(Detective Comics I #472) - Strange and his Monster Men abducted Alfred from the Wayne Foundation, and kept him in the same cell as Bruce. Magda kept Bruce sedated while Strange took up the identities of both Bruce Wayne and Batman, excited at the thrill of occupying his life. He planned on raiding Wayne Industries and selling Batman’s secret identity. “Bruce” sold off millions in stocks, causing a stock market panic, but no one dared question him, especially since Strange had a number of Bruce’s financier’s under his sway after their time in Graytowers. Silver St. Cloud visited “Bruce” saying his recent business moves made him look erratic, and asking why he hadn’t called her lately. “Bruce” said he was breaking up with her, so she slapped him and stormed out of his office. She had a suspicion something happened to Bruce in Graytowers, and visited the clinic, but Magda slammed the door on her and alerted Strange that she was raising suspicions and needed to be taken care of. Silver heard Bruce talk extensively about his ward Dick Grayson, and called him up at Hudson University, telling him her suspicions that something was wrong with Bruce. Dick knew she was right, but had to blow her off to safeguard his secret identity as Robin. He changed into Robin and rode his motorcycle to Gotham to investigate Graytowers, while Magda sicced Hugo Strange’s Monster Men on Silver. Strange arranged an auction for Batman’s secret identity, with a $10,000 buy-in. Joker, Penguin and Boss Thorne responded, and Strange planned to hold the auction the next night. Strange intended to kill Bruce Wayne before the auction, knowing that keeping him alive was too dangerous to his plans. Boss Thorne’s men shot the Monster Men that were escorting Strange with tranquilizer darts, and brought him to city hall, demanding to know Batman’s identity and saying he didn’t intend on paying for it. Robin broke into Graytowers and fought off the Monster Men. Magda tried to inject Bruce with Monster Man serum and Alfred protected his master. During the struggle Magda injected herself, transforming into a Monster Man. Robin incapacitated her and swore revenge on Strange for what he’d done to Bruce. Thorne’s men savagely beat Strange, but he’d made up his mind not to reveal Batman’s secret. He said he’d earned that knowledge and would never give it away because Batman was the one man he saw as a worthy foe. Strange said Thorne would have to defeat Batman himself, as he had, to learn his identity. Thorne did not understand Strange’s loyalty to his nemesis, and his men beat Strange until he was seemingly dead.

(Detective Comics I #473) - Thorne’s men stuffed Hugo Strange’s body into a barrel and tossed it off a pier. Batman and Robin spotted them on their night patrol and confronted them, but were forced to flee when the police arrived. Batman explained to Robin that the city council had subpoenaed him, and he’d missed his meeting with a grand jury while Strange held him captive, so the city council had declared him an outlaw and had orders to arrest him on sight. Robin was determined to stay in town until the situation was resolved. The Reed Gallery was exhibiting the Malay Penguin and Batman and Robin visited Mr. Reed, warning him that the Penguin would surely target his art show. Reed showed off his security system, but Batman warned him that Penguin loved a challenge. They returned to Wayne Tower where Alfred was working with Bruce’s attorneys to nullify the business dealings Strange had done to drain Wayne Enterprises of its’ monetary resources. Bruce and Dick visited Silver St. Clair in the hospital, where she was recovering after her abduction by the Monster Men. Dick apologized for blowing her off when they talked, and Bruce thanked her profusely for saving his life. On patrol again Batman and Robin spotted the Penguin, and tried to apprehend him, but he flew away with his buzz umbrella and warned them not to tangle with banks. The Penguin bankrolled a theatre company to play next door to the Reed Gallery, whose performance caused the gallery’s security system  motion detector to keep going off. Batman realized that Penguin was drawing attention to the Reed Gallery to divert him from the crime he was actually planning. The Penguin tried to hijack an airplane carrying members of the security exchange and Batman and Robin apprehended him. Penguin congratulated him for figuring out his scheme, and tossed him the Malay Penguin. He’d stolen the art piece weeks ago, and the piece on display at the Reed Gallery was a fake.

(Detective Comics I #474) - Robin got an emergency call from Wonder Girl, and even though he’d promised Batman he’d stick by him until he’d sorted out Boss Thorne, Batman told him he needed to take care of his own business. Penguin returned to prison and taunted Deadshot Floyd Lawton, saying that while he was in and out of jail as he pleased Deadshot had been rotting away since Batman defeated him years ago. Penguin showed off his monocle, which contained a laser lens he’d use to break out again. Deadshot took Penguin’s words to heart, angered that he’d never gotten a chance for revenge against Batman, and snatched the monocle, activated the laser and freed himself. Batman confronted Boss Thorne in his office, demanding to know why he’d slapped a cease-and-desist order on him, and Thortne said the people of Gotham needed a return to normalcy in their lives. Batman slapped the cigar out of his mouth, saying he’d tried to resolve things with Thorne peacefully, but said he’d handle the cease-and-desist on his own terms. Thorne was shaken, and Hugo Strange’s ghost appeared to him again, saying his evil life had run its’ course, and the next time Thorne saw him his life would be over. Bruce met Silver for a date, and she said she suspected he had more depth than the playboy persona he presented. Bruce wished he knew how to be closer to Silver, remembering he’d had the same problem with his ex-fiancé Julie Madison, who never knew Bruce Wayne was just a mask that Batman wore. Silver wanted to show off her sucessful business to Bruce. She ran a convention hall, saying conventions were a growth industry and she took great pride in her work. Commissioner Gordon was at the convention hall, saying he was canvassing the area because it was the last known hideout of Deadshot. Bruce and Silver had lunch, and she said she remembered he used to be interested in stopping crime in Gotham and it was rumored he knew Batman. Bruce said he’d worked with Batman on a handful of occasions, and got the impression that Silver suspected his secret. That night Deadshot, now wearing body armor and wrist-mounted firearms, spotted atman on patrol and fired a warning shot. He raged that Batman had ended his life as a wealthy socialite, making him another common crook. He bragged that prison had hardened him, and said he’d learned that if he wanted something, in this case Batman’s life, he had to take it by force. Their fight carried on across Gotham’s rooftops and they crashed into Silver’s convention hall. Silver told her security guard not to call the police, saying she wasn’t going to see Batman turned over to the authorities. Deadshot warned he had no qualms about shooting civilians, but before he could act Batman knocked him into a giant typewriter prop, trapping him. Silver and Batman locked eyes, and Silver knew in her heart that she was looking at Bruce Wayne.

(Detective Comics I #475, 476) - Bruce Wayne had always kept his affairs short to protect his secret identity, but decided he wanted to indulge himself and continue things with Silver. As Batman he surprised her in her apartment, and asked if she had something to tell him. He was confused when she said she didn’t know what he was talking about and asked him to be on his way, saying she had a date with her boyfriend. Silver tried to convince herself that Bruce might not be Batman, and worried that if he knew she’d figured out his secret that would be the end of their relationship. Bruce phoned Silver and they decided to postpone their date. Joker poisoned Gotham’s rivers with a chemical that gave the fish white faces and a rictus grin like his. He visited the Gotham copyright office and demanded full rights to his joker-fish, but G. Carl Francis told him natural resources couldn’t be copyrighted, infuriating Joker. Joker threatened to kill him at midnight, and Francis contacted the GCPD. Commissioner Gordon, not caring if the city council reprimanded him, hit the bat-signal. Batman and Gordon searched Francis’ house for any poison the Joker could have hidden. At midnight chemicals came up through the heating vents, and Francis died with a rictis grin. Batman realized the gas was part of a chemical compound, and Francis was the only one affected because Joker had exposed him to the other part of the compound when he’d visited his office. Joker made a TV broadcast, saying that if he wasn’t given legal rights over his joker-fish another bureaucrat would die. Silver decided she needed tome time to think and needed to get out of Gotham City. She drove to the west coast when her car broke down. Boss Thorne, haunted by the ghost of Hugo Strange, was also fleeing Gotham, and saw Silver on the side of the road. Silver asked him for a ride and jumped in. Silver got into an argument with Boss Thorne when he spoke negatively of Batman, and she chartered a plane back to Gotham, determined to confront Bruce. Thorne had another encounter with Hugo Strange’s ghost and suffered a nervous breakdown. Joker made another broadcast targeting Thomas Jackson of the copyright office for death. Commissioner Gordon and Chief O’Hara kept watch over Jackson at his estate, and Batman came up with the plan to confuse the Joker by disguising himself as Jackson and having Jackson dress up as him. Jackson’s cat Ernest came in through the cat-door with a half-eaten Joker fish and displayed a Joker grin. The cat scratched Jackson, recognizing him through his disguise, and Jackson fell to the floor, dead and with a grin on his face. Batman searched the grounds and spotted Hugo Strange’s ghost, who vanished before his eyes. Batman convinced himself he was seeing things, and saw there were no footprints where Strange was and he spotted a vapor analysis meter, which he took with him because he had a gut feeling someone was trying to help him. Batman and the GCPD were guarding another copyright office member that Joker had targeted for death, and the analysis meter picked up something on one of the officers. The “officer” was actually the joker in disguise, and Hugo’s meter picked up a chemical he’d sprayed joker with before the auction for Batman’s identity. Joker’s police badge squirted acid, and he tried unsuccessfully to burn Batman. He fled down a fire escape and they fought across Gotham’s rooftops in a downpour. They made their way to a construction site, where Joker was struck by lightning and plunged into Gotham’s river. Batman searched the river, but found no sign of Joker’s body. Silver had witnessed the battle and called out to Batman. Silver told Batman she loved him, but after seeing him fight with the Joker she realized she’d never be able to cope with the madness in his life and never knowing when his luck would run out. She shared a kiss with Batman before breaking down in tears and breaking up with him, asking Batman not to try and contact her. Commissioner Gordon informed Batman that the state patrol picked Boss Thorne up after he suffered a nervous breakdown, and he’d confessed to every crime he’d ever committed, and admitted he’d been the one responsible for turning the city council against Batman. Gordon was pleased that he’d be able to work with Batman again with no restrictions, but Batman was heartbroken and disappeared without a word.

(Batman I #306) - Batman caught some smugglers at the gotham marina and called in Gordon and the GCPD when he realized they were handling millions in heroin. Batman and Gordon were sure they’d found the source of the Gotham drug pipeline and could trace the shipment to Hannibal Hardwicke’s pleasure cruiser Golden Girl I. Batman boarded the cruiser, telling Hardwicke he was finished but was surprised to see Black spider, who told Batman reports of his death were exaggerated. Black Spider blasted his automatic rifle at Hardwicke, wanting to see him dead for spreading drugs in Gotham, but Batman cut the lights. Black Spider was furious Batman once again refused to let him fulfill his mission of vengeance and blindly fired his rifle until the lights came back on and he realized Batman and Hardwicke were both gone. Batman brought Hardwicke to GCPD headquarters, asking Gordon to put him in protective custody. Gordon said the Mayor and D.A. Gelman forbade him, because they were afraid that if Hardwicke staid the Black spider wouldn’t think twice about attacking the entire gotham police force. Batman brought Hardwicke to Bruce Wayne’s penthouse, saying Wayne occasionally helped him on cases, and told Alfred Pennyworth to make him feel at home. Black Spider used magnets on his hands and feet to scale the penthouse, and when batman attacked him he managed to throw the Caped Crusader off the penthouse. Batman was injured, but caught up with him. Black Spider fought savagely, seething that he’d kill the man who used him and tried to kill him with a bomb. Their fight led inside the penthouse, where Black spider inhaled sleeping gas pumped in from the air conditioners and collapsed. Batman told Alfred and Hardwicke they could remove their nose-filters. Alfred told Batman Hardwicke had admitted he was Black Spider’s benefactor who used his hatred to eliminate rival drug dealers. Batman believed Spider knew who his benefactor was all along but chose to ignore it because hate made him blind.

