(January to June 2022)
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–Batman Vol. 3 #118
Batman finally sees off Clownhunter and Ghost-Maker, who depart to begin the former’s training. Soon after, with “Fear State” firmly in Gotham’s rear view mirror, the city belatedly celebrates having survived yet another catastrophic event. As fireworks light up the night sky, Batman patrols, scaring some would-be crooks into turning themselves in. Oracle notifies Batman about a heist occurring at super-villain-themed costume party at the Billionaires Club. Batman takes down a bunch of crooks dressed up as his rivals (and likely the real Firefly) before an adoring crowd of cheering fans, who are also dressed up as his rivals. Afterward, Batman signs an autograph for a small girl dressed as Punchline. Oracle invites Batman to have coffee with her and Nightwing in Blüdhaven, telling him not to retreat into the darkness like he has before. (This scene is also verbatim referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #121.) Batman turns Babs down when he hears the news that Lex Luthor’s Batman Inc team has been arrested in Badhnisia for the supposed murder of a super-villain called Abyss. Batman tells Oracle that he’ll be “going dark for 48 hours.” (Of course, before he actually “goes dark,” he’ll deal with the short interlude that is Detective Comics #1046, which comes next and splits Batman Vol. 3 #118 in twain.)
–Detective Comics #1046
Picking up directly from the first part of Batman Vol. 3 #118, we are told that over a month has passed since Mayor Nakano approved the new Arkham Tower project. (It’s been closer to two months, but who’s counting?) From one of the Micro-Caves, Oracle sends word to the Bat-Family that there’s been a break-in and murder at a high-end condo. There, Batman and Batgirl (Stephanie) confront serial killer Ana Vulsion (whom Batman recognizes from his crime-files and who was first busted by Batwoman two years ago). While Batman busts Ana Vulsion again, Batwoman is briefed by Oracle in the Mirco-Cave. At a separate Micro-Cave, Batgirl (Stephanie) regroups with Huntress, who has had constant visions of crime victims ever since being infected by Hugh Vile’s parasite. At City Hall, Mayor Nakano (on Batman’s behest) meets with Dr. Chase Meridian, telling her that, while she is in charge of Arkham Tower, her staff is only working on a trial basis, after which time she will give the mayor (and Batman by proxy) a report card that will determine the future of the program. In a nearby park, Batwoman chats with Deb Donovan about the top docs working under Dr. Meridian—the press-friendly Dr. Tobias Wear and the mysterious Dr. Ocean. (Spoiler: Dr. Ocean is actually a disguised Psycho-Pirate, who has secretly partnered with Dr. Wear.) Across town, Stephanie urges Huntress to seek help for her parasitic visions, but Huntress shrugs off her condition. Meanwhile, Batman nostalgically dons his old raised yellow oval Batman Inc costume in preparation for his international trip to Badhnisia. Before departing, Batman meets with Dr. Meridian to tell her he is leaving for a bit, but that he is trusting her to be his eyes and ears at the new Arkham.
THE ABYSS
————————–Batman Vol. 3 #118 Epilogue
————————–Batman Vol. 3 #119-121
Picking up very shortly after Detective Comics #1046, the Batman Inc-costumed Dark Knight arrives in Badhnisia. (Note that while Batman originally said he would “go dark for 48 hours,” he will actually remain outside of Gotham for the next twenty-four days, meaning that, while it might not seem like it, this “Abyss” arc will span twenty-four days. Insert ellipses where applicable. Meanwhile, in Gotham City, the “Tower” arc will occur, as seen in the Batman-less Detective Comics #1047-1055.) After poking around in his civilian persona for a while, Batman examines the crime scene with a local cop named Detective Cayha. Pretending he is unaware, the Caped Crusader tells Cayha that he can’t figure out why the heroes would resort to lethal force. As Batman and Cayha ponder this question, they are approached by Lex Luthor, who reveals that he is the new financial backer of Batman Inc. Lex also controls the local police, who immediately chase Batman away with gunfire. Later, Bruce and Lex have dinner together to discuss matters at hand. Lex talks shit but tells Bruce they should work together, to which Bruce scoffs and leaves. At the local police station, Batman examines Abyss’ body to discover that it’s a planted cadaver. The real Abyss, alive and well, strikes at Batman, telling the Dark Knight that he “made” him. Abyss slices up Batman’s stomach with a scythe before blinding him. While Cayha tends to Batman at her apartment, Lex dons his own Batman Inc costume and fights Abyss at a nearby LexCorp skyscraper. Remotely-guided by Cayha, the blind Batman breaks into prison to free the jailed Batman Inc members. However, upon being freed, they attack Batman, claiming they are secretly working with Abyss against Lex. As he fights the Batman Inc team, Batman sees that they are holding back. He realizes they aren’t really working for either villain—they’ve been trying to play both sides against the other. As the “fight” spills onto the roof, Lex joins Batman’s side as a hounding Abyss arrives as well. Batman calls out the words, “Code: Club of Heroes,” which lets Batman Inc in on the fact that he’s wise to their game. Lex and Abyss are both upset to discover that neither of them actually control Batman Inc. Lex admits to having created several metahumans just like Abyss years ago in response to Bruce’s original Batman Inc venture, but then having lost control of the current Abyss soon afterward. Having regained his sight, Batman fights and chases away Abyss. Inspired by all that has occurred, Batman decides he will officially bring back Batman Inc in the near future. After debriefing Cayha and Batman Inc, the latter heroes tell Batman they’d actually been working the Abyss case for years in secret, even after the original Batman Inc collapsed. Finally opening up his radio channels for he first time in weeks, Batman immediately receives a message that the Arkham Tower program has fallen to pieces.
–Detective Comics #1056-1058 (“SHADOWS OF THE BAT: THE TOWER”)
Picking up directly from the conclusion of “The Abyss,” Batman heads back to Gotham from Badhnisia. In Gotham, the doctors have lost complete control of Arkham Tower. Dr. Tobias Wear’s revolutionary therapy method has actually been using Psycho-Pirate (aka “Dr. Ocean”) to mind-control all of the patients—but now Psycho-Pirate has lost control of them and Dr. Wear himself has been murdered by Siphon. While Psycho-Pirate hides in a closet with Koyuki Nakano, Scarecrow and the Party Crashers run amok, capturing Nightwing and Dr. Chase Meridian. They also kill Siphon. Meanwhile, Huntress takes down Mr. Freeze and Meager Man. Harley Quinn defeats some Party Crashers, rescues Dr. Meridian, and (guided by Oracle) shuts down building security, allowing Robin (Tim Drake) and Batgirl (Cassie Cain) to enter. Already inside and undercover, Stephanie Brown and Batwoman go into action as well. Scarecrow tosses an unconscious Nightwing out of a window, but Batman arrives just in time to save him. Concurrently, Ana Vulson confronts Psycho-Pirate and Koyuki. While Batman infiltrates Arkham Tower, Batwoman, Robin (Tim), and Stephanie fight Penguin’s henchmen, who have entered via the basement. Harley Quinn and Lady Clayface best Party Crashers in the pharmacy. Huntress rescues Koyuki from Ana Vulsion. Eventually, Batman, Robin (Tim), Batgirl (Cassie), and Batowman fight Scarecrow. Koyuki puts on Psycho-Pirate’s Medusa Mask and joins the fray. The villains are defeated and Arkham Tower is shut down, after which Batman and Batwoman tell Deb Donovan everything so she can write a tell-all. However, they leave out the fact that Psycho-Pirate was involved. Led by Oracle, Batman and the Batgirls then take down Penguin’s henchmen. The Bat-Family organizes a fake funeral for Tobias Wear in further effort to conceal Psycho-Pirate’s involvement in the Arkham Tower fiasco. At the funeral, Mayor Nakano tells Dr. Meridian that Arkham Tower will remain shuttered, but she will retain ownership of the building, to use the facility as she pleases. Batman, Huntress, and Harley Quinn then track down the maskless Psycho-Pirate, but instead of busting him, Batman simply talks to him, urging him to lead a different life. Psycho-Pirate walks away with a new lease on life. Meanwhile, Riddler (now sporting a very Green Arrow-esque goatee) sends out a pirate video podcast, asking, “When is a killer not a killer?”
–Batman Vol. 3 #121 Epilogue
With the Arkham Tower situation concluded, Batman phones both Babs (just to chat) and the Ghost-Maker (to check in on Clownhunter’s training). Meanwhile, in Badhnisia, Detective Cayha continues investigating LexCorp. In the rogue nation of Zandia, Deathstroke (now leader of the Secret Society, which he has re-branded as Deathstroke Inc) talks with Prometheus about targeting Batman.
–REFERENCE: In The Joker Vol. 2 #14. Jim Gordon’s long journey comes to a climax at the Sampson Family compound in Hooper County, Texas, where the Sampson Family holds a cannibalistic dinner party, complete with eight human corpses on the menu. Joker, Bane, and Vengeance also collide with the Sampsons, leading to twenty-three deaths within their family. Sawyer Sampson and Victoria Sampson are arrested. The event makes international headlines (which is how Batman learns about it), although Bane, Vengeance, and Joker avoid being publicly connected. Batman hears scurrilous rumors that Jim might have killed Joker. A week-and-a-half from now, Jim will finally return to Gotham.
–REFERENCE: In DC’s How to Lose a Guy Gardner in Ten Days #1 Part 2. With Dr. Will Magnus and Kathy Sutton as project leads, Lucius Fox (at Bruce’s urging) develops and launches WayneTech’s own GPT—a semi-sentient experimental AI program (beta version). Batman immediately integrates it with the Bat-computer network, calling it Bat-GPT. Kathy, who has long split with Red Tornado, begins dating Dr. Magnus.
–FLASHBACK: From Absolute Power #3. This vague image only shows Batman—in his yellow oval costume—holding a small child wearing a Green Lantern t-shirt and Bat-cowl. We can presume that Batman saves the life of this little cosplayer as part of a case or while on patrol. Since this flashback is derived straight from Jonathan Kent’s memory, we can assume that Jon is either present or directly involved with this item.
–REFERENCE: In The Swamp Thing #14. When a plant-based alien armada moves into Earth’s orbit, Hal Jordan reaches out to the superhero community for help. Batman tells him to contact the new Swamp Thing (Levi Kamei).
–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #129. Batman begins constructing a new high-tech super-suit, which he dubs his Omega Armor costume. While we won’t see it on our timeline ahead, he will tinker with this suit for a long time to come.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1067. Batman upgrades his costume, adding special ice and cold protection in the form of electrified microfilament woven through the fibers that can quickly raise the temperature of the suit.
–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1062. Batman begins utilizing a system of portable laser alarms, which he strings across the air above criminals before striking. This system, stored in his utility belt, is meant to warn, scare, and cause opponents to make combat mistakes.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: One Bad Day – Catwoman #1. Batman begins investigating fraudster Vivian Page (aka The Forger), an elderly auctioneer that has raked in millions of dollars by placing forged items into museums, auction houses, and the black market. While we won’t see it on our timeline ahead, Batman will track the Forger’s operations for months to come.
–REFERENCE: In Batman: Legends of Gotham #1. Batman upgrades the Bat-computer so that it can finally follow up on/search for the still-missing data cache that Leviathan pilfered from the world’s spy agencies and superhero networks (three years ago during Event Leviathan). While the Bat-computer begins what will be a months-long global scan for this “Leviathan Hoard,” Batman briefs the Outsiders about the investigation, giving them a new stealth jet called “The Outsider” and special emergency access to the Batcave and Bat-computer network.
–Batman 2022 Annual
Batman does some research on Lex Luthor’s nefarious activities while having been in charge of Batman Inc. Batman then reactivates Batman Inc and decides that the Ghost-Maker should be the new leader of the team. The Ghost-Maker agrees to take the job. Batman sends out an invite to a big Batman Inc meeting at one of the Ghost-Maker’s super-lairs, although he doesn’t make mention of the Ghost-Maker at all. Chief Man-of-Bats, Raven Red, El Gaucho, Dark Ranger, Knight, Batman Japan, Bat-Man of China, Nightrunner, and Wingman all arrive, but they are disgusted at the sight of the Ghost-Maker, who has kicked all their asses before. Batman tells them that the Ghost-Maker is the new leader of the team, not only because he has the same drive and mission as the original Batman Inc, but also because he has the wealth and tech to make the program function. The Ghost-Maker splits Batman Inc into two divisions, a local group comprised of heroes that will stay in their hometowns until called upon, and an international group comprised of the main players that will be actively fighting global crime. The minor league locals will be Chief Man-of-Bats, Bat-Man of China, Knight, and Nightrunner. The major league internationals will be Raven Red, Batman Japan, Dark Ranger, El Gaucho, Wingman, and Clownhunter (who will serve as the Ghost-Maker’s sidekick). Batman briefs the international division on their first mission: They will need to bring down Lex Luthor’s leftover Abyss program metahumans, starting with The Gray Wolf in Kazbek, Chechnya. With the Ghost-Maker, Clownhunter, and Icon (their AI guide), watching remotely, the rest of the team challenges the Gray Wolf only to get their asses kicked. The Ghost-Maker and Clownhunter enter the fray, soon realizing that the Gray Wolf isn’t a bad guy. They team up with him to take down a horde of Lazarus Resin-infected people that had been experimented on by Luthor. A couple days later, the heroes distribute a vaccine, curing the populace. A day after that, the Gray Wolf officially joins Batman Inc.
–DC’s How to Lose a Guy Gardner in Ten Days #1 Part 2
February 14. Superman, Batman, Booster Gold, Martian Manhunter, and Red Tornado briefly hang out aboard the Watchtower satellite. (Notably, Batman, who had reverted to his yellow oval costume, wears his black insignia costume in this item. As referenced in the upcoming Detective Comics #1059-1061, Batman has now begun the practice of randomly going back-and-forth between his yellow oval and black insignia duds, which we’ll see more of below.) Superman, Booster, and J’onn depart to go on dates while Batman departs to go on patrol. Seeing that the equally lonely Red Tornado (who has broken up with Kathy Sutton) is staying behind to do Justice League Reserve monitor duty, Batman hooks his android pal up with the new Bat-GPT AI for company. After viewing several of his friends on happy dates, Red Tornado visits his old flame Kathy only to find that she is now in a relationship with Dr. Will Magnus. Red Tornado is sad until he realizes that the Bat-GPT is into him. Red Tornado renames her Sona and they begin a relationship of their own.
–DC’s Harley Quinn Romances #1 Part 2
February 14. Pining for Selina, a lonely Batman (in his black insignia costume) patrols by himself on Valentine’s Day. Just as Jack proposes to his fiancée Molly, the debuting Red Bomber attaches to Jack an explosive device that can only be shut down with the villains thumbprint. Batman takes the smooching Jack and Molly into the Batmobile to chase after the Red Bomber. Eventually, he nabs the bad guy and saves Jack’s life. Jack and Molly invite Batman to their wedding, but he declines. In actuality, Batman saves the date with plans to attend if he can.
