WELCOME to the Dick Grayson Batman Chronology! This section of the website chronologically picks-up shortly after Bruce Wayne: The Road Home (in February) i.e. in Bat Year 23 Part 1 (February 2011). At this point Dick has been Batman for nearly eight months (ever since the events of Batman: Battle for the Cowl). To see a detailed chronology of events involving Dick’s first eight months as the Dark Knight, please refer back to Bruce’s Bat Year 22 Part 2, starting with the Battle for the Cowl story-arc.
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–Azrael Vol. 2 #16
Bruce tracks the Suit of Sorrows armor to Ra’s al Ghul’s secret hideout. Dick surveys the hideout from a distance for nearly three days until Bruce shows up and decides to pay Ra’s al Ghul a personal face-to-face visit. The original Dark Knight is officially back in action with his new raised yellow Bat-symbol costume! We now have two Batmen! Ra’s al Ghul expects Bruce’s interference and allows him to be present, explaining that Lane is about to be resurrected. Upon resurrection, Lane will have exorcised the demons linked to the Suit, thus enabling him to wear the armor trouble-free. Ra’s al Ghul then calmly leaves after Lane re-enters the land of the living. Surprised at Ra’s al Ghul’s nonchalance, Bruce speaks with Lane and learns that Azrael has two possible destinies: to either become an ultimately pure evil OR a contributing force for good which will one day save the world. Ra’s al Ghul obviously believes the former, while Bruce hopes for the latter. Azrael won’t be joining Batman Inc, but he will remain an ally—(for now).
–Batman: The Return #1
Mid February. When Bruce catches wind of an international terrorist group known as Leviathan making waves across the globe, his investigation takes him to Abu Dhabi where Hussain Mohammed has taken Sheikh Farouk’s son hostage at gunpoint with a bomb strapped to his chest. Batman saves the boy but warns Farouk to stay out of trouble, knowing that he has a criminal background. Twenty-two hours later in the Batcave, Bruce assembles the Bat-Family: Dick, Damian, Tim, Barbara, and Stephanie. Everyone is given assignments in sealed envelopes in relation to their involvement in Batman Inc. For instance, Steph learns she will (at some point in the future) be moving to England whether she wants to or not. Bruce also tells Babs that “Internet 3.0” will be up and running by Spring. Two hours later at WayneTech, Bruce, Dick, and Damian meet with Lucius Fox. Bruce talks about activating one thousand remote operated GI Robots for Batman Inc use. I love that Bruce can order toys from Lucius now and doesn’t have to hide anything. Thirty hours later, Bruce and Damian arrive in Yemen wearing customized WayneTech R&D modified jet-suits (again, think Iron Man meets Batman) to investigate a Leviathan laboratory where Farouk was turning people into designer synthetic super-powered monsters. Bruce explains to Damian that Mohammed kidnapped Farouk’s son as revenge for tests that were done to his brother at the lab. Bruce then gets in a fight with the grotesque superhero known as Traktir. We also meet Traktir’s mutated multi-limbed girlfriend Spidra. Traktir and Spidra will later become allies of Batman Inc. Damian disobeys an order to stay put and instead chases after a mysterious figure. The masked figure, known as the Heretic (aka “Fatherless”), comes face-to-face with Damian and cryptically says, “I know you… but that day has yet to come.” The Heretic rockets off into the sky, but not before Damian plants a tracer on him. (SPOILER ALERT: The Heretic is an adult clone of Damian Wayne built by Talia al Ghul and her team of Leviathan scientists. This was revealed in the New 52 Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #7.) Back in the States, Bruce scolds Damian, who responds by quitting! Bruce calms him down by revealing his wish that Dick and Damian remain the Dynamic Duo of Gotham on a permanent basis. (Dick and Damian will undoubtedly maintain consistent communication with Bruce, giving him periodical updates on all their cases, moving forward.) Bruce then contacts Selina Kyle and asks her to accompany him to Tokyo to begin recruiting international members of Batman Inc within the next few days. Meanwhile at a secret Leviathan location (later revealed as an orbiting satellite), Farouk is punished for exposing the organization’s operations in Yemen. Farouk’s young son, brainwashed and vacantly pledging allegiance to Leviathan, shoots his dad dead.
–REFERENCE: In Justice League: Generation Lost #13. Maxwell Lord kills Magog (David “Lance” Reid), but uses his powers to convince the world that Captain Atom is responsible.
–Justice League: Generation Lost #16
While the JLI (Captain Atom, Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes, Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, and Rocket Red Gavril Ivanovich) takes on a Maxwell Lord-controlled Creature Commandos (Patchwork, Aten, Bogman, Medusa aka Myrra Rhodes, Vincent Velcoro, Wolfpack, GI Robot JAKE II, and a bunch of GI Robot back-up soldiers), Batman (Dick) and Power Girl have a remote video meeting with Checkmate spymasters Taleb Beni Khalid and Alton Janus. They discuss the recent murder of Magog (David “Lance” Reid), of which Captain Atom has been accused. Checkmate believes that Captain Atom has been framed. (Captain Atom has indeed been framed by Maxwell Lord, whose mental spell is still blacking-out his existence to everyone except for the JLI.)
–Batman #704-707 (“EYE OF THE BEHOLDER”)
Mid February. This story ostensibly takes place on Chinese New Year, which should be in early February, but that can’t be correct. So, ignore the holiday. Dick and Damian are able to take down the Reaper despite interference from Catgirl. Bruce shows up and chastises the Dynamic Duo for allowing the young Kitrina Falcone to operate as Catgirl. Dick tries to blame Selina for training her in the first place, but Bruce won’t hear it and tells Dick to make sure Catgirl is never seen on the streets again. Later, the mysterious businesswoman Sasha Lo meets with Dick and Lucius Fox at Wayne Tower with a proposal to purchase and gentrify Crime Alley. After tabling negotiations, Dick heads to a charity ball where he warns Selina to take Catgirl off the streets. Selina refers to Bruce as a “hypocrite” and tells Dick to piss off. Selina mentions that she has a plane to catch—not sure where she’s going, but oh well. Later that night Dick learns that Sasha Lo is a costumed vigilante known as Peacock. Peacock and the Caped Crusader get in a fight with oddly dressed ninjas led by Sensei (Ra’s al Ghul’s father). Sensei is able to kidnap Peacock’s telepathic brother Luki Lo. Dick and Peacock escape from the “Demon Horde” on horseback (!) and are joined by I-Ching, who explains that Sensei is searching for a powerful magical artifact known as the Mask of the Beholder, hidden somewhere in Gotham. When several Wayne Enterprises higher-ups are murdered, Dick rushes off to make sure Lucius Fox is okay. At Fox’s apartment, Dick is ambushed by Riddler and his daughter Enigma! Robin arrives just in time to save the day and chase off the villains. Sensei has kidnapped Lucius and his daughter Tam in order to obtain information that will lead him to the Beholder. Turns out the Fox family has long been burdened with secret knowledge of the hidden artifact, having been involved in a secret society known as the Jade Compass for generations. Dick then borrows Catgirl from Selina for a quick recon assist and then converges upon Sensei’s location only to get ambushed yet again. Batman, Lucius, Tam, and Luki are left to drown in the sewers. However, with a little help from I-Ching, no lives are lost. Meanwhile, Sensei retrieves the Mask of the Beholder but is unable to harness its power. Peacock and Batman are able to defeat the villain and destroy the mask. As the Lo family leaves Gotham, Luki sees a telepathic vision of the future, which tells him that Dick and Sasha will become romantically involved! Across town, Riddler and Enigma deliver a list of all the secret Gotham socialites who are members of the Jade Compass Society to their mysterious benefactor: A ruby-lipped femme fatale wearing a pearl bracelet and, most curiously, flipping Two-Face’s scarred coin! (SPOILER: Although, I guessed this one quite easily, so it’s not much of a spoiler. It’s Harvey Dent’s ex-wife, Gilda Dent.)
–REFERENCE: In a flashback from Batman #713. Dick helps out long-time crook Kevin McNulty by hooking him up with a counseling gig at a rehab center.
–the second feature to Batman Annual #28
Batman, with help from Millicent Mayne and Leslie Thompkins, is able to stop a drugged-up dude from robbing a convenience store.
ALL THE RAGE
—————— –Detective Comics Annual #12
——————–Batman Annual #28
——————–the third feature to Batman Annual #28 Part 1
Bruce Wayne, as a representative of Batman Inc, meets with French head of police Henri Lafayette to discuss recent riots associated with various assassinations in Paris. After Oracle deduces that the next assassination attempt will be against a Saudi ambassador, Bruce sends Dick to save the intended target. Dick is not only successful but learns that the assassins have been psychically brainwashed. Bruce then meets with the President of France and earns the right to officially work the case. The Batmen (Bruce and Dick) take to the streets and bust some heads which leads the duo to investigate a terrorist cult known as the Golden Portal. Bruce contacts the Question, who immediately flies to Paris. Montoya then goes undercover inside the Golden Portal and meets its leader, the female metahuman known as Korrigan. Meanwhile, Dick learns that Korrigan’s next target is rapper/political activist Leni Urbana. Three days later, the Batmen meet the French rookie superhero Nightrunner (Bilal Asselah), but mistake him for the assassin. When Korrigan sends a group of brainwashed cultists to kill Urbana, the Batmen realize their error and help Nightrunner protect Urbana. The next day, after a meeting with Lafayette, Bruce joins forces with Dick, Nightrunner, and the Question to defeat Korrigan and her thugs. Korrigan is taken to France’s version of Arkham, known as The Black Garden. After seeing-off Montoya at the airport, Bruce visits Nightrunner and offers him a position as Batman Inc’s French representative. Nightrunner accepts the offer and with it, a brand new high-tech HQ and new costume. Bruce then meets with Lafayette one more time. The latter confirms that the President has approved a Batman Inc franchise in France! A few days later Bruce helps Nightrunner move into his new HQ. Bruce mentions that his next stop on the Batman Inc recruitment tour is Tokyo. (Bruce won’t leave for Tokyo for at least another week-and-a-half.) Dick (as Batman) immediately begins what will be a three week-long training course with Nightrunner.
