Marabunta diamond mine in the Congo. A couple days later, Bruce visits his new purchase and is confronted by Atticus Fontaine, a representative of the evil multi-billion dollar diamond corporation called Seclorum. Fontaine attempts to buy the mine from Bruce, but Bruce denies him. Seclorum is secretly owned by Italian crime boss Charlie Caligula.
–All Star Western #22 Part 1
Booster Gold has been lost in time ever since JLI Annual #1. When he winds up in 1880s, Booster meets former Confederate soldier turned bounty hunter Jonah Hex. During an adventure together, Hex gets blasted to present day and winds up behind Arkham Asylum bars. After hearing Hex’s story, which involves details about Bruce Wayne’s ancestors Alan Wayne and Katherine Wayne, Jeremiah Arkham visits Bruce and has a chat with him. That afternoon, Batman and Alfred check up on Hex’s story and it turns out to be true. Later that night, Hex breaks out of the asylum and takes Jeremiah as a hostage. Meanwhile, Batman visits Aaron Cash at Arkham Asylum and tells him to give him a little time to take care of the situation. Batman, however, will have to hold off on this case because, as we learn in the second half of this very issue, Lucius Fox gets kidnapped by the Marabunta (which will happen in the next two bullets).
–Batwing #21 Epilogue
Three days after Bruce’s visit to the Congo, Batman contacts Luke while the latter is chilling at home with his family. The Dark Knight warns him that the Marabunta are in Gotham and are coming for revenge!
–Batwing #22-24
October—according to Luke’s cellphone, this arc supposedly takes place on October 5-7. This seems a few weeks too early to properly synch-up with other stories, but October is dead on the money! The Marabunta kidnaps Lucius Fox because of his link to Batman. Against his boss’ wishes, Luke suits up as Batwing and assists Batman in a rescue attempt. They locate Lucius in a ship in Gotham Harbor. There, the Marabunta unleash a giant red ant mech upon the heroes while they try to suck Lucius’ brain dry with a biosynthetic computer that looks like something out of eXistenZ. Batman and Batwing easily defeat the Marabunta and rescue Lucius. Later, Luke has to hold his tongue as he gets chewed out by his entire family (mom Tanya Fox and sisters Tiffany “Tiff” Fox and Tamara “Tam” Fox) for “running away” during the attack. Things then get worse for Luke—first, his girlfriend Zena Zlenko dumps him, and then, Lady Vic bombs Wayne Tower and attacks him on behalf of Charlie Caligula. Batwing manages to escape fatality at the hands of Lady Vic, but his suit is badly damaged. Back at his apartment, Luke finds Zena waiting for him—her father has died and the grief-stricken gal has changed her mind and wants to be back together again. Luke radios Batman to let him know about Lady Vic. They chat while the Dark Knight takes down the super-villain group known as Crime Nouveau at the Gotham Modern Art Museum. Batman orders Luke to go to Bat-Bunker 3, which holds various technological marvels and advanced weaponry, including the unfinished Batman Beyond suit (likely the one we’ve seen before in Batman #20). There, Luke builds a brand new Batwing suit and uses it to fight Lady Vic. Using Fear Gas (again!), Batwing defeats Vic and finds out she and the Marabunta were hired by Charlie Caligula, who owns Seclorum. Batman orders Batwing to head to Caligula’s base of operations in Rome. Once there, Batwing is to team-up with Legionary (Pippi Giovanni) to take down Caligula. (Batwing and Legionary will easily defeat Caligula.)
–All Star Western #23
The bulk of this issue overlaps completely with the previous Batwing #23-24, but here’s what went down. After two days on the road with Jonah Hex, Jeremiah Arkham came to fully believe that Hex is from the past. By shacking up with the progressively sex-positive and über sexual Gina Green, Hex learned all about the “nihilistic terror generation,” global climate change, the world economy being on the brink of collapse, LGBTQ rights, and more. Gina’s roommate even tried to put the moves on an uptight Dr. Arkham. This here is an interestingly bizarre but strong issue by Jimmy Palmiotti, I’ll tell ya that. The foursome wound up driving a mini-van across multiple state lines into somewhere in the South where they got into the middle of an ugly scene—an upset divorcee shooting up a breast cancer cure rally. Hex said “to hell with keeping a low profile,” borrowed a gun from a shop, and blew the dude to kingdom come—an act that quickly landed Hex back behind bars. Cut to now. Things don’t look good for Hex until Bruce Wayne arrives with an expensive crack legal team (Mr. Shapiro and Miss Evans) to defend him!
–All Star Western #24 Part 1
Bruce and his crack legal team of Shapiro and Evans have the charges against Jonah Hex formally dropped in front of a judge, citing Hex as an “authentic” time-traveler and a hero. Afterward, Hex tells Bruce that Bruce’s 19th century ancestors fought the Court of Owls and that he (Hex) once saved Bruce’s great-great grandmother Katherine Wayne from Vandal Savage. Hex walks free, but is trapped in the 21st century. Bruce and Jeremiah Arkham return to Gotham together.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics Vol. 2 #26 and Detective Comics Vol. 2 #27 Part 6. Scarecrow now kicks into gear a plan that has been months in the making. An undetermined amount of time ago, Scarecrow unleashed a new strain of chemicals upon the entire populace of Gotham. The timeline is vague here—Scarecrow might have unleashed his chemicals years ago, months ago, or days ago. In any case, these chemicals, which have been secretly gestating, now finally kick-in hard, causing a majority of Gotham’s populace to fall into a drug-induced hallucination where the city begins to take on the feel and look of a shining utopia. Crime rates have legitimately gone down nearly 90% ever since Scarecrow started dosing the city with drugs months ago, slowly morphing person by person into mindless zombies. This may seem like a good thing, but in reality Scarecrow is altering the entire city’s acuity and collective consciousness with the ultimate goal of taking complete control. With his own consciousness now altered, Batman comes to truly believe that Gotham is the safest city in America thanks mostly to his own actions as a savior. As an editor’s tagline states, Batman and the mass populace of the city believe that “Gotham has always been this way.” Not only that, in his clouded and drugged stupor, Batman unmasks and reveals himself as Bruce Wayne to Catwoman, inviting her into the Batcave and Wayne Manor. Batman makes Catwoman his new sidekick, giving her a new costume and dubbing her “Catbird.” Bear in mind that the Catbird costume is merely a part of the illusion—she is still wearing her Catwoman digs in reality. The world of “Gothtopia” hasn’t fully emerged, but it will blanket everything in a few short days.
–the second feature to Detective Comics Vol. 2 #25
After a grisly murder underneath the New Trigate Bridge, Officer Wallace notices a febrile Kirk Langstrom among the onlookers that have gathered at the crime scene. Langstrom gibbers about how his wife has killed yet again before morphing into a man-bat, clawing Officer Henry Wallace’s face, and flying away. Later, Officer Wallace and Commissioner Gordon activate the Bat-Signal, which Batman immediately responds to.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics Vol. 2 #26. Coming straight from where the second feature to Detective Comics Vol. 2 #25 left off, Commissioner Gordon fills in Batman on the details about the bat-murder under the New Trigate Bridge.
–Detective Comics Vol. 2 #26
A day after the bat-murder under the New Trigate Bridge, Batman chats with Commissioner Gordon (via morgue holographic projector) about some fresh new bat-murders. The new killings are similar to the New Trigate Bridge murder, but appear as though a swarm of bats tore the flesh off of the victims. Three hours later, Batman has tracked down Kirk Langstrom (in man-bat form) and confronts the winged beast. Using ultra-low sound frequencies and pheromone capsules, Batman turns Kirk back into human form. Kirk tells Batman that both he and his wife Francine can turn into man-bat and she-bat at will. Kirk also sadly tells Batman that Francine was always a corporate spy (real name Felicity Lee) sent by her powerful boss (ED Caldwell) to court him and wed him in an effort to steal the secrets of his bat research. Batman and Kirk then go to battle Felicity in her lair using sonic wave emitters and an anti-serum that will temporarily turn her human. (Batman secretly injects the anti-serum into Kirk.) Once they arrive, Batman and Kirk come face-to-face with Felicity, who controls a giant swarm of bats and now calls herself Bat-Queen. Kirk morphs into a man-bat and bites his former wife, injecting her with the anti-serum in the process and turning her human again. Batman then hauls Felicity into Arkham and Kirk willingly turns himself in. The next morning, Bruce wakes up under the foggy haze of Scarecrow’s “Gothtopia.” An angry Catbird chides Batman for not bringing her along on the previous night’s action.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics Vol. 2 #27 Part 6. Scarecrow’s total chemical dump on Gotham has taken full effect, having completely permeated the city. As the entirety of Gotham, including Batman and his comrades, start to believe in Scarecrow’s “reality,” Black Mask takes over as Police Commissioner, Penguin becomes the Mayor of Gotham, and Scarecrow becomes the head of Arkham Asylum. Batman dons a white costume (it merely appears white to him) and comes to believe that the authority of these villains is the usual state of things in Gotham. In fact, all the heroes of Gotham, thanks to Scarecrow’s cloud of gas and drugs, think they are different heroes that have been protecting Gotham for a long time under different monikers. Under this false status quo, Gotham’s heroes misbelieve that they have different memories and new costumed IDs. Batgirl (now “Bluebelle”), Batwoman (now “Brightbat”), Batwing (now “Flying Fox”), Calvin Rose (now “The Gothamite”), and the Birds of Prey (now “The Wings of Truth”) all come to believe the mass delusion. For anyone wondering, the Birds of Prey team now consists of Black Canary, Condor, former Talon Strix, and part-timer Batgirl. With this new world firmly implanted in his mind as a reality that has existed for several months (or possibly always), Batman seems under the thumb of his deadliest foes. While the heroes of Gotham think that several months have passed, the effects of the mass hallucination have seriously messed with their ability to correctly gauge the passage of actual time and it has only been a week or two at most. In fact, Catwoman Vol. 4 #27 shows that it is Christmastime and, a couple days later in Catwoman Vol. 4 #28, it is suddenly Valentine’s Day. Time has become a quickly-moving illusion thanks to Scarecrow. Therefore, we must ignore all topical references in “Gothtopia,” not as continuity errors but instead as a part of the hallucinogenic nature of the narrative. (In fact, since we technically don’t know exactly when Scarecrow first began releasing chemicals into Gotham’s infrastructure, this potentially gives us an interesting fanwank to potentially explain any or all continuity errors that have occurred prior to this arc. Feel free to retroactively fanwank to your headcanon’s desire, although I wouldn’t lean onto this crutch too much. After all, if the entire timeline has been some sort of hallucinatory experience up to this point, then we might as well throw everything in the garbage bin.)