(Batman I #306) - The man showed Bruce and Alfred the x-ray photos he had of Bruce wearing the Batman costume underneath his clothes. He admitted to murdering “Mrs. Batman,” and said he had more evidence hidden away that would expose Bruce’s secret identity if he got in the way of his plans. He opened the elevator to the Batcave, giving Bruce the opportunity to change into Batman and confront him again. Batman considered keeping him prisoner in the Batcave, but the man shot him with a cloud of freezing gas and fled. Batman and Alfred knew he had them at a severe disadvantage because they had no idea who he was. Batman collected fingerprints from the Batcave, but each one matched a different dead criminal. The Batcave recorded his voiceprint, and after weeks of research Batman matched it to Jeff Ritcher, an off-Broadway bit player. Batman shadowed him for weeks to figure out what he was up to. Every night he went out in a different disguise to a different ghetto in Gotham, and Batman realized he was spreading the so-called Ghetto Virus that was starting to panic Gotham City. Batman confronted ritcher, who said the poor were better off dead and released the virus from his cane, but a gust oif wind blew it back on him, killing him. Batman realized the rest of his evidence was buried in the grave of “Mrs. Batman,” but was still puzzled as to who she was, and classified the case unsolved.

(Batman I #307) - Bruce Wayne tapped brilliant businessman Lucius Fox as the CEO of the Wayne Foundation and his second-in-command. Lucius informed Bruce that Roxxas oil stock was splitting and reclusive billionaire Gregorian Falstaff was setting up shop in Gotham City, which he knew was bad news for Bruce. Bruce checked in with Alfred aboiut the crime scene in Gotham, and was intrigued by the murder of Ballerina, a homeless woman found killed with two gold coins placed over her eyes. Batman slipped into Gordon’s office in time to hear him talking to Quentin Conroy, an irate collector who claimed to be the owner of the gold coins, which had been stolen from his collection and demanded them back. Batman talked to the homeless community, making friends with a man named Shamrock who introduced him to a contingent of Gotham’s homeless who lives in the sewers. He said they were a closed lot, but they knew if they could trust anyone they could trust Batman. They told him Ballerina’s killer had struck twice before, and presented with the gold coins he left behind. Batman realized the coins were coated with a fast acting poison, and told his new allies that if they hadn’t been exposed to air for an extended period of time merely handling them would have resulted in their deaths. The killer stalked the sewers and offered his coins to a woman named Edith, who shrieked when she saw him. Batman fought him off and forced him to retreat, and the homeless recognized him as Limhouse Jack, one of their own who’d died a decade ago. Batman lured out Jack by posing as a panhandler, and managed to subdue him. He raged that Batman had turned his friends against him, saying that he only killed the homeless to free them from pain and a life of misery. He broke down, and his face became untwisted, revealing him as Quentin Conroy. Jack was his fathert, and he abandoned his family when he was a child to live a life on the streets. That event broke Quincy, who developed a split personality, believing he was his own father.

(Batman I #308) - Bruce Wayne attended to Wayne Foundation business when Selina Kyle walked into his office. She told Bruce she’d recently been paroled and wanted to do something positive with the rest of her life. She had a fortune she wanted to invest in the Wayne Foundation, but Bruce objected that her money was dirty. She assured him it came from an inheritance, and he still balked that it wouldn’t be good for his public image, and Selina blew up saying she’d already paid her debt to society. Bruce relented, reasoning that she deserved a second chance at life and he shouldn’t stand in her way. Selina told Bruce they could talk more about business over dinner, and Bruce realized that he’d never been closer to any woman than Selina except Silver St. Cloud and wondered if romance with her might be in the future. Bruce met with Lucius Fox, asking him to compile a dossier on Selina to learn everything he could about her. Gordon lit the bat-signal when the GCPD discovered the frozen body of businessman Jacob Riker. Batman realized Riker’s death was clearly the work of Mr. Freeze, but wasn’t sure what he stood to gain from such a grisly murder, but promised Gordon he’d bring him to justice. Batman located the abandoned office building freeze owned and was using as a cryogenic facility, but was captured by Freeze’s Ice Pack, a group of frozen zombies that were the result of Freeze’s failed cryogenics experiments. Freeze placed Batman in a cryogenic chamber and told him he was trying to perfect cryogenics to give Hildy, the new love of his live, a frozen immortal life like his. The Ice Pack were once businessmen who’d paid him for immortality, and he’d killed Riker after backing out of a cryogenics deal. Freeze was delighted when his process turned Batman into a frozen zombie like the rest, and left Hildy to watch him while he moved some equipment. Hildy confessed to Batman that although she craved immortality she wasn’t in love with Freeze and planned to kill him once he gave her the power she wanted. Freeze heard her, and furious and upset at being betrayed he aimed his freeze-gun at her. Batman lept into action, revealing he’d cut the power cords to the cryogenics lab and used makeup to make it appear as though he was frozen. He broke Freeze’s helmet, since he was using it to command the Ice Pack and ripped his freeze-ray away from him. Hildy grabbed it, planning to freeze both Freeze and Batman, but because it was no longer attached to Freeze’s regulating cable it exploded, freezing her solid. Batman took Freeze to jail telling him Hildy had gotten her wish, she’d be young and beautiful forever.

(Batman I #309) - Batman visited Commissioner Gordon on Christmas Eve to give him a present of pipe tobacco. Sgt. Lansky called them over, saying he had a potential suicide on the line. Batman talked to the woman, Kathy Crawford, who’d been suffering from severe depression over her perceived failures and finally snapped after muggers took the last five dollars she had. She’d overdosed on sleeping pills, but Batman kept her on the phone long enough for the police to get a trace on her number. Gordon sent out a squadcar and Batman rushed to her residence. He found her apartment door ripped off its’ hinges and a few blocks away he spotted her in the arms of Blockbuster. Blockbuster witnessed her suicide attempt, and wanted to save her, but refused to go into any of the hospitals he’d passed because of a traumatic experiment he’d recently undergone at S.T.A.R. Labs. The experiment also left him mute, and he tried to gesture to Batman that Kathy needed help, but when Batman suggested the hospital Blockbuster attacked him and fled into the night with Kathy. Kathy woke up briefly and was at first terrified of Blockbuster because of his hulking appearance but she saw the tenderness in his eyes, and even though she was in a daze she knew he wanted to help her. He saw a man dressed as Santa Claws collecting money for charity and brought Kathy to him, but his suggestion of a hospital made Blockbuster flee again. Batman cornered him near the Gotham River and Blockbuster jumped onto the frozen water. He clashed with Batman again and their fight caused the ice to crack. Kathy was carried off on an ice floe but blockbuster lept to her aid, and seeing no other choice to save her he threw her to Batman. The ice floe gave way under Blockbuster’s weight and he sank to the bottom of the Gotham River. Commissioner Gordon arrived with an ambulance and Kathy’s life was saved. She told Batman she was amazed at how much a complete stranger cared about her well-being. Batman said she could honor blockbuster’s memory by trying to see the good in herself that blockbuster did and enjoy her life.

(Batman I #310) - Batman responded to a robbery at the Antiquities Wing of the Riverside Museum, and was met by the Gentleman Ghost and his gang. Ghost shot his pistol at Batman, who grabbed an antique shield. The bullet never reached him, simply hovering in the air until it exploded in a magnesium flare, blinding him. Gentleman Ghost thanked him for the sport as he left with his men, assuring Batman wouldn’t see him again. Batman took the robbery personally because Ghost stole two solid gold lanterns that once hung from Wayne Manor. Batman returned to the Wayne foundation, surprised to see Alfred wasn’t home yet, but went to sleep, confident Alfred was fine wherever he was. Selina Kyle woke him up with a call, asking for a lunch date to discuss her planned investments in the Wayne Foundation. Bruce noted to himself how open she seemed unlike the cold and calculated Catwoman he once knew, and hoped she had actually given up on her life of crime. Bruce was starting to worry that Alfred was still missing and had his secretary Gwen call every police precinct and hospital in Gotham, but she couldn’t turn anything up. Lucius Fox briefed Bruce on a board meeting, telling him Gregorian Falstaff was competing against Wayne Enterprises for drilling rights. Lucius said he knew Falstaff was going to be trouble the day he arrived in Gotham City, and Bruce replied that he trusted Lucius completely to resolve the situation. Bruce visited Ye Pipe and Hearth, the British pub where Alfred spent most of his nights off and learned that someone tailed Alfred when he left. Batman returned to his Foundation to find Gentleman Ghost and his gang admiring their haul, and noticed Alfred was present. Batman held his own against Ghost’s gang, but when he tried to approach Ghost a blast of chilled air paralyzed him, and Alfred knocked him out with a vase. Batman woke a short time later, wondering what kind of spell the Ghost held over Alfred. He also wondered why the Gentleman Ghost was interested in antiques when his M.O. was a jewel thief. On a hunch Batman went to Wayne Manor, where Ghost was regaling Alfred about how Wayne Manor reminded him of his old London home. Ghost was drinking at the Pipe and Hearth when he heard Alfred bragging about Wayne Manor when he decided to see it for himself. Ghost had come to Gotham City for a change of scenery, but dearly missed London and decided Wayne Manor was a base where he could be reminded of his home and robbed the antiquities to decorate it, restoring it to its’ 1700s era state. Batman confronted him and when Ghost ordered Alfred to shoot Batman Alfred overcame his mental control and refused. Ghost tried to flee in his ghostly carriage, but Batman fought with him, exasperating Gentleman Ghost. Batman refused to believe he was an actual spirit, believing his powers to be a clever gimmick. The carriage went over a cliff, and when Batman investigated he found only Gentleman Ghost’s tophat and heard a haunting laugh mocking him.

(DC Comics Presents #8 (BTS)) - Superman contacted Batman via his belt-buckle radio after he was attacked by Swamp Thing. Batman had assured him that the man-monster was noble, and Superman wanted an explanation. Batman couldn't give him one, not realizing that Swamp Thing only attacked Superman to break up a fight between the hero and Solomon Grundy, who Swamp Thing hoped could give him an insight into curing his own condition.