–the third feature to Batman Annual #28 Part 2
Dick (as Batman) trains Nightrunner in Paris over the course of three weeks. (The next bunch of stories overlap with the training sessions, so Dick will be commuting back and forth from France a lot.)
–REFERENCE: In Batman #708. Dick still has a horrible bruise on his chest from when he was stabbed with the mystical Sword of Sin by Azrael weeks ago. Dick, while on patrol, feels an intense pain emanating from the bruise. Dick then has a blackout and a nightmare about a repressed memory of his childhood in the circus.
–NOTE: In Azrael Vol. 2 #18. Azrael meets Fireball in Afghanistan and learns that the powerful metahuman works for Ra’s al Ghul. Az also learns that Ra’s al Ghul runs the Order of Purity. After witnessing the awful slaughter of an entire village by US Armed Forces Blackhawk helicopters, Az’s view regarding good and evil is flipped completely upside down. Az no longer sees the Afghanistanis as terrorists, but now sees the US soldiers as terrorists instead. Writer David Hine sure isn’t masking his anti-war commentary in this one. Anyway, Az and Fireball return back to the States with Ra’s al Ghul. Together, they plan on creating a New World Order by “purging” the world of evil, beginning with Gotham. Turns out, Ra’s was right all along. Az is no longer on the Bat-Family’s side anymore. Az will remain incommunicado with the Bat-Family until he attacks Gotham, but we’ll get to that when we get to it.
–Batman & Robin #17-19 (“SUM OF HER PARTS”)
Dick and Damian are called to the cemetery by Commissioner Gordon to examine the unearthed grave of Bruce’s former girlfriend, Una Nemo. (I should note that we are told that Bruce dated Una several months ago. The earliest he could have done so would have been about 11 months ago, right before entering into a serious relationship with Jezebel Jet.) Soon after the grave robbery, Una’s “corpse” is delivered to Police HQ where our heroes learn that the body actually belongs to a Jane Doe fished out of Gotham Harbor shortly after the time of Una’s supposed death. While examining the Jane Doe, the body bursts into flames as a result of explosive materials hidden underneath the fingernails. The mystery unravels when Dick and Damian are then invited to a Gothic wedding ceremony where they meet Una, now the super-villain known as The Absence. The Absence, due to a bizarre medical condition, has a giant hole in the middle of her forehead (where she was shot by would-be robbers six weeks ago). The Absence captures Dick and Damian and explains that she wants revenge on Bruce for dumping her so callously. After detonating a bomb inside the church where the wedding ceremony is being held, the Absence departs. Dick then places a phone call to Tokyo and explains the situation to Bruce. The Absence then decides to attack one of Bruce’s other ex-girlfriends, Vicki Vale. Dick and Damian rush to Vicki’s apartment only to realize they have wandered into another trap. Once again, the Absence easily captures the Dynamic Duo! After a lengthy monologue, the Absence lets Dick and Damian go, revealing that she doesn’t give a damn about Bruce. All of these games have been a clever distraction while her operatives infiltrated various prisons and executed the robbers responsible for attacking her six weeks ago. The villainess makes a reference to the Sherlock Holmes fiction story The Red-Headed League, which has a similar premise. Again, and this has occurred before, Holmes should never be referred to as a fictional character in the DCU. Holmes actually existed in the DCU! (Although, I guess one could argue that there are many fiction stories written about him in the DCU, so maybe that’s a decent fanwank right there.) Anyway, after making complete fools of Dick and Damian, the Absence escapes unscathed. I would also like to note how, in the last two stories, Dick has been completely caught off guard and nearly killed by Sensei, Riddler, and the Absence (twice!). C’mon, Dick. You’re better than that!
–Teen Titans Vol. 3 #89
Dick uses his alumni pull and officially inserts Damian into the Teen Titans lineup. Funny how most of the Teen Titans are not even teens anymore (with the exception of Ravager), and now they are adding a ten-year-old. Anyway, the Titans don’t get along with Damian because he’s a little asshole who talks shit on all of them. After Dick departs, the Titans battle an out-of-control super-powered telekinetic teen named Barney.
–Power Girl Vol. 2 #19
Power Girl calls an emergency meeting of the JSA All-Stars—the JSA’s splinter youth team—to try to convince them that Max Lord has cast a global deception across the Earth that is blocking his existence from everyone’s memories. Batman (Dick) attends the meeting to confirm Power Girl’s claim. The JSA All-Stars immediately begin to scramble into action stations and the Caped Crusader orders them to contact the JLI and JLA at once. However, in an instant, Lord’s massive misdirection kicks in and causes everyone in the room to forget what they were doing. Power Girl has been foiled again.
–Teen Titans Vol. 3 #92 Epilogue
Damian reunites with Dick in Gotham after completing his Teen Titan adventures, which included a few super-villain scuffles and a footrace between Superboy and Kid Flash (which was won by late-entry Krypto the Superdog). While the villains (including Calculator) were soundly defeated and much fun was had at the race, it was obvious that Damian just didn’t fit in with the team. Thus, Damian’s short stint with the Titans comes to an end. Dick says he is proud of Damian and hopes he learned something from the experience.
–Power Girl Vol. 2 #21
Power Girl once again tries in vain to convince Dick that Max Lord killed Ted Kord and has erased everyone’s memories of himself. Dick, still affected by the global mind-wipe, refuses to see the truth. Power Girl even convinces Dick to exhume Ted’s body, but upon examination of the corpse, still nothing. Dick is ready to bounce until Bruce shows up. Bruce sets Dick straight, forcing him to remember the truth. Dick then contacts Oracle and the JLA in an attempt to make everyone else remember too. Meanwhile, Bruce joins forces with the JLI to go after Max. (Dick isn’t present, but the JLI, along with Bruce and Wonder Woman, will be able to force Max to reverse his global mind-wipe.)
–Gotham City Sirens #16
Dick and Damian leave Gotham on unspecified business. They are shown driving the Batmobile in what appears to be a desert, so who knows? In their absence, a large magickal disturbance registers in Robinson Park. Unknown to the Dynamic Duo, the disturbance has been caused by Talia al Ghul, who has set into motion a complex ruse that functions as an attempt to mind-wipe Catwoman’s memories of Bruce’s identity as Batman. Why does Talia want to do this? She’s jealous of Selina and Bruce’s love. Thankfully, the attempt will fail, as we will see in our next note, which immediately follows.
–FLASHBACK: From Gotham City Sirens #18. Dick contacts Zatanna and asks her to investigate the magickal disturbance occurring in Robinson Park. Zatanna, along with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, is nearly tricked into mind-wiping Selina Kyle by the conniving Talia al Ghul. Thankfully, Zatanna is able to see through the trickery and take Talia down.
–REFERENCE: In Justice League of America Vol. 2 #55. Mid March. Dick completes Nightrunner’s three-week training course in France.
–FLASHBACK: From Justice League of America Vol. 2 #55. Supergirl visits Dick and Damian and asks Dick to fly with her into the asteroid field where New Krypton once existed. Supergirl wants to clean up the mess in outer space and also get rid of any Kryptonite that might be free-floating in the area. Dick and Kara head out to space, which leads directly into “Reign of Doomsday.”
REIGN OF DOOMSDAY
——————–Justice League of America Vol. 2 #55
——————–Superman/Batman Annual #5
Eclipso is back (in his old Bruce Gordon host body) and has assembled a possessed team of shadow-powered international metahumans (and one Lovecraftian Elder God), which includes Shade, Nightshade, Acrata, Shadow Thief, Bete-Noire, Danny Raven (and his spirit familiar Dark-Crow), and Syththunu (as seen in Justice League of America Vol. 2 #54). Team Eclipso now wants to add more members to their ranks, but they are going to have to go through Donna Troy, Jesse Quick, and Jade to do it. Unfortunately, Team Eclipso is pretty strong and easily takes over Alan Scott’s lunar Emerald City. Meanwhile, in the asteroid field which was once the location of New Krypton, Dick (in a Bat-ship and spacesuit), Supergirl, and Alpha Green Lantern Boodikka examine all that remains of a former civilization. However, their lament is interrupted by an attack from the returning Doomsday! (Doomsday has already captured Steel and Eradicator and now he’s after Cyborg Superman, whose essence is hidden within Boodikka.) Starman and Blue Lantern Saint Walker quickly join the heroes against Doomsday, but the powerful monster chases them all the way back to the Watchtower, where Cyborg Superman makes his startling return as well. Cyborg Superman not only takes control of the Watchtower, but begins smashing and bashing with Doomsday. While Dick battles dozens of hard-light villains in The Arena (basically a version of the X-Men’s Danger Room, which has previously been referred to as “The Kitchen”), Supergirl gets a pep talk from computerized versions of Dr. Mid-Nite and Dr. Fate and is able to expel the evil Starheart energy from herself. “Dark Supergirl” is no more and Kara returns to her old self and her old costume. Meanwhile, Cyborg Superman thinks he has killed Doomsday, but Doomsday assimilates some of Cyborg Superman’s nanotechnology and survives to become an even stronger Cyborg Doomsday! Cyborg Doomsday easily defeats both Supergirl and Cyborg Superman and drags their unconscious bodies to his hidden satellite in deep space. (Superman will eventually discover that Lex Luthor was behind Doomsday’s attack and save his friends. Unfortunately, Superman will also discover that there are now multiple Cyborg Doomsdays.)