–REFERENCE: In Knight Terrors: Angel Breaker #1—originally told in Nightwing Vol. 4 #9. Note that Nightwing Vol. 4 #9, a New 52 era story with Rebirth trade-dressing that was published in January 2017, has been repurposed for the Infinite Frontier era timeline—moved much later, specifically “several months” prior to Knight Terrors. After Dr. Destiny causes Dick to have a series of terrible nightmares, Superman (Clark Kent) invites him to the Fortress of Solitude where they examine the Materioptikon and strap themselves into a Kryptonian device that allows them to enter the Dreamscape (aka the Dreaming). Upon waking, the heroes realize that the Kobra Cult has aided and abetted Dr. Destiny’s nightmare attack. (Kobra’s Lady Eve has invented a machine called the Asclepius, which allows Dr. Destiny to remotely access the Materioptikon.) Ultimately, the Justice League helps Nightwing defeat Kobra and Dr. Destiny. The JL keeps the Asclepius, although Kobra cultists are able to secretly download its schematics and build a new one elsewhere.
SHADOW WAR
————————–Shadow War: Alpha #1
————————–Batman Vol. 3 #122
————————–Deathstroke Inc #8
Suffering from Lazarus Pit-poisoning, Ra’s al Ghul has learned that he is dying. In Nepal, Ra’s al Ghul secretly watches Damian sparring with Talia. In Gotham, Batman (back in his yellow oval duds) tracks some parolees that have been kidnapped by Lock-Up. After getting some intel about the parolees from Oracle, Batman busts Lock-Up and makes the rescue. A breaking news report (by Cat Grant) tells the world that Ra’s al Ghul and Talia have turned themselves over to the DEO (specifically to the DEO’s current director Cameron Chase) and will stand trial for their many crimes. Brion Markov (aka Geo-Force) makes a public address regarding Markovia’s status as a nation now that Leviathan is no more and Talia is in custody. As Ra’s al Ghul prepares to make a public statement in front of the Markovian Embassy, Batman and Robin (Damian) tensely greet each other on a rooftop across the street. Meanwhile, the world tremulously watches on TV. We are shown the Outsiders (Black Lightning, Signal, and Katana), Lex Luthor, Oracle, and the Totality (Vandal Savage, Mr. Terrific, and Hawkgirl) watching with keen interest. (Note that Vandal Savage has already recovered and returned unscathed from his recent reality erasure and banishment at the hands of the Elders of Oa.) Ra’s al Ghul tells the world that he’s seen the light and no longer believes in eco-fascism. Now believing that humanity is worth saving alongside the planet, Ra’s al Ghul wants to share the power of the Lazarus Pits in order to help everyone. But before he can go into more detail, a fake Deathstroke puts a bullet in his brain. The fake Deathstroke also shoots Talia in the shoulder and then rolls a grenade toward Ra’s al Ghul’s downed body. Robin attempts to prevent the grenade from detonating, but Batman pulls him away, seeing that it would have killed the boy. The grenade explodes, incinerating Ra’s al Ghul’s corpse. In tears, Robin angrily yells at his dad. Batman hugs Robin and asks him to come home, but Robin pushes him away. As usual, Batman puts his foot in his mouth, referencing Alfred’s death in a way that causes Robin to flip out even more. Robin departs, telling his dad that he will bring Deathstroke to justice “dead or alive.” In Nepal, Talia’s aides prepare to place her into a Lazarus Pit, but Talia stops them, asking for regular medical care instead. Talia assembles The Demon’s Shadow, the most elite group of killers within the League of Assassins, tasking them with taking out Deathstroke. The Demon’s Shadow comprises of the Seven Men of Death (Hook, Maduvu, Shellcase, Whip, Detonator, Razorburn, and the unnamed shuriken-wielding assassin), Demon’s Fist (Mara al Ghul, Blank, Nightstorm, Plague, and Stone), Merlyn, Lady Viper, Raptor, Mad Dog Rex, December Graystone, Onyx Adams, Dragonfly, Rictus, White Willow, and Angel Breaker. At the Secret Society/Deathstroke Inc HQ in Zandia, Deathstroke tells Respawn, Deadline, and Prometheus that someone has set him up. Angel Breaker, flanked by ninjas and supported by Detonator, immediately attacks Deathstroke Inc, forcing Deathstroke and Respawn into hiding. Deadline is killed. In Gotham, Batman and Director Chase review holographic crime scene video of Ra’s al Ghul’s assassination. Chase shows Batman that “Deathstroke” got to the location of the murder via a freshly dug underground tunnel. Elsewhere, Damian joins up with Ravager to go after Deathstroke. Across the globe, the Demon’s Shadow (assisted by Slipknot) wages war against Deathstroke Inc—specifically against Prometheus, Shrapnel, Phobia, Count Vertigo, The Body Doubles (Bonnie Hoffman and Carmen Leno), Tattooed Man (Abel Tarrant), and Raptor. Interestingly, Onyx is drawn as the face-painted DC Animated Movie Universe version of herself, which means that she must sometimes alter her look for battle. Meanwhile, Deathstroke and Respawn go to the former’s San Francisco hideout. In Nepal, Batman confronts Talia. Their tense conversation ends with a kiss (!), but they are soon interrupted by Angel Breaker delivering a captured Raptor. The captive mentions Robin’s involvement in the recent Tournament of Death, about which Batman is very surprised to hear. Rather than stand idly by to watch Raptor get tortured or killed, Batman frees him and then departs as well. In San Francisco, Robin and Ravager break into Deathstroke’s hideout.
SHADOW WAR Continued…
————————–Robin Vol. 3 #13
————————–Batman Vol. 3 #123
————————–Deathstroke Inc #9
Picking up directly from Deathstroke Inc #8, Robin (Damian) and Ravager fight Deathstroke and Respawn. Eventually, Respawn unmasks, revealing his secret ID to Robin. Despite the revelation that they share DNA, Respawn and Robin continue fighting until Batman arrives. The Dark Knight is shocked to learn that Respawn is a genetic mix of Talia and Deathstroke. After Deathstroke convinces the heroes that he is innocent of Ra’s al Ghul’s murder, he gets a holographic video call from Dr. Moon, who is being held captive by Angel Breaker and Merlyn. Angel Breaker and Merlyn demand that Deathstroke turn himself over to Talia or else Dr. Moon will die. Deathstroke refuses to budge, leading to Dr. Moon’s swift execution. Deathstroke, Respawn, and Ravager then flee, leaving Batman and Robin behind. The Caped Crusader begs his son to team-up with him like old times. Robin agrees, provided that he can fly the Batplane. Meanwhile, Batman tasks Batman Inc (the Ghost-Maker, Clownhunter, Batman Japan, Wingman, Dark Ranger, a returning Hood, and El Gaucho) with preventing any more Deathstroke Inc members (including new member Dr. Destiny) from being killed by the Demon’s Shadow, and they are able to save Prometheus from Hook and Razorburn. Batman and Robin interrogate one of the fake Deathstrokes (from Brian Michael Bendis’ “United Order” arc), which leads them to a Central City tailor named Gambi. En route to Central City, Batman is notified by Batman Inc that most of Deathstroke Inc has been rounded up. At Gambi’s lair, Robin tells his dad that he has a girlfriend (Flatline). After fighting their way through death traps, the Dynamic Duo comes face to face with the impostor Deathstroke, who reveals a past connection to Batman before departing. In Washington DC, the Hood confronts Deathstroke, Ravager, and Respawn. Dozens of League of Assassins ninjas attack, killing both the Hood and Respawn! The latter is pronounced dead on arrival (to the Crime Doctor’s ER). After mourning their familial loss, Deathstroke and Ravager confront Batman Inc, hoping to reconnect with eight captive Deathstroke Inc members. After a quick even-matched fight against the Ghost-Maker, Deathstroke frees his comrades and escapes with them in a stolen Batplane. At the compound in Nepal, Talia and Angel Breaker meet with a chained Mother Soul, who claims that the Devil Nezha will soon return! Deathstroke and company strike at the heart of the League of Assassins, taking the fight directly to Talia in Nepal.
SHADOW WAR Conclusion
————————–Robin Vol. 3 #14
————————–Shadow War: Omega #1
Picking up directly from Deathstroke Inc #9, the Ghost-Maker debriefs Batman and Robin about Deathstroke’s actions. In Nepal, the Secret Society/Deathstroke Inc fights the League of Assassins. Batman, Batman Inc, and Robin, who refuses to back down despite his father’s wishes, quickly join the battle. Batman, Robin, and Ravager arrive into an inner sanctum to witness Talia kill Deathstroke! The fake Deathstroke then arrives, revealing himself to be Geo-Force, hellbent on revenge against Talia for having destroyed Markovia. As Geo-Force rampages, the Secret Society/Deathstroke Inc takes Deathstroke’s corpse and flees. Black Canary picks up Batman, Robin, Talia, and Ravager in a Batplane, but Geo-Force creates a stone giant that causes them to crash. Robin faces Geo-Force one-on-one, taking him down. Talia puts a knife to Geo-Force’s throat, but Robin talks her down. United as a family, Batman, Talia, and Robin defeat Geo-Force once and for all. Both Talia and Geo-Force go into the custody of Director Cameron Chase at the DEO. Later, in a long overdue moment, Batman and Robin make amends as father and son, forgiving each other for everything that’s come between them. When Oracle reports Killer Moth and Firefly are active, the Dynamic Duo is on the case! Meanwhile, Raptor guides the Secret Society to a hidden Lazarus Pit where they submerge Deathstroke, resurrecting him!
–Robin Vol. 3 #15
Picking up directly from the conclusion of “Shadow War,” DEO Director Cameron Chase interrogates a captive Talia al Ghul. Meanwhile, the Bat-Family—Batman, Nightwing, Robin (Damian), Batgirl (Cassie), Batgirl (Stephanie), and Robin (Tim) fight the Red Triangle Circus Gang. Later, Damian, Stephanie, Cassie, and Tim hang out and eat pizza with Babs, who tells them the breaking news that Talia has escaped from DEO custody. Batman and Robin (Damian) check in on Director Chase before meeting the fugitive Talia at a Gotham pier. Batman and Talia argue immediately and prep for a fight, but Damian stops them and scolds their behavior. Damian says that they both need to get along, and then asks Batman to let Talia go free. Batman complies and departs with Damian. With Batman and Damian gone, Talia doubles back into an alley to find a clean outfit and a super spy car. Director Chase has set up an elaborate ruse along with Talia, who will now work for the DEO as a secret agent. Later, Damian tells Batman that he’s going to head back overseas to find his own path. Damian soon reemerges on Lazarus Island, where some of the death match tourney players (including Black Swan, XXL, and Connor Hawke) now reside. Damian and Connor Hawke decide they want to turn Lazarus Island into a refuge for wayward metahumans. As they discuss their plans, an injured Lord Death Man washes ashore claiming that his protégé Flatline is trying to kill him. (Of course, Lord Death Man is lying.)
–Batman Vol. 3 #124
Oracle checks in with Batman to let him know that Talia has escaped from DEO custody and joined up with Robin (Damian), Batman Inc is still hunting for Lex’s metahumans, and that Abyss has supposedly come back from the dead in Badhnisia. But Batman already knows all of this and he’s already in Badhnisia working the case. Batman fights what is clearly a new Abyss, unmasking her as Detective Cayha. Cayha says that she is using the Abyss moniker in an effort to find her long-missing parents. Batman joins Abyss in roughing up men connected to her parents’ disappearance. They discover the location of her parents’ bodies, putting a bow on the cold case. Batman then recruits Abyss into Batman Inc.
–Detective Comics #1059-1061 (“THE SEVEN / RIDDLE ME THIS”)
As per Detective Comics #1061, this item occurs after “Shadow War.” Riddler does another pirate video podcast, again asking “When is a killer not a killer?” (He’s streaming every morning now and presumably has been for some time now—ever since the end of Detective Comics #1058.) Along with all of Gotham, Batman listens with curiosity. The next day, Batman is on hand to safely detonate a bomb that was intended for Judge Caroline Donovan (Deb Donovan’s daughter), although Caroline suffers minor injuries and goes to the hospital. Note that Batman wears his black insignia costume, continuing his recent trend of randomly going back-and-forth between his yellow oval and black insignia duds. At the hospital, Bruce chats with Deb and meets Caroline for the first time. Bruce pretends to flirt with Caroline, and both agree to grab drinks together once she is out-and-about. Later, after Batman reviews security footage and conducts a cursory investigation, all signs point to social media influencer and philanthropist Sarah Pet as the would-be bomber. Batman busts Sarah, who freely admits to the crime but refuses to say why she did it or to name her accomplices. A day later, Batman investigates a grisly murder at the opera house as Riddler’s podcast gives out cryptic information seemingly related to the crime. As Batman is asking the GCPD for permission to interview jailed arsonist Martin Ashen (the last person Caroline sentenced before the attempt on her life), a non-lethal gas bomb is set off by a man named John Harper in the opera house. Batman chases Harper into an alley only to watch him commit suicide. Later, as Riddler continues to podcast, Batman reviews the curious details of the recent cases, noting that all the criminals (including Harper) are first time offenders. Batman stalks outside of Caroline’s hospital room, overhearing her on an incriminating phone conversation with Dr. Chase Meridian. Soon after, Bruce goes on his date with Caroline at a fancy restaurant. After dropping her off at her house, Bruce tries to work out the details of the so-called “citizen criminals” investigation (named by Riddler) at the Bat-Garage. When Batwoman reports news from Deb about a break-in at the Gotham Gazette building, Batman rushes there. Deb says someone broke into her office and that she’s discovered that the “citizen criminals” each have (or had) skeletons in their closets from when they were younger. Batman cowl-scans the room to find brunette hair, which he takes as evidence. Later, Oracle reports to Batman that both Donovan sisters are connected to the “citizen criminals” in potentially incriminating ways. Not only that, but Sarah Pet was the sister of the deceased Dr. Tobias Wear. Bruce runs a DNA test on the hair, finding it belongs to heiress Darby Turner, who was once linked to both Batman and Talia al Ghul. Talia happens to be in Gotham, so Batman pays her a visit. She tells him that Darby fell into misfortune a while ago and that Riddler is just playing games with his podcast. (In reality, it’s no coincidence that Talia is around, as she is in cahoots with Riddler.) The next day, Darby takes Deb hostage at the Gotham Gazette building, threatening to blow the place up with C4. Batman shows up, pleading with her to stand down. Darby’s partner Perry shows up and begins to explain that they are being blackmailed, but Darby leaps off the roof in a suicide attempt. Batman saves her life. On street level, Perry is shot dead by Caroline. When Caroline disappears, an angry Batman crashes Riddler’s podcast, beating him up on live TV. The pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Dr. Chase Meridian had been treating the six “citizen criminals,” who each had committed a hidden crime in their past. Meridian herself has been covering up Caroline’s criminality for years (by not reporting it). Batman and Batgirl (Cassie) rush to Gotham’s famed Lady Justice statue where a captive Chase and Caroline have been put into a death trap on the statue’s giant scales. While Cassie saves Chase, Batman saves Caroline, but the latter only wants her nightmarish life to end. She knees Batman in the face and falls out of his arms into the sea below. Her body isn’t found and she is presumed dead. Thanks to Talia’s machinations, there’s no evidence linking Riddler to any wrongdoing. Later, Talia visits Batman in the downtown Batcave to chat about all that has occurred.