(Batman I #311) - The rebuilt Gotham Nuclear Plant went critical for ten minutes, and Batman investigated, finding glowing footprints. He realized Dr. Phosphorus was still alive and a threat to Gotham. Batman told Commissioner Gordon what he’d discovered and met with Peter Curtis, the head of a group of anti-nuclear protesters set to hold a rally the next day. Dr. Phosphorus was skulking nearby and furious that anyone would try to close his plant. Batman went to Arkham to speak to Boss Thorne and see if he had any information about Dr. Phosphorus’ whereabouts. Batman’s presence triggered a psychotic episode in Thorne, who’d just been visited by Phosphorus, who burned through his cell wall to tell him his upcoming plan. Phosphorus outran Batman promising he’d burn Gotham like phosphorus burned when exposed to air and promised to reign over the city. Batman and Gordon attended the anti-nuclear rally where Congresswoman Barbara Gordon was a speaker, railing against the dangers of nuclear power. Gordon glowed at how proud he was of his daughter, and Barbara spoke privately to Batman about the Dr. Phosphorus case. Batman realized that when Phosphorus said he was going to reign over Gotham he meant he was going to poison rainclouds to produce phosphorus rain. Barbara missed working alongside Batman, and as Batgirl she joined him in a visit to the Gotham airport. Phosphorus was about to take off in a plane, but Batman foiled him by ramming it with the Batmobile. The impact knocked Batman unconscious and Batgirl was forced to engage Phosphorus in hand-to-hand combat. She couldn’t hurt him, but remembered Batman was wearing a special radiation-proof suit for the occasion, and grabbed his cape, wrapping Phosphorus in it and smothering his fire. Phosphorus ranted that he would have rained death on all of Gotham and she told him to knock off the melodrama. Batman was proud of how Batgirl handled the situation, and she said Gotham’s villains couldn’t compare to the danger of politics.

(Identity Crisis #6 (fb)) - Batman and the JLA defeated Hector Hammond, and then received a distress call from Sue Dibny from the JLA satellite. They found Sue being savaged by Dr. Light and quickly defeated him. Light threatened the rest of the JLA, telling them he d find their loved ones and do to them what he did to Sue. Hawkman proposed that they mindwipe Dr. Light and make him less of the threat, and Zatanna used her magic to erase Light s memory, but in trying to alter her personality she magically lobotomized him, making him a minimal threat. Batman tried to stop them, so they decided to erase his memory of what they did to Light.

(Batman I #312) - Calendar Man planned a crime spree based on the days of the week and their etymology. On Monday he wore a moon helmet that projected magnetic waves and robbed the Gotham Planetarium of stamps hand-canceled by astronauts during a lunar visit. On Tuesday he dressed as the Norse god Tyr and robbed Gotham’s Museum of Military Antiques with an electrified sword. On Wednesday he dressed as Wotan and robbed the Metropolitan Museum. He rode off in an eight-wheeled cycle based on Wotan’s steed Sleipnir, but Batman finally caught up with him. Calendar Man separated the cycle from the chassis when Batman jumped aboard, and Batman lept from it just in time to save his own life. On Thursday Calendar Man robbed the Van Dyke Art Gallery dressed as Thor, stealing a painting titled Storm King. Batman confronted his and dodged a blow from his hammer. Calendar Man’s helmet produced ultrasonic thunder that damaged Batman’s inner ear and the villain fled. Gordon saw how badly Batman was injured and urged him to let the GCPD handle Calendar Man, saying they’d get him on Sunday because the target was obvious, the golden obelisk of the sun god Ra. Back at home Bruce was examined by Dr. Dundee, who told him he needed bedrest or he would risk his inner ear damage becoming permanent. Alfred assured him he’d make sure Bruce got the rest he needed, and in kept a close eye on him, making sure he left the Calendar Man to the police. On Friday Calendar Man robbed a society wedding as Frigga, goddess of love. On Saturday he dressed as Saturn, god of agriculture and robbed an ecology benefit rally. Lucius Fox met with Bruce, insisting he’d handle the Dennison Merger by himself, telling Bruce he was taking the Western Sun Express to Central City. Bruce weakly objected, but Lucius reminded him he hired him so he wouldn’t have to think about business. Something clicked in Bruce’s head, and he snuck out of his apartment. As Batman he caught Calendar Man boarding the Sun Express. He knew the villain would be a fool to go after the sun obelisk, the obvious target, and would use Sunday as a day of rest. Calendar Man tried to flee across the traintracks, but Batman threw a batarang at a switching signal, which swung in Calendar Man’s face, knocking him cold.

(Batman I #313, 314) - Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle attended a publicity event for Gotham’s Children’s Telethon, with Bruce presenting a huge check for the charity. Bruce and Selina went out to dinner and Selina was pleased that he wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with a former criminal in public. Selina admitted it was thrill-seeking and an interest in getting Batman’s attention that drove her to a life of crime, but she insisted she was her own woman now. Bruce and Selina admitted having feelings for each other and ended the date with a kiss. Commissioner Gordon lit the bat-signal after discovering the body of Two-Face’s henchman Specs. Specs had helped Two-Face steal the latest binary codes for the U.S. missile defense system, but was overwhelmed by guilt for betraying his country. He’d hidden the codes in a manila envelope and called the GCPD to confess, but Two-Face executed him before he could reveal where the codes were. Batman found Two-Face’s headquarters, and he was joined by King Faraday, who’d been put on the Two-Face case by the U.S. government. Two-Face activated a steel door that divided his hideout in half and escaped. King Faraday didn’t want him getting in his way, but Batman said he had a duty to Two-Face, he’d promised himself to honor the memory of crusading attorney Harvey Dent by never allowing him to hurt anyone else ever again. Batman worked out that Specs had hidden the codes inside a giant piggybank used as a prop for the Gotham Children’s Telethon. Two-Face and his gang posed as security guards loading up the telethon donations from the piggybank into an armored truck and raced off. Batman and Faraday pursued them in the Batmobile, with Batman causing them to crash by blowing out the armored truck’s tires with a laser beam. Two-Face fled with the codes up a fire escape, and Faraday aimed his pistol at him. Batman grabbed his arm, ruining his shot. Batman said Two-Face was mentally ill, and he couldn’t allow Faraday to murder him. Faraday reminded Batman that national security was at stake, and warned Batman to stay out of his way while he dealt with Two-Face as he saw fit. Batman and King Faraday independently did information gathering and learned that Two-Face was in New Orleans. Two-Face was hiding out at the River Queen Restaurant and met representatives from the U.S. and Russia. He told them he’d decide which of them would get the codes after he flipped a coin, but at a time and a place of his choosing. Shortly afterwards King and Batman burst in on him, and Two-Face escaped through a hidden door. King and Batman found themselves trapped in a room boobytrapped with heat-seeking lasers. Batman set off a phosphorus capsule from his utility belt, drawing the fire of the lasers, and the ensuing fire drew the staff of the restaurant. Two-Face met the U.S. and Russian delegate at a Mardi Gras festival, and after taking 22 million from each of them he flipped his coin. He caught it between his fingers, and said that because it was on it’s edge they lost and he won. Two-Face took off in a blimp and Batman managed to board it. Two-Face attacked him fiercely and Batman hung unto the blimp with his fingertips. Two-Face was ready to kick him off, but Batman persuaded him that he had to use a coin flip to make that decision. Batman distracted him long enough for King Faraday to enter through an entry hatch and he shot at the villain. His bullet hit Two-Face’s coin and he dived out of the blimp to grab it, saying that his life was worthless without it. Batman was saddened by his apparent death, and asked if Faraday was proud of himself. Faraday was satisfied the missile codes died with Two-Face and said he’d left behind fulfillment and happiness when he’d chosen his line of work.

(Identity Crisis #3 (fb)) - The Secret Society switched bodies with the JLA. They took time to document the JLA s secret identities. After being defeated the JLA erased their memories with Zatanna's help, but kept Batman and Superman in the dark about what they did.

(Batman I #315) - Batman responded to a break-in at Gotham City Hall and found one of the intruders releasing a kite into the night sky. The next day the Wayne Foundation held a meeting with city commissioner Arthur Reeves over Trans-Atlantic Airways decision to leave Gotham. Reeves was furious with Gregorian Falstaff, who held controlling interest in Trans-Atlantic and pressed for them to leave, costing the city countless jobs. Bruce and Lucius Fox agreed nothing could be done, but they could try to prevent repeats of such events in the future. Falstaff’s secretary Karlyle Kruggerand had extended an offer to Lucius to meet with Falstaff, and Lucius accepted in hopes of learning something that would give Bruce the edge over him, but chose to keep Bruce in the dark after Reeves made it clear he’d go after anyone doing business with Falstaff. Bruce met Selina for lunch and she told him she knew he had Lucius compile a dossier on her, and was angered by his invasion of her privacy. Bruce asked her to consider his position concerning her past life as a criminal. Selina didn’t care that he told her he trusted her now, she threw a drink in his face and stormed off. Bruce asked Alfred on any updates on the Gotham City Hall break-in, and Alfred reported that a number of blueprints had been stolen, and kites were spotted in the skies over Trans-Atlantic shooting off fireworks. Bruce realized Kite-Man was behind the break-in, having his goon send him the blueprints to rob the airline via kite. Kite-Man stole the payroll with box-kites armed with a nerve agent that disabled the payroll security. Batman caught up to him in his bat-glider, colliding with the villain and destroying both of their gliders, but Batman launched a parachute to land them safely. Batman handed Kite-Man over to Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD and wondered why men like Kite-Man could never outgrow their childhood.

(Batman I #316) - Dick Grayson had summer vacation and was excited to spend in Gotham City. He reunited with Batman as Robin and caught an arsonist who set fire to the Gotham Community Hospital. Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD were at the scene and Gordon remarked that the arsonist, like most kids today, had no sense of responsibility. Robin took offense to the remark, even though Gordon said he didn’t mean young men like him. The Dynamic duo responded to a break-in at S.T.A.R. Labs, but failed to prevent Crazy Quilt and his gang from stealing an experimental laser surgery tool. Bruce Wayne showed Dick around the Wayne Foundation, reminding him that one day it would all belong to him. Lucius Fox greeted Dick, and was happy the papers he’d sent him about business administration helped him ace his class. Bruce called Gotham Community Hospital doctor Norman Dexter to see if the Wayne foundation could help repair his hospital, and learned that he was missing. Bruce put together the clues that Crazy Quilt hired the arsonist that set fire to the hospital and kidnapped Dexter to perform surgery on him with the S.T.A.R. Labs laser tool to restore his sight. Batman and Robin went to the hospital and made their way through boobytraps Quilt set, including colored flares and a hypnotic color wheel. Quilt was thrilled that the surgery was a success, and turned his color-helmet on the heroes, but Robin used a reflective surgery tray to reflect its’ colored beams back into Quilt’s eyes. Quilt realized he was blind and shot a handgun at Batman and Robin until his clip was empty. He’d failed to hit them even once, and begged for death.