GOTHTOPIA
————————–Catwoman Vol. 4 #27 Part 1
————————–Detective Comics Vol. 2 #27 Part 6
————————–Detective Comics Vol. 2 #28-29
Even though we see a holiday parade in Catwoman Vol. 4 #27 and there are candy canes and Xmas trees shown, Scarecrow’s mass hallucination is messing with everyone’s conceptualization of time, speeding things up exponentially in their minds. In reality, no more than a week-and-a-half has passed since Batman and Catbird became a crime-fighting couple (although they think several months have passed already). In the warped “reality” created by Scarecrow’s drug bath, our heroes also still believe that crime is virtually nonexistent in Gotham. Batman and Catbird take to the happy streets and, in-between public make-out sessions, bust some crooks amid the nearby clamor of a “holiday parade.” Selina then reports to her job at the Gotham Peace Department as a therapist. Later, Selina and Bruce have dinner. The next day, kissy kissy Batman and kissy kissy Catbird then take to the fake happy streets to fight Poison Ivy, who is immune to the effects of Scarecrow’s drugs. Despite her best efforts, Poison Ivy cannot make Batman see the truth, but does stick him with a thorn. After handing Poison Ivy over to the Black Mask-controlled GCPD and saving some citizens in trouble, Batman and Catbird join Brightbat and Bluebelle to get some awards from Mayor Cobblepot. Harvey Bullock informs Batman about a suicide attempt and Batman saves a man who claims that reality is all screwed-up. The saved man then shoots himself in the face. Back at the Batcave, Bruce muses aloud to Alfred and Selina how crime is at an all-time low but suicides are at an all-time high in Gotham. While Batman walks in the courtyard garden of Wayne Manor, Poison Ivy’s thorn takes effect and Batman realizes that things ain’t right. Later, Batman, having received an analysis of his blood, tries to convince Catbird that they have all been played, but she reacts violently, calling in the backup to restrain Batman. Rather than fight his friends (including Brightbat, Bluebelle, Flying Fox, the Gothamite, and the Wings of Truth), Batman takes a dive and winds up in a straightjacket at Arkham. Batman’s dive and his delivery to Arkham are also shown in Catwoman Vol. 4 #27 Part 2 and Birds of Prey Vol. 3 #28. Batman has come to his senses but is locked inside a Scarecrow-controlled Arkham. After a visit by a still delusional Catbird, Batman decides to take action. He escapes from his cell and takes down a few of Scarecrow’s henchmen, including Nocturna and Eduardo Flamingo. But in order to create an antidote to Scarecrow’s new Fear Gas strain, he needs help from Poison Ivy. After making-out with Poison Ivy—to get some of her delicious anti-toxins in his system—Batman teams-up with her to create the antidote. After curing everyone in Arkham, Batman and Poison Ivy take down Killer Croc. Scarecrow arrives and sics a brainwashed Calvin Rose, Catwoman, Batwoman, and Batgirl on them. The Birds of Prey (still believing themselves to be “The Wings of Truth”) also briefly join in the fight (as shown in Birds of Prey Vol. 3 #28). When Scarecrow threatens to murder Catwoman, Batman submits to another Fear Gas dosing. Unknown to Scarecrow, Batman is immune, but Batman plays along to find out more information. Scarecrow forces Batman to change into a Scarecrow-version of the Batman costume and then the Dark Knight accompanies Professor Pyg and the Merrymaker on some fear-mongering errands. Okay, I can’t hold my tongue anymore. This whole time, none of the baddies care to find out who any of the heroes are underneath their masks? Scarecrow even makes Batman put a new costume on. Does he give him use of a private changing room? Ugh. This is one of many reasons “Gothtopia” sucks. I digress. Back to the narrative. As his first act as Scarecrow’s top henchman, Batman gets to personally choose the night’s Fear Gas victims, twelve deadbeat ex-cons he put in jail before, who from now on will each have a permanent debilitating fear of Batman. At an airfield, Scarecrow reveals his plan to spread his Fear Gas across the entire Eastern Seaboard via blimps. Thanks to some pre-planned sabotage, the Fear Gas blimps explode, releasing the antidote all over the city, ending the mass hallucination instantly. The villains are defeated and all wind up back behind bars, except for Poison Ivy, who Batman lets walk. A few days later, Catwoman meets with Batman to discuss everything. They both only have vague fleeting memories of “Gothtopia.” For instance, they both know that they were in a relationship and in love, but Selina doesn’t recall Batman’s secret ID anymore, nor their time spent together at Wayne Manor or in the Batcave. Batman remembers a lot more, but in order to keep things uncomplicated, he gives poor Catwoman the brush-off. Later, Batman re-apprehends Clayface.
–Batwing #29-30
During the recent haze of “Gothtopia,” Luke Fox’s sister Tamara was kidnapped by Luke’s former-friend-turned-super-villain Russell Tavaroff, who has just returned to Gotham after six years of absence and is now calling himself Menace. A day after “Gothtopia” ended, Menace also kidnapped Luke’s other sister Tiffany (with help from RatCatcher, who also spells his name broken out into two words—i.e. “Rat Catcher”—or with a little c—i.e. “Ratcatcher”—in the New 52). Batman and Batwing search for the missing girls for a couple days, but their efforts are unavailing. Each day, Bruce must painfully discuss the case with the troubled father Lucius. Finally, Tam surfaces, but she’s been beaten and drugged up with Snakebyte. At the hospital, the Foxes and Bruce learn the terrible news—Tam has permanent severe brain injury and will be catatonic for life. A pissed-off Batwing searches the area where Tam turned up and discovers a hidden gateway into the Gotham Underground, the massive secret city that runs for miles deep beneath “Gotham Above.” There, Batwing fights both a gang led by a dude called Anubis and a colossal mutated sewer fish-monster. Batwing also frees a bunch of enslaved people from a forced labor camp run by the metahuman Speakerheads. Meanwhile, further above ground in the Bat-Bunker, an angry Lucius Fox begs Batman for help. Batman tells him that he’s doing all he can. Back down below, Batwing disguises himself like one of the steampunk tribal dwellers of the Underground and continues searching for Tiffany. Eventually, Batwing gets in a huge fight with the Mother of Anubis and her entire tribe, known as the Children of Anubis. After defeating dozens of warriors and taking Mother hostage, Menace arrives to challenge his former friend face-to-face.
–Batwing #32
Batwing rescues his six-year-old sister Tiffany from Menace and RatCatcher, revealing his secret ID to her in the process. Later, Batwing takes down a biker gang and meets with Batman. An angry and emotional Batwing argues with Batman about personal loss and the meaning behind their war on crime before flying off into the Gotham night.
–Catwoman Vol. 4 #29
Taylor Pharmaceuticals, a company that has created prototype versions of a dangerous Venom-like steroid and a cancer medication, has been bought out by WayneTech. The night before the takeover, Batman hires Catwoman to break in, destroy the steroid, and steal the cancer treatment. During the heist, Batman deletes all records of the steroid’s existence. The next day, Bruce makes sure that his new Taylor employees, who previously worked on the steroid, focus on testing and researching the cancer medication instead.
–Justice League Vol. 2 #18
This story takes place “a few weeks” before Justice League Vol. 2 #27 (which occurs smack dab in the middle of Forever Evil). The Justice League meets up aboard the Watchtower for the first time in a while, ultimately deciding to have a recruitment drive. Flash sarcastically apologizes to Aquaman for being absent during the “Throne of Atlantis” arc, which occurred eight months ago. While Flash talks about “Throne of Atlantis” like it was more recent, this has to be the first time Flash is seeing Aquaman since then, helping us place this story where it properly goes.[9] Immediately after the team meeting, the JL sends out invitations to a select group: Nightwing, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Blue Devil (Daniel Patrick Cassidy), Element Woman, Firestorm, Goldrush, Platinum, Vixen, Zatanna, and the Atom. Soon after, these invitees show up for the recruitment drive, which is held aboard the Watchtower. Despite attending, Nightwing tells Batman that he doesn’t want to be on the team. Everything is going fine until Platinum, Dr. Will Magnus’ second test version of the Metal (Wo)Man warrior android, goes berserk and starts attacking. The combined might of the collected heroes destroys Platinum. Afterward, the JL chooses Element Woman, the Atom, and Firestorm as its three newest members! However, the celebratory atmosphere quickly fades as Cyborg reveals that, while Platinum was raging, someone hacked into the Watchtower’s computer system and stole the team’s entire five years’ worth of case files. (SPOILER: It was Earth-3 Alfred.)
–Batman/Superman #5-7
November. This arc is an antecedent to “Trinity War” and Forever Evil. While Superman is smashing up some asteroids in Earth’s orbit, Batman is in Gotham fighting one of Superman’s arch-enemies, Metal-Zero (aka John Corben aka Metallo). But when Superman’s prisoner vanishes without a trace and the Man of Steel discovers that Metal-Zero is safely in prison and has been for quite some time, a mystery is afoot. In Gotham, award-winning video game designer Hiro Okamura (better known as Toymaster) has invented a new game that allows the user to saddle up in a hard-light avatar of real life superheroes or villains and duke it out in the streets. Batman had actually been fighting Toymaster controlling a Metal-Zero avatar. Later, Toymaster sets up a beta-test for the game where four players (including Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen) control a Nightwing avatar with the goal of killing Batman. Unknown to Jimmy and the players is the fact that it’s more than just a game. When “Nightwing” attacks Batman, the Dark Knight smashes the avatar through the nearest window, which happens to be where Toymaster is hosting the game from. Once the jig is up, Toymaster explains that even he doesn’t understand the technology or how it manifested from virtual reality to actual reality, telling Batman that he got the tech from his partner Agnes Samson. Just then, the culprit explodes onto the scene. Mongul, with the help of Agnes (who is actually a WarWorld alien in disguise) has activated a machine that has caused the tech anomalies. Mongul and Agnes have also released “Golden Fury” spores that have raised the level of violent behavior in just about everyone on the planet. Mongul then blasts Batman in the chest with a laser canon killing him instantly! Luckily for Batman, Jimmy still thinks it’s all a game and selects Batman as his new avatar, an action that causes a nanotech cloud to reanimate the Dark Knight’s brain function and motor skills. Jimmy then has Nano-Batman attack Superman until both heroes become aware of Jimmy’s presence. Superman angrily scolds Jimmy, who immediately realizes that it is the real Man of Steel. Just as the World’s Finest regain their composure, Agnes launches the alpha version of Okamura’s game, opening the game for free onto the Internet. The effects of the Golden Fury cause millions of gamers to log on in a frenzy. Within minutes, literally millions of people are simultaneously controlling both Batman and Superman in a one-on-one knock-down-drag-out fight to the death, which ravages large chunks of Gotham. Eventually, Superman allows Batman to defeat him, thus becoming a “playable” character as well. In doing so, the Man of Steel puts his faith in both humanity and in the logic of trite gaming narrative. Sure enough, 100 million people choose Nano-Batman and Superman to team-up against the greater “boss challenge” of Mongul. Mongul is easily defeated and goes into the Phantom Zone. Twelve hours later, Batman wakes up alive and fine thanks to some high-tech nano-reversion surgery courtesy of Toymaster. Clark helps a victim of the recent chaos by giving her some Wayne Enterprises money. Elsewhere, Mongul’s son Jochi watches angrily.