–Justice League of America Vol. 2 #56-59 (“RISE OF ECLIPSO”)
Eclipso and his newly formed team have just taken over the Moon. While Superman and Supergirl are off fighting Cyborg Doomsdays, Donna Troy fights Eclipso’s team (now joined by a possessed Jade) at the lunar Emerald City. The rest of the JLA shows up to help, along with some added firepower in the form of Wildcat, Bulleteer, Dr. Light, Animal Man, Red Tornado, and Zauriel. (Congorilla informs us that these are the new JLA reserves.) Despite the reinforcements, by the time Batman shows up just about everyone on the moon has been possessed by Eclipso. Obsidian rushes in and rescues the few remaining untainted heroes, moving them to a location protected by a temporarily re-powered Alan Scott. Obsidian, due to his metahuman link to shadow energy, is able to ascertain Eclipso’s true plans and reveals that the villain has come to the moon to use the power of the Starheart in an attempt to murder God! First step: summon and confront God’s Wrath—the Spectre. Unbelievably, Eclipso is able to defeat the Spectre, kill him (!), steal his powers, and split the moon in half. Of course, the fissured Moon throws Earth into a cataclysmic state. Meteor showers, tsunamis, and destruction rain across the planet almost immediately. On the lunar battlefield, Batman leads the remaining heroes: Alan Scott, Starman, Congorilla, Donna Troy, Saint Walker, Obsidian, and Jesse Quick. Things aren’t going well, so Batman hatches a plan. He calls up the Atom, who arrives immediately. The Atom and Starman, according to Batman’s plan, shrink down, enter the Shade’s brain, and shut down Eclipso’s hold over him. This action exorcises Eclipso’s control over everyone in his army because the Shade is the one possessed soldier who still retains free will. While Atom and Starman go to work and free everyone’s minds via Shade’s brain, Saint Walker uses his Blue Lantern powers to make Eclipso think that he’s already won the battle. The heroes easily defeat a detached Eclipso. Alan Scott, Jade, Saint Walker, and Supergirl (having just returned from her Doomsday adventure with the Super-Family) combine their powers and fix the Moon. NOTE: The Doomsday drama is still going on down on Earth. Supergirl shows up at the end of Justice League of America Vol. 2 #59 to help out. During the beginning of Justice League of America Vol. 2 #59, Kara is absent because she is fighting Cyborg Doomsdays, as seen in the first two pages of Action Comics #903 (aka Action Comics #903 Part 1). Immediately following the Eclipso crisis on the moon, Supergirl will return to Earth with a bunch of heroes in tow, thus rejoining the conclusion of Action Comics #903 (aka Action Comics #903 Part 3). Basically, Action Comics #903 overlaps with Justice League of America Vol. 2 #59 in a strange way, with Supergirl essentially fighting both Eclipso and the Doomsdays on multiple fronts by bouncing back and forth.
–Action Comics #903 Part 3
The Doomslayer, basically an ultimate version of Doomsday, has arrived to destroy all Doomsdays. Sounds good right? It would be if the Doomslayer didn’t plan on destroying the entire planet in order to do so. Supergirl has just literally minutes ago helped Dick and the JLA save the Earth from destruction at the hands of Eclipso and now must rejoin the fight against the Cyborg Doomsdays. But she’s not coming alone. Batman (Bruce), Batman (Dick), Red Robin, Hawk, Dove, Dr. Fate, Zatanna, the JLA, the JLI, the Teen Titans and Eradicator (whose consciousness now resides within Doomsday’s original body) all show up ready for action. Meanwhile, Superman confronts the Doomslayer on his deep space satellite.
–Action Comics #904
The final Modern Age issue of Action Comics Vol. 1. Superman defeats the Doomslayer with help from Eradicator (who controls Doomsday’s body and sacrifices his own life). Batman, Batman, and the rest of Earth’s superheroes defeat multiple Doomsdays all across the planet. Go heroes!
–FLASHBACK: From Justice League of America Vol. 2 #60. The Construct takes control of every single robot on Earth, causing the JLA to have their hands full against Robo-Octo-Ape, Red Tornado, Red Torpedo, Red Inferno, Red Volcano, an army of multicolored Tornadoes, Bozo the Ironman, Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard, the Metal Men, the original GI Robots, Robotman’s brainless original body, Robotman, the Robot Renegades, Amazo, Kelex, an army of Superman Robots, and many, many more obscure DCU robots. With the Earth moments away from destruction, the JLA saves the day!
–Doom Patrol Vol. 5 #20
The Doom Patrol has been down on its luck lately and wants to move its HQ from Oolong Island to just about anywhere else. Problem is, nobody wants them around. Negative Man visits briefly with Batman, not realizing that he is actually speaking with Dick and not Bruce. Dick tells him to get lost. Afterward, Negative Man muses about how Batman “looks less like Clint Eastwood these days and more like Justin Bieber.” Ouch!
–REFERENCE: In Batman #708. Dick still has a horrible bruise on his chest from when he was stabbed with the mystical Sword of Sin by Azrael weeks ago. Dick, while on patrol, feels an intense pain emanating from the bruise. Dick then has another blackout and yet another nightmare about a repressed memory of his childhood in the circus. This is the second time this has happened, but Dick hasn’t told anyone. Worried, Dick gives himself an X-ray but nothing physically seems amiss.
–the third feature to Batman Annual #28 Part 3
Dick (as Batman) returns to Paris and introduces Nightrunner (and reveals Nightrunner’s secret identity) to Henri Lafayette. Batman stays with Nightrunner for several days before returning to Gotham. Nightrunner publicly debuts as the French representative of Batman Inc. It has been two-and-a-half weeks since his training finished.
–Detective Comics #871-873 (“THE BLACK MIRROR”)
March—this story is said to take place seven weeks since the public unveiling of Batman Inc, which places us in the third week of March 2011. Alfred mentions that it’s “been over a year” since Dick moved into the Penthouse and started using the Bat-Bunker. If we are going by the true numbers, it hasn’t been quite that long—only about eight-and-a-half-months. But, as always, I digress. Moving on, Dick meets with Commissioner Gordon at the new Wayne-funded state-of-the-art GCPD crime lab where he learns that a ton of old Bat-rogue paraphernalia has disappeared from the evidence room. The missing goods just happen to coincide with a recent tragedy which befell a 12-year-old boy who was transformed into a mini Killer Croc courtesy of a vial of liberated Croc Serum. (There isn’t a bunch of Croc Serum out there. We’ve never seen other Crocs. This is the original and only vial of Croc Serum that was used to turn a young Waylon Jones into Killer Croc oh so long ago.) Moving on with the investigation, Batman questions the boy’s butler, who is gunned down by the boy’s mom during the interrogation. Subsequently, mom commits suicide. The Dark Knight quickly discovers an old Mad Hatter implant as the cause of both deaths. Batman then questions two crooked ex-cops responsible for the evidence thefts, who both meet with similar fates, this time delivered from Poison Ivy’s arsenal. Before the murders, Batman is able to learn that someone called The Dealer has been auctioning off the Bat-villain goods at an underground event known as Mirror House. After meeting with Babs, Harvey Bullock, and Tim, an undercover Dick (using new Lucius Fox-developed Human Target-esque mask-making technology) attends the Mirror House meeting. The Dealer begins the auction with the crowbar that killed Jason Todd. Dick is almost immediately outed as Batman and is knocked unconscious after inhaling Fear Gas. James Gordon Junior (!) has not only learned Batman’s secret identity, he is present at the auction to stalk Batman and actually winds up saving Dick’s life (as seen through flashback from Detective Comics #881). Of course, Dick doesn’t know this and we’ll get to the curious reemergence of James Junior soon enough, dear readers. After nine hours of sleep and some nursing by Babs at Kord Tower, Batman dons one of the Iron Man Bat-suits (from Batman: The Return #1) and chases the Dealer, who attempts to leave town in a private cargo jet. In a frenzy, as different Bat-villain costumes rain from the sky, the Dealer injects himself with Venom and Man-Bat Serum, transforming himself into a giant musclebound bat monster. Eventually the plane explodes with Dick parachuting to safety, the final fate of the Dealer unknown. Note that issue #872 contains a second feature called “Skeleton Cases,” which takes place while Dick is battling the Dealer. As we briefly mentioned above, James Gordon Junior has returned to Gotham for the first time since he was just a child and we learn a few details of this never before written about adult character; he’s been in hiding for nearly his entire life and he supposedly killed one of Babs’ friends when he was just a boy! Very intriguing. I’ve always begged the question: What ever happened to James Junior!? Now, we’ll soon finally find out.
–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #874 Part 1. The flashback from Detective Comics #874 Part 1 continues the “Skeleton Cases” story-arc and runs simultaneously with Detective Comics #874 Part 2, which is our next tale. Commissioner Gordon meets with his long lost son, James Gordon Jr and we learn a little bit about his tragic history. The details are still vague, but James Junior apparently began a string of murders at a very young age, starting with the death of Babs’ friend Bess. We can assume James Junior was institutionalized at this young age and then became a drifter as an adult, committing more murders. Now, James Junior has finally returned to Gotham, claiming that his wicked ways are behind him. A nervous Commish is having trouble believing his troubled son.
–Detective Comics #874 Part 2
The action in this tale picks up right where ‘tec #873 ends. Dick, still reeling from the effects of being drugged by the Dealer, meets up with Red Robin to tackle a new case. Animal poachers are attempting to smuggle rare and endangered species out of Gotham. Batman and Red Robin are able to stop them, but Dick has a bizarre hallucination and fears that whoever leads the poachers is a brand new threat our heroes have never met before. This new threat is Tiger Shark, but Dick won’t meet him for a few weeks.