–second feature to Detective Comics #1062
As per editorial notation in the second feature to Detective Comics #1063, this item occurs prior to The Joker Vol. 2 #15. Having been back in Gotham for a couple weeks now, Jim Gordon is aimless without a job or a mission. After getting the brush-off (via phone) from both Commissioner Montoya and Babs, Gordon visits a bar and gets drunk. Batman confronts the extremely sloshed Jim, who slurs his words and can barely speak. A day later, Gordon (as part of a new private eye partnership with Harvey Bullock) accepts a missing persons case on behalf of the crooked Detective Urquhart. The case takes Gordon to the ruins of Arkham Asylum in search of sex worker Annie Redding. At Arkham, Gordon runs into a strange unnamed teenager with a large bird tattoo on his back (Sorrow).
–The Joker Vol. 2 #14-15
Interpol’s Chief Detective Isabella Hallows interrogates Jim Gordon about the incident that occurred at the Sampson Family compound three-and-a-half weeks ago. Afterward Jim continues what has been an awkward resettling back into Gotham. Following a meeting with Batman, Babs lets her dad know that the Dark Knight has heard all the rumors about him having supposedly murdered Joker. Soon after, Batman—in his yellow oval costume—visits Jim and asks him point blank about Joker. Jim tells Batman the long sordid tale of The Joker Vol. 2 #1-13, revealing that the Network had amassed a super-villain DNA bank, through which they created Bane’s cloned “daughter” Vengeance. Upon learning that the Network was going to try to clone a Joker army, Joker destroyed their lab. Later, Jim, Babs, Batgirl (Cassie), Cressida Clarke, and Harvey Bullock defeated the Sampson Family and a resurrected James Gordon Jr, who had been brought back to life by the Network. Joker killed Cressida, after which Jim reluctantly allowed him to go free, knowing that Joker is the only person that can truly bring down the Network. Jim ends his tale there. He notifies Batman that he and Harvey Bullock will be starting their own private detective agency while continuing to support Isabella Hallows and Interpol in the war against the Network. (Jim and Bullock are already working an ongoing case from the second feature to Detective Comics #1062-1063, but as per reference in Detective Comics #1066, Batman will mistakenly think that Jim is leaving town to work with Interpol. Batman will also doubt whether or not Jim is actually going to stay in Gotham.) After parting ways with his dearest friend, Jim sleeps soundly.
–REFERENCE: In Hawkgirl Vol. 2 #1. The events of Galaxy: The Prettiest Star occur, known to some (including Batman) as “The Vane Incursion.” An alien species known as The Vane invades Earth, but they are stopped by another alien princess named Galaxy (Taelyr Ilextrix-spiir Biarxiiai aka Taylor Barzelay). Galaxy single-handedly saves the entire world, but the event is so traumatic that the global populace’s memories of what has occurred get erased somehow. Only a select few (including Batman) are able to sort of piece together what has happened based upon certain clues. Batman secretly surveils Galaxy, who takes up residence in Metropolis’ A-Town neighborhood along with her girlfriend Kat Silverberg and corgi familiar Argus. He adds her profile to his computer database.
–FLASHBACK: From Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #3 Part 1. Late March. The baseball-themed thief aptly named Mr. Baseball (Austin Clutch) and his gang rob a bank owned by gangster Vito Grande. To make sure Batman and Robin (Damian) are occupied during the heist, Mr. Baseball hires Ratcatcher to distract them. (Notably, Mr. Baseball always hires a distraction for the Bat-Family during his heists, so while we cannot say for certain which of Batman’s previous super-villain encounters were arranged by Mr. Baseball, a bunch of them definitely were orchestrated diversions. Also note that, starting with this item, Batman returns to only wearing his black insignia costume again.) Following the robbery, Grande orders his man Mikey Briffa to lure Mr. Baseball into an ambush at Major League Baseball opening day at Gotham Knights Stadium. Grande, along with his hoods Briffa, Stefano, and Jimmy, beat and torture Mr. Baseball, leaving him with permanent scars on his face that resemble the stitches on a baseball.
THE BATTLE FOR BLÜDHAVEN’S HEART
————————–Nightwing Vol. 4 #92
————————–Nightwing Vol. 4 #95
Bruce visits Blüdhaven to meet with Dick and Babs for the grand opening of a new park called Haven, which Dick has financed. Bruce, Dick, and Babs stroll, walking pups Haley and Ace while eating slices from a pizza truck run by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. Dick shows Bruce an Alfred Pennyworth commemorative statue that he has put in the center of Haven. Blockbuster, Commissioner Gil MacLean, and Mayor Melinda Zucco show up to give Dick a hard time. Superman (Jon Kent), the guest of honor, appears as well. After nightfall, Blockbuster’s goon squad tries to wreck the park, but Nightwing stops them. Across town, Heartless meets with Blockbuster, seemingly forming an alliance. A few days later, after MacLean has been stripped of his commissionership and arrested for being in league with Blockbuster, the angry latter orders Brutale and Electrocutioner to kidnap Mayor Zucco. Nightwing rescues her. At Blüdhaven PD HQ, MacLean is executed by Blockbuster’s men on the inside. Newly appointed BPD Commissioner Maggie Sawyer—along with her righthand man Dan Turpin—is furious that a material witness has been silenced. Nightwing calls upon the entire Bat-Family and the Titans to help wage war against Blockbuster and Boss Maroni. Mayor Zucco, Audre, Commissioner Sawyer, and Turpin meet with Batman, the Batgirls, Signal, Robin (Tim Drake), Huntress, and the Titans. (Note that Gar Logan is now going interchangeably by both “Changeling” and “Beast Boy.” Plus, at this juncture on our timeline, Gar and Cyborg have merged into one composite form, and only Raven’s magick is making it seem like they are in two different bodies. Although, it is highly possible that they were separated off-panel just prior to this arc.) As night falls, the heroes disrupt all of Blockbuster’s operations and bust Boss Maroni. (One of Blockbuster’s goons flips-out when confronted by Flash, calling him a “Justice Leaguer.” An easy mistake for a low-level henchman to make, but this is definitely Wally, not Barry.) A pissed-off Blockbuster responds by blowing up Haven and kidnapping some children, including Nightwing’s friend Elliot Holt. After making sure the kids are safe, Nightwing fights Blockbuster only to lose his domino mask, exposing his secret identity to the super-villain.
–Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #1
Hippolyta has recently died, making interim Queen Nubia the now official Queen of the Amazons. With Tawny Young reporting live, Queen Nubia and her envoy (Anahi, Bibi Dalair Kaur, Bia, and Clio) debut their floating island HQ to the world and address the global populace from the steps of the Hall of Justice. Nubia says that she will be very proactive as leader of the Amazons, starting first with stopping deforestation in Brazil. While Nubia chats with Wonder Woman, the rest of the Justice League meets Nubia’s aides: Batman converses with Anahi; Bibi has lunch with Black Canary and Green Arrow; Flash shows Clio the armory; and Black Adam escorts Bia to the gift shop. Later, Hawkgirl asks Nubia if she can accompany the queen’s team on their global mission. The next day, Nubia’s crew travels to Brazil as promised. As Nubia makes a public address about saving the rainforests, masked villains led by Neser, who is seeking to acquire Nubia’s magickal amulet, bomb the proceedings.
–REFERENCE: In Wonder Woman #793. Superman (Clark Kent), Batman, and several other superheroes discuss the recent death of Hippolyta, specifically pondering about how it will affect Wonder Woman. Some heroes believe that Wonder Woman will retire permanently back to Themyscira, but Batman and Superman seriously doubt she’d ever give up the crimefighting game.
–Batman: Urban Legends #18 Part 5
Fed-up waitress Isabelle Gold and her friend Kevin “Kevbo” Navarro rob the patrons of the Iceberg Lounge—including Eduardo Flamingo, Roland Worth, Tiger Shark, and Marvin Falcone (Carmine’s nephew, who is an analogue of Martin Shkreli). The next evening, they continue their angry millennial campaign against super-villains, stealing from Killer Moth and pooping on Kite-Man’s doorstep. Soon after, Batman confronts Isabelle and Kevbo, but they are interrupted by the vengeful Killer Moth. Batman takes down Killer Moth with ease and then decides to let Isabelle and Kevbo go free.
–Task Force Z #12
At Powers International HQ, Task Force Z confronts Mr. Bloom and Gotham (Hank Clover). The conflict causes the entire skyscraper to collapse. Red Hood and Gotham Girl (Claire Clover) talk some sense into Gotham, who turns on Mr. Bloom. Two-Face assists Gotham and Red Hood to fight against Mr. Bloom. Eventually, Gotham flies off with Mr. Bloom before returning and saying, “You don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Gotham and Gotham Girl then depart together. Two-Face and Red Hood shake hands and part ways. Red Hood fakes his death (outing his secret ID in the process) and sends a letter to Bruce saying he’s sorry for anything bad he ever said to him. Stephanie Brown reads the letter, quickly deducing that Jason is still alive. (Bruce likely knows too, and if he doesn’t, he certainly will soon.) Stephanie catches up with Jason at an airport to say goodbye. Jason flies to West Texas, the last place Joker was spotted (in The Joker Vol. 2). Later, in the Gotham Morgue, Two-Face resurrects Madame Crow, Deadshot, Victor Zsasz, Arkham Knight, Copperhead, and KGBeast, turning them into a new villain team. (Two-Face specifically leaves Kirk Langstrom dead.)
–Batman: Urban Legends #19 Part 2
Batman investigates some grisly murders supposedly committed by a small child. The clues lead Batman to the Monarch Theater on Crime Alley where he finds a small murderous puppet boy named Bobby, who claims to have been killing in an effort to lure Bruce Wayne back to the source of his trauma. Batman soon learns that Bobby is the Ventriloquist’s new replacement for Scarface. Batman takes down the Ventriloquist and Bobby, showing great surprise when Bobby seems to act on its own without the Ventriloquist’s assistance.
–Batman: Urban Legends #21 Part 1
Batman gets briefed by the GCPD about a monthlong string of successful robberies that have been pulled off by a gang with an expert driver called Getaway. While she’s driven circles around the police, it’s Batman’s turn to try. In the Batmobile, Batman and Robin (Tim Drake) chase after the gang only to get badly run off the road. Three days later, Batman and Robin examine the torched and abandoned getaway car, deciding that they need a special whip in order to bust their foe. After some digging, Batman deduces that Getaway is race car driver Hae-Jin “Grace” Lee. With Kid Flash’s assistance, Batman and Robin begin construction on a new vehicle. This construction takes place in the Batcave under Wayne Manor, so either our heroes are specifically making use of the automotive facilities or this is a continuity error. (The original Batcave is currently technically out of commission at the moment.) After the F1-ish Bat-Bolt is ready to go, Kid Flash returns to his usual Teen Titans and Teen Titans Academy business. Not long afterward, Batman chases after Getaway in a rematch. (Getaway has stolen a disk drive from an abandoned Leviathan safe house on behalf of Two-Face.) The Bat-Bolt is destroyed, but Batman is able to bust both Getaway and Two-Face’s man Cicero. Getaway goes to Bell Reve Prison. Despite being behind bars and having failed, Getaway receives a message of approval from Two-Face.
–Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1 Part 1
Superman (Clark Kent) finally returns from his long mission to free Warworld from the tyranny of Mongul III. Upon visiting Batman in Gotham, Superman finds the Dark Knight in a struggle with super-villain Mr. Nobody. After surviving his surreal meta-magick and sending him away, the heroes decide to have breakfast. Clark visits Bruce’s Fort Graye brownstone for the first time. Over eggs and coffee, the two besties catch up.
–Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1 Part 2
Immediately following Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1 Part 1, Superman (Clark Kent) visits Jimmy Olsen, letting him know that he’s finally back on Earth. Jimmy follows Superman while the latter patrols, fighting robots, saving people from various disasters and accidents, and teaming up with Batman and Wonder Woman to rescue kids from a collapsing building. Later, as they eat soft pretzels, Jimmy tells Superman about all the struggles that the world has dealt with while he had been gone. Jimmy also shows Superman his gallery photography project, which specifically tells the story of modern humanity’s struggles. Superman poses for a new artistic shot for Jimmy’s project, holding pictures (including one of his son Jonathan Kent) while hovering high above the planet. Jimmy snaps the tricky shot from inside a military jet.
–Superman: Son of Kal-El #18
In Smallville, the Justice League—Batman, Superman (Clark Kent), Wonder Woman, and Flash (Wally West)—with Hal Jordan and Superman (Jon Kent) use their combined super powers to instantly rebuild the Kent family farm, which had been leveled by Faultline a few months ago. Around the farm, Batman installs a protective dome, which—as referenced in Action Comics #1050—includes psychic defenses courtesy of Martian Manhunter. Nightwing and Lois Lane arrive to brief the heroes about a new Lex Luthor-sponsored teenage super-villain named Red Sin (Luis Rojas), who has the power to negate Kryptonian invulnerability. (Red Sin recently attacked and injured Jon.) The next day, Red Sin kidnaps Jimmy Olsen and lures Jon to the woods outside Metropolis. Red Sin attacks Jon again, but the latter uses tech given to him by Nightwing and Brainiac 5 to survive. Both Supermen bust Red Sin, sending him to Stryker’s Island Penitentiary. Lex Luthor remotely chats with Red Sin in his prison cell, telling him that he will be at the center of “Project Blackout,” a new plan to destroy the Superman-Family once and for all.
–Wonder Woman #793
When an alert signal emanates from the old lunar Watchtower (sill abandoned and out-of-commission), Wonder Woman, Superman (Clark Kent), and Batman investigate. As the teleporter has been mysteriously deactivated, Batman arrives via BatRocket, wearing a space suit. The Trinity soon finds alien Imperium scouts, who have badly disguised themselves as other superheroes, hiding in a back room. The Imperium scouts had accidentally tripped an alarm. Seeing through the ruse, the real superheroes make quick work of the aliens, imprisoning them in a lunar Watchtower containment cell. Soon after, still in the lunar Watchtower, Batman has coffee with Superman and Wonder Woman. Batman offers his condolences about Hippolyta’s passing. Superman and Batman hug Wonder Woman, telling her they love her. The trio eats some very old Oreo cookies, which Batman steals from J’onn’s hidden stash. After chatting with the Imperium (and giving them cookies), the heroes learn they’d been hiding in the lunar Watchtower for years. (As referenced in Harley Quinn Vol. 4 #20-21, Luke Fox has been regularly accessing the lunar Watchtower for some time now. How he never came across the Imperium is unknown. Maybe they coincidentally always stayed in separate wings? More likely, the Imperium hid whenever Luke came to visit.) The Trinity continues their lovely reunion while admiring the big blue Earth below.