–Batman/Superman Annual #1
November. Before starting a synopsis, some brief notes: Batman/Superman Annual #1 acts as a follow-up to the previous Batman/Superman arc and goes before the equally problematic Superman/Wonder Woman #3-7 arc that features Warworld in the Phantom Zone (where Warworld winds up in this very issue), meaning we must be pre-Forever Evil. Also, Batman/Superman Annual #1 mentions Superboy’s recent death in the “Krypton Returns” crossover arc. This mention of Superboy’s death seems like an error because we’ll see him in the upcoming Forever Evil #2. However, thanks to the paradox of time-travel (and writing that is difficult to decipher) it’s actually not an error! If you are feeling a bit perplexed, then it’s probably best to ignore it.[10] Synopsis: Batman visits Superman’s Fortress of Solitude to check-up on Mongul’s status in the Phantom Zone. Later, Mongul’s son Jochi smashes the gargantuan planetoid known as Warworld into Earth’s orbit and challenges Batman and Superman to a multi-team duel in a day’s time (or else he will destroy Earth). Superman chooses Supergirl and Steel (Dr. John Henry Irons) as his partners and gets a smooch from his GF Wonder Woman before heading out to meet Batman. The Caped Crusader, meanwhile, surprisingly picks Red Hood for his interplanetary experience. And surprisingly, Red Hood agrees to go. At the time of departure, Batgirl invites herself onto Batman’s team. Krypto the Superdog comes along as well. On Warworld, a 3-versus-3 tournament to crown the new leader of the planetoid has already begun. While Steel and Batgirl secretly search for a way to hack into Warworld’s system, Batman enters the tournament with Red Hood and Jochi as his partners. (Jochi joins with the good guys because he decides he wants to spare Earth.) Superman enters with Supergirl and Krypto. After a day of victories, a lovely supper in the contenders’ mess hall, and a restful night’s sleep, our two heroic teams wind up facing each other in the final. In the brutal battle, Batman gains the win by punching out Superman with a chunk of Kryptonite in hand. But when Batman obviously refuses to kill Superman, the crowd goes wild and demands the destruction of Earth. Thankfully, Steel and Batgirl have deactivated Warworld’s weaponry. The heroes hightail it off the plummeting satellite planetoid and Superman tosses the entire thing into the Phantom Zone. In the Phantom Zone, a disgusted Mongul murders his own son for having become a hero.
–Superman/Wonder Woman #3-5
November. This is tough to place, so let’s look at what we know before starting a synopsis. There are a few accumulated pieces of evidence that are quite telling. NUMBER ONE, Superman/Wonder Woman #3-5 is in the middle of the uninterrupted arc that includes S/WW #1-6 and the first half of S/WW #7—(the second half of S/WW #7 is a prelude to Superman: Doomed, which definitely occurs 100% after Forever Evil). NUMBER TWO, the Batman-less S/WW #6 tells us that this arc occurs after B/S Annual #1 via an appearance by Warworld in the Phantom Zone. So, we definitely know it occurs after B/S Annual #1. NUMBER THREE, we see Vibe and a scarred-up criminal Lex Luthor, which provide two HUGE reasons this is a pre-“Trinity War”/Forever Evil arc. Vibe is missing after Forever Evil. And Luthor is healed and a hero after Forever Evil. Those facts firmly cement this arc before Forever Evil. NUMBER FOUR, stores are dressed for Xmas and WW gives Supes an early Xmas present. This is dead on the money as we are in November. Notably, there is an editor’s note that places S/WW #3 “before the Justice League learns of the ARGUS Counter Strike Team.” Since “the ARGUS Counter Strike Team” simply means “the Justice League of America before its public debut,” we must ignore this note as a continuity error. The JLA has indeed already debuted. Okay, moving on! A week ago, Superman and Wonder Woman briefly fought Doomsday, who phased out of the Phantom Zone momentarily. An hour ago, Superman fought Wonder Woman’s half-brother and current ruler of Olympus, the Greco-Roman God Apollo, who blasted him with pure sun energy. A shaky and jazzed up Superman flies around the Earth 300 times to settle down and then steadies himself on the dark side of the moon. Batman radios in from the Watchtower to chat with Superman and calm him down with a brotherly heart-to-heart about life dating Wonder Woman. Meanwhile, evil Kryptonian criminal Zod (aka General Dru-Zod) phases out of the Phantom Zone and appears in the Sahara Desert. The JLA—Steve Trevor, Martian Manhunter, Vibe, and Hawkman—responds to the interdimensional breach only to get their asses handed to them. Superman and Wonder Woman then arrive and subdue Zod, who seems to placate himself upon meeting Jor-El’s son. Superman then takes Zod and places him into a comfortable holding cell in the Fortress of Solitude, which Zod willingly and understandably enters. Afterward, Wonder Woman gives a an early Xmas present to Superman: the gift of a vacation. For the next few hours or possibly full day, the JL will take care of all problems on the planet, leaving Superman and Wonder Woman to relax. The lovers embrace and kiss, but the tender moment and vacation is ruined when the Man of Steel’s super-hearing picks up bad news. Their relationship is no longer a secret. Clark’s business partner Cat Grant has spilled the beans to the public on Clark’s own news-site, clarkatropolis.com. The next day, the world is abuzz with the news of the power couple. Clark goes to a celebration party thrown by Cat at Lord Innovation. Cat lies to Clark and says that she got the scoop from an anonymous source. In his cell in Utah, Lex Luthor flips out when he hears the news. In Gotham, Batman flips out at the fact that Superman couldn’t keep it a secret. (A scene of Batman watching news about the celebrity super-couple is also shown via flashback from the Superman/Wonder Woman TPB Vol. 5 Epilogue.) Wonder Woman takes out her frustrations about the leak by training with her bestie, Amazonian ex-pat Hessia. Later, Superman revisits Zod in the Fortress of Solitude. Zod easily breaks free of his cell, releases all the creatures from the Fortress’ intergalactic zoo, and then frees his lover Faora Hu-Ul from the Phantom Zone. Superman immediately calls for help from Batman, who is beating up some Gotham goons. Batman calls Cyborg, who calls Wonder Woman. In the American Pacific Northwest, Superman and Wonder Woman fight Zod and Faora to a stalemate. (S & WW eventually defeat Z & F and put them back into the Phantom Zone, as seen in S/WW #6 and the first half of issue #7.)
–Justice League Vol. 2 #19-20
It’s been about a week or so since Justice League Vol. 2 #18. These two issues act as a direct uninterrupted prelude that leads immediately into “Trinity War, which is then immediately followed by Forever Evil. (Justice League Vol. 2 #19 through Forever Evil #7 cannot be broken up.) Issue #19 contains a huge continuity error—a mention in the narrative about Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship that must be ignored. I’ll address it below. Onto the synopsis. Jason Todd breaks into Wayne Manor to have a chat with Alfred, who is about to place Damian’s old costume on display as a memorial in the Batcave.[11] An emotional Alfred breaks down and cries. All of a sudden, a mysterious ninja-like masked figure (SPOILER: Earth-3 Alfred) breaks into the cave, subdues both men, and accesses the secret vault via retinal and fingerprint scan. Inside the vault, the mystery man steals some Kryptonite from Superman’s “emergency weakness briefcase.” Meanwhile, as the JL novitiates get stood up by the rest of the team aboard the Watchtower, Superman and Wonder Woman illegally travel into the war-torn Middle Eastern nation of Kahndaq to rescue some hostages being held by the Sons of Adam (a terrorist group that worships the deceased villain Black Adam). Back in Gotham, Batman, Cyborg, and Aquaman search the Batcave in an attempt to find out who broke in, but they come up empty. Across the Atlantic, Superman and Wonder Woman’s actions are covered by the media, not only nearly sparking an international incident between Kahndaq and the US, but also giving the JL another PR black eye. Cyborg booms Batman to Kahndaq, where a MAJOR CONTINUITY ERROR THEN OCCURS. In the narrative of Justice League Vol. 2 #19, Batman surprises the Big Two by revealing that he knows about their incipient sexual relationship and then scolds them about it, a scene also shown shot-for-shot via flashback from the Superman/Wonder Woman TPB Vol. 5 Epilogue. For reasons listed above (see Superman/Wonder Woman #3-5), “Trinity War” must happen after Superman/Wonder Woman #1-7 (not including the Superman: Doomed prelude that forms the second half of issue #7), during which the entire world learns about Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship. There would be no surprising the Big Two with anything. So, either we completely ignore this scene or we omit the power couple being surprised and keep just the parts of Batman chewing them out, which is basically how the Superman/Wonder Woman TPB Vol. 5 Epilogue handles the situation. Moving on. Batman confesses to Wonder Woman that he’s been keeping stuff that could be used against the team, including the Kryptonite, which he also tells her has been stolen. Back aboard the Watchtower, Despero returns with the Kryptonite ring on his finger! The Atom, Firestorm, and Element Woman get the crap kicked out of them by Despero, who causes the Watchtower to plummet towards Earth. Martian Manhunter shows up and easily takes down Despero, but tells Atom, who is the only one who sees him, to deny his ever being there. The Watchtower crashes in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. The JL convenes there and decides to make their new HQ in a nearby cave. The Kryptonite ring is recovered, but a microscopic sliver is missing. Everyone worries and wonders about who stole the Kryptonite—obviously someone who knows Batman’s secret ID. In the Batcave vault, Batman shows Superman his “emergency briefcases,” specifically Wonder Woman’s, which is empty. Batman explains that Superman is Wonder Woman’s only weakness. (This sequence is also shown via flashback from the Superman/Wonder Woman TPB Vol. 5 Epilogue.) Batman then gives Superman a mystery “emergency Batman briefcase,” saying only to open it if he loses control and must be taken down. Later, the Atom reports secret details about the JL to Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor. She’s a mole planted on the JL by the Justice League of America!
–REFERENCE: In Batman Eternal #10. Batman repairs the windows and rewires his security systems, which were damaged when Jason broke into Wayne Manor recently. Maybe more correctly, Batman orders Alfred to do the repairs. After all, the Dark Knight is very busy!