–Birds of Prey Vol. 2 #10
This issue, part of the “Death of Oracle” arc, takes place right after the conclusion of Detective Comics #874. The Birds of Prey begin attacking Calculator and his henchmen at his HQ. Oracle joins the battle from a military-grade helicopter only to get blown to smithereens by Current. Is Oracle really dead!? Nope, of course not. It is all a ruse to fool the entire world into thinking she is. (Oracle is tired of the dangerous burden associated with so many heroes constantly coming to her for help lately.) Hawk was actually flying the chopper and he is more than capable of surviving a little explosion. After the Birds (with Bruce’s help) defeat Calculator and company, the news of Oracle’s “death” spreads like wildfire. From this point on, Oracle can still act as Big Sister overseeing all of the DCU, but now, only several people know that she isn’t dead and therefore, can seek her assistance: Batman (Bruce), Batman (Dick), Red Robin, Batgirl, Misfit, Huntress, Hawk, Dove, Lady Blackhawk, and Black Canary. While not specifically mentioned among those in-the-know in this arc, Damian, Alfred, Proxy, and Savant definitely know that Oracle is still alive too. Oh, Catwoman knows too because she isn’t fooled so easily. Oracle personally meets with Bruce, Dick, Tim, Stephanie, and Charlie (Misfit) to fill them in on the details.
JUDGMENT ON GOTHAM
——————–Batman #708
——————–Red Robin #22
——————–Gotham City Sirens #22
——————–Batman #709
March 31-April 1. Dick still has a horrible bruise on his chest from when he was stabbed with the mystical Sword of Sin by Azrael over a month ago. Dick, while apprehending small-fry Eddie Sims feels an intense pain emanating from the bruise. Dick then has another blackout and another nightmare about a repressed memory of his childhood in the circus (as he has had twice before). This time, the nightmare is more vivid and is about a tragedy that happened to a fellow child acrobat called The Prodigy when Dick was very young. When Dick gets home, he is startled to discover that the bruise on his chest has formed into the shape of a Bat-symbol! When The Crusader (basically an even crazier and more powerful version of Azrael, who works for the Order of Purity) begins destroying whole city blocks in downtown Gotham, the combined force of Batman, Red Robin, and Catwoman intervenes. The Crusader, who claims to have been sent by God (in this case Ra’s al Ghul), runs amok until Azrael appears and calms him. Azrael warns Dick that the Crusader is his personal disciple. They have 24 hours before a “purge” of the entire planet will commence. Az and the Crusader then disappear into the night sky. Dick is disheartened that Az is no longer working on the side of good. Catwoman begs Dick to call Bruce for help, but Dick says that Az is his own responsibility. Meanwhile, across town, the Order of Purity’s top scientist turns Fireball into a living nuclear suicide bomber. Ra’s has successfully assembled his “Angels of Death”—Azrael, the Crusader, and Fireball. Things are looking scary. A full day passes and the “judgment” begins. Az kidnaps Mayor Hady while the Crusader begins destroying the city. The Crusader’s powers include telekinesis, telepathy, pyrokinesis, flight ability, near invulnerability, super strength, and the power to make locusts and snakes appear at will. He’s amazing. Moving on, Red Robin saves a bunch of lives downtown and from a burning cathedral before trying to get Jennifer Lane to reason with her lover via phone. After Red Robin saves Hady from Az, the latter does the flaming sword trick on the superhero and, sure enough, whitebread Tim has a pure soul. Az is ready to stop the assault on Gotham based upon the successful passage of the purity test, but the Crusader enters with an accusation of impiety, claiming that Red Robin doesn’t believe in (i.e. worship) the Christian God! Az questions Red Robin, and whitebread Tim can’t tell a lie. He doesn’t believe in theodicy. After Tim’s failure to stop the carnage, Dick sends in Catwoman. Az and the Crusader are ready to test her faith by introducing a wild card into the mix: Maggie Kyle! Maggie, now the super-villain nun Sister Zero, hasn’t been herself since watching Black Mask I (Roman Sionis) butcher her husband. The bad guys tell Selina that they will end their wrath if she sacrifices her sister to God. Selina refuses. Bruce calls Dick while on unspecified business in Hong Kong (which undoubtedly must have something to do with Cassie Cain) and asks if Dick needs help in Gotham. Dick says he can handle it and greets the “Angels of Death” in Devil’s Square. After being confronted with the now adult Prodigy, Dick finally uncovers his repressed memories of the former Haly’s Circus child trapeze artist. Turns out when Dick was just a little tyke, he could have prevented the Prodigy from getting nearly beaten to death by rednecks, but instead took no action. Az judges Dick accordingly and is about to detonate Fireball, but Red Robin and Catwoman show up with Jenny Lane and her kids. Az is taken aback when he sees them and Jenny convinces him to use his fiery blades on himself. As the magickal swords enter his body, Az sees the truth: Ra’s al Ghul has been using him as a pawn. In a last ditch effort to end the “judgment on Gotham,” Az takes the entire brunt of the Fireball detonation by smothering the metahuman. Fireball dies and Gotham is saved. A distraught Az leaves with the Crusader faithfully following.
–Gotham City Sirens #23
Early April.[1] The shit has hit the fan for the lovely ladies of Gotham. Ivy, Harley, and Selina are no longer on speaking terms. An upset Harley has gone quite mad again and, yearning to reunite with her puddin Mistah J, breaks into Arkham and starts a prison riot. While Harley and Joker kiss passionately amidst the blood and gore of the riot, Dick unsuccessfully tries to recruit Selina to help. At one point, Selina tells Dick, “I know what you did before you won the cowl.” This is an odd statement that refers to a secret. Bruce later says (in GCS #24) that he knows “what Dick did around [the time] when I went away” (meaning sometime near Final Crisis), yet another reference to a secret. Suffice to say, whatever the secret (or secrets) may be, Bruce has learned a truth about Dick that doesn’t sit well with him.[2] At Arkham, Black Mask begins feuding with Joker for control of the prison while Poison Ivy shows up in an attempt to reason with Harley. Harley speaks passionately about her sexual history with both Joker and Ivy, but eventually takes down the latter, proclaiming her true love for the Clown Prince of Crime. Meanwhile, Selina has a change of heart and meets up with Batman (Bruce) in an attempt to quell the riot. After easily defeating Clayface and Zsasz (with help from Aaron Cash), Batman and Catwoman bust Harley and Joker as well. Bruce then tells Selina that he too knows Dick’s mysterious secret. Following the riot, Catwoman ends her friendship with Ivy by serving the super-villain over to the police, who lock her up in Arkham.
–Detective Comics #875
Early April. This continues the “Skeleton Cases” story-arc. Gordon re-opens a “fifteen-year-old” cold case and busts Roy Blount, better known as the Peter Pan Killer. Way back in Bat Year Seven, Barbara’s friend Bess was supposedly murdered by a young James Junior. However, Jim now thinks that Blount may have been the actual killer. Before he can get a straight answer from Blount, Batman swings into action and apprehends the villain. James Junior is back in Gotham for good, but did he really commit multiple murders? Only time will tell. Okay, there are a ton of errors in this story, which is a clusterfuck that either deliberately ignores continuity or tries to rewrite Jim Gordon’s past entirely. Where do I even begin? Number one, we don’t have to necessarily ignore the snow, but it isn’t winter. It is early April. Number two, in the flashbacks to fifteen years ago, Gordon is a young lieutenant with red hair. However, Gordon was promoted to captain at the end of Bat Year 1 and by Bat Year 7 would have been a gray-haired commish. Number three, in the flashbacks, Gordon is already divorced and married to Sarah Essen. Gordon’s marriage to Sarah doesn’t take place until Bat Year Thirteen! There is no way to reconcile this. In fact, Sarah shouldn’t even be in this story. However, we needn’t ignore her presence. Instead, we must simply ignore any references to their marriage and instead retcon the story so that Sarah and Jim have briefly reconnected and are trying to date again. Number four, in the flashbacks, Gordon is partnered with Commissioner McKeever. Who the hell is Commissioner McKeever? We must assume he is an assistant commissioner, deputy commissioner, or a commissioner from another police force helping out on the case. Number five, in the flashbacks, Babs is drawn a bit too young-looking.
–Brightest Day #23
The skies turn black as Nekron (who has become the Avatar of the Black Power Battery) is able to literally take control of the ecological functions of the planet by corrupting its Plant Elemental and Earth Elemental protectors known as the Parliament of Trees. Superheroes race across the globe to prevent death and destruction. Notably in Gotham, Batman, Robin, Batwoman, Black Lightning, Cyborg, and the Birds of Prey fight off giant tangled snake-like streams of “living” vegetation and dirt. In the forest outside of Star City several heroes battle against a humongous Black Lantern/Nekron-possessed version of Swamp Thing! Deadman uses his White Lantern power ring on Firestorm and turns him not only into a Fire Elemental, but the Avatar of Fire. Likewise, the other missing resurrected heroes return as Elementals as well. Martian Manhunter is now the Avatar of Earth. Aquaman is now the Avatar of Water. And Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Shiera Sanders-Hall) are the Avatars of Air. As the new Avatars strike against the evil corrupted Parliament of Trees, it is apparent that their combined force will still not be enough to defend Earth. Not to worry, the White Lantern Entity still has a trick up its sleeve. Earth’s ultimate savior will come in the form of a dead scientist whose memories and personality Swamp Thing once had upon the Elemental’s original creation: Alec Holland! Whoa.