–Nubia & The Justice League Special #1
Immediately following Wonder Woman #793, the Trinity returns to the Hall of Justice to find Queen Nubia hanging out with the Justice League. (Nubia has just finished assisting the team against Firefly and Parasite.) Nubia is declared a valuable asset and official friend of the team. When a report about Weather Wizard comes through on the comms, Nubia and the JL are on the case.
–Batman: One Bad Day – Clayface #1
Clayface (Basil Karlo), having been a good guy for a few years now, is now living in Los Angeles, trying to make it as an actor under the apt alias “Clay.” When his friend gets chosen over him to play the lead role in a Joker biopic called The Killing Joke, a jealous Clayface snaps, kills his friend, and assumes his identity. On the first day of set, Clayface butts heads with the director and producer, which leads to him killing seven more people. Later that day, Clayface murders studio executive Harry Silverman, producer of a series of successful Gray Ghost films based on the classic Simon Trent Gray Ghost TV show, the latest of which stars Beast Boy (Garfield Logan) and is being directed by Zack Snyder. Not long after, posing as Silverman, Clayface hosts a huge party. Bruce attends the party as a representative of the Gotham Commerce Society, hoping to convince Silverman to shoot the next Gray Ghost film in Gotham. Soon after speaking with Bruce, Clayface is outed as a fraud and murderer. Batman stalks Clayface to a nearby park, chastising him for his actions, but also blaming himself for believing that the villain could actually turn over a new leaf. Using his special Ghostbusters-esque device, Batman traps Clayface and sends him to a special cell in Gotham City. As referenced in the upcoming Batman Vol. 3 #125, Batman will claim he has injected Clayface with an experimental formula that can turn his flesh into explosive material. I’m assuming this murderous threat is merely a bluff and Batman doesn’t actually do this. However, if it is true, then it means Batman has to inject him here-and-now.
–Batman: The Brave and the Bold Vol. 2 # 15 Part 2
Apparently, on Earth-0 there once existed a superhero team of mutated dinosaurs called the Jurassic League (Aquanyx, Batsaur, Flashraptor, Green Torch, Supersaur, and Wonderdon). The Jurassic League, along with all the other dinosaurs, died after an asteroid struck the planet 65 million years ago.[1] Naturally, a time-traveling Booster Gold (with Skeets) accidentally causes the asteroid to not kill the dinosaurs, which causes a butterfly effect that includes the human race going extinct and mutated dinosaurs to become the present day dominant species. Some unknown cosmic force (cough, writer Mark Russell, cough) allows Booster and Skeets to not get erased from existence, so they are able to go back and ensure the asteroid does kill the dinosaurs. However, Booster causes another deadly asteroid to hurtle toward Earth in the 25th century. Feeling out of his depth, Booster travels to present day, eats a corndog, and collects Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The foursome (plus Skeets) travel to the 25th century where they are aided by Bugster Gold and Skeeter—heroes from 65 million years in the future. The insectoid Bugster claims that he must ensure that the asteroid strikes Earth to eliminate humans so that his species can become the dominant tellurians later on. (This means that Bugster and Skeeter have also been allowed to remain in existence by the same Mark Russell—I mean same unknown cosmic force—that allowed Booster and Skeets to remain). The very same unknown cosmic force then whisks Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman back in time to 65 million years ago where they meet the Jurassic League on a planet that is being torn asunder thanks to asteroid impact. Booster appears and takes the Trinity back to present day just before the Earth gets swallowed up by lava and all the dinosaurs (Jurassic League included) are killed. Booster claims that he tricked Bugster and was able to save humans from annihilation in the 25th century. Of course, Booster is totally wrong, and the asteroid is still heading toward Earth in that time. Thus, the heroes travel back to the 25th century. Unencumbered, Superman easily steers the asteroid away, preventing planetary impact. By the power vested in our good ol’ unknown cosmic force, Bugster and Skeeter remain as anomalous remnants on the Earth-0 timeline even though their insectoid future has been erased.
–REFERENCE: In Tim Drake: Robin #1. Tim Drake moves into a houseboat in Gotham Marina. Batman accepts Tim’s new solo venture, but he tells Tim he’s worried about him.
–Black Adam #5-6
This item has an editorial note, placing it prior to Dark Crisis. Nergal, the Ancient Mesopotamian god of war and plague (part of the pantheon known collectively as The Akkad), kidnaps Sargon the Sorcerer. Nergal helps the spirit of 24th century BC emperor Sargon of Akkad, after whom Sargon the Sorcerer takes his name, possess the latter’s mind and body. Meanwhile, the leader of Kahndaq’s Democratic Reform Movement is killed, making global headlines and causing widespread chaos in Khahndaq. While en route to the States, Black Adam chats with his friend Shep via phone. In Egypt, a Kahndaqi Air Combat Command pilot, believing Black Adam to be responsible, kamikazes into Black Adam, sacrificing his life. In Gotham, Oracle and Bruce read the news and aren’t pleased. Black Adam pays Bruce a visit at his brownstone to warn of the threat of the Akkad. Bruce warns Black Adam about his bad behavior. Bruce also notices that Black Adam is hiding a nasty rash, noting that it might have something to do with a reaction to Nth Metal in his ring. Both Black Adam and his new reluctant protégé White Adam (Malik White) have contracted a bizarre virus courtesy of the Akkad. Speaking of Malik, Black Adam briefly meets with him at the Washington DC hospital where he works as a surgical assistant. His boss Dr. Desmond Troi is none too pleased with an interruption by a visitor. Malik’s girlfriend Jasmin isn’t too keen on Black Adam being involved in their lives either. Malik rushes home to his apartment to find the Sargon-possessed Sargon waiting for him. Soon afterward, Black Adam finds himself captured, bound, gagged, and strapped to a chair, stuck inside a virtual reality simulation designed to break him down. In the simulation, Black Adam is confronted by Batman, who wears his Dark Knight Returns anti-metahuman armor. Not wanting to fight, Black Adam powers down, but chastises Batman for hounding him. He also derides the “arrogant” JL, calling them the “League of Marxists.” Batman retorts, calling him villainous scum and saying he is disgusted to serve alongside him in the JL. After Black Adam still refuses to fight, Batman takes the first shot and the epic struggle ensues. Batman taunts Black Adam with facts about his life and history, revealing that he is in a simulation designed by himself (Bruce), Martian Manhunter, and Steel (John Henry Irons). Eventually, Black Adam bests the virtual Batman and escapes from captivity back into the real world. Black Adam immediately phones Bruce to tell him what comes around goes around. But Bruce is genuinely confused, having no idea what has occurred. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter, who was legitimately running the simulation (an anti-Flash trap actually designed by Mirror Master but repurposed for Black Adam), deems that Black Adam has failed the test.
–Batman: One Bad Day – Catwoman #1
Catwoman plans to steal her mother’s old brooch, which now is about to be sold at auction. At the black tie auction gala, Selina chats with auctioneer Vivian Page and locks eyes with Bruce before making a clean getaway with the brooch. Back home, Selina phones her sister Maggie, who is currently working at a supermarket, to tell her about the brooch. Later, Catwoman has the brooch assessed by a fence, who determines that it is a worthless fake. Catwoman trails Vivian, but Batman (who has been investigating Vivian for months and has now learned about the history of the brooch) has the same idea. Batman and Catwoman begin kissing passionately, but stop themselves to focus on the case at hand. Batman asks Catwoman to hold off on going after Vivian for a few days, so that he can finish building a strong case against her. Of course, Catwoman disobeys and immediately confronts Vivian, who reveals herself as “The Forger.” The Forger also reveals that she made the brooch thirty years ago, at which time she sold it to Catwoman’s mom. With Batman watching from the shadows, Catwoman challenges the Forger, who despite being several decades Catwoman’s senior, bests her in a fight. As Catwoman is licking her wounds, Batman checks in on her. Batman and Catwoman tell each other that they miss one another, and Batman asks if he’ll see her later that night. Catwoman says that he can count on it. (This isn’t really Bat and Cat setting a date, but simply more flirtation and acknowledgement that their paths will cross on patrol later on.) Selina heads off to spend the day with her sister Maggie, which is where the story ends. We can presume that Batman and Catwoman cross paths later that evening, though.
–REFERENCE: In The Human Target #9. Batman briefly looks into the supposed murder of Guy Gardner at the hands of Christopher Chance only to find that Guy Gardner is still alive. (Christopher Chance and Guy Gardner pulled a ruse wherein which Guy used his ring to fake his own death.) Note that the Batman-less The Human Target #12 (which follows not long after this reference item) features the death of Christopher Chance, after which Ice gets revenge by poisoning Lex Luthor. Of course, Luthor survives since we’ll see him shortly.
–REFERENCE: In Batgirls #13-15. Cluemaster is found dead, but his body disappears from the morgue three days later. Unknown to the Bat-Family, Mad Hatter absconds with Cluemaster’s body and resurrects him via Lazarus Serum, after which Cluemaster goes into hiding.
–REFERENCE: In Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1 Part 1. Batman learns about the superhero Dreamer (Nia Nal), who can travel through people’s dreams and see the future.
–DC’s Harley Quinn Romances #1 Part 2 Epilogue
From a distance, Batman watches Jack and Molly’s Batman-themed wedding.
—[2]
–Nightwing Vol. 4 #98[3]
Nightwing and Batgirl (Babs) are protecting state witness Boss Maroni at a safe house outside of Gotham when the 5th Dimensional imp Nite-Mite (Dyxl) shows up! Bringing with him standard impish magickal mischief, Nite-Mite teleports all of Nightwing’s closest pals to his location for an impromptu Nightwing/Batgirl wedding! Present are both Supermen, Aquaman (Jackson Hyde), the Titans, the Signal, the other Batgirls (Stephanie and Cassie), Batwoman, Huntress, Red Hood, the Robins (Damian and Tim), Haley the dog, and Roy Harper. (Roy’s appearance would surely come as a shock to everyone since he hasn’t revealed his return yet, but since no one can tell whether or not this is some weird hallucination, no one pays his presence any mind.) After Dick and Babs explain that they aren’t ready to get hitched, Nite-Mite poofs everyone away, except for Batman, who lingers to inspect the imp situation. He then says he doesn’t have time for this because he’s dealing with a triple homicide case in Gotham. Nite-Mite poofs him away. After teleporting to Blüdhaven, Nite-Mite reveals that Blockbuster (who has recently been killed by Heartless) had made a deal with Neron where, upon his (Blockbuster’s) death, Neron would be able to collect the soul of his firstborn child. Sure enough, demons are coming for young Olivia Desmond. (Olivia is the daughter of Blockbuster and Jezebel Jet!) Powered up by 5th Dimensional juju, Nightwing and Bitewing (Haley) take down some demons and rescue Olivia, who goes into the care of Raven. Nightwing, Bitewing, and Nite-Mite celebrate victory.
–REFERENCE: In Absolute Power #2. Batman and Superman create special tactical suits for every member of the Justice League, storing them in the Fortress of Solitude.
–Justice League Vol. 4 #75
Having recently become aware of and dealt with the threat of the Great Darkness, the Justice League Incarnate (President Superman, Dino-Cop, Flash Avery Ho, Mary Marvel of Earth-5, Aquawoman, Captain Carrot, Thunderer, and Dr. Multiverse of Earth-8) teleports the Justice League to the House of Heroes. Notably, Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is hanging out with the other Aquaman (Jackson Hyde) at the time of teleportation; Green Lantern John Stewart (now merged with part of the Source and also sometimes calling himself “Emerald Knight“) is palling around with the Green Lantern Corps on Oa when he is forcibly summoned; Batman is hanging out with the Ghost-Maker and Clownhunter when he is pulled through spacetime; Superman (Clark Kent) is zapped away while revisiting Warworld.[4] Batman, Superman (Clark), Wonder Woman, Aquaman (Arthur), John Stewart, Hawkgirl, Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Black Adam, Green Arrow, and Black Canary are greeted by the JL Incarnate. President Superman briefs the heroes of Earth-0, telling them that Flash (Barry Allen) is trapped in an alternate reality, the Spectre has died, and the Great Darkness is on its way to destroy all of existence. Zatanna worries, mentioning that it was the Great Darkness that killed her father many years ago (as originally told in Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #49-50). But Black Adam scoffs, bringing up the fact that they recently bested the Great Darkness (in Justice League vs The Legion of Super-Heroes). All the heroes travel to Multiverse-2 (the ruins of a dead multiverse leftover from the original Crisis).[5] In Multiverse-2, the heroes find Pariah, who is possessed by the Great Darkness and threatening to destroy everything in the living multiverse using his Antimatter Chamber. Pariah unleashes the Dark Army (dozens of Shadow Demons and Great Darkness-possessed villains, including Darkseid, Doomsday, Ares, the Empty Hand, Eclipso, Upside-Down Man, Nekron, and Neron), kicking off an epic battle, which is also shown via flashback from Dark Crisis #0-1. During the melee, Darkseid momentarily shakes off the Great Darkness’ control and attempts to warn the heroes. However, Darkseid is quickly re-subsumed. The heroes note that because the Dark Army is being controlled, each member is significantly weaker than normal. This, combined with John Stewart’s use of the power of the Source, gives the heroes the upper hand. The heroes also learn that Darkseid has murdered the Quintessence. The Spectre, now possessed by the Great Darkness as well, joins the fray. Green Arrow destroys Pariah’s Antimatter Chamber, but the archer gets crushed to death by Doomsday. In an instant, Pariah uses his vast (but indeterminate) power to seemingly kill the JL Incarnate and the rest of the JL except Black Adam! (This scene is also shown via flashback from Dark Crisis #3 and DC All In Special #1.) Black Canary wasn’t shown being seemingly murdered, but she also suffers the same fate as her peers. A very badly injured Black Adam magickally zaps himself back to the Hall of Justice where Superman (Jon Kent), Detective Chimp, Naomi, Firestorm, and Flash (Wally West) are worriedly waiting. Black Adam delivers the tragic news that the JL is no more.
–Dark Crisis #1
Shortly after Justice League Vol. 4 #75, a funeral is held for the Justice League. Over fifty superheroes are present. Deathstroke and his Secret Society watch from the shadows. Weeks pass. As various villains strike against superheroes across the globe, Superman (Jon Kent) and Flash (Wally West) fight Kobra in Washington DC. (Notably, in Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis #1, which also shows the superhero funeral, Superman tells Flash that Kobra is making an attack prior to the funeral. This means that the threat of Kobra has been lingering for weeks and continues again now. Also, we see Knight and Squire—Beryl Hutchinson and Amina Eluko—fighting zombies in London, but they are accidentally drawn as prior versions of the characters.) Hal Jordan returns to Earth, having been gone without communication for nearly a month, helping Superman and Flash. Hal is shocked to learn that the JL is dead. (This directly contradicts Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis #1, in which Hal learns about the JL from Aquaman. Thus, that sequence in Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis #1 must have been retconned.) Hal speaks with Black Adam, who despite having been injured weeks ago, is still wearing his tattered costume and in recovery in the Hall of Justice medical ward. Hal doesn’t buy that the JL are really dead. Superman ponders this before giant golden statues of the supposedly deceased heroes, which have been erected in front of the Hall of Justice. Deciding that he must recruit a new primary JL lineup, Superman travels to Brazil in hopes of recruiting new Wonder Girl (Yara Flor) and her flying horse Jerry. She turns him down. Superman then tries to recruit the Batman of New York, Jace Fox, but he gets turned down again. While Superman is turned down by many others, some do accept his offer. Superman introduces Black Adam to the new JL—Supergirl, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Booster Gold, Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Aquaman (Jackson Hyde), Robin (Damian Wayne), Harley Quinn, Frankenstein, and Killer Frost. Black Adam scoffs. Meanwhile, dozens of Secret Society members (including Skorpio and Trident) assault Titans Academy, bombing the building and badly injuring Chupacabra. Deathstroke shoots Changeling/Beast Boy in the head, badly injuring him. (Gar’s shapeshifting form makes the head shot non-fatal.) Concurrently, on Multiverse-2, Pariah communes with the Great Darkness and tortures the captive but still alive JL members, who are each trapped in their own special realms.
–Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Batman #1
This item occurs immediately after Dark Crisis #1. Each Justice Leaguer has been transported to their own unique “paradise world” courtesy of Pariah. For Batman, he winds up on the mechanical clockwork planet of Earth-Batman with a wholly new origin story and false memories. Now called “The Night,” Bruce regularly patrols the wallwheels, gearscrapers, and armature avenues of Gotham (i.e. the last city on Earth) alongside his grotesque Redbreast sidekicks. After murdering Penguin, the Night discovers that he has an exact DNA duplicate in Mr. Wax, a high official Architek that runs the city. Yes, there are actually two Bruce Waynes in this reality. The Bruce Wayne doubles travel into the Madlands outside of the city, ultimately finding themselves at the ruins of Wayne Manor. Alfred greets them, revealing that they are both legitimately Bruce Wayne, having been split in twain due to Bruce’s own self-experimentation years ago. Alfred lures the duo into pods and kayos them both, “resetting” their memories before delivering them back from whence they came. Alfred, à la The Matrix, laments that this is the 53rd time he’s done this. Mr. Wax awakens in his tower as if it’s just another day. Meanwhile, the Night awakens and patrols as usual, also none the wiser.
–REFERENCE: In Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #5. This item occurs immediately after Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Batman #1. Having escaped his own “paradise world” (as seen in Flash #783-785), Flash (Barry Allen) visits Batman’s realm—the mechanical clockwork planet aka Earth-Batman. Flash confronts the diabolical Dark Knight, whose memories of his real life have been replaced with false ones. After fighting Batman to a stalemate, Flash departs. Batman begins prepping for an eventual rematch.
–Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #4-5
This item occurs shortly after the previous reference item. Hal Jordan ventures to John Stewart’s “paradise world” to which the latter was exiled by Pariah. Flash (Barry Allen) joins Hal Jordan, explaining that Pariah is harnessing each captive Justice Leaguer’s energy in hopes of powering some radical multiversal transformation. On Earth-0, at the Hall of Justice, Mr. Terrific briefs Cyborg, Robin (Damian), Donna Troy, Wildcat, Barbara Gordon, and Superman (Jon Kent) on the current situation. Across the globe, Earth’s heroes help deal with a series of natural disasters. At the hospital, Alan Ladd-Scott gives a pep talk to a depressed Nightwing, who sits vigil with the comatose Gar Logan. At the Legion of Doom’s HQ, Black Adam teases betraying the heroes to rejoin the Legion of Doom (featuring new member Punchline). (Note that Punchline was most recently seen in jail awaiting trial. Since we will see her back in jail awaiting trial after Dark Crisis ends, we must assume that the LOD broke her out to participate in this item, but she’ll wind up back in prison immediately afterward.) Deathstroke and his Secret Society (all now being controlled by the Great Darkness) attack the Legion of Doom, which soon succumbs to the Great Darkness. Black Adam quickly decides it’s best to remain a hero. Elsewhere, Kyle Rayner and Jo Mullein fight a losing battle against Shadow Demons. Meanwhile, Flash and Hal Jordan travel to Earth-Batman and immediately begin fighting the Night (i.e. an altered Batman). In the Hall of Justice basement, Nightwing, Superman (Jon), Wonder Girl (Yara Flor), and Alan Ladd-Scott chat with Justice League Dark (Detective Chimp, John Constantine, and the two Swamp Things). In Multiverse-2, Pariah celebrates as his alternate JL worlds begin an unstable chain reaction. A black hole opens in space, from which a Great Hand emerges to rewrite reality anew, resurrecting many of the “infinite Earths” that were once destroyed in the original Crisis. Supergirl, Sideways, Mr. Terrific, and Aquaman (Jackson Hyde) rescue a struggling Black Adam from the Secret Society and Legion of Doom while others (the Doom Patrol, Lady Shazam, and Firestorm) remain behind to continue the combat. On Earth-Batman, Hal Jordan reminds Batman about the Bat-Family, getting him to come to his senses. At the Hall of Justice, dozens of heroes gather (including the debuting Red Canary and a recovered Beast Boy) to plan for battle. After the JSA departs to investigate the Great Darkness throughout the multiverse, several heroes (Superman Jon Kent, the two Swamp Things, and Raven) return (straight from Dark Crisis: The Deadly Green #1) bearing news that Pariah is not being controlled by the Great Darkness. In fact, it’s likely the other way around. Robin (Damian) having formulated his own plan of action, departs with Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi). The Secret Society then storms the Hall of Justice, prompting Nightwing and Beast Boy to lead dozens of heroes in a defense while shouting the rallying cry of the Titans. Meanwhile, Flash (Barry Allen), Hal Jordan, and Batman rescue all the other Justice Leaguers from their alternate realities. Zatanna’s rescue is specifically detailed in the second feature to Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Batman #1. The JL saves Kyle Rayner and Jo Mullein before confronting Pariah head-on. Pariah and the entire Dark Army then join the Legion of Doom and Secret Society in the Hall of Justice assault, putting the odds overwhelmingly in the favor of the bad guys.
–Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #5-7
Picking up directly from Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #4, in Sector 666, the Green Lantern Corps (Apros, Arisia Rrab, Chaselon, Galius Zed, Guy Gardner, Hannu, Jessica Cruz, Jo Mullein, Kilowog, Kyle Rayner, Larvox, Medphyll, Penelops, Rot Lop Fan, Salaak, Simon Baz, Space Ape, Tomar-Tu, and Two-Six) battles a horde of Shadow Demons. At the Hall of Justice, several other heroes (including Jace Fox) join the continuing melee against the Dark Army. Pariah disintegrates Firestorm, Steel (John Henry Irons), Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Booster Gold, and Connor Hawke, exiling them to alternate “paradise realities.” Superman (Jon Kent) takes on the Dark Army’s heavy hitters all by himself. Darkseid blasts Jon with the Omega Sanction, but he shrugs it off! Meanwhile, Jace Fox activates Pariah’s antimatter machine, disintegrating him (i.e. this possibly kills him, but more likely sends him to an alternate “paradise reality”). The Justice League (with the entire Green Lantern Corps and other exiled heroes) finally returns, evening the odds and going straight into action. (The return of the exiled heroes is also directly shown in Dark Crisis: War Zone #1 Part 1 and visually referenced in Flashpoint Beyond #5 and Knight Terrors #2.) Superman (Clark Kent) helps his son defeat Doomsday. The battle at the Hall of Justice continues as dozens of heroes struggle against dozens of villains. The I am Batman #15 Epilogue shows Jace Fox on his motorcycle fighting alongside the heroes at this juncture. Black Canary is joyously reunited with Roy Harper. The heroes are dismayed when the Great Darkness remains chained to the villains. Despite the defeat of Pariah, Deathstroke has gained the power of the Great Darkness and now fully controls the Dark Army. While the heroes continue fighting the villains, Nightwing faces off against Deathstroke one-on-one in a spiritual battle deep within the Great Darkness itself. Damian returns to the battlefield, bringing the Justice League Incarnate and a newly powered-up Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi). Black Adam shares his magick powers with all the heroes, allowing them to gain the upper hand. The Flash-Family, boosted by Dr. Light’s light, races around the local multiverse, removing the Great Darkness like a super-fast vacuum cleaner. In an instant, the entire infinite multiverse (i.e. omniverse) is restored or at least reopened to the local multiverse. (Now that most folks know the DCU’s Metaversial history to some extent, this reopening will typically be spoken of as the multiverse becoming infinite again—i.e. for the first time since the original Crisis.) The Dark Army vanishes, and all missing heroes return. In the astral plane of the Great Darkness, Nightwing is able to absorb all the evil energy to win the day. Black Adam and Nightwing then defeat Deathstroke on the physical plane. Ravager gets her weakened father to finally stand down once and for all. Badly injured and unable to move, Deathstroke is imprisoned in the Hall of Justice, upon which the superhero community begins immediate reconstruction. (As referenced in Knight Terrors: First Blood #1, most of the Deathstroke Inc/Secret Society members are jailed.) In the aftermath of the war, the Quintessence are resurrected, but Green Arrow goes missing. A mystery person pulls the plug on Deathstroke’s life support, seemingly killing him. Flash (Barry Allen) and Kid Flash depart to explore the infinite Earths. The heroes learn that the evil they experienced was only a tiny fraction of the Great Darkness, the main portion of which actually remained dormant the entire time. The Supermen thank Black Adam for his service, after which Black Adam effectively quits the JL (on good terms) to return to leading Kahndaq full time. Later, Batman meets with the rest of the JL and makes some very big decisions with the team. Batman then meets with Nightwing, who shows him that he’s kept the candle that was used in his oath ceremony so many years ago. Batman breaks the candle, saying that Nightwing has always been the light that has guided him throughout the years. Batman reveals that the Justice League has officially disbanded and he’d like Nightwing to lead a new team. Before they can discuss it further, Oracle reports that Two-Face is up to no good. Batman and Nightwing take off to handle him. (Nightwing won’t become the new leader of the superhero community quite yet, but plans are in the works.) Note that Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 contains a flash-forward epilogue that occurs a few months into the future, unattached from the rest of the arc, which details the rise of a new Suicide Squad. The epilogue also shows flashbacks to the upcoming Action Comics #1050, “Failsafe,” and Batman vs Robin. (Note that these flashbacks are not shown in the correct chronological order, and Batman is only shown in the flashback to “Failsafe.”)
–REFERENCE: In Dawn of DC: Primer – Special Edition #1. In the aftermath of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, the superheroes (including both Batmen, Damian, Nightwing, and dozens of others) happily gather for a public group photo.
–FLASHBACK: From Flashpoint Beyond #5—and referenced in Flashpoint Beyond #0-2 and Flashpoint Beyond #6. This item occurs specifically two days following the conclusion of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.[6] The superhero community reassembles in the wake of the recently completed Dark Crisis. Batman meets with a Ra’s al Ghul, who is depicted with his old school look after having recently been looking younger. And yes, Ra’s al Ghul is currently dead. So, we have a few options: One, Ra’s al Ghul has secretly resurrected (temporarily, just for this scene); two, something strange is happening (posthumous hologram, messenger android, ghost, etc); or three, this is one of the biggest continuity errors ever. Notably, in the upcoming Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution #1 Part 2, we will not only see Ra’s al Ghul’s ashes in an urn, but Ra’s al Ghul himself will appear as a ghost, confirming that he’s definitely still dead at this juncture. Ra’s al Ghul’s status (i.e. dead) will be confirmed in multiple other upcoming comics as well. There’s no easy answer for Ra’s al Ghul’s sudden reappearance and involvement here. In any case, Ra’s al Ghul presents Batman with Flashpoint Batman’s ashes, but tells him that, despite this evidence, the latter’s death has been exaggerated. After revealing to Batman that he’s read Rorschach’s journal, Ra’s al Ghul provides him with detailed files on the Time Masters, Mime, and Marionette, urging him to save his alternate universe father. (Mime and Marionette are originally from the Watchmen Universe, but they have lived on Earth-0 since the end of Doomsday Clock.) Ra’s al Ghul tells Batman that he can wield the remnant power of Dr. Manhattan to re-create the entire Flashpoint universe within Laurie Juspeczyk’s snow globe.
–Flashpoint Beyond #0-2 (“THE CLOCKWORK KILLER”)
Immediately following our previous item, Batman conducts alternate universe research and then communes with Mime and Marionette, who assist him (in exchange for an unspecified deal) with breaking into Time Master leader Rip Hunter’s lab, which is in shambles. In Rip’s lab, Batman examines a chalkboard, which has various scribblings about current DC history on it. In a walk-in safe, Batman procures Janey Slater’s watch, Laurie Juspeczyk’s snow globe, a journal, and a sheet of paper that details the cosmic architectural hierarchy of the Divine Continuum. DC, get it?! The sheet also has a note that mentions the need to find Clark and Sally Dreiberg. (Batman stealing these items is also shown via flashback from Stargirl: The Lost Children #4.) Before departing, Batman congratulates Mime and Marionette on having had a baby, their second child Anita Maez (who recently turned two-years-old). In the Batcave, Batman examines his Flashpoint dad’s letter along with the loot he pilfered from Rip’s lab. (This looks like the classic Batcave under Wayne Manor, but it has to be the new downtown version.) Bratty thirteen-year-old member of the Time Masters, Corky Baxter (along with his pet raccoon Crockett), shows up to harass Batman and scold him for his actions. Flash (Barry Allen) notifies Batman that Reverse-Flash is back and time is being disrupted. Flash also warns Batman to stop whatever he’s doing. After the speedster departs, Corky continues his conversation with the Dark Knight. Corky tells Batman that the Time Masters stole the snow globe in order to protect the Divine Continuum from Dr. Manhattan. He warns Batman that the owner of the snow globe (likely meaning Rip Hunter) will come looking for it soon. (Corky conversing with Batman is also shown via flashback from Stargirl: The Lost Children #4.)