TRINITY WAR[12][13]
————————–Justice League Vol. 2 #22
————————–flashback from Forever Evil: ARGUS #6
————————–Justice League of America Vol. 3 #6
————————–Justice League Dark #22
————————–The Phantom Stranger Vol. 4 #11
Superman and Wonder Woman incarcerate Despero at Bell Reve Prison. Afterward, Pandora confronts them and tries to get Superman to open her skull-faced box (the original box that released the Seven Deadly Sins upon the universe). Pandora’s logic is that Superman is so pure-of-heart that he will undo all the damage she did way back in 8000 BCE. However, Pandora is wrong, and Superman temporarily flips out when he touches the thing. Panicked, Pandora flees. Meanwhile, at the still smoldering wreckage of the Watchtower in Happy Harbor, the JL oversees the damage. Atom notices that the Superman chess piece from Despero’s giant chess board (which was in the trophy room) is missing. Cyborg then reports that Shazam (Billy Batson) has entered Kahndaqi airspace, which is not only an infraction that violates international law, but very bad news because the country is in a state of war too. Billy simply means to respectfully spread the ashes of his deceased rival Black Adam across the Kahndaqi desert, but nobody knows this. With fear in their hearts, the JL (with new member Zatanna, who has left the Justice League Dark) rushes to Kahndaq. Meanwhile, alerted to the situation, Amanda Waller sends the JLA (including new member Dr. Arthur Light, who has been blackmailed into joining the team) to Kahndaq to test their mettle against the JL. In Kahndaq, the Kahndaqi Army begins firing upon Shazam. As the fight escalates, the JL and JLA both arrive and confront each other. A flashback from Secret Origins Vol. 3 #10 Part 2 shows this tense moment in a single panel that depicts the JL charging at the JLA. An all-out war then begins, during which Steve Trevor questions whether or not Wonder Woman ever loved him and also during which Superman seemingly kills Dr. Light. Elsewhere, Plastique (Bette Sans Souci) blows up Madame Xanadu’s parlor and kidnaps her on behalf of the mysterious leader of the Secret Society, who reveals that he has manipulated the details behind Dr. Light’s death. (Madame Xanadu sees what she mistakenly believes is a glimpse of the future, featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman standing over a ravaged planet Earth. However, this is actually a flashback to Owlman, Ultraman, and Superwoman standing over an already ravaged Earth-3.) As the battle continues, Vibe blasts Flash, de-powering him. A devastated Superman halts the war and demands that they take him into custody for Light’s murder. Back at ARGUS HQ, the two Justice Leagues unite and try to figure out what the hell is going on. In a locked-down chamber, a powerless Superman, who believes that Pandora’s box has sapped him of his abilities, chats with Wonder Woman and Batman. Wonder Woman then interrogates Hephaestus about Pandora’s Box, but the Greco-Roman God of Blacksmiths reveals that the Box was made by an unknown force. Worried, Wonder Woman then asks help from the Justice League Dark, a unit that currently reports its activities to Steve Trevor and consists of John Constantine, Deadman, Frankenstein, and Black Orchid (Alba Garcia). Back at ARGUS HQ, Firestorm creates a bunch of different colored Kryptonite for Amanda Waller! Meanwhile, The Phantom Stranger (Judas Iscariot) appears to warn the heroes of impending doom. At the other end of the complex, The Question breaks the wan Superman out! The Question reveals that Dr. Psycho secretly had a hand in Dr. Light’s death, prompting all the heroes at ARGUS to turn their backs on Waller, fight off her soldiers, and then fly off with Superman to hunt Dr. Psycho. Meanwhile, at the House of Mystery (the sentient interdimensional HQ of the JLD), Steve Trevor and Batman lead a mix of JLers and JLAers to stop Wonder Woman and the JLD from going after Pandora’s box, which they think is a dangerous idea. Chaos erupts and two sides are formed: An anti-going-after-Pandora group (Trevor, Batman, Flash, Catwoman, Simon Baz, Vibe, Deadman, and Katana) versus a pro-going-after-Pandora group (Wonder Woman, the JLD, Zatanna, Hawkman, Aquaman, and Stargirl). Constantine and Shazam go off on their own. Elsewhere, the leader of the Secret Society tells a bound Xanadu that he has a mole on the JL. After some convincing by Batman, the Phantom Stranger takes Batman, Katana, and Deadman into what he calls “Heaven’s Basement,” a region of the afterlife closest to the Earth-plane where spirits roam freely and try to suck the souls of the living, in search of the recently deceased Dr. Light. After traversing “Heaven’s Basement,” the heroes wind up in the New 52 version of Heaven, a place that is a conceptual transitional realm, merely one of many progressive levels of human afterlife. Heaven exists as a multifaceted conglomeration of seemingly never-ending worlds that each are tailored to the beliefs of the deceased. After completing a stay in Heaven, the angels usher the spirits into the next level of afterlife. While in Heaven, Katana slips into a dreamlike “paradise” where she is reunited with her long dead husband. Likewise, Batman views himself as a ten-year-old spending Xmas with his mom and dad (i.e. an Xmas that never happened for the Waynes). Eventually, the heroes arrive at the “paradise” of Dr. Light, an entire universe made of pure light. Phantom Stranger awakens Light, but he can offer very little information. Phantom Stranger then proclaims that he will raise Light from the dead, which greatly excites Batman. However, before he can, Zauriel and a host of Heavenly Angels arrive. Zauriel banishes the mortals from Heaven and then executes Phantom Stranger for violating the laws of the afterlife!
TRINITY WAR Conclusion
————————–Justice League of America Vol. 3 #7
————————–Justice League Dark #23
————————–Justice League Vol. 2 #23
Picking up immediately from The Phantom Stranger Vol. 4 #11, the Superman-led hero group attacks Dr. Psycho and learns (via a Martian Manhunter mind-wipe and telepathic scan) that the villain was merely a decoy used by the Secret Society. The Atom then exposes Waller as having less-than-positive intentions, which prompts the heroes to go after her. Batman, Deadman, and Katana then reemerge in the House of Mystery. Phantom Stranger, in his last act before fading from existence entirely, tells them that only Madame Xanadu knows the truth about Pandora’s Box. Back at ARGUS HQ, Superman’s team confronts Waller, but Plastique detonates Dr. Light’s body in the morgue, which causes a huge explosion. Elsewhere, Wonder Woman’s group prevents Pandora from giving her Box to Lex Luthor. Instead, Wonder Woman touches it and gets possessed. Shazam returns and punches out the raging Wonder Woman to claim Pandora’s Box for himself. Upon holding the skull-shaped evil, Shazam’s magick explodes, causing him to turn into a Black Adam-like super-villain. The reverberation of magickal energy can be felt all across the multiverse—from Earth-2 to Gemworld and all points in-between. Likewise, Deadman feels the burst of intensity, which gives him the location of Madame Xanadu—in Greece. As revealed in Trinity of Sin: Pandora #3, the invisible Seven Deadly Sins (who are annoyingly linked to Pandora against her will) play the surrounding Box-feuding heroes like puppets, causing them to clash bloodthirstily for a piece of the gilt artifact. Ultimately, John Constantine returns, cooly collects the Box from the ravaging heroes, and teleports away with Zatanna. The Box zaps the duo to Madame Xanadu’s location in Athens, Greece just as Deadman’s group (which includes Batman) arrives as well. Waiting to greet them is the vile leader of the Secret Society, who watches as all the other heroes arrive as well. Unfortunately, all of the heroes are under the influence of dark magick and they all turn evil and start fighting each other. This epic war scene is also shown in a flash-forward from The New 52: Free Comic Book Day Special #1. Once the skull box is passed from Constantine to Batman to nobody, everyone gathers their senses and calms down. During the break in the action, Atom does yet another shocking turn, revealing that she works for the Secret Society. Superman isn’t sick because of Pandora’s Box. Superman is sick because Atom went into his head and put the tiny sliver of Kryptonite into his brain, at the same time activating the nerve that controls his heat vision, which she used to murder Dr. Light. Atom also causes Cyborg’s tech (in the form of the sentient computer virus known as the Grid, which has been growing inside of him for years) to reject him, literally spitting out his nearly lifeless mangled body. The Grid restructures the remains of the Cyborg suit into his very own fully-formed Terminator-esque body. The Secret Society leader then picks up Pandora’s Box and drops a bombshell. Pandora’s Box is a gateway to Earth-3 that can only be activated by someone from Earth-3! He turns on the Box and a deceased Sea King (Earth-3’s Aquaman) falls through a portal. A moment later, The Crime Syndicate passes through (with a mystery hooded prisoner in tow)! SPOILER ALERT: The hooded prisoner is Alexander Luthor. Earth-3 Alfred Pennyworth has done the bidding of his master, Owlman (Thomas Wayne Jr),[14] and created the Secret Society as a means of allowing his Crime Syndicate pals to enter onto the primary Earth. The helpless and attenuated heroes brace for the Crime Syndicate—Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, Power Ring, Deathstorm, Atomica (aka the turncoat Atom), and the Grid—to begin their assault. Things seem invidious. FYI, within Power Ring’s power ring resides a trapped piece of Volthoom’s soul, thus making the ring a sort of sentient Volthoom entity that bosses around its weak-willed human host.[15]
–FLASHBACK: From Forever Evil #3. Forever Evil has begun. Deathstorm literally rips Firestorm apart, exposing the matrix within him. All of the heroes are sucked into the Firestorm Matrix and trapped there, except for Batman, Catwoman, and the extremely critical and unconscious Cyborg. The remaining trio escapes into the sewers and slowly makes their way to a Justice League safe house.