–REFERENCE: In Brightest Day #24. Brightest Day #24 immediately follows Brightest Day #23 and concludes the series. While not featured in the issue, we must assume that Dick is still fights for his life in Gotham until the crisis ends. Picking up where we left off, in order for Alec Holland to be resurrected so he can save the world, someone has to die. Boston Brand pays the ultimate price and goes back to being plain old sad invisible Deadman again. Holland is reborn and immediately infused with the Green. (When Swamp Thing was born decades ago, he merely had the memories and personality of a deceased Alec Holland. Now, their symbiotic relationship has been made legitimate as Swamp Thing is actually using Holland’s living mind and body as a host vessel.) Amped up, Swamp Thing grows to enormous heights and kicks the evil Swamp Thing’s ass. Swamp Thing then restores the Earth back to its natural state and declares that he is back to protect the planet full-time. Before leaving for parts unknown, the White Lantern Entity strips J’onn, Aquaman, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, and Firestorm of their Avatar Elemental statuses, returning them back to their prior states. (Well, except for Hawkwoman, who dies.) Oh yeah, the last page features a supernumerary cameo of the returning John Constantine (!) on the trail of Swamp Thing, who has just uncharacteristically murdered some eco-terrorists. Why has Swampy offed the baddies in such brutal fashion? Well, because Holland has already split from the green Elemental monster (as we will soon learn in the Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing series). Without his human soul vessel, Swamp Thing has no conscience and is violently raging out of control.
–Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing #1-3
Determined to figure out why Swamp Thing is acting so homicidal, John Constantine begins an investigation but is immediately attacked and infected with a virus by plants being controlled from within the Green by Swamp Thing. When Swamp Thing kills a Falcone mobster linked to eco-terrorism in Gotham, Constantine travels to America. In Gotham, Constantine infiltrates the Bat-Bunker, takes out Alfred, and sneaks into the Batmobile just to get the attention of Batman. After a strained first meeting between Dick and Constantine, the latter takes the former into the Green but is assaulted by Swamp Thing and knocked unconscious. Upon awakening in the care of Batman and his ex-girlfriend Zatanna, Constantine explains his theory that Alec Holland has split from the Plant Elemental, thus causing the monster to lose any semblance of humanity. Dick then examines Constantine’s plant infection, and unable to help him, sends him to Metropolis to speak with Superman. Supes and Constantine travel to Star City Forest to battle Swamp Thing. Once the duo is able to restrain the monster, they learn that Constantine’s theory about Holland is correct. Constantine then consults with Madame Xanadu and Deadman to ascertain the location of Holland, who is alive and well in Louisiana. In Louisiana, Holland has been held captive in his old laboratory by LexCorp scientists, who plan to create their own synthetic Swamp Thing by infusing Holland’s soul into a cyborg version of the Plant Elemental. Constantine arrives with the intention of killing Holland so that his soul will re-renter the real Swamp Thing, but he winds up tangling with LexCorp thugs. Both Batman and Superman join in the fight against the cronies and against killer plants being controlled by Swamp Thing from within the Green. After all the villains are combed back, Batman refuses to allow Constantine to murder Holland. Instead, Holland is given the choice: Re-join Swamp Thing and quell the deadly monster’s rage or remain alive as a human being. Holland chooses the latter and Constantine walks. Looks like we now have a DCU with Alec Holland, human scientist extraordinaire with a flair for life AND Swamp Thing, Plant Elemental with homicidal tendencies.
–Secret Six Vol. 3 #36
The antihero/super-villain team known as the Secret Six has plans to assassinate Red Robin, Batgirl, Catwoman, and Azrael in Gotham. However, a double-crossing Penguin alerts the hero community about the Six’s arrival in town. The Six (Bane, Catman, Deadshot, Jeannette, Rag Doll II, and Scandal Savage) along with King Shark and Knockout take a bunch of Venom pills and make their glorious last stand. However, they are easily defeated by what seems to be the largest gathering of collected heroes since Final Crisis. So, yeah, it’s eight villains versus Batman, Batman, Robin, Red Robin, Superman, Superboy, Steel, Dr. Light, Obsidian, John Stewart, Red Tornado, the Birds of Prey, the JLA, the JSA, the JLI, and the Teen Titans. Overkill, anyone? Great issue, though.
–Detective Comics #876-878 (“HUNGRY CITY”)
When a dead orca mysteriously appears overnight in the lobby of a Gotham bank run by Sonia Branch (daughter of the Grayson family murderer Tony Zucco), Dick and Commissioner Gordon are on the case. At the GCPD crime lab, Dick and Gordon discover the corpse of Sonia’s closest friend inside the belly of the whale. After bugging Sonia’s apartment Dick learns that she is being blackmailed by gangster Bixby Rhodes aka Roadrunner. Dick suits up as Batman and apprehends Rhodes. Sonia then meets with the Dark Knight and explains that her friend was killed because she refused to do business with Rhodes and his boss, the super-villain known as Tiger Shark. The Caped Crusader easily locates Tiger Shark’s lair, a colossal underwater mobile fortress attached to a yacht parked in Gotham Bay. Upon arrival Dick is immediately captured by Tiger Shark, a dapper masked villain who wears designer suits made only of endangered species, and his band of tattooed pirates. After a failed attempt to feed Dick to hungry orcas, Tiger Shark has no choice but to detonate a bomb aboard his vessel, effectively destroying his own crime organization in order to escape justice. Dick then, per Jim Gordon’s request, meets with a seemingly level-headed James Junior. However, Dick wants to be better-safe-than-sorry so he secretly implants a tracer in James Junior’s hand (as seen through flashback from Detective Comics #881). After his meeting with James Junior, Dick has a revelation about the Sonia Branch case. Sonia used Batman as a pawn to eliminate the super-villains that were threatening her. As Batman muses about Sonia, across town we (the readers) learn that James Junior isn’t quite so level-headed after all. He is indeed what his father feared most: a serial killer who has violently chopped up and tortured his childhood acquaintance Ben Wolff.
–Batman #710-712 (“PIECES”)
Two-Face begins one of his patented killing sprees in an attempt to locate his missing coin. Dick and Selina try unsuccessfully to coax Kitrina Falcone to go to a boarding school. While the Dark Knight scours the underworld looking for Two-Face, Mario Falcone and Gilda Dent locate and capture the super-villain first. Gilda immediately plugs her ex-husband with a bullet. Why is Gilda teamed-up with Falcone? Well, dear readers, we learn that Gilda faked her own death many, many years ago and began an affair with Mario Falcone (shortly after the events of Long Halloween). Now, Gilda and Falcone are desperate for money and are attempting to sell the list of the secret members of the Jade Compass Society. While Dick continues his painfully slow investigation with Damian, Two-Face crawls out of his ex-wife’s fake grave, having survived the gunshot thanks to a special bullet-proof vest courtesy of the Riddler. Riddler tells Two-Face that Gilda is being held against her will by Falcone. (Either Gilda has hired Riddler to help reunite her with her former hubby or Riddler is manipulating everyone, I’m not quite sure.) The super-villains join forces and recruit an army to attack Falcone’s gang. While the bad guys assemble their henchmen, Batman and Catgirl apprehend Enigma and get one step closer to catching up with everyone else. Cut to a skyscraper construction site where Mario thinks he’s selling the Jade Compass info to a random buyer. But, instead, Two-Face shows up and confronts his wife. Batman also shows up, fights everyone, and nearly gets killed by one of Gilda’s .22 caliber bullets. Dick blacks out and wakes up in the care of Alfred, courtesy of Damian. So, Tony Daniel ends this abysmal tale and we don’t know what happened to Two-Face, Gilda, or Mario. We DO know that Kitrina decides to go to boarding school after all and that Riddler decides to possibly kill his daughter, Enigma, who is inexplicably free again after having been captured earlier in the story. I use the word “possibly” because this vague scene occurs off-panel. In summation: I can’t believe how bad this story is.
–FLASHBACK: From Justice League of America Vol. 2 #60. The JLA gets involved in the Saturn-Thanagarian War. An army of Thanagarian warships attempts to invade Saturn. The JLA teams up with Jemm (ruler of Saturn) to defeat the Thanagarians.
–NOTE: In Detective Comics #879. Neither Batman (Bruce nor Dick) makes a single appearance in ‘tec #879. Here’s what happens. James Gordon Junior has been working for Leslie Thompkins for a few days now and he seems to be doing quite well. Everyone at the clinic loves him, including Leslie, but Jim Gordon knows his son too well. Jim and Barbara not only learn that James Junior is not well, but that he plans on mixing a psychotropic drug into the factory chemical vats of a large baby formula distributor. Oh, Joker escapes from Arkham too.
–Detective Comics #880-881 (“SKELETON CASES” Conclusion)
Barbara Gordon (Jim Gordon’s ex-wife) returns to Gotham for the first time in well-over-a-decade. She is in town, presumably to reunite with her long-lost (now found) son James Junior. Worried that the recently released Joker will go after his ex-wife, Jim rushes to her hotel room only to find Barbara naked, bloody, and Jokerized. Luckily, Barbara’s life is saved and the unconscious victim is put into critical condition at the hospital. Batman (with help from Red Robin) tracks Joker to a crypt beneath an old Gotham church. Upon seeing Batman #2 instead of the “real deal,” Joker’s signature smile morphs into a disappointed moue. While Joker and Batman scuffle, the former claims he doesn’t know anything about the attack on Barbara. Across town, Barbara wakes up and delivers the shocking news to her ex-husband: It wasn’t Joker who attacked her; it was James Junior. At the Kord Space Needle, Babs is ambushed by her brother, who kidnaps her and lodges two knives deep into her paraplegic legs. At a secret location, James Junior delivers a twisted monologue to his older half-sis, who slowly bleeds out. James Junior tells a few truths and a few more lies about his past, but one thing is for sure—he is certifiably homicidal. One small caveat: James Junior claims that he first met Babs when he was a little boy and Jim and Sarah Essen took her in. This isn’t true, obviously. Babs has known James Junior since he was a baby. Not only that, Jim took in Babs well before reconnecting with Sarah. Moving on, Batman and Red Robin frantically scour the city for Babs. James Junior directly contacts Dick via radio and gloats that he knows the secret IDs of both Batmen! It is in fact heavily implied here that Jim also knows the truth, but I suppose that isn’t too shocking of a revelation since it’s always been insinuated. James Junior continues his disquisition in prime Adrian Veidt style, claiming that it doesn’t matter that Dick has discovered his scheme to spike the baby formula vats since he’s already done it! Whether or not this is true is debatable, but if so, thanks to the way the drug functions, Gotham’s next generation will be composed of brand new villains. Babs tries to escape her brother and pulls a knife out of her own leg and stabs James Junior in the eye! Batman shows up just in time to save Babs’ life. Meanwhile, Jim shoots his son in the legs and reels him into justice in a scene that mirrors the climax of Frank Miller’s “Year One.” Afterward, Dick and Jim talk solemnly about all that has occurred as they permanently shut down the Wayne Enterprises GCPD Crime Lab since the department has decided to only un-officially cooperate with Batman Inc.