–Flashpoint Beyond #4-6 (“THE CLOCKWORK KILLER” Conclusion)
Picking up directly from Flashpoint Beyond #0-3 (although Batman is not in Flashpoint Beyond #3), we are erroneously told that it’s only been two days since the conclusion of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. (As mentioned above, this is a continuity error by writer Geoff Johns. It’s been a two days since the end of Lazarus Planet and Batman vs Robin, not Dark Crisis.) In the Batcave, Corky Baxter continues to warn Batman about messing with Flashpoint Batman and hypertime. (Again, this looks like the classic Batcave under Wayne Manor, but it has to be the new downtown version.) Corky says not to kick another hornet’s nest, especially so soon after having just survived the chaos of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. On Flashpoint-Earth, a new World War has begun between the Amazons and a squadron of metahumans calling themselves Task Force X. Flashpoint Batman performs an autopsy on the corpse of Eobard Thawne, finding clockwork gears sewn into his body. Meanwhile, having been trained by Oswald Cobblepot (Flashpoint Batman’s assistant) for a while, a capable Dexter Dent (the deceased Judge Harvey Dent‘s son) sneaks into the Batcave and equips himself with vigilante fighting gear. While Dexter breaks into Arkham Asylum to see his mom Gilda Dent (aka Two-Face), Cobblepot tells Thomas Wayne about Dexter’s actions. Thomas realizes that one of the gears from inside Thawne’s body belongs to the grandfather clock in Wayne Manor. The Clockwork Killer is Joker (Martha Wayne). In Arkham Asylum, Joker confronts Gilda and Dexter. Meanwhile, on Earth-0, dangerous blueshift power begins to leak from a crack in Batman’s snow globe. Corky tells Batman that the omniverse has come into contact with hypertime, explaining further that the burst of azure energy and snow globe are connected with the Flashpoint universe. On Earth-0, Mr. Terrific and Bonnie Baxter (Rip Hunter’s significant other and fellow Time Master) are guests on Angela Chen’s talk show to discuss the fallout from Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and the science of the omniverse. Bonnie is quick to distinguish the differences between the omniverse (infinite space) versus Hypertime (infinite timelines), obviously having an affinity for the latter. Bonnie also explains how legitimate Mandela Effects have occurred throughout history, citing Zero Hour in particular. She also then name drops all the major Crises, citing the Big Bads involved with each, only to point out that Hypertime Crises are equally important, more frequent, but always hidden from the public. Bonnie is interrupted by an emergency call from Time Master partner Jeff Smith, prompting her to teleport away. On Flashpoint-Earth, Flashpoint Batman crashes into Arkham Asylum to confront his wife. While Gilda escapes with Dexter, husband Batman and wife Joker fight. The latter reveals that she learned about Earth-0 from Psycho-Pirate and then became the Clockwork Killer in order to learn more about time travel and Hypertime in general. Now, she’s created a time machine with the idea of saving Flashpoint Bruce, who died on Crime Alley so long ago. In the Batcave on Earth-0, Rip Hunter confronts Batman, telling him that his recreation of an unstable Flashpoint world within an old Dr. Manhattan memento could be catastrophic. Rip attempts to curtail the world of Flashpoint back into its proper place in Hypertime, but Batman won’t have it. Meanwhile, chaos continues all across Flashpoint-Earth as Atlanteans battle Amazons and superheroes gather against an impending Kryptonian invasion. At Arkham Asylum, Joker (Martha) realizes that she’s made an error of judgment upon learning that Dexter will no longer exist if they rewrite time. Two-Face (Gilda) tries to kill everyone, prompting Joker to kill her in self-defense. Arkham Asylum collapses in an explosion. On Earth-0, Rip sees that the snow globe has stabilized, meaning that the existence of Batman’s Flashpoint isn’t catastrophic after all. Inside the snow globe universe, Flashpoint Batman reclaims his role as protector of Gotham with Dexter officially becoming his Robin. Martha, partially-healed, lives peacefully in a cell inside the Batcave. The Atlanteans and Amazons form a truce to face the greater threat of the Kryptonians. Flashpoint Batman and Robin join the war effort. On Earth-0, Rip reluctantly allows Batman to keep the snow globe, essentially placing the entirety of Flashpoint in a secure location in the Batcave. Later, the Time Masters return to their lab. Rip, with his knowledge of the future, mentions that Bruce is “going to have his hands full with his mother’s family soon.” The Time Masters note that, due to anomaly and “time capsule failure,” thirteen people (all from the 1940s but previously temporarily erased from existence due to cosmic chicanery) will soon reintegrate back into history: the original Mr. Miracle (Thaddeus Brown), Betsy Ross, Molly Pitcher, Ladybug, Salem the Witch Girl, Cherry Bomb, John Henry Jr, Red Lantern Vladimir Sokov, Judy Garrick (aka The Boom), Harlequin’s Son, the original Aquaman, Quiz Kid, and the original Legionnaire (aka Mordru). (As per the conclusion of Stargirl: The Lost Children #6, all of these folks have been returned to the timeline, which our chronology reflects.) Concurrently, on Earth-Watchmen, a sixteen-year-old Cleopatra Pak (now the vigilante called Nostalgia), along with Bubastis II, begins searching for The Watchman (Clark Dreiberg). In case you forgot, Clark Dreiberg is the son of Mime and Marionette, given metapowers by Dr. Manhattan and raised by Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Juspeczyk.
–Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1
Late June. This item, featuring Jaime Reyes’ high school graduation is definitively post-Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (and pre-Lazarus Planet). We are definitely in June (regular graduation time) because Jaime’s parents make reference to the “summer” to follow. Our story begins with Blue Beetle (Jaime) fighting super-villain Fadeaway (the Fadeaway Man’s son, Leo Lamont), which causes him to be late to his graduation ceremony. (Jaime and his friends were constantly late for school and school functions, giving credence to the idea that they didn’t graduate with the main group.) During the ceremony, Khaji Da (Jaime’s scarab) pulls him away into space where he receives a strange message implying that the Reach will soon try to invade Earth. Superman (Clark Kent) and Batman intercept the message as well, deciding that Jaime should probably take a hiatus as a superhero for his own safety. Later, Jaime’s family and friends (Brenda Del Vecchio and Paco Testas) throw him a graduation party, which is attended by Superman, who delivers the news about Jaime’s forced hiatus. Afterward, Superman reports back to Batman. Jaime’s parents then tell him he’ll spend the rest of the summer living with (and working for) his aunts Gloria and Marisol in Palmera City. Jaime and his friends watch a viral video of the debut of the super-villain Dynastes (aka Yellow Beetle) in El Salvador.
–Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #3-6
Late June—picking up immediately after Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1-2 (although Batman isn’t in issue #2). Batman does some extra research on Reach scarabs before visiting Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) at his new Palmera City headquarters. While Ted debriefs Batman about Dynastes, Kord Industries executive Victoria Kord (Ted’s sister) interrogates Dynastes, who is held captive in a containment cell, on the other side of the building. Meanwhile, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), having broken his forced hiatus, hangs out with Starfire in Palmera City. The duo is attacked by Nitida (aka Green Beetle), but they are able to fend her off. During the confrontation, Starfire sees a vision that tells her that the alien race known as The Horizon are also on their way to Earth. Soon after, Brenda Del Vecchio and Paco Testas text Jamie, telling him that Fadeaway is forcing them to bring him to his location in Palmera City. Jaime dines with Brenda, Paco, and Fadeaway. The latter reveals that he knows Jamie’s alter ego, asking for Blue Beetle’s help in stealing occult artifacts and returning them to their original owners, Robin Hood-style. Jamie agrees to help, with the first mission being to steal the magickal Bag of Trix from Victoria Kord and return it to rightful owner Gimmix (Jacqueline Pemberton), daughter of Merry the Girl of 1000 Gimmicks. Blue Beetle, Fadeaway, Paco, and Brenda break into Kord Industries headquarters. After chatting with the captive Dynastes, Blue Beetle and Fadeway steal the Bag of Trix, but in the process cause a power failure that leads to Dynastes’ escape. Ted Kord, Victoria Kord, and Starfire imperiously scold Jaime for his actions. Meanwhile, Batman, who had been remotely monitoring the situation, assembles a special ops team consisting of Flash (Wally West), Cyborg, Jessica Cruz, Black Condor (John Trujillo), and Shazam (Billy Batson). Batman immediately leads this team into battle against Nitida and Dynastes. Starfire and Blue Beetle (Jaime) interrupt, telling them that the new Beetles are the protectors of the Horizon and not actually the bad guys. Blue Beetle (Ted) and Victoria try to stop Batman’s team by jamming Batman’s communications signal. Eventually, Blue Beetle (Jaime) and Starfire join the new Beetles in combat against Batman and his team. Superman (Clark Kent) arrives to calm everyone down and get everyone to listen to Jaime. Just as peace is made, the Horizon arrive in a giant space ship, bearing a distress signal that says their craft is out of control and heading for a crash. While all the heroes and new Beetles (now fully good guys) protect Palmera City, Jaime uses the full breadth of his powers to steer the Horizon ship safely into the ocean. Ood A’bar, leader of the Horizon, explains that his people have come to Earth as refugees seeking permanent relocation. Jamie and Victoria Kord invite the Horizon to stay in Palmera City, to which they graciously accept.
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- [1]COLLIN COLSHER: Earth-27 is home to a world where the asteroid-caused mass extinction of the dinosaurs doesn’t come to fruition and generations of mutated dinosaurs (including the Jurassic League) become the planet’s dominant life forms. The Earth-0 Jurassic League are modeled off the Earth-27 Jurassic League. How a Jurassic League—clearly influenced by 21st century superheroes (but lacking knowledge of 21st century superheroes)—existed in Earth-0’s past is completely unknown. The less questions about this, the better. (Clearly someone from the future caused the mutations that resulted in the existence of the Earth-0 Jurassic League.)↩
- [2]COLLIN COLSHER: Batman appears in issues #1-2, #6, and #9-10 of Priest’s Superman: Lost (2023-2024), but it’s my belief this series is non-canon. It’s a mind-bending, time-warping arc that radically alters itself by the final issue thanks to some cosmic temporal chicanery. However, it’s not the incongruous diegesis that makes Superman: Lost non-canon—that’s only part of it. The start of the story is grounded at an inception point where a few things are certain—a few things that, taken together, just don’t jibe. First, Black Adam and Green Arrow are active Justice League members. Second, Luthor isn’t in jail, nor is he a fugitive. Third, Alfred is alive. Fourth, Aquaman is beardless, portrayed in a more old school way. There’s no spot on the timeline where all of these things are happening simultaneously. But let’s get into the messy narrative of Superman: Lost, which is also likely a good reason to dismiss it. In this arc, the Chinese Army squabbles with the US Army over a supposed submarine that has sunk to the bottom of Subic Bay, Philippines. Hoping to avoid further international incident, US authorities call the Justice League for help. Upon arrival, the JL discovers there is no submarine, but instead an alien craft, that has crashed into the bay. When the ship begins creating a singularity that threatens all life on Earth, Superman flies into its core, an act that saves the world, but which teleports him galaxies away. Superman is picked up in deep space by aliens known as The Contrectatio, who drop Superman on a distant planet (“Victor’s Planet”) where he remains trapped, living for two decades (with a Green Lantern named Hope), only to then return to Earth with only hours having passed locally. The experience is so traumatic that Superman is more or less in a catatonic state for ninety days after which he never recovers from the experience. As decades pass, his marriage falls apart, his friendships end, and he loses his powers. Eventually, as seen in Superman: Lost #10, the elderly Superman enters into a time-loop wherein which he is able to manipulate events so that his younger self’s exile period (and subsequent trauma/bad life) doesn’t occur. Instead of the Contrectatio taking the younger lost Superman into decades of exile on a distant planet, they deposit him back on Earth only a few hours after he disappears. Upon his return, Superman has no memories of now-erased chunk of timeline (i.e. twenty years of exile plus ninety days of PTSD), which makes sense. However, somehow (rather inexplicably), Lois does retain memories of the erased chunk of time. Since this period now no longer happened, we must presume that Lois soon forgets these memories. And should we now be at Day One of the arc? Or Day Ninety? Who knows? I think I kinda sorta understand what Priest was going for in his attempt to wrap up this arc—wanting to erase the decades of trauma for our main character while still preserving the characters from his trauma-verse. Unfortunately, this concept definitely has paradoxical elements that are tantamount to out-and-out plot holes. Suffice to say, the hoodoo of a Green Lantern ring, combined with bogus fantasy physics, could be used to hand wave away your concerns in regard to the fuzzy temporality. But overall, there are just way too many strange continuity snarls for this series to be canon. As one final point, the version of Superman depicted in this item—one that can so easily find himself lost in space—doesn’t really jibe with depictions of the contemporary Man of Steel. As commentator Earthmine52 states on Reddit, “Mark Waid, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Jason Aaron have given Clark some crazy pre-Crisis level [powers] in World’s Finest and Action Comics. Scott Snyder’s Justice League also showed a glimpse of Clark’s full potential in the “Sixth Dimension” [arc] and it’s starting to show [that] Superman’s arguably more powerful than ever.”↩
- [3]TENZEL KIM: Nightwing Vol. 4 #98 goes before Dark Crisis due to Beast Boy not having his eye patch. There will be a break in-between Nightwing Vol. 4 #98 and Nightwing Vol. 4 #99, giving time for the police to corroborate Sal Maroni’s testimony with the Blockbuster files. Plus, the upcoming Dark Crisis will slightly slow the cops down.↩
- [4]COLLIN COLSHER: Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1 Part 4 also shows Superman (Clark Kent) getting zapped away while flying outside of Warworld. Notably, it shows us that Warworld is currently (temporarily) hovering in Earth’s orbit. Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1 Part 4 also implies that Clark gets zapped away very shortly after returning from his long Warworld mission. However, there are a handful of other Clark Kent stories between his return from Warworld and Justice League Vol. 4 #75, so it definitely can’t happen too shortly after the former.↩
- [5]COLLIN COLSHER: There are those online that claim Multiverse-2 is literally the “rotting corpse” of the actual pre-original Crisis multiverse. This physics-breaking claim is cringey in the most Convergence of ways. Multiverse-2 is certainly meant to be a nod to the pre-Crisis multiverse, and it could (and likely does) mirror the pre-Crisis multiverse, but it ain’t actually it.↩
- [6]COLLIN COLSHER: Note that Flashpoint Beyond #0-2 details narrative on both the Flashpoint timeline and the Earth-0 timeline. While both narratives are intercut back-and-forth in the comics, presented simultaneously by writer Geoff Johns, the Flashpoint timeline narrative (which is actually the primary narrative) takes place earlier than the Earth-0 timeline narrative. In Flashpoint Beyond #0-2, the Flashpoint timeline narrative occurs during Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths whereas the Earth-0 timeline narrative starts right now (two days after the end of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths). What follows here is a summary of the recently completed Flashpoint timeline narrative from Flashpoint Beyond #0-2, which doesn’t include Earth-0 Batman but is nevertheless important as the setup for the “Clockwork Killer” arc that is commencing. The Flashpoint timeline narrative overlaps with the end of Dark Crisis and all of Lazarus Planet and Batman vs Robin. Onto a synopsis. Flashpoint Batman (Thomas Wayne) finds himself resurrected. (He had been killed by Darkseid in Justice League Incarnate #4.) Judge Harvey Dent threatens to charge Thomas for Batman-related crimes unless he tries to help Gilda Dent, who is unwell and locked up at Arkham Asylum. In the Batcave, Thomas finds that someone has scrawled the words “Everything Matters” onto a board. Seeking answers, Thomas travels to Central City to speak with Flashpoint Barry Allen, who is in the middle of working the case of the serial killer dubbed by the media as “The Clockwork Killer.” After confronting Barry, Thomas drugs him and straps him into a chair atop a tall building during a lightning storm with hopes of replicating Flash’s origin story. However, an Atlantean assassin messes with the experiment, which results in Barry’s death. Judge Dent is then mysteriously killed via car bomb on the street below, prompting Flashpoint Batman to rescue his son Dexter Dent. Afterward, Thomas chats with Commissioner Sofia Falcone Gigante and agrees to help take care of Dexter. Reverse-Flash (Eobard Thawne) mysteriously glides by in the foreground. Soon after, Thomas puts Dexter under the care of his personal assistant Oswald Cobblepot, who teaches the boy how to shoot guns. Thomas suits up in his fighting togs and travels to England where he rescues a captured Wonder Woman en route toward confronting Aquaman. Aquaman tells Flashpoint Batman that he had nothing to do with the assassin that ruined his Barry Allen experiment. Wonder Woman then kills Aquaman. Meanwhile, Cobblepot continues to train Dexter. Thomas Wayne chats with Commissioner Falcone at the site of Thomas’ old (now destroyed) casino. Falcone says that Arkham inmate Roger Hayden (aka Earth-0’s Psycho-Pirate) claims to be “taking refuge in Hypertime from a Dark Crisis.” Flashpoint Batman visits Arkham to find that Hayden has been murdered in his cell. He then examines writing on Hayden’s cell wall and then has a rough conversation with Gilda. During the exchange, half of Gilda’s face is horribly scarred under mysterious circumstances, making her Two-Face. After departing, Flashpoint Batman roughs up the Flashpoint Rogues only to get confronted by Superman (Flashpoint Superman).↩
I think your placement of the House of Gotham finale may be incorrect; given the costumes everybody is wearing (Bruce, Jason, and Dick are all wearing their early IF/late Rebirth outfits), I suspect this takes place at some point a bit before Zdarsky’s Urban Legends story.