–Forever Evil #2-6
The Crime Syndicate and Secret Society have taken over the Earth. Ultraman has pushed the moon into a permanent lunar eclipse, casting darkness across half the planet and causing widespread tidal waves and earthquakes. The world’s power supply is completely controlled by the Grid. The majority of the three Justice Leagues are trapped inside the Firestorm Matrix. The Crime Syndicate has reported to the world that they are dead. Nightwing has been badly beaten by the Crime Syndicate and his secret identity has been publicly exposed to the entire global populace. While things are in complete control of the Crime Syndicate, there is some dispute among their ranks as to exactly how they should rule. Johnny Quick and Atomica want pure anarchy. Ultraman wants organized military law. Owlman and Superwoman (who secretly is pregnant with Alexander Luthor’s child) want to execute their masked prisoner (Alexander Luthor), but Ultraman forbids it. With most of the Earth’s heroes defeated, the Teen Titans take on Johnny Quick and Atomica, but get their butts kicked hard. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor, thinking of himself as the last possible savior of the planet, suits up in his green-and-purple power-suit and prematurely activates a mindless but loyal clone of Superman (Clone B-Zero, who will come to be known as Bizarro)! At STAR Labs in Detroit, a bedraggled Batman and Catwoman (the only two that managed to escape the onslaught of the Crime Syndicate!) bring the nearly lifeless mutilated Cyborg to his father, Dr. Silas Stone, with hopes of fixing him up. Meanwhile, Luthor and Bizarro aren’t the only villains that don’t see eye to eye with the Syndicate/Society. Ultraman beats the stuffing out of a truculent resurrected Black Adam and leaves him unconscious at the bottom of the sea. Likewise, Power Ring traps the rebellious Rogues (Captain Cold, Trickster II, Heat Wave, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard) in Mirror Master’s Mirror Dimension, except for Captain Cold, who flees but loses his icy powers thanks to a DNA restructuring courtesy of Deathstorm. Black Manta pulls Black Adam out of the drink, saving his life, and joins with Captain Cold, Bizarro, and Luthor to form an anti-Syndicate “Injustice League.” Meanwhile, Batman blindfolds Catwoman and takes her into his inner sanctum, the Batcave! (Catwoman has been there before during “Gothtopia,” but she doesn’t remember.) The Bat and the Cat dip into the anti-Justice League contingency briefcases and take a Mother Box and a yellow power ring before departing for Wayne Enterprises, where Batman hopes to charge up both items. In Utah, Superwoman tells a quickly weakening Ultraman (in need of more Kryptonite to power up) that Owlman has joined forces with Nightwing (!) and plans on betraying the Syndicate. In Gotham, after a genuinely touching moment between Luthor and Bizarro, Luthor’s squad busts into Wayne Enterprises only to come vis-à-vis with Batman and Catwoman. Power Ring enters the scene (with backup support from Deathstroke, Giganta, Copperhead (Sameer Park), Shadowthief, and Blockbuster) and starts attacking. Unable to activate the Mother Box, Batman slips on the yellow power ring and becomes a Yellow Lantern Batman! Unfortunately, the ring doesn’t have any juice left in it, allowing Power Ring to snatch it away and destroy it. Things look bleak until Sinestro appears and kills Power Ring. Ring’s ring immediately shoots off into the sky in search of a new host. Meanwhile, Batman, Catwoman, and Luthor’s villain-squad defeat the Syndicate stooges. Deathstroke is convinced to switch sides and kills Copperhead, saving Batman’s life in the process. With no other choice, Batman and Catwoman reluctantly join forces with Luthor’s gang. Luthor allows Sinestro to “lead” the team. On the outskirts of Gotham, Ultraman, Superwoman, and Owlman rummage through the Batcave. Alerted by the Grid, they high-tail it to Maine where a red fissure splits the dark sky. The monster that ruined Earth-3 is coming for them. Sinestro and Luthor’s anti-Syndicate league travels to the downed JL Satellite in Happy Harbor, RI, which is fully-controlled by the evil Earth-3-lings. After infiltrating the satellite, Batman and company are shocked to find Dick Grayson trapped inside Grid’s “Murder Machine” with a bomb attached to his heart that can only be deactivated if he dies. Meanwhile, Black Manta stabs Alfred-3 to death and the Syndicate arrives to battle Sinestro’s team. Captain Cold freezes Johnny Quick’s leg and smashes it to pieces. In the Murder Machine room, the bomb-clock quickly counts down. Luthor, seeing no other option, seemingly kills Dick, shutting down the device. As Batman pummels Luthor in rage, Captain Cold releases the Syndicate’s hooded prisoner, who says his magic word and powers up with magic lightning. Alexander Luthor is free and deadly-dangerous, immediately killing Johnny Quick with a smile on his face.
–Forever Evil #7
Picking up directly from Forever Evil #6, Lex Luthor fights a pissed-off Batman and then restarts Dick’s heart with a shot of adrenaline. Allayed, Batman drops the Lightning Rod and hugs Dick. A reconstructed Cyborg, fixed-up and given a new sleek design by his dad, bursts in, chucking down a disassembled and deactivated Grid. Before splitting-up, Lex and Batman shake hands, but Batman is so unnerved by Dick’s near death that Lex is able to successfully steal his Kryptonite ring. Meanwhile, Alexander Luthor and Superwoman confront Ultraman and Deathstorm. Superwoman reveals that Alexander is the father of her unborn child. Alexander and Superwoman fight Ultraman and Deathstorm, which results in the death of Deathstorm. Inside the wreckage of the Watchtower, Cyborg catches Batman, Catwoman, and Nightwing up to speed. Owlman appears for just a moment before disappearing, saying that he just wants to be partners with any version of Dick Grayson again. Cyborg then explains that someone with a close personal link to Wonder Woman, using the Lasso of Truth (which Cyborg has retrieved from Steve Trevor), can save Firestorm and release the trapped heroes from within him. Batman is able to make the plan work, revealing a possible secret history between he and Wonder Woman that makes Catwoman a bit jealous. All of the heroes are freed, except for Vibe and Element Woman, who both mysteriously vanish without a trace. Outside, Alexander kills Bizarro, which makes Lex very sad. Sinestro then stabs Alexander in the chest with the Lightning Rod. As Alexander clutches onto his counterpart in an effort to crush him to death, Lex realizes that he has the same voice as his attacker and calls down the magick lightning of “Mazahs.” Alexander is struck and morphs back into human form, instantly dying of the Lightning Rod wound in his chest. Ultraman then attacks Lex, but Sinestro and Black Adam move the moon, ending the solar eclipse. Sunlight washes over Ultraman, causing him to instantaneously shrivel into a weakling with no powers. Atomica crawls out of some rubble only to get squashed to death by the seg of Lex’s boot. Baller Lex continues his streak of bad-assery by performing life-saving brain surgery on Superman.
—[16]
–Nightwing Vol. 3 #30 Part 1
This item takes place roughly one month before Nightwing Vol. 3 #30 Part 2. It also must go after the main action of Forever Evil #7 but prior to Forever Evil #7‘s epilogues. Batman visits a shaken Leslie Thompkins, who tells him that, around two months ago, she was nearly killed by the German terrorist group known as The Fist of Cain. Luckily, she was saved by Spyral—specifically agent Helena Bertinelli—only to be drugged and interrogated about Batman, revealing many of his secrets. (Born into the notorious Bertinelli crime family, Helena joined Spyral after faking her own death years ago. Notably, Earth-2’s Helena Wayne briefly used “Helena Bertinelli” as an alias following the real Helena Bertinelli’s “death.”) Batman decides it’s high time to check in on Spyral. He finds out that Spyral, now seemingly under new leadership (i.e. not Kathy Kane), is targeting superheroes, trying to find out their secret IDs. But Batman, unsure of what his next step should be, puts his plan to strike against Spyral on hold. (HUGE SPOILER: As revealed in Grayson #8, Kathy Kane has secretly stepped back as top agent of Spyral in order to use new fake top agent, super-villain Mr. Minos, to lure Dick into the fold. Kathy knows that her absence and the appearance of Minos, who actually believes himself to be the new number one at Spyral, will force Batman to send Dick undercover. As revealed in Grayson #19, unknown to all parties involved, Max Lord is actually responsible for the creation and implanting of Minos as a pawn/mole in order to give Checkmate secret power over Spyral and to prevent the eventual return of Otto Netz. Also note that the Rebirth Era further fleshes-out Minos’ character, revealing him as the Cadmus-created AI called Hyperion 1.0, whose consciousness floats freely between hologram bodies.)
–Forever Evil #7 Epilogue Part 1
A day after Forever Evil, hailed as heroes, Lex, Black Manta, Sinestro, Captain Cold, Black Adam, and Catwoman are given full pardons for all their previous crimes. Ultraman and Superwoman are imprisoned. Later that night, Batman pleads with Catwoman to make the most of her new lease on life. But realizing that a relationship with Batman is clearly not a part of that new life, Catwoman angrily swings off into the Gotham night, future uncertain. Back in the Batcave, Batman discusses the fact that Dick’s identity is no longer secret. The Dark Knight tells Dick that he has a new mission for him, giving him a file folder containing some preliminary information. However, the full details of this new mission won’t be revealed to Dick just yet. All he Dick is told is that he will remain “dead” to the world (including the members of the Bat-Family) until further notice. The file likely contains information regarding how and where to lay low until he is contacted again.
–Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs. Bane #1[17]
Forever Evil is over. But trouble is still afoot. During the crisis, Bane, allied with the Court of Owls, was able to defeat all of Arkham Asylum’s inmates and all of Blackgate’s inmates to take total dictatorial control of Gotham. Batman briefly reunites with Alfred before taking down some Talons with a freeze gun and delivering Scarecrow back to the GCPD. Batman then easily freezes William Cobb and beats the tar out of Bane, ending his reign. Bruce immediately begins funding the reconstruction of Gotham and puts a ton of financial backing into upgrading security at Arkham, where Bane is sent in chains.
–REFERENCE: In Nightwing Vol. 3 #30 Part 2. Batman, with plans for Dick to infiltrate Spyral, tells the rest of the Bat-Family that Dick was killed by the Crime Syndicate.
–FLASHBACK: From Secret Origins Vol. 3 #8 Part 1—and referenced in Nightwing Vol. 3 #30 Part 2 and Grayson #2. The Bat-Family mourns Dick’s “passing.” A small private funeral is held with Bruce, Alfred, and Babs.
–Forever Evil #7 Epilogue Part 2
A day after Dick’s fake funeral, Wonder Woman interrogates the jailed Superwoman, who gloats that her baby will one day doom the world. Superwoman even tells Wonder Woman that she feels the baby kick inside of her belly, but this has gotta be bullshit since Superwoman would only be like two weeks pregnant at this point. “Good guy” Lex meets with and befriends graduate school super-genius and inventor Ted Kord, owner of Kord Industries. Lex then attempts to re-clone a new Bizarro, but his science team tells him it will take five years. Later, Lex puts the obvious two-and-two together, connecting Dick to Bruce, and realizes that Bruce is Batman. In the Batcave, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman discuss all that has happened. Superman says that the vile monster that nearly breached into the universe during the crisis (the one that destroyed Earth-3) surely must be Darkseid. But he’s wrong, it’s actually someone who hates Darkseid and wants to go to war with him: Mobius aka The Anti-Monitor! (Yes, this is the Anti-Monitor from the original Crisis on Infinite Earths! And allied with the Anti-Monitor stands the half Amazonian daughter of Darkseid, Grail.)