(Batman I #317) - Commissioner Gordon contacted Batman and Robin after Riddler broke out of jail and mailed police headquarters a book entitled “1001 Riddles For All Occasions.” Riddler knew he had to compulsively leave riddles before committing crimes, but hoped to throw the Dynamic Duo off his trail by sending clues for his next possible 1001 crimes. Bruce bribed Selina’s doorman to let her into her apartment, and he told her he wanted to make up with her. Selina was furious at his presumption, and kicked him out. He said he was willing to forgive her mistakes as Catwoman, but was sad she couldn’t forgive him being skeptical of her. Selina thought she was being too tough on Bruce and said they could put past differences aside, and they kissed. Batman and Robin decided to virtually ignore Riddler’s book of riddles, with Robin interviewing his cellmate Jake Hammer. Hammer was a gun-runner, and Riddler robbed a magazine distribution warehouse that the police raided and found to be a gun-running front, so they deduced Riddler was trying to take Hammer’s place. They found Riddler at Gotham Harbor, meeting with Hammer's contact to sell him the magazines he’d stolen, which had been hollowed out to hide firearms. Riddler grabbed a firearm from his stash and tried to gun them down, but Batman caught him in a cargo net. Batman annoyed him by riddling him “Why are you like a spawning salmon.” The Riddler knew the answer was that he was going up the river.

(DC Comics Presents #15) - Batman relieved Superman of JLofA monitor duty, and transported him to the Fortress of Solitude, alongside Atom, who Superman was trying to cure of a psychological block that prevented him from using his powers.

(Batman I #318) - Batman, Commissioner Gordon and the fire department responded to a tenement fire, the second in a number of days. Batman saved a little girl from burning, and confronted Firebug, the villain responsible for the blaze. Firebug shot flames at Batman to keep him back, but thanked him for saving the girl, saying he didn’t want to hurt anyone, he just wanted to kill the buildings that he blamed for countless deaths. Bruce attended a raucous party with Selina aboard an airplane. When they landed Selina noticed another plane unloading Egyptian artifacts dedicated to the cat-goddess Bast bound for the Riverside Museum. Selina said once upon a time those artifacts wouldn’t have been safe from her, but promised Bruce those days were over even though she couldn’t keep her eyes off the goods. Firebug’s statement of killer buildings mad Batman suspect he was personally tied to them. Alongside Gordon he did research and learned that two members of the rigger family died in the buildings due to neglected safety issues. Another Rigger died of a heart attack in a stalled elevator at Gotham State Building, so they knew Firebug’s next target. Batman deduced Firebug’s identity as the last surviving rigger, a soldier named Joseph who’d been overseas when his family died. Firebug set a fire-bomb in the Gotham State Building, but Batman defused it. They fought, and Batman was prepared, wearing an insulated bat-costume. Firebug reacted by deactivating his costume’s safety features and setting himself on fire. In the ensuing battle Firebug fell from the building and his costume exploded.

(Batman I #319) - Gentleman Ghost and his new underlings Alfie and Reggie broke into a diamond manufacturing plant, but were confronted by Batman. Ghost activated a hoist-hook that snagged Batman and allowed him to make his escape, but not before Batman threw a batarang that retrieved his purloined bag of diamonds. Bruce Wayne decided to reopen Wayne Manor and move back in. He threw a charity costumed ball with Alfred preparing the gala. Bruce dressed as Henry VIII and greeted Selina Kyle, dressed as Catherine of Aragon and Lucius Fox, dressed as Abraham Lincoln. Bruce was pleased that Selina and Lucius were able to bury the hatchet, making the attempt to get along. Alfred alerted Bruce that the diamond factory had been broken into again, and after excusing himself on business matters he changed into Batman. Batman leapt at Gentleman Ghost but found an empty costume supported with a wire frame and hiding a microphone. The real Ghost snuck up behind him, knocking him out with his cane. Batman woke to find himself chained over a vat of sulfuric acid. Ghost said he knew death-traps were melodramatic, but he loved drama and thought murder had become too pedestrian as of late. Ghost and his men left to pull off another heist, and Batman freed himself by using the grinding gears of the winch he was bound to to break his chains. Ghost, Alfie and Reggie tried to rob his costumed ball, and Batman easily overpowered Alfie and Reggie. He pursued Ghost outside Wayne Manor, but when he tried to tackle him he passed through Ghost and nearly fell off a cliff. He found a projector in nearby bushes that created the image of the Gentleman Ghost. Ghost told Batman he did like using tricks, but assured him he was a real spirit before vanishing into thin air.

(Batman I #320) - Batman visited Sigerson, Ltd., the business Bruce Wayne operated as a front to receive news from a clipping service about crimes from around the world. He learned about the murders of two young priests in rural Spain, one had been coated in bronze and the other hung from a hook in a meat locker. He informed Alfred he was going overseas to investigate, and Alfred advised him to just take it easy since Gotham City was relatively quiet as of late, but Batman said he simply couldn’t. In Spain he learned that Cardinal Ramirez was feuding with Father Pinto because he viewed all young priests and modern life as inherently sinful. He visited Pinto’s church and met detective Hector Sanchez, who also feared Pinto would be targeted for murder. Cardinal Ramirez didn’t want Sanchez working with Batman, fearing that the Caped Crusader was a devil, and Sanchez asked Batman to back off, saying that if he staid he’d fall victim to cardinal sins. Batman talked to Pinto, who was murdered by a crossbow bolt loaded with a neurotoxin shot through his window. Batman pursued the killer to an old chapel at the foot of a mountain. He caught up to Gorko, a hunchbacked man, and his master the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor said he wanted to restore morality to Spain, and had to kill the priests he believed were leading men away from God. He opened a trapdoor that dumped Batman into an oubliette and told Gorko to finish him off. Batman escaped and caught Detective Sanchez in the act of trying to lock Father Guedes inside a bank vault. Batman realized he was the Inquisitor because of his reference to the cardinal sins, which were the themes of the Inquisitor’s murders. The priest coated in bronze represented pride, the one stuffed in a meat locker represented gluttony and the neurotoxin that killed Pinto symbolized sloth. They fought, and Gorko aimed his crossbow at Batman but missed, killing his master. After the Inquisitor’s death Batman went to confession to talk to Cardinal Ramirez. He told Ramirez he’d done some research and learned that he’d fathered Sanchez before he entered the priesthood, and his warped views on morality shaped his son’s murderous crusade.

(Batman I #321) - Joker planned his own birthday celebration by kidnapping Batman’s friends. He disguised himself as a woman in need of a tire change to lure in Robin, who found the tires of Joker’s car were coated in super-sticky taffy. He flooded the GCPD precinct with laughing gas and made off with Commissioner Gordon. Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox and Selina Kyle were all waiting at the Wayne Foundation for Bruce, and Selina complained that the headaches she was suffering from were growing more severe. Joker blasted his way in with dynamite, and assuming Selina was there to rob the Wayne Foundation he sincerely apologized if he’d ruined a scheme of hers before knocking her out with a spring-loaded boxing glove hidden in a bouquet of roses before taking Fox and Pennyworth with him. At Joker’s Ha-Hacienda he gloated about killing everyone who ever crossed him while all of Gotham watched. He broke out into uproarious laughter, and when he noticed one of his hired goons wasn’t laughing along with him he shot him in the head. Joker organized the Harlequin Bakery Show at the Seaside Coliseum, advertising free samples and drawing an enormous crowd. Joker had his henchmen lock all the doors to the building before revealing himself and showing off a giant birthday cake with his kidnapees all ties to candles. A detonator was set to light the candles ablaze, but Batman revealed he was in the audience, and agreed to surrender and allow  Joker to tie him to a candle in exchange for releasing his friends. Joker went back on his word, but Batman freed himself and severed the fuses of the candles with his batarang. Joker fled on a motorboat with Batman in pursuit, and his boat exploded when it collided with rocky shoals. Commissioner Gordon asked Batman if he thought Joker was dead, but Batman doubted it.

(Batman I #322) - Captain Boomerang arrived in Gotham City, threatening newspaper men who distributed the Gotham Guardian tabloid, saying their boss owed him money. Batman showed up and Boomerang launched an explosive boomerang at a nearby building, sending rubble down on one of the newspaper men. Batman saved the man’s life, but the distraction enabled Boomerang to slip away. Batman asked Alfred to look up who owned the Guardian, and Alfred asked if he should call in the Flash. Batman said the day he couldn’t beat one of Flash’s castoffs was the day he’d retire. Alfred learned that the Guardian was published by the Connoisseur Corporation, which was owned by Gregorian Falstaff. Captain Boomerang decided to try a semi-legit way of making money, and invested the stolen money he’d saved up for a retirement fund in Connoisseur Corporation stocks, which Falstaff shorted, causing Boomerang to lose his entire investment. Boomerang showed up at his office, knocked out Falstaff’s bodyguard Karlyle Kruggerand with a boomerang, and demanded his money back. Falstaff was shaken and said he’d happily give Boomerang all the money he wanted. Batman showed up, but Boomerang knocked him out with a trick boomerang that split in two. Batman woke up to find himself tied to a giant rocket-powered Doomerang which Captain Boomerang informed him would launch him into the stratosphere before it exploded. Boomerang set off his Doomerang and was overjoyed at the blast, thinking that without Batman Gotham City would be ripe for plunder. Batman shocked him by sneaking up on him, having removed his bonds using the Doomerang’s rocketfire and slipping away in the cloud of smoke it produced. He downed Boomerang with one punch, but realized it was fortunate that Boomerang enabled him to finally meet Bruce Wayne’s fiercest business rival. Selina Kyle was diagnosed with a rare incurable disease she’d picked up during her career of thievery by Doctor Douglas Dundee. He mentioned that it the ancient Egyptians were able to cure it with rare herbs, but their secret was lost to history. The Riverside Museum had a show on Egyptian treasures including jars shaped like cats from a physician’s tomb. The docent said it was theorized the hermetically sealed jars contained preserved herbs and Selina struggled with the impulse to steal them for a shot at saving her life. She called up Bruce Wayne for support, but Alfred informed her he wasn’t home and she just asked that he tell Bruce Selina loved him. Catman ended up burglarizing the jars and scratching a guard, who mistook him for Catwoman in the dark.