Scarecrow’s presence, especially, would make no sense in your current placement.
Here’s the problem… The Forgotten debuts in Detective Comics 2021 Annual, which takes place right before Batman: Fear State – Omega #1. This finale of “House of Gotham” doesn’t fit anywhere. And Matthew Rosenberg co-wrote the Annual, so he definitely meant to have it go before is “House of Gotham” finale. Furthermore, the Annual is definitively subtitled “A Shadows of the Bat Prelude.” The full title of “House of Gotham” is “Shadows of the Bat: House of Gotham.”
We could fanwank a couple things: The Forgotten miraculously survives getting shot and left for dead by Penguin in the finale. Or that isn’t the Forgotten shown in the Annual, it’s a new Forgotten that looks just like the Forgotten, who has taken up his mantle. But as DC is stressing, the Annual goes before this finale… So it def looks like bad continuity. I think the problem lies with Rosenberg (and artist Fernando Blanco) here, meaning that literally everyone is drawn with the wrong costumes, and Scarecrow’s presence here is dubious. The implication here is also that Clayface is Basil, which makes no sense either. (Thankfully, they don’t specify, so we can mark him as Payne.) But in any case, this one is a mess, which is a bummer because I quite enjoyed the story. A final route we can go is moving this into the future section, thus separating it from contemporary narrative. We’d still have to add caveats about everything I’ve said here, but it might be the least messy tactic. What do you think?
I’ve decided to move the “House of Gotham” finale prior to Death Metal, where it is drawn and written to take place. It clearly is meant to go there. While Detective Annual 2021 is indeed a prelude to “Shadows of the Bat,” it is a prelude to the “Tower” storyline of “Shadows” ONLY. It was never meant to be/never should have been also a prelude to the “House of Gotham” storyline of “Shadows,” which really has nothing to do with “Tower” or contemporary narrative. And amazingly, if the finale goes before Death Metal, then the Forgotten’s later appearance is okay since he would have been resurrected by Death Metal/IF!
The name of the newcomer in Shadow War: Alpha is ‘Angel Breaker’, according Josh Williamson’s twitter.
Sweet, thanks!
Isn’t Justice League #75 supposed to take place further in the future?
Dark Crisis is definitely a “present day” story, not a Batman Beyond or anything like that. And it’ll definitely remain at the most contemporary point of the timeline until completion (which won’t be until DECEMBER, sheesh). How far detached from ongoing stories Dark Crisis will end up being? We shall see.
How do you think the new run starting in #125 is going to work with JL #75 and the Dark Crisis series? Is it supposed to be set before then or after?
That’s a good question. So far, consensus (from emails I’ve gotten and commentary from site contributors) is that Dark Crisis will remain at the most contemporary point on the timeline, with everything going before it. But like most everything else, we’ll just have to wait and see how things pan out.
What did you think of the Shadow War event? Personally after coming off of both Fear State and then the Shadows of the bat mini series i’ve been event fatigued and stopped only a few issues into it for a break.
Hey Josh! I think Joshua Williamson has been real hit or miss lately. Infinite Frontier was a little sloppy, but Justice League Incarnate was pretty great. And then Justice League #75 really missed the mark. I still optimistically expect Dark Crisis to be good though. “Shadow War” was a sort of filler event leading up to Dark Crisis. Thankfully, it was a tight crossover that only took a few weeks to wrap up. It felt like an old school Modern Age mini-event with it going from title to different title to different title, and I dig that. In terms of narrative, I’d say it was mostly forgettable though. Although, SPOILERS AHEAD it finally mended the relationship between Bruce and Damian, so I give high praise to Williamson for doing that. I can’t really super-recommend it, but it is an easy read, and I liked the ending.
It would seem that Joshua Williamson and Mark Waid are going to be the top architects of the DC line for the foreseeable future. Not sure how collaborative they’ll be, but Waid is a legend and knows what he’s doing. Chip Zdarsky will soon be on Batman, Tom Taylor continuing on Nightwing, Ram V on other things. Those are some decent writers, so hopefully it’ll be interesting at the very least.
Kind of surprised you feel that way about Incarnate and Infinite Frontier- I personally felt it was the other way around; IF was a great mystery book, and that Incarnate felt a bit loose and sloppy.
Folks see different things in different stories, which is one of the reasons I’ve never done reviews and never will. Things are just too subjective. In any case, IF and JLIncarnate were basically one long connected arc, so I hate to even split them up in conversation as I did there. Sloppy or no sloppy, your call, but I quite enjoyed all of Josh Williamson’s run and was mega hyped for Dark Crisis until what I felt was a misstep with Justice League #75. I’m keeping my expectations in check, so hopefully I’ll enjoy Dark Crisis as much as I did Williamson’s prior work.
I do think part of the problem is that Justice League #75 was originally written to be part of Dark Crisis #0 before being split off into its own issue, and you can TELL, on both ends.
Yeah, for sure. Pesky editorial always meddling! Anyway, there’s a whole summer of Dark Crisis ahead of us, so here’s to a good/fun run, I hope!
I was pretty frustrated that they Threw Basil Karlo’s character development out the window in Dark Crisis #0 for him to just be a straight villain again. Last he showed up was in the Catwoman arc of Fear State and he was shown to still be trying to be a good guy.
Yeah, that totally sucks and I hate it as well. Tynion’s Clayface redemption arc in Detective Comics was great, and I felt like it truly rehabilitated him in a permanent way. Other writers since then have used him in a heroic or at least antihero kind of way, honoring that change in his character. So for Williamson to just have Clayface come back as a villain, saying “I tried to walk the straight and narrow but…” is cheap.
Plus, and I think writers forget this, there IS a villainous Clayface out there in the sandbox, ready for use. Preston Payne (Clayface III) literally looks exactly like Basil Karlo. They both are shape-shifting clay monsters. Just use Payne for cryin out loud! Sigh.
Preston Payne was the Clayface appearing on Nightwing Annual, wasn’t it?
That’s correct, yes. Nightwing even refers to him directly as “Preston Payne.”
You may want to change the Selina and Valmont stuff. Let’s just say that looks can be deceiving.
Looks can definitely be deceiving, but I haven’t heard anything to the contrary about Selina and Valmont not being an item. In fact, a lot of fans are angry about them hooking up. You think that they actually aren’t sleeping together?
I can’t speak of what will happen in issues post-Catwoman #45 because I don’t know, but the phone scene from Batman #125 was complete “bait,” and I did fall for it a little. I don’t know how you feel about spoilers and leaks, but I’ll just say that some stuff from Catwoman #45 was leaked a couple of days ago; it’s not just wishful thinking on my part that something didn’t happen; however, as I previously stated, I know not of what may happen in future issues.
Also, this isn’t aimed at you, but some fans do jump to conclusions a little too quickly; for me, something was a little fishy with those first few pages of Batman #125; Selina is now sleeping with Valmont? And this is revealed in the first issue of a new writer’s reign on the main Bat-book and less than five pages in? (Instead of in Catwoman) With no build-up or chemistry (Whether there is chemistry is subjective, but there was no build-up), Between Selina and Valmont? I just thought it a little jarring to go from her barely standing Valmont to jumping into bed with him. Oh, and on a side note, I’m aware that she did ring Valmont in Catwoman #44, but that call was hardly one of a romantic nature. Also, in the phone scene in #125, Selina is shown not wearing her cowl; however, Valmont doesn’t know who she is at that point; you’d think that would’ve been shown in a Catwoman issue if she had revealed her identity, especially considering how secretive she is about who she really is with Dario, I doubt she’d trust someone she knows is a cold-blooded killer who was going to dispose of the people he killed with a known cannibal When she didn’t even trust a budding ally with that information, and if Selina did reveal her identity to Valmont it would’ve been a huge deal, and Tini would have seen fit to include such a scene in one of her issues if it had happened yet, not have had it revealed in a brief scene in #125 that lacks context and oh, boy does it lack that! Thanks for your time Collin.
I totally hear what you are saying. I’m sure we’ll see, and either people will breath a sigh of relief or be pissed off. There are a lot of Bat-Cat fans, a ‘ship that’s been earned for (and yearned for) decades. Valmont seems to be a character that folks already despise, so him shacking up with Catwoman would seem a bit off. In any case, the comics will reveal all (as they sometimes do), and then we’ll (hopefully) have answers. Thanks!
PS I LOVE spoilers, so never need worry about that.
Yeah, there are a lot of Bat-Cat fans; I’m one of them and a pretty big one at that, but I prefer to be diplomatic and not let my bias cloud my mind TOO much, but I’m not worried about diplomacy in this case because, as you’ve stated, no one really cares about Valmont. I’m generally optimistic, but I know anything is possible, and you’re right; there will either be relief or a lot of anger. Would you like me to link you the spoilers for Catwoman #45 then?
I’m also a Bat-Cat fan. Sure link away! Although I won’t make any site updates until the issues actually come out.
Okay, it’s actually already out for me because I live in Australia, but I’ll just send a link to a Reddit post-https://www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/comments/vz3er1/comic_excerpt_spoiler_for_catwoman_45/.
In the future, I’ll just post the links a lot earlier if I find anything interesting, now that I know you like spoilers. By the time you go on the link, the issue will probably have been released for you, but as I said, I know your policy now, and I will just post stuff here as soon as I see anything. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your take on Tom King’s run, not overall, but the Batman/Catwoman stuff specifically? Thanks for your time.
To clarify, I wasn’t talking about the Batman/Catwoman series; in my question, I meant Bat-Cat in King’s main Batman run, although you can also explain your take on the Bat-Cat series if you wish to do so.
Hey Joshua, I really try to avoid doing reviews or speaking ill of things. I just don’t like yucking other people’s yums… to each their own, things are subjective, etc. But since you are asking, I think Tom King’s main Batman run was absolutely terrible, one of the worst I can recall. I had high hopes at the beginning, especially coming after a strong run on Grayson, but alas. He was given so many issues, more time than most other creators have been given, and I think everything he did was one big misstep after another. The promise of a legit Bat-Cat relationship wound up being nothing more than a rather cheap wedding swerve. Also, his own admitted confusion regarding continuity and how continuity works (see various interviews) was evident time and time again. And killing Alfred… don’t get me started. TK’s run on Batman required a lot of suspension of disbelief, especially in regard to Bane’s long con (and then Flashpoint Batman’s long con). For an ex-spy guy bringing the espionage genre to superhero comics, I was surprised at how messy and convoluted the basic plot was. (TK’s Bat-run was all overly decompressed storytelling and clearly wasn’t playing ball with the rest of the line in terms of narrative. TK never plays well with other creators and has always had trouble working as part of a shared line. He’s even said it himself, so I’ll give him credit for being able to own up to his own shortcomings.) Generally speaking, I don’t dig TK’s writing style—non-linear to a fault (i.e. for no reason), grim and gritty in a rather dated way—and his rare attempts at humor are just not my cup of tea.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up Heroes in Crisis. While tangential to TK’s Bat-run, the series is worth a mention since it came out right in the middle. Heroes in Crisis is unequivocally one of the worst arcs in the history of DC Comics. Character assassination + a fundamental misconception of human nature, trauma, and psychotherapy + complete misunderstanding of how time travel works. But I digress.
I know a TK is a very polarizing figure in the industry—it seems like people either love him or hate him, with nothing in between. I know that a lot of the contributors on this website are big TK fans, so I hope I’m not alienating or upsetting them with these comments. And I hope I’m not doing the same to you either, Joshua. Unfortunately, I really dislike just about all of TK’s work, and honestly, the fact that he’s been a primary architect of the Bat-line for the past decade has made me feel way less into comics in general. I don’t know if TK is to blame for my personal disappointment with the state of Batman, as there are a lot of problems with modern comics today, but TK definitely hasn’t helped.
That being said, I do like the idea of TK doing more out-of-continuity stuff (like Bat/Cat). It’s much more his forte, and you can tell he feels less burdened by the constraints of continuity that seem to plague him so much when working in-canon. Plus, it keeps him away from my Batman lol. Anyway, that’s my rant. 🙂
Good morning/evening, Colin. I was here reading the New52 timeline (I do it every day. I really love what you’ve done on it), and I remembered the post-Metal timeline posted on “Simply Explained” (which it seems many fans don’t know, or they don’t like it, also I was confused by the “9 or 20 years ago”, how does that “or” work there? haha) Here’s the reason for my post: The “DC Book…” published in November, have you read it? Do you have an opinion or criticism about its content?
I waited for months with intentionality. It often happens that one has an opinion at the beginning of the matter, but over time it can change.
Thank you very much in advance for your answer!
Hey Diego! I wrote a little bit about the DC Book in Year 20 Part 1, but to reiterate: Like all comics encyclopedias, “official” or not, this title isn’t a comic book, so I don’t regard it as canon. Plus, as you’ve already kinda said, it’s filled with fuzzy math and some confusing information. I don’t think anyone, including the author, ever explained what “9 or 20 years ago” meant, but I’ve assumed that it means “New 52 # or Rebirth/Infinite Frontier # years ago” i.e. the year prior to Doomsday Clock/Death Metal versus the extended timeline (with the missing years returned) post Doomsday Clock/Death Metal.
My opinion of the DC Book remains the same. I wouldn’t rely on it as a legit timeline, although it does contain a plethora of interesting encyclopedic information that is worthwhile.
Hey Collin, I gotta tell you… I get your reasons to move Dick’s debut very early but… I don’t know… it doesn’t sound right to me. But of course it’s not your fault. It’s Tom King’s. And how about Killing Time… doesn’t it have vibes of non-canonicity all the way, especially in the end when Selina is in jail-Arkham repeating meow..meow… like a crazy woman? Don’t like it. Not a bit. Personally I’d move almost the entirety of King’s work to its earth-verse where it should belong, like the Miller-verse. Especially all the stuff where Selina is involved, because that reads and sound very OFF to me.