–FLASHBACK: From Justice League Vol. 2 #30-32. A few days have passed since the end of Forever Evil #7 Epilogue Part 2. The JL, JLA, and JLD are publicly blamed for the disaster that was Forever Evil. (The JLD is kaput and the JLA has disbanded with Stargirl and Martian Manhunter planning on starting a new team based in Canada.) Meanwhile, Lex Luthor rides the media whirlwind of positive PR, having been Presidentially pardoned and been declared a superhero on the front pages of newspapers across the globe. Elsewhere, the new Doom Patrol—Professor Niles Caulder, Robotman (Cliff Steele), Negative Man (Larry Trainor and a symbiote Keeg Bovo), Elasti-Girl (Rita Starr), and Element Woman—angrily watches the news and vows to punish the JL for Forever Evil. In Gotham, Lucius Fox and the Wayne Enterprises board of directors try in vain to convince Bruce to work with reformed Luthor. Bruce then calls Clark and they chat about how “good guy Lex” is a very bad thing. The JL begins searching for Luthor, but they can’t find him. Wonder Woman and Flash capture and interrogate Metallo, who reveals that there are still over a dozen active members of the Secret Society (now finally officially calling itself the “Secret Society of Super-Villains”). The JLers meet in the Batcave where they receive and electronic invitation from Luthor to board a satellite in Earth’s orbit. After teleporting to the station, the JL meets with Luthor and Shazam. Luthor explains that he (and Shazam) want to join the JL to help protect the world from whatever destroyed Earth-3 and also to save the JL’s public image. Wonder Woman lassos Luthor, who divulges truthfully that he wants to join the JL to save the planet and also because he is an egomaniac. An angry Superman denies Luthor’s application. Luthor gives the team his “New Watchtower” as a gift anyway and departs, saying to call him when they change their minds. In Portland, OR, the deceased Power Ring’s power ring has finally found someone worthy to be its next host: clinically agoraphobic and doomsday phobia-stricken Jessica Cruz. As her sister Sara Cruz pounds on her door, the ring hovers above a teary-eyed Jessica, declaring that she has been chosen to “annihilate the Earth.” Jessica tries to fight-off the ring, but it turns her into the brand new Power Ring. In Gotham, Luthor visits Wayne Manor and asks Alfred for an audience with Batman! Lex sits with Bruce and accuses him of being Batman, which Bruce casually denies. Lex then points a gun at Bruce, prompting Alfred to point a gun at Lex. A scuffle ensues and Lex blows-up the secret entrance to the Batcave using an exploding bullet. With his secret exposed, Lex tries to blackmail Bruce into convincing his superhero partners to let him onto the Justice League. Bruce ejects Luthor from his home. Meanwhile, Cyborg and Shazam alert the JL to the power ring situation in Portland. In Portland, Power Ring rages out of control and is confronted by the new Doom Patrol. Jessica, a puppet of the evil ring, lashes-out at the Doom Patrol. Chief Caulder shows that he is more interested in getting the ring than helping nearby victims of the violence. Luckily, the JL shows up and saves a bunch of people. Cyborg grabs ahold of Jessica, which allows him to see that Earth-3 Volthoom resides within the power ring. The Volthoom entity tells Cyborg that his goal is to bring his master (the Anti-Monitor) to Earth-0 to retrieve Superwoman’s baby once it is born. Just as Caulder is about to get the ring off of Jessica’s finger, Luthor shows up, having just made Captain Cold LexCorp’s new Head of Security, and puts Caulder in an arm-bar wrestling hold.
–FLASHBACK: From Justice League Vol. 2 #33-34. Continuing where Justice League Vol. 2 #33 left off, Lex Luthor and Niles Caulder continue fighting while the Doom Patrol and Justice League try to keep the raging Power Ring under control. A spike of Jessica Cruz’s green energy is enough to alert the Anti-Monitor (currently in parts unknown) to the location of the ring on the primary DCU Earth. Both Luthor and Caulder have radical and violent ways of besting Power Ring, but Batman shuffles them both aside in favor of a more humane approach. Knowing that the Earth-3 energy ring is based on fear, Batman talks down Jessica Cruz with a empathetic speech of empowerment. After hugging Jessica, Batman takes the ring onto his own finger and easily suppresses the evil part of Volthoom’s soul trapped within. Batman then scolds Luthor for interfering. The heroes learn that the Doom Patrol is ARGUS’s new counter-strike team, filling the role left vacant by the JLA. Later, Batman convenes with Superman and Wonder Woman and asks for their permission to invite Luthor onto the JL in a “keep your enemies closer” attempt to keep tabs on him. Luthor is sworn-in as the newest Justice Leaguer. The next day, at LexCorp Tower, Captain Cold wakes up in his lavish room and prepares for the day ahead. Mirror Master appears in his mirror and asks Captain Cold what his deal is. Captain Cold replies by saying that working for Luthor is all part of a big long con. Elsewhere in Metropolis, Superman and Lex Luthor reluctantly team-up to defeat Gorilla Grodd. Concurrently, in Detroit, Shazam hangs out with Cyborg, who gets a tune-up courtesy of dad, Dr. Silas Stone. Aboard the Watchtower, Flash teaches a nervous Jessica Cruz to control her power ring (which is stuck on her finger) and to suppress the evil piece of Volthoom’s soul within. Later, Lex Luthor accompanies Wonder Woman on a JL/LexCorp sponsored food hand-out in an unnamed Swahili-speaking African country. Later still, Bruce initiates a plan to arrest Luthor, which starts off with Bruce seemingly giving-in to Luthor’s blackmail regarding his secret ID—Bruce agrees to semi-merge the assets of WayneTech and LexCorp into a partnership. After the paperwork is signed, Bruce chats with Luthor in private, telling him to play straight or go down hard. After Luthor leaves, Bruce tells the JL that everything is going according to his plan. He plans on exposing Lex as a criminal and arresting him after their partnership announcement, which is scheduled to occur the very next night. An hour later, Luthor delivers a televised speech announcing his induction into the JL. That night, Luthor secretly meets with Owlman, who offers his allegiance to Luthor in exchange for Superwoman’s baby once it is born.
–Justice League Vol. 2 #30
Four days have passed since the conclusion of Forever Evil #7 Epilogue Part 2. Luthor adds Captain Cold and Shazam onto the Justice League line-up. The new JL then takes down the remnants of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, including Dr. Psycho, Dr. Alchemy, Livewire, Clayface, Tattooed Man, and Scavenger.
–REFERENCE: In Justice League Vol. 2 #35. On the afternoon of the same day as busting the rest of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, Bruce does extensive research into Lex Luthor’s past looking for any information that might be psychologically pertinent to staying one step ahead of the tricky new Justice Leaguer. Bruce finds that Lex long ago left his hometown of Smallville after his sister Lena Luthor became paralyzed and he was unable to cure her.
–Justice League Vol. 2 #35-37 (“THE AMAZO VIRUS”)
Still on the afternoon of the same day as busting the rest of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, the new version of the Justice League adds Power Ring to the line-up and then spends part of the rest of the day helping out three emergencies across the globe. Batman, Aquaman, and Lex Luthor rescue folks from a capsized ferry in Indonesia. That afternoon, Lex and Bruce make a public announcement unveiling the details of the LexCorp/Wayne Tech partnership. With all of the Justice Leaguers standing-by undercover just outside of LexCorp HQ, Bruce is escorted by Lex into the building’s top secret labs. Despite finding various anti-Superman weapons and cloning vats, Bruce is stymied and cannot find anything illegal. Lex then introduces Bruce to his paraplegic sister Lena Luthor. All of a sudden, the nuclear metahuman assassin Neutron (Nathaniel Tryon) attacks the LexCorp labs and tries to execute Lex (on behalf of mystery boss). The Justice League prevents the assassination, but during the assault a canister of sentient Amazo Virus is accidentally released. Lex saves Lena and Bruce and an immediate government evacuation and quarantine is started. The JL helps with the evacuation. Within twenty-four hours, the virus has spread all over the United States, causing those infected to manifest random metahuman powers before dying. The entire JL is infected and comatose except for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, and Captain Cold. Superman and Batman, wearing the latest upgrade of the Haz-Bat Suit, take to the streets to fight new metahumans and save their lives at the same time. With most of the infected quarantined at an ARGUS base camp, Lex explains to Steve Trevor that he created the Amazo Virus using an enzyme taken from Amazo’s body in order to potentially suppress powers in metahumans. Lex explains further that the only reason the Amazo Virus is acting in its current form is because the first person to get infected must have mutated it and spread it. So, just like in literally every other DC Comics virus story, it isn’t long before Batman and Superman come face-to-face with this person: Lexcorp scientist Dr. Armen Ikarus, who has Amazo’s power to copy others’ powers. (The scene of Batman and Superman confronting Ikarus for the first time is also shown via flashback from Super Sons #3.) Wonder Woman soon joins Batman and Superman to fight the monstrous Ikarus. Batman’s mask is shattered, exposing him to the virus. Meanwhile, Lex gets grief from both his sister and Captain Cold for having created the disease in the first place. Concurrently, a masked assassin named Bullet explodes into LexCorp and knocks-out Lex.
–Justice League Vol. 2 #38-39 (“THE AMAZO VIRUS” Conclusion)
This item picks up directly from Justice League Vol. 2 #37. Batman, infected with the Amazo Virus, obtains the power to shoot sound waves out of his mouth à la Black Canary. Using this new power, the Caped Crusader takes down Armen Ikarus. Back at LexCorp, Captain Cold rescues Lex Luthor and takes down Bullet. A pissed-off Luthor wrenches Neutron out of his coma and demands to know who wants him dead. Superman, Wonder Woman, and a sick Batman arrive with Ikarus in tow. When Ikarus’ blood proves to be nugatory, Lex demands some of Superman’s blood, revealing that he infected him with the virus four years ago in a failed attempt to remove his powers. Lex also demands complete impunity from involvement with crimes related to the outbreak. Batman succumbs to the virus, becoming a mindless zombie and blowing up the room with his sound power. Neutron, Ikarus, and the infected Justice Leaguers rise up as evil warriors all connected by a shared hive-mind. While Captain Cold and Wonder Woman fight the virus-controlled folks, Superman and Lex create an anti-virus vaccine out of Superman’s blood. The vaccine is distributed over the course of the next twenty-four hours. The virus goes away and everyone is cured, except for 3% of the infected, who keep their powers. There are dozens of new metahumans on Earth now, which is of distinct interest to corrupt businessman Amos Fortune, who is shown plotting in his office. The Amazo Virus stays within the incarcerated Ikarus, who becomes the new Amazo. A dying Neutron tells his doctors that he wants to cut a deal with Lex. Neutron will reveal his mystery boss in exchange for something special. Meanwhile, on the JL Satellite, Flash invites Hal Jordan to train Power Ring!
–Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #26-29
Late December. When an undocumented immigrant forced into hard labor at a Christmas sweatshop is stabbed and dumped on the street to die, Batman is on the case. It’s not long before Batman rescues a sick child from the sweatshop and then goes after the skull mask-wearing thugs running it. Unfortunately Batman is outnumbered six to one against dudes with net guns. The Caped Crusader is wrapped up, caged, and taken to the thugs’ boss: Penguin. Naturally, Batman escapes and systematically takes down every single skull gang member, freeing the enslaved workers in the process. Batman then busts Penguin and sends him to jail! Of course, Penguin’s army of attorneys get him off scot-free right away. The next day, Bruce starts a special Wayne Enterprises program that sponsors all the sweatshop workers for US citizenship. Later that night, Batman peeks in on two of the gals he rescued and makes sure they are okay. The next day, when a new string of man-bat murders plague Gotham, Batman suspects and shakes-down Kirk Langstrom, who has just been released from Arkham.[18] After a blood analysis from one of the crime scenes, Batman is surprised to discover that the culprit is actually Langstrom’s evil billionaire corporate tycoon father, Abraham Langstrom. Abraham was once Thomas Wayne’s biggest business rival back in the day. After receiving a special antidote serum from Lucius Fox, Bruce suits up and goes after Abraham. Batman battles the new man-bat, which is larger and stronger than any he’s faced before (including Bat-Queen, who curiously is never mentioned in this story). Batman gets beaten up and stitched-up and then visits Kirk to gets his veins filled up with Anti-Man-Bat Serum. Then, disguised as a homeless man, Batman confronts the beast again and this time takes an Abraham man-bat bite to the chest, losing a ton of blood but sending enough Anti-Serum into the man-bat to revert him back to human so the cops can bust him. Later in court, Abraham’s fancy lawyers get him off scot-free with a temporary insanity plea and no proof that he injected himself. Afterward, life goes on as usual for Abraham, but Batman will be watching.