(Batman I #323, 324) - The GCPD named Selina Kyle as the main suspect in the Riverside burglary and Batman, feeling heartbroken, felt that he no choice but to be the one to arrest her. Selina protested her innocence even though Batman promised her that if she turned herself in he’d help her prove her innocence. Selina said she wouldn’t live long enough to see a trial and lobbed her cat at Batman. The cat tried to scratch his eyes, giving Selina enough time to escape her apartment. She showed up as Catwoman at the Wayne foundation, begging Bruce to just trust in her innocence, saying she had need of his resources. Bruce said he loved Selina, not Catwoman, and asked why she was wearing her old costume. She replied that it made what she had to do easier. Bruce promised her the finest lawyers money could buy, and she told him he didn’t understand her situation and was as useless as Batman before leaving. Batman revisited the Riverside Museum to see if the police missed any evidence and discovered a suspicious fiber. He analyzed it in the Batcave, telling Alfred he was becoming more and more convinced that Selina was innocent. Catwoman visited Pinch, a fence she knew, and said he was going to help her with her problem. He told her about the Apex Import and Export warehouse, under which were catacombs used by bootleggers during prohibition. Catwoman found her headaches becoming more intense and her health deteriorating. Batman met her in the catacombs, and after a brief scuffle and avoiding a few bootlegger boobytraps he convinced her he was there to help. The fell through a trap door into a giant cat’s cradle made of adhesive polymer, and Catman revealed himself, bragging about having them where he wanted them. Catwoman begged Catman to give her the Egyptian urns he stole, saying her life depended on it. Catman said her life and Batman’s were at an end and activated a motor that started stretching the cat’s cradle, threatening to pull Batman and Catwoman apart limb from limb. Catman left them, and Batman threw a batarang at him, but it only managed to clip the heel of his booth. Batman freed himself and Catwoman with a penknife hidden in hid utility belt, but by the time he got to her Catwoman was seriously injured. He took her to the batcave to get medical treatment and to analyze the piece of Catman’s boot he’d sliced off with the batarang. Catwoman awoke in the Batcave, amazed at seeing it for the first time and saying it was everything she thought it would be. Batman told her Catman had soil on his boots native to the Ionian Islands of Greece and said he was going after him. Batman insisted she recover in the Batcave, but she pointed out that she could be dead by the time he came back, and if he tried to keep her cooped up she’d simply escape, so he agreed to let her go with him. Catwoman flirted with some Greek dock workers and learned the Ionian Islands were all owned by millionaire Andros Akropolis, who was also a collector of ancient artifacts. They realized Catman’s plan was to sell his loot to Akropolis. Catman met Akropolis on his motorboat, showing up with only one of the Egyptian pieces he’d stolen, fearing Akropolis would double-cross him. In return for all the tresures he stole Catman wanted the deed to an abandoned island in the Ionian chain. He planned on retiring there and making it a haven for wanted criminals in exchange for a portion of their loot. Akropolis, his men and Catman landed on the island and Catman showed them the hot springs geyser where he’d hidden his loot. Akropolis pulled a gun on him, and Batman and Catwoman showed up. Akropolis emptied his clip, but Catman managed to escape thanks to the supposedly mystic cloak that gave him nine lives. Akroplis told Batman he was only trying to recover the artifacts for the U.S. government and Batman couldn’t prove otherwise. He said Batman and Catwoman were traspassing and warned them to get off his island before he sped away in his motorboat. Catman was hiding nearby and put his clawed glove to Catwoman’s throat, demanding they help him escape in the Batplane. Catwoman told him she needed the herbs he had to live, but he said he wasn’t in the mood for making bargains. Realizing she had nothing left to lose Catwoman stomped on his foot with her stiletto heel, and he fell into a hot spring geyser, seemingly to his doom. Before he fell Catwoman managed to rip off a piece of his cloak. Catwoman’s health deteriorated and Batman brought her back to Gotham to be treated by Dr. Dundee. Bruce Wayne visited her, and Dundee said she had a miraculous recovery. Selina chalked it up to having the remains of Catman’s cloak. Bruce thought there had to be an explanation besides magic, but he couldn’t think of one.

(Batman I #325) - There was a recall election for Gotham police commissioner, and Gordon’s opposition was Bob Brand. Right before the election there was a crimewave and someone sent the GCPS a death threat aimed at Batman. Gordon couldn’t help but think someone was trying to sabotage his chances at keeping his position. Gordon lit the batsignal to talk the situation over with Batman when a sniper took a shot at Batman. Batman chased down his would-be assassin, who said he worked for the Candy Man Lou Milligan. During a debate between Gordon and Brand Batman showed up to pledge his support for Gordon. Assassins tried to shoot Batman, but he foiled them with the help of Brand, who received a favorable writeup in the Gotham Herald for his heroic actions. Bruce Wayne used his influence to call a meeting of the wealthy and powerful residents of Gotham, hoping they'd back Gordon for keeping his job. Bruce found little support, and Lucius Fox told him he’d done everything he could to help his friend. Bruce told Alfred he wouldn’t be home for dinner because he had a lot of work to do. Batman confronted Candy Man at his bar, and he said Brand was the one who put the hit on Batman. Batman went to Brand’s office to find him murdered by his campaign manager Tom Hamilton, who drew his gun on Batman. He’d tried every dirty trick to get his candidate elected, but when Brand learned what he’d done he was disgusted and Hamilton killed him. Hamilton promised Batman would be the cause of Gordon’s death, and Batman disarmed him. The panicked Hamilton stumbled out the window of Brand’s office to his death. Batman tried to parse Hamilton’s cryptic threat against Gordon and remembered he’d seen repairmen working on the batsignal. The “repairmen” worked for Hamilton, and had rigged the batsignal with a bomb, and Batman saved Gordon in the nick of time when he lit it and it exploded. Commissioner Gordon kept his job in the election, and he confided in Batman that he was worried he was getting too old for his job, and had been thinking of stepping aside, but Batman assured him he had some good years left in him.

(Batman I #326, 327) - Selina told Bruce she’d been thinking about her future while she was in the hospital, and decided she was leaving him and Gotham City. Everything she tried to do to redeem herself was sullied by Catman, and Bruce didn’t trust her enough to believe she was innocent. Bruce said he wanted to trust her and Selina replied that wanting and doing were two different thinks. Selina hoped being away from Gotham would clear her head, and said she might return one day. Alfred drove Bruce home, and he wondered what was wrong with him after losing fulfilling relationships with Silver St. Cloud and Selina. Alfred responded that the life of Batman wasn’t an easy one even though it was the life he had to live. Batman went on patrol, spotting a man on a motorcycle robbing the jewlery exchange. He threw a batarang at his head, which bounced harmlessly off his bike helmet, and the man tried to run Batman down. Batman jammed a metal rod in his front wheel, causing him to crash. He was injured, but took off his helmet, smashed Batman in the head with it and ran off. Batman recognized him as Mad Dog Markham, an Arkham Asylum resident, and checked in with Gordon. Gordon told him about a recent investigation of a murder bearing the earmarks of Arkham inmate Kid Gloves McConnell, and decided to ring up Arkham. The director assured Gordon both men were safely in their cells, but Gordon knew something wasn’t right. Batman decided to go undercover, posing as Shank Taylor, a criminal suffering from paranoid delusions. The director brought him to his office, sedated him, and assured him he’d be friends. The director revealed himself as Professor Milo. Batman escaped his straightjacket, escaped his cell and went around Arkham to investigate, finding Markheim in his cell with a sling around his arm. He knew there was something afoot, but returned to his cell before his absence was noticed. Professor Milo had cameras on all the cells and witnessed his ability to escape at will, so he had orderlies bring “Shank” to his office. Milo’s megalomania kicked in, and he wanted to explain his whole plan to shank. He’s replaced the actual director, having him locked in one of Arkham’s padded cells, and had his underlings act as orderlies. He released inmates to commit crimes in exchange for 50% of their take in exchange for an ironclad alibi for them. He offered Shank a cup of tea, saying he knew he was a veteran jewel thief and could use a man like him. Shank pretended to drink, fearing the tea was drugged, and turned down Milo’s offer. Milo said he didn’t really have a choice in the matter and had his orderlies drag Shank back to his cell. Batman escaped his cell again, and found a Batman costume in joker’s cell that he was using for target practice. He slipped it on, but suddenly felt faint and collapsed. He awoke in a straightjacket surrounded by inmates who thought they were famous historical figures such as Napoleon and joan of Arc. Milo told him he was delusional for thinking he was Batman and would prove it. Milo knew it would have been safer to simply kill Batman, but wanted to break his mind and leave him as a permanent inmate of Arkham. He dared Batman to show his skills and escape his straightjacket, but batman found he couldn’t. Batman wasn’t falling for Milo’s moind games, realizing he’d been drugged. Milo admitted he’s coated his teacup with neurotoxin, and left his orderlies to kill batman. Batman easily fended them off and convinced “Joan of Arc” to take one of the orderlies’ knives and free him. Batman went to Milo’s office, where he was wearing protective clothing and a helmet. He had a vial of the toxin he’;d used on Batman earlier and smashed it, saying a full dose would drive Batman insane forever. Batman used his cloak to keep from breathing it in, but the inmates had followed him, and seeing Batman as a leader, attacked Milo. They ripped off his protective mask, and milo got a full dose of the toxin, driving him mad.

(Batman I #327) - Dick visited Bruce during a break from college, and Bruce saw him off at the train station. John Taggart, head of Taggart Train Lines, wanted to talk business with Bruce, but he didn’t have the time because he recognized criminals “Frankie” Franconi and” Shark” Armstrong boarding a train. Batman and Robin went into actoion when the train the crooks were on left a half hour before schedule. The crooks were trying to kill Joe Carson, a small-time criminal set to testify before a grand jury, but Batman and Robin saved him. The Dynamic Duo returned to to the train station where Batman confronted Taggart, snagging a computer control device on his person. He knew someone on the inside had to be the one to set the train headed off ahead of schedule, and knew Taggart was trying to silence Carson, who had damning info about the crimes he’d committed to keep his struggling business afloat.

(Batman I #328) - Batman received a videotape from Carl Ternion, and watched it with Alfred. Ternion had been on trial for the murder of Anton Karoselle, but was acquitted. In the videotape he admitted to Anton’s murder, saying he’d killed him twice, and taunting Batman that he’d never pay for it because of double jeopardy. Batman researched his case, and according to the police report Karoselle was the prime suspect in the murder of D.A. Dave Stevens and Ternion wanted justice for his friend. He confronted Anton, who claimed he couldn’t have killed Stevens because he was confined to a wheelchair. Anton pulled a shotgun, Carl grabbed it, and the shot hit a chandelier that came down on Anton, killing him. Batman talked to one of his informants, a crafty baglady named Mary Ann Warner, to see what she could pick up from the streets. She was attacked by thugs just for asking about Ternion, and Batman saved her, taking her to Gotham Hospital. He paid for the bail of one of the attackers, following him to Gotham Dam where he was meeting with Ternion. Ternion, claiming self-defense, shot at Batman and tried to drown Batman by opening the dam’s spillway. Bruce Wayne met with Lucius Fox, who wanted to tender his resignation because he was suffering from personal problems at home. Bruce said he was invaluable to the Wayne Foundation, and insisted he take a paid leave of absence instead, telling Lucius he would help him with his personal problems in away way he could. Warner mentioned acclaimed plastic surgeon Dr. Albert Eckhart, who’d done work on Ternion, and Eckhart turned up dead with two bullets in his head. Batman realized that Ternion was actually Two-Face. He’d gotten restorative plastic surgery and in an attempt to reunite with his ex-wife Gilda he killed the man who killed her husband Dave Stevens.