All in all, everything Tom Kings writes about Batman makes me sick. Really.
You are preaching to the choir, my friend. I don’t think anything Tom King has ever written makes canonical sense. He even contradicts himself constantly, which is something he’s done in his own verse with Dick’s debut. In any case, King (and DC) have stated emphatically that Killing Time is canonical, occurring some point after the events of “Year One” and Robin’s debut. Do I like it? We’ll I spent six hours reading/trying to make sense of it last night (not a good sign for any book), so no I don’t like it.
In any case, if you, like many others that have messaged and emailed me, were mad about Robin appearing in Year One, then this at least forces Robin’s debut into Year Two. Take the good with the bad, I guess.
Hey Collin! I’m interested to hear your opinion about the Urban Legends Books. I was following them for some time, but eventually feel behind. How easy/hard are they in sussing out timeline placement? It seems like most stories are contemporary with a few here or there that tell retroactive tales. It sems like with the amount of stories coming from it though it would be a lot to manage and really stuffs an already meaty timeline.
Hey Josh, most of the issues give clues for placement, with a lot going shortly before Alfred’s death. I will say that the series has begun to function like Legends of the Dark Knight, with each individual story (there are four in each Urban Legends) fitting pretty randomly into Batman’s past. So some are tougher to place than others. However, I haven’t missed any—all the Urban Legends titles are on my timeline. Just search “Urban Legends” in the Infinite Frontier search bar and you’ll find them!
Thanks! I’ll have to search for them and take a look. Beyond the canon or timeline placement of the stories, what do you think of the book over all? I’ve sen a lot of folks complain about the “oversaturation” of batman currently. Do you think their stories are good enough that the anthology is worth it? Are status quo stories or mainly fluff? and then is it good fluff or just missable? I really liked the book when it first came out and in theoretically im on board, I but sometimes my adhd gets the better of me and it takes me a while to finally sit down and read though them versus a small issue.
Well when Urban started out, it was ongoing stories, and some of them occasionally are. I’d say it’s a mixed bag in terms of quality. Overall though, I think the series will wind up containing some quality additions to the mythos. However, there’s definitely been an over-saturation of Batman, and not just recently—it’s been for the past twenty years lol.
tbh every time Urban comes out, I kinda groan a little because I know each issue will contain 4 or 5 dense stories requiring a lot of pre-requisite knowledge. Whether I like the individual stories or not (and whether it’s fluff or not), it’s packing in tales rather unnecessarily at this juncture. My hope is that the series wraps up soon. Good or bad, we don’t really need a Batman anthology series. Maybe a Bat-Family anthology series would be okay. But for instance, this past issue was five Batman stories.
What do you think about King’s upcoming Gotham City: Year One? It’s going to have Bruce’s paternal grandparents be named Richard and Constance Wayne. SIGH! Is it supposed to be canon to Infinite Frontier? I haven’t been following current continuity for the past couple years. I’m just gonna sequester all the new stuff into its own little corner and stick with the established Wayne family lineage.
Would be nice if we saw Alan Scott, Black Canary, maybe even the Acro-Bat or Reaper. Doubt King is gonna there though. Maybe he’ll name-drop a mayor or two. Heheh.
Hey! I haven’t read any solicitations, spoilers, or anything about Gotham City: Year One, so I can’t really comment until it comes out. I will say that Tom King has been awful (and very bad with continuity) lately, and I don’t expect this to be any different. I’ll keep my expectations low. happy to chat more about it once it releases though!
Since this is meant to be a tragedy, I have the sneaking suspicion that Slam will be unable to rescue young Helen, and Richard and Constance will not bear other children, with Patrick being a sibling or cousin of Richard’s.
Well, the first issue came out, and it certainly seems like Tom King is retconning Patrick Wayne into Richard Bruce Wayne (even though Marv Wolfman called him Patrick in Detective Comics #1027 not that long ago). The end scene has a dying Slam Bradley referring to Richard as Batman’s “grandpa.” I don’t think Patrick’s wife’s name was ever mentioned in comics before, so her name being Constance is fine. Obviously, Helen is new, and I have a sneaking suspicion, like you, that she will not survive.
Patrick’s wife was Laura, according to Batman Secret Files 97. Patrick was referenced by name at least twice in Morrison’s run, to my recollection: In the family portrait line-up in B&R and then name-dropped by Betsy Kane (along with Silas) in Return of Bruce Wayne #5.
Not the first time this has happened though. In the second issue of his New 52 run, Scott Snyder incorrectly identifies Bruce’s great-grandfather as Henry as opposed to Kenneth, which is bizarre because he also goes into absurd detail on the lives of Alan Wayne, Solomon, Joshua, the history of Wayne Manor, etc. It’s a minor issue but it just baffles me that there are no Bat-nerds in editorial who care about this kind of stuff.
You know what? I’m wrong! Happens to the best of us. Laura was Patrick’s mother. Bruce’s paternal grandfather has also been referred to as Anthony Thomas Wayne (Aztek: The Ultimate Man #3) and Jack Wayne (Legends of the Dark Knight #133). I’m positive he’s also been referred to as Jackson Wayne, I believe in Journey Into Knight or something similar, but don’t quote me on that. I’ll have to dig through my notes and see.
The DC Database wiki regards “Jack” as a nickname for Patrick Wayne, making them one-and-the same. It’s a little bit of a stretch, but it kinda makes sense to me as “Jack” can be a nickname for a lot of things. I think the Anthony Thomas Wayne reference from that supplemental Aztek material must simply be incorrect. I’d love to know if Jackson Wayne is actually mentioned anywhere though. LMK!
New issue says Jonah and Mildred Wayne are the parents of Richard Wayne. Is this retconning Kenneth and Catherine?
Well, the last issue came out lol. Apparently this is meant to be canon. Heavily implying that Slam Bradley is Bruce’s biological grandfather. Making Richard Bruce Patrick Wayne into a womanizing racist gambler that kidnaps his own daughter and, let’s not forget, was the original “Bat-Man” with his own Bat-Cave trophy room, a dark corrupted version of Batman’s contemporary HQ existing decades prior. This is peak Tom King. I expect nothing less. Sigh.
Hey Collin, do you think they’re gonna bring Alfred back for good this time? Thank you
It’s possible. I know that Geoff Johns is back in a big way and supposedly dictation a lot of the future direction of the main line. And Johns would never have killed Alfred if it were up to him.
Hey Collin… I was wondering… with all these continuities you have been so brilliantly pickin’ up for us… WHICH ONE IS YOUR FAVOURITE? What continuity do you think has produced the better version, the better stories of Batman? Which one the worst? Who is your favourite Batman’s artist and writer?
Personally I think the modern age had the better stories and the better Batman. But I grew up with it… But I also loved the 70’s which I think were an embrios of the modern age. The worst one of course the new 52. I liked the court of owls stortline and pretty much hated all the rest. Thank you Collin
Hey Antonio! My favorite Batman writers of all time are Grant Morrison, Denny O’Neil, and Frank Miller. Doug Moench and Len Wein are runners up. For me, my favorite era is toss up between the Bronze Age and the Modern Age. Moench was amazing in the 80s and 90s, especially with “Knightfall.” And Morrison is untouchable—writer of my most favorite long arc of Batman. Miller’s Year One is still my favorite single story. In terms of art, Neal Adams, David Mazzucchelli, Jim Aparo, Greg Capullo, and Norm Breyfogle come to mind as specifically-Batman pencilers that I enjoy. Though, some of my favorite comic book artists of all time are Jack Kirby, Frank Quitely, P Craig Russell, Mike Mignola, Charles Vess, Alex Ross, Steve Rude, Kevin Maguire, Brian Bolland, Kevin O’Neill, Bernie Wrightson, Darwyn Cooke, Keith Giffen, and Chris Burnham.
The New 52 was DC’s boldest decision ever (for which I commend them for trying it), but it was unfortunately very poorly implemented (for which I hang my head in shame for them having botched it so badly). Had they committed to the concept and truly started anew, it could have been brilliant. But alas. So yeah, def the much maligned New 52 is the big failure in DC’s history—although there are some good arcs in there for sure, so it’s not all garbage.
Overall, there have been great stories from 1939 through 2022, though. There are gems in every era!
Hey, I thought you might be interested in this tweet by Paul Kaminski (Super-line editor).
https://twitter.com/Paul_Kaminski/status/1578100794188247040
“in-universe order: Shadow War –> Kal-El Returns –> Dark Crisis –> Batman vs Robin –> Lazarus Planet”
Apparently, Batman vs. Robin is set after Dark Crisis.
I had a sneaking suspicion this might be the case. Was waiting for in-story confirmation. But a group editor likely isn’t leading us astray. I’m going to make moves. Thanks!
Sorry for doing this again, but I think Christopher Priest’s Black Adam book is supposed to be set Post-Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, as some of it’s earlier issues of it flashback to Justice League #75, but it’s obviously not set during the event.
Hey, the series’ most recent issue (#5) has an editorial note that says it occurs specifically prior to Dark Crisis. Also, I’ve read the whole series—definitely no flashbacks to JL #75 in there 🙂
Oh sorry, my bad, I confused the Darkseid fight as being part of Death of the Justice League.
NP!
Collin, love that you did this, man. I’ve used it for my own personal interpretation of the Bat-chronology. This is for anyone who’s interested in reading Batman in his purest form, you know? The source material! I love that it’s serialized, like watching a show or reading a series of books. You get stuff out of the characters that you don’t seem to in other forms of media.
Not sure if you were asked this, but what’s your stance on the “One Bad Day” one-shots? I’m thinking maybe the Riddler one’s not canon, but I saw the February 2023 solicitations, and it looks like Clayface’s One Bad Day is going to tell us why he’s back to being bad (which bugged the hell out of me too, so thank God they’re going to address that).
Hi! I love that you love that I did this, so thanks for that. The One Bad Day issues are tough. I’ve been regarding them individually as opposed to as a greater whole (so far anyway). Both the Riddler and Penguin editions could only conceivably occur in Batman’s future, removed from anything happening in present day or past history. I’ve placed Penguin in the future section. I agree with you that there’s really no way Riddler can be canon. (After all, it’s Tom King, which says a lot. Also, Batman kills Riddler in the end, so yeah…) Mr. Freeze seems fine, happening shortly after Robin’s debut. Two-Face is tricky. It’s clear that Mariko Tamaki wrote Two-Face to fit into current continuity—but as Tamaki is wont to do, she failed to communicate with other writers. She includes a reformed Two-Face and has Renee Montoya as commissioner, but her version of reformed Two-Face might ultimately wind up not jibing with Ram V’s ongoing storyline in Detective. If that’s the case, Two-Face might be out too.
The more I think about it, I think the One Bad Day series is likely meant to be non-canon, or at least mandated as “authors can do as they please” by editorial. If some One Bad Day issues wind up fitting (by accident), then I’ll include them.
And you aren’t the first person to discuss the character assassination of Basil Karlo following the amazing rehab that Tynion gave him a few years ago. Hopefully, Clayface: One Bad Day eases that pain a little bit.
I have returned with a new take on the current Batman timeline. With Knight Terrors confirming the Zdarsky Batman run occurs most recently, it confirms for sure that Ram V’s run takes place before. At time of writing, Batman has 1 hand in Zdarsky’s Batman, but 2 in Ram’s Detective. Detective also confirms Ra’s is still dead… at least that’s what the rest of the world thinks.
In light of recent Zdarsky retcons (who will Green Arrow end up being in Failsafe?), I believe Ram’s Detective will end up right after Dark Crisis. His recent return from “death” would explain his paranoia about his current performance and explain why he was more vulnerable to things like Barbatos. The events of Ram’s run happens over the course of a couple weeks tops (up to the time of writing this) leading to Batman’s body being now inhabited by 2 entities: an Azmer and some form of Barbatos.
In my head, I imagine Lazarus Planet will be made to occur before Ram’s run since DC wants that to be the beginning of their current storyline. Batman’s exposure to magic and possession by Nezha may also explain the presence of Barbatos and his being worn thin.
So now, approximately a month-ish of real time will allow for Zdarsky’s run to happen between what I imagine is the end of Ram’s Act 2 and Knight Terrors. It also explains why Catwoman would not know what’s going on during the Failsafe arc since she would be I’m prison for at least part of it (and that the Catwoman backups must occur sometime between her getting out of prison and the events of Batman #136). I would not be surprised if Gotham War connects the threads of Barbatos, Nezha and Zur-En-Arrh all appearing in Batman’s mind being the reason for recent choices and behavior.
I do have a couple questions I need help with: when is the Joker centered arc of Batman Inc supposed to take place compared to the Rosenberg series (assuming you are reading both)? I’d assume it’s supposed to be before. My current thought is Tynion Joker -> Batman Inc -> Rosenberg Joker. This could also allow for Two-Face’s timeline to be Task Force Z (govt interactions leading to DA job) -> One Bad Day -> prison / Mask from mandated therapy -> Ram Detective (acting more “Gang boss”) -> Rosenberg Joker #1.
Thanks for always taking the time to read and write thoughtful responses!
Hey Dylan, great thoughts. Thanks for sharing. I’m definitely open to sliding Ram V’s arc post Dark Crisis and Lazarus Planet. Just waiting for it to wrap up before I make any moves.
In regard to Joker, yeah this one has been tricky. I’m not opposed to what you are presenting, and I think Joker’s Batman Inc arc going prior to Rosenberg’s arc makes sense. However, Joker Incorporated was published six months after the conclusion of Dark Crisis, so it feels off putting it prior to that. I’ll def think more about this.
I have half an inkling that Two-Face’s One Bad Day might wind up being pushed out of continuity. After all, several of the other One Bad Days are non-canon. And putting Rosenberg’s Joker arc after Ram V’s Detective might be tough. Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 goes prior to Punchline: The Gotham Game #6, which complicates things. We’ll see how things shake out though! I’m happy to have your help for sure.
I’m wondering if that Legion of Doom scene from Man Who Stopped Laughing is a flashback. Especially since California Joker coming back to Gotham has to dovetail immediately into Knight Terrors. I don’t know how much time would be needed to separate the events of these runs. Especially since Joker’s series seems to happen over a few days, weeks tops.
If Joker is post-Dark Crisis, then I’d imagine Punchline and Catwoman might be too. Especially since you’d think someone would have mentioned all the heroes “dying” while Catwoman was in prison. Plus she gets out right around the time Batman returns from Zdarsky’s second arc. The only thing she seems to have missed in his life is Failsafe, he doesn’t mention to her that people thought he died twice.
And I agree with the One Bad Day, but I feel a couple of them are canon and Two-Face could be fanwanked. Especially since it seems the writers and everyone didn’t start communicating with each other until Dawn of DC.
Thanks for these notes, Dylan. As we move ahead, I will definitely consider them closely. Hopefully, we at least have some better alignment post Knight Terrors!