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- [1]PURPLEGLOVEZ (TIPTUP JR 94): In Batman Vol. 2 #19, when Batman is flipping through Brian Wade’s travel logs, he appears to be putting the September 2012 log in the back of the stack and the next one in the stack is for October 2012. There are three separate logs under that, presumably for November, December, and January. This is possible evidence that Snyder and editors were originally attempting to date this story at February 2013.
COLLIN COLSHER: This may be true, but, like most specific date references, we must ignore them in order for everything else to fit smoothly. Simple as that.↩
- [2]COLLIN COLSHER: Bruce Wayne’s narration in Batman Vol. 2 #19 states explicitly that Clayface is now mutated, able to replicate complete DNA maps. Yet, the Clayface origin story told by Basil Karlo himself in Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #24 contradicts this by stating outright that Clayface has always had this ability. However, this contradiction should be ignored since the canonicity of any flashback in Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #24 is dubious at best. In fact, most of what Clayface says about his origin is bunk, not just in regard to his powers, but also in regard to his sob story about being a failed wannabe C-list actor. Basil Karlo, in the New 52, was a famous and well-respected actor, appearing in well-received and high-profile films. I’m not sure if these are errors-due-to-later-retcons, if Karlo is lying, or if Karlo has just lost his damn mind. In any case, again, the flashbacks from Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #24 are highly suspect and should not be taken as canon.↩
- [3]COLLIN COLSHER: At this point, Batman & Robin Vol. 2 becomes Batman and…, featuring Batman teaming-up with different characters each issue. The numbering for Batman & Robin Vol. 2 continues on from issue #18.↩
- [4]COLLIN COLSHER: A note about Batman: Black and White Vol. 4 #1-6, released November 2013 through April 2014. The previous Modern Age Batman: Black and White stories were a mixed bag of in-continuity and out-of-continuity material. The Batman: Black and White stories released in the New 52 era are all amazing but unfortunately all non-canon.↩
- [5]NICK SMILES: Batman & Robin Vol. 2 Annual #2 goes immediately prior to Batman &… #23 (“Batman & Nightwing”). Batman &… #23 has Dick Grayson in the Batcave with no mention of how he arrived there—we can speculate that Dick arrives in Batman & Robin Vol. 2 Annual #2 and stays for a few days or a week continuing into Batman and… #23. This seems to fit better with Nightwing’s own comic where the events of Batman & Robin Vol. 2 Annual #2 and Batman and… #23 could occur after Nightwing Vol. 3 #24. Nightwing Vol. 3 Annual #1 also occurs during this trip to Gotham. At the end of Nightwing Vol. 3 Annual #1 we see Dick heading back to Chicago. This allows for only one trip to Gotham in which all of these issues takes place and jibes well with the Nightwing Vol. 3 series.↩
- [6]COLLIN COLSHER: Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #24 immediately precedes Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #25, but Batman does not make an appearance, hence the reason it does not appear on our chronology.↩
- [7]COLLIN COLSHER: Lex Luthor is featured in the first Superman Unchained arc. He’s still in prison, which places this arc before Forever Evil. However, the cicatrixes on his face are not shown, which has to simply be an artist mistake.↩
- [8]COLLIN COLSHER: In Forever Evil: ARGUS #5, Lion-Mane mentions that ARGUS shut down his diamond mine prior to this, meaning that Lion-Mane was involved with illegal diamond mining well before his current cooperation with the Marabunta diamond mine.↩
- [9]COLLIN COLSHER: JayMudd (of Canonology.net) acknowledges the oddness of Flash seemingly referencing the recency of “Throne of Atlantis” even though it happened eight long months ago. However, JayMudd takes a pretty intense chronology-building leap to explain this, breaking Justice League Vol. 2 #18 in half, having the first part (where the team discusses a potential recruitment drive and where Flash mentions “Throne of Atlantis”) occur many months ago, closer to “Throne of Atlantis.” He keeps the second half of Justice League Vol. 2 #18, which features the recruitment drive (and must go close to about a week prior to Justice League Vol. 2 #19-20), right here. I haven’t taken that route, but it certainly is a fix!↩
- [10]COLLIN COLSHER: Couldn’t ignore it, eh? Here’s the scoop on why Superboy seemingly can’t be dead yet but somehow still is indeed already dead (in the form of a timeline showing exactly how and why and when Kon-El dies and is resurrected). First of all, the “Krypton Returns” crossover arc (starting with Action Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2) features Superman, Supergirl, and Superboy (Kon-El), each time-displaced by the cosmic-powered “Oracle of the Timeless” and brought to an era prior to the explosion of Krypton. Action Comics Vol. 2 Annual #2 occurs immediately after Superman #24, Supergirl #24, and Teen Titans Annual #2. HOWEVER, Superman #24 and Supergirl #24 are definitively pre-Forever Evil stories (happening both very recently and simultaneously on our timeline) whereas Teen Titans Annual #2 takes place shortly after Forever Evil #2! In other words, the Superman and Supergirl that appear in “Krypton Returns” have yet to experience Forever Evil whereas the Superboy that appears in “Krypton Returns” has already experienced Forever Evil!!! HELLO CONTRADICTIONS, right?
The only way this shit can go down properly in a chronal sense is if the Oracle of the Timeless collects the trio from different points on our timeline, allowing them to complete the “Krypton Returns” adventure in the past before bringing them back to where they are supposed to be (except for Superboy, of course, because he dies). Confusing, yes, but it actually works that way.
Basically, here’s what goes down from Kon-El’s perspective. In Forever Evil #2, Johnny Quick sends the Teen Titans into the future of an alternate universe. In this alternate universe’s future, Kon-El eventually fights Jon Lane Kent (in Teen Titans Annual #2). Kon-El gets teleported away from his fight against Jon by the Oracle, who sends him back in time to old Krypton, as seen in the “Krypton Returns” crossover. (Oracle has also sent Superman and Supergirl back to old Krypton as well, although he sent them back from a starting point from BEFORE Forever Evil rather than AFTER it as he strangely did with Kon-El.) Meanwhile in post-Forever Evil time, as also seen in Teen Titans Annual #2, the Teen Titans begin their journey home, taking Jon back with them, mistakenly believing him to be Kon-El. At the end of “Krypton Returns” (in the time of old Krypton), Kon-El is killed. Superman and Supergirl mourn his passing and return to their correct time, which is just prior to Batman/Superman Annual #1 aka here and now. Presumably, had Kon-El survived, the Oracle would have sent him back to his correct present, which would have been right after Forever Evil. And that’s it, kids! Oh, what happens next, you ask? Eventually Kon-El is reincarnated as the cosmic Herald of the Oracle. This won’t last long and Kon-El will return as Superboy to quickly reclaim his spot with the Titans, replacing the impostor Jon. But this ain’t no Superboy Chronology. Back to Batman!↩
- [11]COLLIN COLSHER: Three months ago, Jason Todd had a huge falling out with Batman (in Batman and… #20) and then temporarily lost his memories for a bit (from Red Hood & The Outlaws #19-26) and then returned to help Batman on Warworld (from Batman/Superman Annual #1). This marks Jason’s first return to the Batcave since all that shit went down. Batman Eternal #10, which shows Jason’s next chronological visit to Wayne Manor, tells us that he previously broke into Wayne Manor on his last visit, damaging windows and the security system in order to do so. Therefore, Jason’s infiltration spoken of in Batman Eternal #10 precedes and is attached to his appearance in the Batcave here. Of course, Jason’s break-in was probably unnecessary since he and Bruce have been on decent terms since Batman/Superman Annual #1. Jason’s break-in probably also accidentally aids Alfred-3 in entering the Batcave as well (not that Alfred-3 really needs help in that area either).↩
- [12]COLLIN COLSHER / BATFAN REBORN: “Trinity War” starts now and will lead directly into Forever Evil and the immediate Batman vs. Bane conclusion. The entire “Trinity War”/Forever Evil saga lasts about ten days, with Forever Evil taking up about a week of that time. Nearly every related mini-series and tie-in seems redolent of this time-frame. However, three specific titles curiously (and incorrectly) state that Forever Evil lasts for “weeks.” The most significant of these is Phantom Stranger #15, which has Ultraman talking about “these past weeks.” This is re-iterated by Zatanna in Justice League Dark #29 with her “after weeks of being held prisoner” comment. And finally, Batman vs. Bane makes reference to “weeks” as well, which would mean that the Dark Knight would have spent weeks hanging out with Catwoman, Lex Luthor, and crew during Forever Evil. That’s simply not possible and also runs athwart of a ton of other books, including Forever Evil itself. Last but not least, “Trinity War” and Forever Evil very clearly take place in 2013, as made clear with references in Batman/Superman, Justice League Vol. 2, Nightwing Vol. 3, “Hunt for Robin/Robin Rises,” and “Trinity War” itself. An editorial note in Trinity of Sin: Pandora #1, which functions as a lead-in to “Trinity War” (which is itself a direct precursor to Forever Evil), says the story occurs in 2013. Notably, Nightwing Vol. 3 #29, which leads directly into Forever Evil, places “Trinity War” and Forever Evil specifically in November 2013. I have the start of Forever Evil on the cusp of late November and early December.↩
- [13]COLLIN COLSHER: Forever Evil: ARGUS #1 contains a flashback showing a recently inaugurated Barack Obama creating the ARGUS group. The appearance of a recently inaugurated Obama means the flashback scene takes place in 2009. In the same scene, Obama says specifically that the Justice League debuted one year prior, which correctly points to the 2008 JL debut year. This is all fine and dandy. However, Forever Evil: ARGUS #1 also has an editorial tag that puts Obama’s ARGUS formation scene at “five years ago,” which is incorrect. This is yet another example of overuse/misuse of the “five years ago” tag. 2009, obviously, is four years prior, not five.↩
- [14]COLLIN COLSHER: The origin of Earth-3’s Owlman, as told in Justice League Vol. 2 #26. Around 1993, Gotham’s richest and most decadent family, the Waynes, were leaving a Zorro movie when elder son Thomas Wayne Jr, with help from his trusted confidant Alfred Pennyworth, enacted a horrific plan. Thomas murdered his mother, father, and brother Bruce. In a few years, Thomas became Owlman, joined the Crime Syndicate, and ruled Gotham with and iron fist and an army of mobsters. Owlman would go on to do business with the criminal circus family, the Graysons, becoming quite fond of Richard Grayson. Seeing him as the brother he never had, Owlman secretly organized the murder of his parents and took in the wayward Richard, who became his sidekick. Eventually, Richard found out that Owlman was responsible for the murder of his family and ended his relationship with the villain.↩
- [15]COLLIN COLSHER: Now that “Trinity War” is over, Forever Evil will now immediately begin. Notably, the Batman-less Nightwing Vol. 3 #26-29 immediately precedes the Batman-less Forever Evil #1, meaning the former has overlapped entirely with “Trinity War.” As stated above, Nightwing Vol. 3 #29 (with its late November/early December setting) is also a direct lead-in to Forever Evil #1.↩
- [16]COLLIN COLSHER: There is a flashback splash page in Matt Kindt’s Justice League of America Vol. 3 #14 that depicts an image that never happened during Forever Evil. It shows a ton of heroes and villains engaged in battle, but it is riddled with continuity impossibilities. This scene is probably meant to represent the horrible digital world that ensnared Stargirl and the rest of the heroes stuck inside Firestorm’s matrix during the crisis. If not, then we must simply ignore this splash or regard it as Stargirl’s imagination of what Forever Evil must have looked like based upon Steve Trevor’s estimated version of events.↩
- [17]BATFAN REBORN: Batman vs. Bane occurs before Dick’s fake funeral because it seems to be the first time Alfred sees Batman since “Trinity War.”↩
- [18]COLLIN COLSHER: Why would a convicted murderer and Man-Bat Serum user like Kirk Langstrom get released from Arkham? Well, as we learn in the pages of Red Hood & The Outlaws #35, Kirk is granted a legal release by SHADE in order to become their personal Head of Security in man-bat form.↩
Thanks, Singh. Bruce Wayne appears in the story (alongside business partner Lex Luthor, no less). It’s quite interesting how the Green Arrow book is really mirroring the Green Arrow TV show these days. A bold move on DC’s part and a smart one to capitalize on the strength and popularity of the CW program.