(Batman I #328) - Alfred told Batman he heard horrible screams coming from the Batcave, and Batman realized the cries were coming from a wall in the cave that was only a few inches thick. He drove the Batmobile through the wall, finding himself in the Gotham subway. Commissioner Gordon was tied up, and Batman’s presence caused his assailant to flee. Gordon told Batman that on his first day as a patrolman Daryl Richmond robbed his childhood friend Hank Weber’s jewelry store and fatally shot him. He’d caught the killer, but could never find where he stashed his stolen goods. Gordon got a call from someone claiming they could help him solve the 35 year old crime, and even though he suspected a trap he responded. The man who called him was Richmond’s son, whose father had recently passed away, obsessed with his hidden loot to the end. Batman and Gordon followed Richmond’s son through the subway tunnels and cornered him in a dead end, causing him to have a mental breakdown. He still refused to tell Gordon where his dad’s stash was. Back at the Batcave Batman told Alfred part of the cave was once part of Gotham’s subway system, and after some digging he found Hank Weber’s jewelry and returned it to Gordon, saying he could finally close out the case.

(Batman I #329) - Batman broke into Dr. Eckhart’s office to examine his medical files, but Two-Face threw a grenade through the window, forcing Batman to flee and incinerating the records. Batman had time enough to spot Anton Karoselle as one of Eckhart’s clients, and went to the Gotham coroner’s office to see Karoselle’s death certificate but Two-Face set it ablaze. Batman complained to Alfred that he was being frustrated at every turn. Ternion spent time with Gilda, and she told him how he’d made her feel complete again, but his plastic surgery finally gave out, and he fled, saying she wouldn’t see him again but if wasn’t her fault, not wanting Gilda to realize he was Two-Face. Batman broke the heartrending news that Ternion was Two-Face and assured Gilda he’d find a way to get him the help he needed if she played along. Two-Face was spying on Gilda, and had a rifle at the ready to snipe Batman, but after a coin flip he couldn’t. He cursed fate and his coin for conspiring against him, realizing his life would be so much easier if he’d been able to take advantage of the multiple opportunities he’d had to kill his nemesis. Batman disguised himself as Sal Maroni, kidnapped Gilda, and brought her to the Gotham courthouse. Two-Face confronted “Maroni,” but saw through his disguise and pistol whipped Batman before tying him up. He threatened to shoot Batman, who had Alfred project a video of Harvey Dent being disfigured by Maroni in the courthouse. Two-Face was on the verge of a breakdown when Gilda appeared, telling him she loved him even after he was disfigured, but he needed serious help. She told him that if he killed Batman she’d hate him forever, and he pleaded that Batman had a 50/50 chance thanks to his coin. Gilda said his coin was more of a crutch than anything else, and he dropped it and begged forgiveness, allowing the GCPD to take him away. Gilda told Batman she sincerely hoped Harvey got the help he needed, and that she’d be there for him. She noted that Batman had already slipped his bonds when Two-Face had his gun pointed at him, and Batman said he’d go to any lengths to see his friend get a chance at redemption.

(Batman I #329) - Batman and Robin foiled a hit on mobster “Razor” Reynolds, who was getting a heart transplant, at Gotham General Hospital. Dr. Phillips told Robin he was disappointed at Batman, who, to his knowledge, hadn’t once visited Mary Ann, his informant who helped him crack the recent Two-Face case. Mobsters tried to hijack Raynold’s new heart from the airport, but Batman and Robin foiled them, learning that they’d been sent by Reynold’s daughter Pammy, who blamed her father for her mother’s death. Dr. Phillips changed his tune about Batman when he visited Mary Ann, and saw Batman swinging away from her hospital room after delivering a bouquet of flowers.

(Batman I #330) - Bruce wondered why Lucius Fox hadn’t left the files he was waiting for on his desk, and asked his secretary Caroline to track Fox down. She informed him that Lucius was in the hospital after being attacked, and Bruce rushed off to Gotham General Hospital. Caroline called up Gregorian Falstaff to inform him she had the papers he wanted. Lucius was in bad shape and begged Bruce to save his son Tim before he passed out. Dick Grayson visited the hospital told Bruce he wanted to find whoever hurt Lucius. Bruce found a clue in Lucius’ notes, and after changing into Batman he allowed Robin to accompany him, even though things were tense between them since Robin dropped out of Hudson University. They were ambushed by a sniper, and survived a drive-by. Batman got one of the would-be killers to talk, and he told Batman that Archie Skyler, a man Batman sent to prison, was set to be executed within the day and had placed a bounty of ten million in gold on Batman’s head. Batman and Robin visited Skyler in Gotham Prison, but he only bragged that there was no way they could punish him since he was already on death row. Robin advised Batman to lay low for 24 hours, but Batman said he couldn’t because he learned from Lucius’ notes that Tim was involved with a gang that was planning something big that night. A man threw a grenade at them, injuring Batman’s arm. Talia al Ghul showed up, took out the antagonist with a tranq dart and attended to Batman’s arm. Talia, saied she wanted to see her love again, and convinced Batman to ditch Robin, who she had no use for, to follow her to the pool hall where Tim’s gang hung out at. Robin visited Alfred at the Wayne Foundation, frustrated at how distant Batman was. Alfred suggested that their time apart made it difficult for Batman to accept a partner again. Batman gave Ronald Watkins and his men a beating, warning them that he’d take the kid gloves off if they tried to pull off whatever job they were planning. Watkins called up Falstaff to report that he was still all in on breaking into the Wayne Foundation. Batman was attacked by a helicopter that strafed him, and he used his batrope to reach the pilot and knock him out. Batman met Commissioner Gordon, and they both agreed there was too great a danger of civilians being caught in the crossfire as crooks tried to collect their bounty on Batman. Robin found Tim Fox and shadowed him. He talked to Watkin s, still unsure about their job, but Watkins assured him that Bruce Wayne was secretly a slumlord and kept people in dangerous living conditions., and deserved whatever he got. Batman made an announcement that he was going to be on Grosvenor’s Island, waiting for any and all would-be bounty hunters who wanted him. Batman fought several criminals, including Blackjack and his biker gang on the island, but when a transmitter he’d placed on Watkins went off he knew it was time to leave. Robin met up with him at the Wayne Foundation, where Watkins was arguing with Tim Fox, who was trying to back out of blowing up the Wayne Foundation. The Dynamic Duo easily took down Watkins and his men, and Cowboy, the lone assassin who spotted Batman leaving Grosvenor’s Island, confronted them. Despite his usual unerring aim with knives and guns he was little match for the heroes. Batman let Tim know he was disappointed in him. Robin told Batman Tim had been manipulated, had no one to turn to, and didn’t need Batman lecturing him. Robin made it clear he wanted a long talk with Batman when the case was over.

(Batman I #331) - Commissioner Gordon called in Batman when Spike Rafferty was found murdered in an alleyway. Rafferty was a death row inmate whose sentence had been overturned, but a vigilante made sure he was killed by electrocution. Robin alerted Batman to a news story about Mike Caine, a hitman Batman had put away who’d been released on a technicality. Batman realized he’d be the vigilante’s next target. Robin wanted to talk to Batman, who sped off in the Batmobile, reminding him that work came before personal issues. Batman visited Caine at his mansion, warning him about the vigilante and suggesting he confess to one of his numerous hits so he’d be safe behind bars. As Batman was leaving he heard a scream, and found Caine electrocuted by the Electrocutioner. Electrocutioner shocked Batman unconscious, saying they shouldn’t be fighting because they were on the same side. Alfred patched up Batman, saying he should see Dr. Dundee. Dick talked to Bruce about his decision to drop out of college, and Bruce said he couldn’t possibly support his decision, while dick argued that he still saw him as a child who couldn’t make his own life decisions. Dick wanted to prove himself by tying up loose ends on the Ronald Watkins case, determined to find out who hired him. Robin shadowed Watkins, learning of his association with Gregorian Falstaff. Bruce visited Lucius in the hospital, and was sad to tell him he had no choice but to press charges against Tim. Lucius asked Bruce where he’d gone wrong with his boy, and Bruce responded that often times children didn’t know what was best for them. Lucius asked Bruce about an important bank merger and Bruce couldn’t find any of Lucius’ files, unaware that his secretary Caroline had been passing them off to Falstaff, who used them to underbid Wayne. Mobster Dane Whitney was released after a judicial foul-up and Batman found him at a private movie screening just as Electrocutioner showed up. Electrocutioner again tried to convince Batman they should be allies, but Batman was having none of it. Electrocutioner wasn’t ready for a drawn out fight and fled. Dick informed Bruce about Watkin’s connection to Falstaff, and remembering his accusation of Bruce being a slumlord he did an investigation into Wayne Enterprise’ holdings, finding an acquisition a number of months ago of a dozen tenement buildings. Bruce thought it was impossible that something like that could have happened without his knowledge, and Dick had to break it to him that the Falstaff owned newspaper the Daily Star learned about it and was printing an expose. Batman posed as a manservant of Samson, a recently released killer, and was able to get the drop on the Electrocutioner. Electrocutioner was frustrated that they kept fighting, saying they were the same, and Batman made it clear he had nothing in common with a cold-blooded murderer. During their fight the Electrocutioner tumbled out a window to the water’s below Samson’s mansion. Batman told Talia he owed her for helping out with the Tim Fox case, so she showed up at the Wayne Foundation, telling Bruce she needed somewhere to live. Dick Grayson said that if Talia was moving in he was moving out and warned Bruce he was making a huge mistake. Bruce brushed off Dick, saying he didn’t understand the complexities of adult relationships.

(Batman I #331) - Batman was alarmed when Mark Reardon, the head of Commissioner Gordon’s mob investigation task force disappeared, and disguised himself as patrolman Al Nelson to investigate. He suspected the other task force members, worried that the mob had gotten to them, and chatted up Reardon’s second-in-command Hank Samuels at the pistol range. Reardon wanted to see how well “Al” shot, but Batman was psychologically unable to use a pistol, so he demonstrated his pinpoint accuracy with a nightstick. “Al” attended a lecture by Gordon on suicide prevention, and was surprised to have learned a thing or two himself. He gave away his ruse to Gordon when they talked and he mentioned Gordon’s hunting lodge, which only Barbara Gordon and Batman knew about. Batman investigated the task force evidence locker to find all Reardon’s work had disappeared. He wanted to see if Gordon’s duplicate files had been stolen. Gordon and Batman were alarmed that the files had been replaced by a bomb, but together they defused it. There was oil on Reardon’s file folders, so Batman suspected Hank, who hadn’t wiped down his hands after visiting the pistol range. They brought him Gordon’s files, and he was gave himself away, frightened because he knew they’d been replaced with a bomb. Batman threw a coffee mug at his head, disabling him, and had Hank lead him to Reardon, who’d been tied up in anticipation of Hank handing him over to the mob.