–Batman: Gates of Gotham #1-5
A little history before we begin. In the late 1800s the “first families” of Gotham (the Waynes, the Kanes, the Cobblepots, and the Elliots) began construction on the advanced skyline of Gotham. Two extraordinary young sibling architects, Nicholas Anders Gate and Bradley Gate, were hired to construct the massive, elaborate Cyrus Pinkney designs. Somewhere along the way, the skyline was built by the brothers, but politics and intrigue led to a terrible accident and the death of Bradley. Unable to cope with his brother’s death, Nicholas killed Cameron Kane’s son, earning a lifetime sentence to Arkham. Not wanting bad publicity for the new Gotham, the “first families” covered-up the true facts of the murder and the Gate brothers never received proper credit for their involvement in the development of the city. Cut to the present. For the past two days Batman (Dick), Red Robin, and Commissioner Gordon have been searching for a cache of Semtex that has shown up in Gotham. When three major city bridges are blown up by the Semtex, Dick meets with Tim, Damian, and Cassandra Cain (!) in the Bat-Bunker. While the Bat-Family discusses how to handle the investigation, Tommy Elliot is kidnapped from Arkham. The Bat-Family quickly learns that the new terrorist bomber has a vendetta against the buildings and ancestors linked to Gotham’s “first families.” Dick is able to save Hush from being blown up, but the old Wayne Tower goes up in smoke. Likewise, across town Robin and Black Bat are unable to stop Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge from imploding. Batman and Black Bat then take their investigation to the old Gotham Herald Building (owned by the Elliot family) where they learn that the new villain is targeting the Kane Bridge. (This is actually a red herring as the villain is actually planning on blowing up a retaining wall that will flood the city.) Meanwhile at Elliot Manor, Robin and Red Robin are soundly defeated by the debuting steampunk suit-wearing villain known as The Architect. The heroes quickly learn that the Architect is Zachary Gate, descendant of the Gate brothers, who mistakenly believes that the Gates were victims of persecution, sabotage, and murder at the hands of the avaricious “first families.” I say “mistakenly,” although there is some evidence that some underhandedness may have indeed occurred back in ye olden times. Anyway, after some excellent Bat-Family teamwork, the Architect is defeated once and for all. Afterward, Dick reports the results of the case to Bruce, who is overseas on some Batman Incorporated business. Bruce tells Dick that he’s done a great job as Batman, but he’s coming home to Gotham for good soon and when he makes his permanent return to the city, they must have a talk about the future (i.e. Nightwing will have to make his return). Whoa, big news.
–Red Robin #23
Tim uses his position with Wayne Enterprises to greenlight the rebuilding/revitalization of Crime Alley. Tim then accompanies Bruce to Montreal for a series of Wayne Enterprises meetings. There, a new Black Spider tries to assassinate Bruce, obviously fails, but manages to evade capture. May I kindly remind you that this is the fourth Black Spider and there are now currently three active Black Spiders in the DCU. Back in Gotham, Red Robin meets with Lynx and gets info from Lonnie Machin regarding another next assassination target: Lucius Fox. While Bruce is still on business in Canada, Batman (Dick) and Red Robin are ready for action when the assassin, a man wearing Scarab armor, shows up to off Lucius. Tim, being the master of fake-death trickery, fools the assassin (and the news media) into believing that Lucius has indeed been killed. Don’t worry, as usual Lucius is fine. Red Robin then obtains a special government release for the imprisoned Scarab, who leads him to her lair in Cairo. Just as Red Robin and Scarab enter the lair, Lonnie messages Tim with the news that the “Global Assassination Tournament” has begun again! (The last one was only a few months ago!) Red Robin is then attacked by Scarab and eight Scarab-armored assassins, collectively known as the Covenant of Ka. NOTE: In the next two issues (which feature neither of the Batmen and overlap with the next eleven items on our list) Red Robin will do the following: Defeat the Covenant of Ka, discover that the Tournament was just a lure by the Daughters of Acheron (specifically by members Promise and Ra’s al Ghul’s unnamed half-sister from Red Robin #12), avoid impregnating Ra’s al Ghul’s sis despite the sexpot’s best efforts to “get down,” defeat the Daughters of Acheron with Cassie Cain’s help, fake his own death in an attempt to figure out who was behind the “Global Assassination Tournament” (someone who is immortal, thousands-of-years-old, but apparently isn’t Vandal Savage or Ra’s al Ghul), help Cassie in Hong Kong fight against a ten-year-old metahuman called Cricket, and get multiple broken bones courtesy of Cricket. (I’ve included the last item as a note further down the list, in order to let you know when we’ve caught up on the timeline.)
THE METHUSELAH IMPERATIVE
——————–Titans Annual 2011 #1
——————–Titans #38
The JLA and the Atom chase the evil Titans to China and attempt to arrest Deathstroke (officially for the murder of Ryan Choi, which happened many months ago).[3] After Deathstroke is able to make the JLA stand down after threatening to detonate a nuclear device, the Titans flee to the safety of their former teammate Osiris’ home country of Kahndaq. In Kahndaq, the JLA fights the Titans to an epic stalemate until Isis angrily expels everyone from her country. The JLA goes home empty handed while Deathstroke delivers unto Dr. Sivana the final ingredient needed to heal his dying son Jericho: Supergirl’s blood obtained during the battle via a Kryptonite sword. Once Jericho is healed via Sivana’s Methuselah Machine (powered by captive metahuman DJ Molecule) Jericho decides he’s tired of being his evil dad’s pawn and owes him nothing. Similarly, Arsenal doesn’t like the idea of Sivana and Slade playing gods. A fight breaks out between all the members of the Titans aboard Sivana’s floating Labyrinth HQ. Cinder sacrifices her own life to destroy the machine, sending Sivana’s HQ crashing into Center City Philadelphia. Arsenal assumes leadership of the Titans, but everyone quits and goes their separate ways (except Jericho who stays with his old pal). In Ivy Town, the long-delayed funeral of Ryan Choi is held. Most of the superhero community turns out for the event, including Dick and the JLA.
–REFERENCE: In Batman & Robin #22. Dick adds a unique feature to the Bat-costume—razor Bat-ears that can be fired off as projectiles.
–NOTE: In a reference in Batman & Robin #21. Aaron “Bat Boy” Langstrom is cured and no longer looks like a freakish character out of the National Enquirer. We can only assume that the scientific genius of his parents was able to concoct a remedy for his permanent bat-like appearance. When we next see Aaron, in Batman & Robin #21, he will appear human.
–Batman & Robin #20-22 (“WHITE KNIGHT VS. DARK KNIGHT”)[4]
May. According to Dick it’s been “a few weeks” since Bruce did a “tango of death with a hot Latin number” i.e. just over one month since the events of Batman Incorporated #4. As for the snow on the ground, we should probably ignore it at this point in the calendar year. Our story begins with all the boys (Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Tim, and Damian) joined together at Wayne Manor for smoothies, popcorn, and screening of The Mark of Zorro! Later that night after patrol, Dick attends a fundraiser at the opera, but before the show begins a John Doe dressed as an angel falls 80 stories to his gruesome death. After a quick autopsy and discovery of what appears to be a fake suicide note, Dick and Damian are attacked by an out-of-control Man-Bat who claims his family is in danger. Dick and Damian easily track Kirk Langstrom’s wife Francine (who has had a tracer implanted in her shoulder ever since her days with the Outsiders) and sure enough, Francine, Rebecca, and Aaron are all dressed up as angels and hopped up on drugs. Dick and Damian snap them out of their drug-induced trances and save their lives just in time to witness the debut of The White Knight, a brightly glowing super-villain responsible for the death of the John Doe and the attempted murder of the Langstrom family. After a quick briefing with Alfred in the Bat-Bunker, our heroes learn that the White Knight’s original victim is Douglas Zsasz, brother of Victor Zsasz. The White Knight is trying to kill relatives of anyone that has ever been incarcerated at Arkham! Across town, the White Knight savagely murders the Mad Hatter’s parents, brother, and sister. Unknown to our heroes, the White Knight has already slaughtered Dr. Phosphorus’s entire family too. A full day later, the White Knight reveals that he has kidnapped dozens of Arkham inmate relatives, drugged them up with Special K, administered hypnotic suicidal suggestions via radio ear bud, dressed them up as angels, and placed them all at the top of Gotham’s tallest midtown buildings. Alfred is able to jam all citywide radio signals using a WayneTech satellite, preventing most victims from leaping to their deaths. Dick and Damian, meanwhile, are able to rescue the majority of the others. Before Batman and Robin can blink their eyes, the White Knight has taken control of Arkham Asylum, which is lit up like a flash of continuous lightning. Inside Arkham we learn the White Knight’s real name, origin, and motivation: As a young boy Louis Bayard’s father was a prison guard who was killed by Doc Phosphorus during one of the asylum’s many riots. Hellbent on revenge, Bayard ingested Arclight Serum, which turned him into a glowing super-powered metahuman. Back to the story at hand, the White Knight tries to drown the Arkham inmates (including Joker, Calendar Man, Phosphorus, Zsasz, Croc, Jane Doe, and Mad Hatter) in illuminated white liquid. Damian is able to save them all, but not before adding a few nasty scars to Zsasz’s flesh. Damian references Zsasz’s child fighting ring from “a few weeks back.” That Zsasz story occurred around Christmas, which would mean it happened about four months ago, not “a few weeks back.” Moving on, atop Arkham’s roof the White Knight tries to fly away from the Dark Knight with mechanical wings. The Dark Knight beats the White Knight silly and causes a hard-light explosion that permanently fuses the metal wings to the White Knight’s back. Afterward, the White Knight is safely incarcerated.