One thing I’m noticing whenever a DC writer decides to use something Supernatural involving Hell, it’s always a new king of Hell. With Greg Pak’s writing, he’s chosen Lord Satanus, even though Lucifer has been established to exist within I… Vampire as the leader of Hell and Multiversity establishes Azazel and Trigon at the top of the food chain. I don’t know if it’s an editorial mess or if Pak just wanted to choose a character that had history with Superman, but I’m just wondering what your opinions are on this whole Hell fiasco because as of now I’m just choosing to believe that Lucifer and Etrigan are locked up in Lucifer’s Cage with limited access outside of Hell and that while Satanus is king, he’s easily manipulated (as shown by Kaiyo tricking him).
Hmmm. The Modern Age always had that on lock-down. I hadn’t thought about it, but let’s take a closer look.
First, let’s address Trigon. Even in the Modern Age, he was a confusing character in regard to Hell. He was always the king of a collection of nether-realms, but those realms were seemingly never actually Hell, but instead extradimensional nether-realms. Even information-rich Reign in Hell implied that Trigon was an anomaly. So, I think that it is safe to assume that Trigon is still the master of some alternate Hellish dimension in the New 52. (In Teen Titans, as far as I know, Trigon’s realm is never referred to as Hell, but as the “Under-Realms”—a curious distinction.)
Lucifer, in the New 52, was clearly the Dominus of Hell since the beginning of time until his appearances in I…Vampire.
Since Satanus is clearly the most current ruler of Hell, we can assume that he took power from Lucifer quite recently. We can imagine a bored Lucifer abdicating the throne similarly to how he did in the Modern Age—unless he got locked up after a coup like you suggested.
Multiversity lists Azazel and Trigon as high-ranking demons in Hell, but does it actually list them as KINGS somewhere?? I think that wherever Trigon currently rules (or wherever he came from) might still be up for debate, but he clearly has some current attachment (or currently lives in) the New 52’s Hell. Azazel might just be a top-tier demon, but not the big enchilada. Same goes for Etrigan.
Yeah, I feel you’re right about Azazel just being top tier, but if Hell gets visited (or was it already visited in Multiversity, I don’t think it was) in Multiversity I have a feeling that Trigon won’t be addressed. Another theory I have is the Supernatural one, where it’s kind of like in the show Supernatural and Lucifer and all of his close servants are locked up in Lucifer’s Cage and through stuff like House of Mystery, Lucifer can interact with the outside. Satanus is the king of Hell but not all of the places deep in the pit, like Lucifer’s Cage, are accessible to him. Guys like Azazel and Trigon are generals and that explains their position, but hopefully Morrison clears this up.
We’ll see what happens. I’ve never seen Supernatural, nor have I read the DC Comics adaptation (which surely is out-of-continuity, right?), so I can’t really comment on the “Lucifer’s Cage” concept. However, like always, if things don’t add up, we can always make assumptions/educated guesses.
Hey Collin, guess who? 🙂 You are gonna begin to hate me soon, I can feel it!
I’ve noticed some problems which, of course, are linked to Batgirl and the Birds of Prey. I swear to you, Barbara Gordon is the most convoluted, out-of-continuity, chronologically bad written character in The New 52! I am banging my head over fitting her stories within the rest of the bat-family for days.
Onto the point, you’ve noted your reasons for placing Batwoman “This Blood is Thick” story where you’ve placed it. Now get this, Talon #8-9 and Birds of Prey #21 is a little crossover called “Claws of the Court”, where Katana and Starling already left the Birds. Strix is essential to the story, and the arc of Starling’s betrayal happens in BoP #18-20, which is right before this crossover. Katana stayed in Japan way before in BoP #15! So either Batwoman needs to go A LOT before (which I doubt), or Katana’s and Starling’s appearance should be disregarded entirely. Moreover, there is an editor note in BoP #16-17 (with Strix, after Japan) that these issues happen after Batgirl Annual 1, in which we meet Strix again for the first time after the Night of the Owls. Also, in Batgirl Annual 1 Babs teases Catwoman for her making out with Green Arrow, which if I remember correctly happens in JLA… If we would even consider this as true, we’d need to move Catwoman and JLA a lot…
About the Batgirl’s insignia. In every other story, except for Simone’s “Wanted” arc, she has her insignia intact. Even in the Birds of Prey. So it could be an artist’s mistake or we need to assume that the whole Simone’s arc goes in between panels in BoP #22, where she storms out and gets back in “days” as the editors state there. Of course, BoP #22-27 is a 100% continuous story in South America where they fight Basillisk, and #27 ends as a prelude to Gothtopia… Which is honestly ridiculous… And I don’t even want to (but I need to) mention that Batgirl #17-19 happens in span of 2 days, and James Jr remarks at the start of #17 that Babs is recovering from the wounds Joker inflicted her… Than in #18 Dick calls her and tells her about Damian’s death…
I hope I am not “bothering” you too much, but these things made me want to crash my keyboard… What do you think?
Hi Aleksandar! As I’ve mentioned on the site, Barbara Gordon’s New 52 continuity is seriously FUCKED UP. It cannot be reconciled. I think it may be the worst continuity in the history of DC Comics—and that is really saying something. I’m going to consider everything you’ve said above and try to figure out what’s going on. Let me get back to you on the insignia stuff, haha!
Based upon your notes, I’ve moved the Batwoman arc a bit earlier. What basically occurs is that much of Birds of Prey unfortunately has to get MEGA-COMPRESSED in order to jibe with everything else. For instance, BoP #15-21 has to take place over the course of like four or five days. Just how it is. Thanks New 52. 🙁
Question: About that Green Arrow/Catwoman reference in Batgirl Annual #1. When/where does she kiss Green Arrow? Can’t be in Justice League of America because the first issue of that came out well after Batgirl Annual. Must be a ref to something else—likely unimportant and shouldn’t have any bearing on the chronology.
And I definitely don’t hate you! I LOVE when folks contribute their ideas. It makes the chronology better in the end. I will suggest, however, for longer comments such as the ones you’ve been submitting… maybe start shooting me emails instead (ccolsher@gmail.com)? I’ll always give you credit for any big changes or notation on the site.
Ok… on Batgirl. I think jibing her story with the rest of the DCU perfectly (or with BoP) perfectly is a lost cause. The only other issue that reflects “Wanted” is Batman and… #21 (aka “Batman and Batgirl”). Birds of Prey barely makes sense connecting with everything else. “Gothtopia” is way after “Wanted,” so I don’t know what to tell ya. You might have to simply invent (retcon) gaps of your own in order to make things fit. Inserting ellipses wherever one can is a huge part of timeline-building and reader interpretation. ESPECIALLY in the New 52. I’m just glad the Babs insanity doesn’t overlap with Batman too often—and rarely at all in regard to BoP.
In regard to Batgirl #18, it does indeed occur a couple days after Damian’s death. Damian’s death occurs maybe 7-10 days or so after “Death of the Family” ends. Trying not to make my head explode too much, but this seems like it’s not actually a problem?
But to reiterate. Don’t think too hard about Batgirl placements in the New 52 (for both her solo title and BoP). It’s a lost cause. I suggest searching for the simplest answer that makes the most narrative sense (and adding in error or caveat notes where needed). DC fucked up, plain and simple.
Thanks for the quick responses Collin!
I tend to right long-ass comments and I’m sorry for cramping up the comment section, I’ll “shoot you” emails as you said, for issues that I cannot express in 2/3 sentences!
Let me get back to you about Selina/Green Arrow smooch, since I am not sure about that, have to research it.
Batgirl #18 I see as a problem, since #19 happens literally a day after (James Jr says to her mom on the phone – be there tomorrow blah blah), and we both know that #19-22 are continuous and should happen later. But it’s as you’ve said. DC just fucked up 🙂
Black & White feels like a real loss here. The anthology format works so well for this character in particular and I love the different takes and more “mythological” style to the B&W stories. (Haven’t read this volume yet, but the previous ones were great and I’ve heard this one is arguably better. Sounds like you enjoyed it as well.)
Do you know if there are any that would work in canon? I know they’re branded as non-canon across the board, but I’m just curious if they’re written exclusively as Elseworlds or if they do sort of work with the mainline series.
They are definitely written outside the confines of the New 52. Issue one starts with a Chip Kidd Silver Age throwback. It also includes one of my favorite Neal Adams stories—the metaphorical tale where Batman becomes a helpless zombie whenever he is faced with any kind of real world crime or corruption that isn’t tucked beneath a gaudy super-villain. It’s biting commentary, done very well. There’s also a DCAU-style Harley and Ivy story, and an early Sean Murphy-verse story. And a Howard Mackie Modern Age-style tale (with great art by Chris Samnee). And there are five more issues, some of which verge even deeper into Elseworlds territory. I won’t list the other stories, but you can check them out for yourself. Suffice to say, the series, in full, was definitely meant to be non-canon 100%.
They all sound fantastic. Looking forwards to reading them. I love the level of creative control the writers are afforded in the B&W stories.
Has the Modern Age story been put in that timeline? Or is it more like a retro style story that isn’t actually in that universe (like the Detective Comics vol2 #27 stories, as an example.)
Speaking of the Harley & Ivy story, do you know if anybody has done a timeline to your standard on the DCAU or any other media timelines? That one feels like a timeline you could also really sink your teeth into the minutiae of.
Generally speaking, once a new (rebooted) era has begun, there can be no entries into its canon. Such are the metaphysical rules of continuity—and with which all legitimate chronologies operate.
I do recall a detailed DCAU timeline somewhere online, but I cannot remember its nam—and for the life of me (and even with a quick Google search), I haven’t been able to find it!