(DC Retroactive: Batman - The ‘70s #1) - Batman responded to a robbery committed after a drilling machine burst through Gotham’s streets. He was confronted by a brand new Terrible Trio. They were new to the supervillain game, and were surprised at the fight Batman gave them, so they decided to flee. Bruce Wayne was scheduled to meet with Lucius about business, but found him arguing with his son. Tim had fallen in with another rough crowd Lucius disapproved of and wasn’t studying for his college finals. Bruce commiserated with Lucius, who told him how hard it was to be a single father. Batman and Alfred Pennyworth used the Batcomputer for research and learned that the original Terrible Trio were all either in jail or dead. Batman responded when the new Trio hijacked the Gotham Marine Society Charity Ball. Shark called in his submersible to ram the charity ball boat, telling Batman he could fight them or keep the ship from sinking. Batman used the Bat-Sub to patch up the hole with foam. He met with commissioner Gordon and gave him a button to push when the GCPD had extricated his sub from the charity ship so it could return to the Batcave. Lucius told Bruce he suspected Tim was one of the Terrible Trio, and Bruce suspected they’d target the Wayne Foundation Annual Skyball atop the Wayne Foundation. When they tried to rob the ball Batman released a smoke bomb and activated steel shutters that trapped the Trio at the ball. Batman fended them off, and when Fox threatened to use a detonator to blow up the ball Lucius knocked him out with a dinner plate and Alfred caught the detonator. Lucius was in despair when they were unmasked and he learned Tim Fox was the Vulture. He pleaded with Tim, asking him what he’d done wrong, saying he’d given him everything in life, and Tim said he had everything he wanted except attention. Talia al Ghul gloated, having formed the new Trio as a diversion for Batman.

(Batman I #332) - Robin packed his bags, ignoring Batman’s pleas to think things over. Talia said it might be for the best that he head out on his own, and Batman replied that he worried about Robin, fearing he was too headstrong. Batman dug into Gregorian Falstaff’s records, learning that he’d only acquired his wealth in the last three years, and he was losing money by continually underbidding Wayne Enterprises. Batman realized he was being bankrolled, and was a front for someone else’s machinations. He deduced that the leak at Wayne Enterprises was his new secretary Caroline Crown, and he went to her apartment, witnessing her being threatened by a mutate who demanded she keep following Falstaff’s marching orders. Batman confronted the mutate, but was put through a wall.  As Bruce Wayne he visited Lucius Fox in the hospital, convinced that Falstaff was behind his assault. He returned to his office, where Caroline confessed that her daughter Elizabeth had been sent upstate for medical treatment, and Falstaff was keeping her hostage to make her comply with his schemes. Bruce confronted Falstaff, who shrugged off Bruce’s threats that he’d expose him. Falstaff said he’d purchased the mortgages on Wayne Enterprises’ Asian oil properties, delivering a severe blow to Bruce’s business. Falstaff said he’d entertain Bruce selling off the rest of his assets to him, delighting in the idea of a Falstaff Foundation. Talia snuck out of the Batcave at night and Batman tailed her to Falstaff’s offices. When he interrupted them he quickly took out Falstaff’s right hand man Karlyle Krugerrand but Falstaff pressed a button, opening a wall in his office to reveal a gang of mutates at his command. Batman overcame them and Falstaff panicked, knowing his failure would mean death if his master found out. He held Elizabeth Crown hostage and had a weapon that created a sphere of energy to destroy Batman. Talia kicked Falstaff into the sphere, disintegrating him. She said she’d come to Falstaff to convince him to stop his attacks on Wayne Enterprises, admitting that Falstaff once worked for her father Ra’s al Ghul. Batman was suspicious that she was glad Falstaff was dead so he couldn’t elaborate on that relationship. Robin needed someone to talk to who knew Batman, and decided to approach Catwoman, outlining his concerns that Talia was manipulating him. Catwoman and Robin decided to see what Talia was up to by investigating Gregorian Falstaff but they arrived at the scene in time to see Batman and Talia embrace, and Catwoman decided they had to leave, reeling because she still had feelings for Batman.

(Batman I #333-335) - To learn more about Gregorian Falstaff Batman and Talia traveled to Montfaucon, Switzerland, where Batman disguised himself as Karlyle Kruggerand to enter Falstaff’s Swiss bank deep in the Jura Mountains. He tried to retrieve a safe deposit box, but the bankers saw through his ruse and summoned security. Men armed with laser rifles fired at batman, who fled by skiing down the mountain. Batman returned to his hotel, and Talia made it clear she wanted to make their relationship more physical, but Batman was hesitant about jumping into a new relationship because his last few had been so painful. Bruce and Talia had dinner at a chalet where Bruce had to fend off assassins targeting him. He suspected whoever sent them knew he was Batman, and since they were being watched they’d have to fly under the radar finding their next contact, Captain Torrents, who lived in Hong Kong. Batman and Talia flew through China, entering Hong Kong by climbing the Wutong Shan mountain and swimming the shark infested Sham Chun River. Bruce met Captain Torrents, who brought him to a room in his ship, locked the door, and filled it with sleeping gas. Batman found himself prisoner in a golden dome, with a voice speaking through a loudspeaker showing him images on a viewscreen. They were on Infinity Island, and aboveground people lived a peaceful opulent lifestyle, while below slaved endlessly worked the mines being overseen by mutates with whips. The voice said Batman could choose where he wanted to end up, but would only have peace if he agreed to serve the voice. The voice also bragged about being Falstaff’s master and having brought Wayne Enterprises low. Catwoman, Robin and King Faraday were doing their own investigation to find Falstaff’s master, and were captured and made to work the mines. They fought off the mutates and made their way to find Talia al Ghul. She promised she was never Batman’s enemy and had come to Infinity Island to save him, but her youth was fading and she was aging for every minute she lived. She reunited with the mastermind, her father Ra’s al Ghul, who restored her youth. He offered Batman eternal youth if he served him, but warned that if he rejected his offer Batman and his friends were all as good as dead. Batman said he agreed to serve Ra’s, and Ra’s sent his companions back to the mines. Ra’s said Talia was ready to betray him for Batman, and batman would be responsible for her punishment. Ra’s assistant Saltzer told Ra’s he was being played, and Ra’s was well aware that Batman was lying, knowing the caped Crusader could never truly serve him just as Ra’s could never join him, but he respected his enemy and was interested in what plan he had to defeat him. Ra’s showed Batman the Lazarus Pit he’d discovered centuries ago, and after learning to harness its power it granted him immortality. The Lazarus Pit only worked on Ra’s, and would destroy anyone else that tried to bathe in its fiery waters. Ra’s first decided to go after Bruce Wayne when he learned Wayne Enterprises had acquired Infinity Island as part of its’ holdings, and cursed Falstaff for having failed him. During his research on Wayne enterprises he’d first learned that Batman was Bruce Wayne. Ra’s dipped his hand in the Lazarus Pit and extended it to Batman, offering him immortality. Batman rejected him, and Ra’s ordered his mutates to beat Batman. Faraday, Robin and Catwoman escaped the mines again, and Talia came to their aid, leading them to Ra’s lab where he had Batman in a containment unit, intending to transform him into a mutate. They saved Batman and subdued Ra’s. Ra’s said he always wanted Talia and Batman to fall in love, but never anticipated her being more loyal to him than her own father. Saltzer burst in and shot Talia, and Ra’s reacted by snapping Saltzer’s neck. Ra’s immersed her in the Lazarus Pit, hoping a brief exposure would heal her instead of destroying her, and his gambit aid off. Ra’s still blamed Batman for turning his daughter against him, and demanded a duel. Batman accepted, telling Faraday, Catwoman and Robin to leave because he had to handle the situation himself. Ra’s tried to push Batman into the Lazarus Pit, bemoaning that after he killed his nemesis it would take decades to find another worthy opponent. Batman overpowered him and Ra’s fell into the pit. He emerged burning up and having been driven mad by his bath in the pit, completely focused on killing Batman. Batman forced him back into the pit, causing an explosive reaction that set off volcanic activity that destroyed the island. Batman and company survived by flying off the island on a helicopter. Bruce Wayne recovered at home and Talia said she had to leave him, wanting to find her own way after the death of her father. Robin decided to return home and spend some quality time with Bruce.

(Batman I #336) - With Batman gone for weeks during his overseas adventure the rumors circulated that he was dead, emboldening the Gotham underworld. Commissioner Gordon had a full blown crime spree on his hands, and was frustrated that the GCPD couldn’t contain it. The Monarch of Menace had informants that told him Batman was seen in Asia, and wasn’t likely to be back in Gotham City anytime soon. The Monarch gathered a group of costumed crooks including Bouncer, Cluemaster and Spellbinder, claiming he’d captured Batman and would keep him imprisoned as long as they all gave him a cut from their take. Some of the crooks were skeptical, but the Monarch was persuasive, and they agreed to give him his due. Bouncer robbed a jewlry store and spellbinder knocked off a Wells Fargo armored truck, casting an illusion of a gigantic dragon to frighten the security guards. Alfred Pennyworth returned from his stay in Europe, and started to worry about the rumors of Batman’s death until the Caped Crusader surprised him in the Batcave. Cluemaster sent the GCPD map coordinates, daring them to catch him. Batman realized the coordinates were the location of the sunken Titanic, and figured out that Cluemaster and his gang were set to rob the Titanic Appliance Center. Batman made quick work of them and Cluemaster was angry that he’d fallen for the Monarch’s ruse. Batman busted a group of costumed criminals trying to break into a bank, and one of their number escape. He called out the Monarch on his scam, asking for hush money, and the Monarch shocked him unconscious with his electrified scepter. The next day Bruce and Lucius held a meeting at the Wayne Foundation, trying to come up with ways to recover from the damage Gregorian Falstaff did to the company by acquiring their Asian holdings. Gordon went on a ride along with the GCPD, hoping to give the public confidence in his police force. They responded to Spellbinder robbing a fur store, and he disoriented them with illusory giant rats. Batman made the scene, and when Spellbinder tried to cast an op art illusion Batman threw strips of aluminum foil at him, reflecting the visual spell at Spellbinder. Monarch called another meeting of Gotham’s underworld, saying he was leaving Gotham City, and promising to kill his “prisoner” if the crooks all paid him a substantial fee. Batman was present, disguised as spellbinder, and revealed himself, proving the Monarch to be a fraud. Batman pursued the Monarch and beat him in hand-to-hand combat. Batman met with Gordon, who asked him to give him a heads up the next time he skipped town.