–Batman & Robin #23-25 (“THE STREETS RUN RED”)
For about four-and-a-half months the red-headed stepchild of the Bat-Family, Jason Todd, has been locked away in an Arkham cell. With his identity still a secret from the Arkham staff, the Red Hood doesn’t pose a threat to Batman’s security. When we last saw Jason, he was a wreck, his hair falling out and his body deteriorating due to a dependence upon and withdrawal from Lazarus Pit bathing. However, it looks now as though Jason has overcome his demons; the Red Hood is in the best shape of his career. Batman (Bruce) finally meets with Jason for the first time since returning from his Omega Sanction jaunt through time. But it’s not a personal visit; Bruce has learned that Jason will soon be transferred to a minimum security facility and wants to warn him to be good. In the Bat-Bunker, Bruce tells Dick and Damian to prepare for the worst. At Gotham City Corrections, Jason immediately begins killing his fellow inmates without mercy. Jason kills 97 men, most of them poisoned in the cafeteria! When the Dynamic Duo learns of Jason’s murderous rampage, little can be done, and Jason easily escapes custody en route back to Arkham thanks to the assistance of the TMNT-esque South American super-villain team known as The Menagerie. However, Jason starts fighting his rescuers when he learns that they are actually there to kidnap him under orders from their mysterious femme fatale leader. Batman and Robin show up just in time to join the melee. Jason further learns that the new unnamed villain has taken a hostage that she holds at Thomas Wayne Middle School: Jason’s former sidekick Scarlet! Dick and Damian have no choice but to join-up with Jason, who dons a combination of all his previous Red Hood outfits. Dick, Jason, and Damian are able to save Scarlet from the mystery abductor and a bunch of ninjas, but the mystery woman escapes without ever revealing what her agenda was or who she was. Jason and Scarlet also escape when Dick and Damian are forced to clean-up after explosions that Jason has triggered on the Gotham Metro railway tracks. So what was the main villain’s name in this tale and what was her end goal? Judd Winick never tells us! Yet another Winick tale left unfinished, just like Batman #691.
–Batman Incorporated #6
Bruce gives a television interview regarding Batman Inc. When Emoticon-Man and his thugs show up, Alfred kicks ass (!) and the villain is left surrounded by a bunch of GI Bat Robots and a grinning Bruce. Batman (Bruce), Batman (Dick), and Robin then meet with Commissioner Gordon to discuss the fact that Mayor Sebastian Hady has gone super-corrupt and has even been trying (unsuccessfully) to frame Gordon for murder. In the Batcave, Bruce appoints Red Robin as the new leader of the Outsiders. Subsequently, Bruce holds a meeting with his closest allies and declares war on Leviathan. The following are in attendance: Batman (Dick), Robin, Red Robin, Batgirl, Huntress, Oracle (via satellite), Halo, Looker, Katana, Metamorpho, and Freight Train. Later, at the Bat-Bunker, Bruce explains to Dick and Damian that many people will now be trying to expose the secret IDs of all the Batman Inc members. After examining an Internet message board, Bruce demonstrates that much of the Internet community already believes that Bruce is indeed Batman! Bruce isn’t worried, claiming that a “blizzard of rumor, denial, and misinformation” will keep their IDs safe and keep the masses guessing. Bruce and Alfred then begin a trip around the globe. In France, Batman (Bruce) and Nightrunner attempt to rescue kids from an enslaved child ring. However, the children have been brainwashed by Leviathan and brutally slaughter their own kidnappers, the crime franchise known as Les Stereotypes. Bruce and Alfred then travel to Kuala Lumpur, where Oracle informs them that Les Stereotypes was linked to Hong Kong criminal Jimmy Song. In Hong Kong, Cassie Cain debuts as Black Bat (!!!) and takes down Song’s organization. Bruce and Alfred then shoot on down to Melbourne where Batman (Bruce) and the debuting Aboriginal Dark Ranger (former sidekick of the original Dark Ranger) apprehend the remaining associates of the enslaved child ring. Then it’s off to North Africa where Batwing, Traktir, Spidra, and Batman (Bruce) shut down a Leviathan training camp. Following the African safari, Bruce appoints a mystery man, who knows Bruce’s identity as the Dark Knight, as the new Wingman.[5] Bruce then returns to Gotham where he goes undercover as a podgy alien-like metahuman PI named Nero Nykto to infiltrate the ranks of the Pennsylvania crime syndicate known as the Average Joes. The Joes are trying to break into the Gotham scene, but Nero Nykto reveals himself as the Caped Crusader and quickly sends them packing. Aboard the Leviathan satellite HQ, Doctor Dedalus and the mysterious leader of Leviathan begin their final preparations for an all out assault against the entire planet. On the twinkling blue Earth below, Batman Inc is ready and waiting. Artist Chris Burnham gives us a two-page splash that shows the members of Batman Inc in action. Batwing kicks ass in Africa. Nightrunner kicks ass in France. Gaucho kicks ass in South America. Cassie Cain kicks ass in China. Red Robin kicks ass in Haiti. Jiro Osamu kicks ass against Clayface IX in Japan. And Dark Ranger kicks ass in Australia.
–NOTE: In Wonder Woman #613. Wonder Woman finally makes the world right again and everyone remembers her true history. What happened, you ask? The evil Goddess of Retribution known as Nemesis, with the help of the witch trio known as the Morrigan, originally wanted to use Wonder Woman’s powers to destroy the world, so the Gods took Diana’s essence and placed it into a pocket universe in order to protect it from being stolen. But in the process Diana’s entire history was erased and rewritten. Now, Diana confronts Nemesis, who is endowed with the sliver of Diana’s original Wonder Woman essence. After defeating Nemesis, Wonder Woman regains her history and her memories, but opts to keep her new pants-costume look. Likewise, the rest of the DCU’s history in relation to Wonder Woman shifts back into proper place.
–FLASHBACK: From Justice League of America Vol. 2 #60. The JLA participates in the “Battle for Gemworld.” When Mordru leads an army of evil magicians from the mystic realm known as Sorcerer’s World in an attempt to take over Gemworld, the JLA intervenes. Batman solves the Witch of Alrain’s “labyrinth of riddles” while his teammates fight various magickal foes. In the end, the heroes prevail, although Starman’s arm is severely injured by Dark Opal.
–Justice League of America Vol. 2 #60
It’s been five weeks since “The Rise of Eclipso.” The JLA meets aboard the Watchtower satellite with big news. Everyone wants to quit. Supergirl has decided to quit the team to travel in space and maybe get a college degree. Donna, disenchanted with superhero-ing, has also decided to quit the team to become a full-time photographer. Jesse Quick is also quitting, with the startling revelation of a nearly eight-month-old baby bump that had been previously hidden by the Speed Force. Jesse is very pregnant! Congorilla decides to quit to focus on protecting his home continent of Africa. Starman, still shaken from his injuries in Gemworld, decides he might as well quit too. Dick also decides its time to quit, citing that his responsibilities with Batman Inc are too great. Dick also hints at the future and says that he thinks Bruce wants him to return to his old Nightwing moniker in the near future! (This was also hinted at in Batman: Gates of Gotham #5.) Thus, after all is said and done the JLA disbands. The final moments of the meeting are also shown in the Justice League of America Vol. 2 #59 Epilogue. The JLA is no more. Donna wonders aloud to Dick if posterity will remember this version of the team as they close-up the satellite and leave for good. And who knows? The Modern Age of Comics is coming to its end, but I know I will always remember.
–Batman 80-Page Giant 2011 #1 Part 5
Dick competes on a nationally televised celebrity trivia game show for charity. Naturally, the Riddler and his cronies ambush the program and hold everyone hostage. Dick, however, doesn’t have to lift a finger as the Question (!) arrives to save the day.
–Batman & Robin #26
The Man Who Laughs, a crazy French newcomer who dresses up like the figure from Magritte’s “Son of Man” and functions as France’s version of the Joker, breaks several metahuman inmates out of the Black Garden (Paris’ version of Arkham). Sister Crystal, Skin Talker, The Id, and Ray Man wreak havoc on Paris, warping the city’s most famous landmarks into a Dadaist nightmare come true. Likewise, a large chunk of the population gets killed or loses bodily control as a result. Batman, Robin, and Nightrunner are on the case and quickly save the day, apprehending all five villains.
–NOTE: In Red Robin #25. In Hong Kong, Black Bat (Cassie Cain) and Red Robin are soundly defeated by a ten-year-old metahuman named Cricket. Tim is severely injured and suffers multiple broken bones, including his arm. He will be out of action for the next six weeks.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman #713. The Dynamic Duo deals with a hostage situation at a rehab clinic and saves the life of several people, including Kevin McNulty. Damian learns an important lesson about victims and criminals.
–Batman #713
The end of an era. The final issue of Batman Vol. 1 (at least in the Modern Age, thus ending a 71-year continuous run that started way back in 1940). Never thought I’d say that. Dick and Damian attend a Wayne Foundation Annual Benefit for victims of the long ago but never forgotten Gotham Earthquake. At the event Damian tells three eager kids his version of the history of the Dynamic Duo. Afterward, Batman and Robin go on their nightly patrol.
–Red Robin #26
June 23-24. Tim has been recovering from the beating he took at the hands of Cricket for the past six weeks. The whole time Tim, the master of convoluted schemes that involve the most ludicrous trickeration known to man, has been planning the assassination of Captain Boomerang (Digger Harkness), the villain who murdered his dad. Red Robin lures Boomerang out of hiding with a complex set of baits that involve taking advantage of STAR Labs, creating a fake Black Lantern energy container, and setting up a meeting with Mr. Freeze. However, Tim has second thoughts and actually winds up saving Boomerang from Freeze. Tim then has another change of heart while fighting Boomerang and contemplates murder yet again before ultimately sparing the villain’s life. Dick and Damian congratulate Tim for not giving into the temptation of revenge. Bruce has a different sentiment, chastising Tim for even considering using lethal force.
–Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! #1 Chapter 2
Bruce meets with Lucius Fox and they discuss the diamond that was taken from Dr. Sivana’s lab (way back in Batman Incorporated #1). The gem is constructed of a metamaterial that is basically a new renewable energy source. Lucius also informs him that the full army of Batman Robots is ready for action. Batman Incorporated is finally ready to attack Leviathan head-on. Batman (Bruce), Batman (Dick), Robin, and Red Robin converge on a Leviathan oil tanker far out at sea. Gaucho is already on the ship somewhere. The heroes also send out a message to all other Batman Incorporated members available to go to the site as well. Upon infiltrating the ship, the Bat-Family is trapped within a deadly labyrinth. Batman (Bruce) is dosed with an experimental drug that induces early onset Alzheimer’s instantaneously. As the Dark Knight becomes separated from his group, he stumbles through the labyrinth and his mind begins to fade. Doctor Dedalus, on board the ship, is able to taunt Batman and pry precious secrets about Batman Incorporated from the struggling hero. Dedalus starts a twenty-minute countdown clock and declares that every five minutes Batman Incorporated members will die. The clock hits fifteen and in Mtamba, Batwing and his comrades are overwhelmed. At ten, the Hood is seemingly assassinated in London. Meanwhile, Batman (Dick), Red Robin, and Robin knock out some masked attackers, who turn out to be Dark Ranger and Nightrunner. Both had arrived at the Leviathan ship, per Batman’s orders, but were captured and immediately brainwashed by Dedalus. After going through several rooms containing fake Dedaluses, Batman (Bruce) finally reaches the real deal. But Gaucho is there and reveals himself as a double-agent still working for his old Spyral boss after all these years. Gaucho punches the unsuspecting Dark Knight to the ground. Dedalus detonates an explosive on the ship, which causes the vessel to begin sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Concurrently in Earth’s orbit, the Outsiders, per Batman’s request, investigate the Leviathan satellite HQ. They are not only shocked to discover a cackling Lord Death Man, but a countdown clock that reads “five minutes.” The satellite explodes. Back aboard the sinking ship, Dedalus reveals that when the countdown reaches zero, several meta-bombs strategically placed across the world will detonate causing global death and massive damage. Dedalus then orders Gaucho to administer a poison to the Caped Crusader. Gaucho has a change of heart and betrays Dedalus, giving Batman the antidote to the Alzheimer’s drug. A surprisingly deft Dedalus then stabs Gaucho in the throat with a knife engraved by Hitler, and then attempts to shock Batman to death with an electric prod. Robin enters the room just in time to save his father by throwing the Hitler knife into Dedalus’ head, killing the villain. A nervous Damian mutters, “Father. I’m sorry. He was going to kill you.” Great stuff. Meanwhile, Oracle takes control of the army of Bat Robots via Internet 3.0 and they raise the ship out of the sea. Batman, Batman, Red Robin, Robin, and a nearly dead (but surviving) Gaucho make their way to the inner sanctum of the ship. Behind a sealed door, Bruce finds on display the severed head of Jezebel Jet and a ringing red telephone. Bruce knows who the head of Leviathan is. He picks up the phone and hears the voice of pure evil, the voice of Leviathan: Talia al Ghul. Talia tells Bruce that the war is now started and that there is a half-a-billion dollar bounty on Damian’s head. Talia hangs up the phone from her secret location, inside the Monarch Theater on Crime Alley in Gotham City. She has eliminated key factors of Batman Incorporated in one fell swoop, controls all of Leviathan and the League of Assassins, and rules the dictatorship of Mtamba. With the mysterious Heretic as her right-hand man, Talia will stop at nothing to destroy Bruce and his Family.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Gates of Gotham #5, Justice League of America Vol. 2 #60, and Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #1. Dick retires his Batman costume and becomes Nightwing again. We will see that Dick has returned to his Nightwing persona in Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #1.[6]
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>>> DICK GRAYSON AS BATMAN QUICK LIST >>>
- [1]ALEKSANDAR: Gotham City Sirens #23 takes place right here for a few reasons. First, the Batman-less Gotham City Sirens #20-21 take place right before (or even around the same time) as the Azrael-centric “Judgment on Gotham” crossover, which includes both Batman #708-709 and Gotham City Sirens #22 and shows crazy Jesus aka the Crusader “judging” Gotham with a violent attack. In the lead-up in Gotham City Sirens #20-21, Harley breaks into Arkham to free/kill Joker while Selina is going to Devil’s Square to see what is going on with the Crusader there. Catwoman is then judged by the Crusader in Gotham City Sirens #22. Therefore, the Arkham breakout in Gotham City Sirens #23 must happen immediately after “Judgment on Gotham”—or maybe even around the same time.↩
- [2]COLLIN COLSHER / SAM GROOVER: We never truly learn definitively about Dick’s dark secret(s). Some internet people say it’s simply that Dick manipulated the creation of the Sirens team, but that wouldn’t have happened before Dick winning the cowl or near Final Crisis. Furthermore, Dick brokered a deal with Catwoman to start the Sirens team, so there was nothing sneaky going on there. While it’s possible Catwoman is referring to the time Dick allowed Tarantula to kill Blockbuster, it’s way more likely she is referring to something that occurred a very long time before the cowl when Dick was just a young boy: his “original sin,” allowing his circus comrade “The Prodigy” get beaten while he stood by and watched. Since Selina and Dick were both very recently subjected to Azrael’s tests, which revealed their “original sins,” it’s probable that she attained the knowledge of Dick’s “original sin” through these supernatural proceedings. This would actually connect to recent events quite nicely. Since Bruce wouldn’t be partial to this information, he is likely referring to the circumstances of Blockbuster’s death. (Bruce already knew that Blockbuster died on Dick’s watch, but he now knows the gritty details, that Dick purposefully allowed Blockbuster to die on his watch.) Thus, this is probably a case of Bruce and Catwoman getting their Dick Grayson character flaw stories crossed.↩
- [3]COLLIN COLSHER: Note that, as per Convergence: The Atom #1-2, Ryan Choi was not actually killed (sort of)! When he was stabbed by Deathstroke, a part of his mind/spirit entered the “Mass-Zone,” a white dwarf star dimension where mass is displaced to when shrinking down to atomic size. Via a shared connection to the Mass-Zone, Ryan was able to secretly exist deep within the recesses of Ray Palmer’s consciousness and body. So while Ryan’s teeny corpse was unceremoniously stuffed into a matchbox by Deathstroke, technically, Ryan lived on inside Ray and continues to secretly do so.↩
- [4]ALEKSANDAR / COLLIN COLSHER: Batman & Robin #20-25 must go shortly after Batgirl Vol. 3 #22, i.e. right here on our timeline, for several reasons. In Batgirl Vol. 3 #22, Stephanie moved to London as per Batman’s orders. However, this cut into her “Reapers” case she was working in the prior Batgirl Vol. 3 #20-21. Batgirl Vol. 3 #23-24 sees Stephanie briefly return to Gotham to finish the “Reapers” case—(Steph remarks to the detective she’s been working with that she was out of town)—before returning to England. The Batman-less Batgirl Vol. 3 #23-24 specifically overlaps with Batman & Robin #20-22 (“White Knight vs Dark Knight”). We know this because, in Batgirl Vol. 3 #23-24, some random cops talk about an angel falling from the sky (a reference to the “White Knight” case). Furthermore, when Batgirl is about to infiltrate Blackgate prison in Batgirl Vol. 3 #24 she says that Batman (Dick) and Robin are handling a hostage situation at Arkham (a reference, again, to the “White Knight” case). Note also that Batman Incorporated #6 and all following Batman Inc issues and related notes must go after this (i.e. after Batman & Robin #20-25) due to the fact that Batman Inc #6 follows-up on Jason Todd’s status after he escapes prison in Batman and Robin #25. (Jason becomes Wingman in Batman Inc #6, which has to occur after Batman and Robin #25.)↩
- [5]COLLIN COLSHER: We learn in the Rebirth Era’s Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 that, in spite of everything, Bruce has finally decided to give Jason Todd a second chance. Jason is Wingman! While the canonical status of the 666 Future dream sequence from Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #5 is debatable, this reference to Jason as Wingman likely is 100% canon since it was pre-planned at the time of the inception/publication of Batman Incorporated #6.↩
- [6]COLLIN COLSHER: And that’s all folks! Flashpoint occurs after Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! #1 Chapter 2, rewriting the entire chronology for the New Age. Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! ends with a cliffhanger—the first strike in what promises to be a brutal war. Several things are left unfinished. Did Batwing and the Outsiders really die? It wasn’t explicitly shown. And of course, there is the unfinished question of the war itself. However, the story continues in the new continuity! How can this be, you might ask? Well, Batman Incorporated Vol. 2, which wraps up everything, occurs on both Modern and New 52/Rebirth Era continuities simultaneously (thanks to the release of the Absolute Batman Incorporated edition). However, Dick returns to his former role as Nightwing to close things out, so our Dick-as-Batman timeline ends here anyway.↩