(Batman I #337) - To keep up his playboy image Bruce hosted a penthouse party, with Alfred serving as host. He was pulled away when Commissioner Gordon contacted him about an armed gunman in  the Sax sporting goods store keeping GCPD S.W.A.T. at bay. As Batman he entered the store, and the gunman  was terrified, ranting about befalling the same fate as his friend Jackie. Batman apprehended him, and after being sedated the gunman told his story. He’d been pulling off robberies with his friend Jackie, but when they entered the sporting goods store they came face to face with the Snowman, who resembled an Abominable Snowman. Snowman froze Jackie solid before robbing the store himself. Bruce returned to the party, where his guest of honor skier Klaus Kristin had just arrived. The boastful Klaus spent his time at the party talking up his skiing ability and his extravagant lifestyle. Bruce noted slush on his shoes, which was unusual since there was snow on the ground, and Bruce suspected he might be the Snowman. Snowman hit a jewelry store, killing a guard while Batman was investigating Klaus’ hotel room. Batman found a diary and took it back to the Batcave. The diary was written by Klaus’ mother Katrina, who revealed that she made love to a Yeti during a U.N. expedition to the Himalayas. She went mad, and died giving birth to Klaus. Batman asked Alfred if the diary could possibly be true, and Alfred said the world was full of unknowns. Batman gleaned that Klaus was headed for Austria’s Summit Peak ski resort from a clue in his room, and decided to follow him. Klaus found the diary back in his hotel room in Austria, and a note from Batman asking him to meet him that night. Klaus confronted him as Snowman, saying he needed to travel to cold climates to survive, but he wasn’t a rich man and needed to steal to survive. Batman knew he was a tormented soul and engaged him in combat reluctantly. During the fight Batman blinded Snowman with a flare, causing him to fall of the mountain, seemingly to his death. Batman wondered if Snowman had hoped his death would be the inevitable outcome of their encounter.

(Batman I #338) - When sportswriter Hank Klugmuun was murdered in Gotham Stadium Commissioner Gordon called in Batman. Batman wondered why the GCPD couldn’t handle what seemed to be a simple homicide, but Gordon informed Batman that a number of sports stars had been murdered over the past few weeks, and he suspected a serial killer. Batman discussed the case with Alfred, who thought it very un-American for someone to target sportsmen. Batman attended a hockey game between the Gotham Goliaths and the Star City Stars. The Sportsman skated onto the ice and tossed a basketball at Goliath Pierre Foote which exploded, killing him. Batman pursued the villain, who threw a buzzsaw tennis racket at him and escaped. Batman traced the gimmicked tennis racket to a sporting goods store, and confronted the Sportsman again. Sportsman explained that he hated sports because his father, driven to make him a “real man” injected him with memory RNA from athles that made him a sports star. As he grew older the RNA ended up deteriorating his nervous system. Within months, he would be dead, so he decided to take revenge on the sports-world. The Sportsman started attacking random people in the store, but after a brief fight with Batman, he was taken away by the police. Batman wished there was a cure for his damaged body and mind, but Sportsman said it wouldn’t matter in a few weeks anyway.

(Batman I #339) - Batman ran himself ragged, and fruitlessly pursued rumors in Gotham about a major crime going down. Even Alfred started having a hard time keeping up with his schedule. During a Wayne Foundation meeting Lucius had to keep giving Bruce prompts, and afterwards he told Bruce how obvious it was that he was burnt out, suggesting a long vacation. Bruce met with mayoral candidate Hamilton Hill at the exclusive Empire Club,. Bruce said he wasn’t willing to endorse Hill or his opponent Arthur Reeves, and disliked Hill’s attitude toward Commissioner Gordon. Hill brought up police shooting statistics, calling the GCPD out of control. Their meeting was interrupted by a woman who kissed Bruce. She apologized, saying she mistook him for her boyfriend. That night Batman was set to bust up a waterfront smuggling ring when he felt compelled by a hypnotic command to leave and head towards the Ambassador Theatre. The mere sight of Batman convinced the smugglers to abandon their goods, and while walking toward the theatre a pickpocket turned himself over to the police after seeing the Caped Crusader. The board members of the Wayne Foundation were all at the theatre, and Bruce had enough control over his own mind to slip away and change into Batman. Poison Ivy greeted the board members, telling them she wanted them to sign over all the Wayne Foundation’s assets to her. She’d kissed each one of them with hypnotic lipstick to ensure their compliance, and gave them a post hypnotic suggestion preventing them from contacting the authorities. After the members signed Bruce changed back into Batman and tried to stop Ivy. Ivy tossed a ivy vine at Batman that strangled him, saying he’d made the worst mistake of his life by turning down her advances and deserved to die for rejecting her. Batman freed himself using defoliant from his utility belt, but Ivy had already escaped. Batman tried to call Commissioner Gordon about Ivy’s hostile takeover, but the words caught in his throat because of Ivy’s hypnotic control.

(DC Comics Presents #41) - Batman was badly injured, and needed weeks of bed rest, but continued to fight with Alfred and Robin, insisting he was ready for action. When Joker was on the loose in L.A. Superman decided to catch him to help his friend, and asked Alfred to put Batman in a media blackout. Alfred succeeded in keeping Batman bedridden until Superman brought Joker to justice.

(Justice League of America II #0 (fb)) - Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman met at Challengers Mountain to discuss JLA Detroit. Batman disapproved of Aquaman leading a group of rookies, and feared someone would be hurt, but Wonder Woman told him they should leave the new team alone.

(Action Comics I #565) - Ambush Bug teleported into the Batcave and asked Batman to spend some time with him, but the hero showed Bug the door.

(Swamp Thing II #46) - Batman was among the number of heroes teleported to the Monitor s satellite by Alexander Luthor, Jr., who explained his plan to make sure reality survived the Crisis.

(DCU Holiday Bash #3) <five years ago> Batman and Superman defeated Toyman, who constructed a giant robot version of the Captain Adventure action figure to destroy his old partner Mr. Lattem s house. Superman rebuilt the house, and Batman, as Bruce offered Lattem a job at Wayne Enterprises, buying his prototype toy line to manufacture action figures for needy children.

(Justice League of America II #0 (fb)) -Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman met at the Batcave, and Batman told his friends that he'd taken on a new Robin, Jason Todd. He felt alive again having a Robin, and was sure that Todd was destined for greatness like Dick.

(Swamp Thing II #66) - Killer Croc set off an incendiary device in midtown Gotham, killing 30, and Batman responded. After a hard-fought battle Batman brought Croc to Arkham, throwing him through the office window of Dr. R. Huntoon. Croc revived and made another go at the Caped Crusader, but Batman responded with nerve gas that left Croc crippled. Huntoon was writing a book on superhero psychology, and asked to interview batman, but he simply told Huntoon that his actions should speak volumes about the only thing he cared about, crime and punishment.

(Adventures of Superman #440) - Superman gave a scrapbook he received in the mail to Batman. Batman couldn't determine who'd sent it but told Superman it helped him deduce that he was Clark Kent. He promised to keep the secret to himself, and Superman flew off, but made sure to address Batman as Bruce Wayne.

(New Titans #50) -

(Justice League of America II #0 (fb)) - Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman attended the wedding of Donna Troy. Batman told Nightwing he was proud of the strong team he'd assembled, and Nightwing said it was thanks to Batman, who taught him that you didn't need parents to have a family.

(Justice League of America II #0 (fb)) - JLI Embassy; Batman told Wonder Woman and Superman that he'd knocked out Guy Gardner with one punch after an argument. Superman told him that wasn't proper League behavior, but imagined that it must have felt good to shut up the insufferable Gardner.

(Green Lantern III #1) - Green Lantern visited Batman and the Justice League and they offered him a spot on the team, despite Guy Gardner's objections. Lantern turned them down, telling them he was trying to get away from superheroics and reconnect with his human side.

(Justice League of America II #0 (fb)) - Batman and Wonder Woman met at the Fortress of Solitude after Superman's death and comforted each other.

(Showcase '93 #7 (fb), 8 (fb)) - Batman responded to a body found in the Gotham Museum of Natural History. The victim was gangster Legs Lyman and his corpse was hung inside the skeleton of Apatosaurus. Batman deduced that Two-Face was the killer, because Apatosaurus was once called Brontosaurus and sported two skulls, the current one, and a skull formerly misattributed to it. Robin was concerned that he was completely burned out, but Batman ignored him, and refused to let him come with him in his search for Two-Face. Two-Face was ready for him, and set a bomb that blasted Batman and the Batmobile into the Gotham river. Two-Face's men fished him out, and when Batman woke up he was in the rubble of the old Gotham Municipal Courthouse where Two-Face was born. Two-Face had assembled a group of criminals to act as "judge and jury" while Two-Face played the prosecutor in a mock trial of Batman. Batman reflected on his poor judgment in not bringing Robin along, and feared he was losing his edge. Two-Face went through with the mock trial and decided Batman's fate with a coin toss. He was about to shoot Batman in the head, but Alfred and Robin came to the rescue. Their fight led to the girders of a new building and Two-Face almost fell to his death before Batman pulled him up. Two-Face took the opportunity to try and toss Batman off the girders. Robin tossed a bolo at Two-Face's head, and he fell again, but Batman saved him with a grapnel. Batman chided Robin for making such a risky move that could have killed Two-Face.

(Showcase '93 #6) - Robin phoned Bruce to tell him he was going after new Gotham crimelord Ramon Bracuda. He was nervous, and sought advice, but Bruce told him he was confident he knew what he was doing. In truth Bruce was worried, and had Jean-Paul Valley pose as Batman to watch over Robin and aid him in taking down Bracuda.

(Showcase '93 #7, 8) - Alfred, Robin and Jean-Paul treated Batman's severe spinal trauma, and Robin blamed himself for not stopping Batman for completely burning himself out before facing Bane.

(Titans I #20) - Batman and Superman monitored Cyborg, who was going to Science City in Russia to have his essence transferred into a human body. Batman wanted to act, reminding Superman they placed him on the Titans to keep an eye on him. Superman told Batman to trust Nightwing, who was accompanying Cyborg, to keep things under control.

(Green Lantern III #71) - Batman foiled a diamond heist by the Checquered Gang despite the inexperienced Green Lantern Kyle Rayner getting in his way. Kyle wanted advice on becoming a better hero, and Batman told him they operated on different levels and he had no time to hold Kyle's hand as he learned to be a hero.

(Hitman #1-3) - Joker used his Joker gas on a kindergarten class, killing them, and the wealthy grieving father of one of the children put a hit on the madman. Batman learned that Hitman Tommy Monaghan had accepted the contract and confronted him. Hitman had a code against killing the innocent, but seeing that Batman’s bat symbol was armored he had no problem unloading his firearms on the Caped Crusader. Batman still had fight in him, and when the GCPD arrived Hitman gave himself up. Batman asked Detective Tiegel to not tell the press about Hitman’s arrest, because he was still trying to draw out whoever put out the hit on Joker. Hitman escaped police custody, and the GCPD and Batman pulled out all the stops putting Arkham Asylum on lockdown. Hitman used a GCPD cruiser to drive in to a back entrance, and murdered a number of inmates he’d gotten hits on since it became known in the underworld that he was visiting the asylum. He shot Joker between the eyes, only to realize it was actually the demon Mawzir in disguise. Mawzir had been tasked by his lords the Arkannone to bring Hitman to Hell. Mawzir revealed that he’d placed the hit on Joker to lure hitman in. The Arkannone appeared and told hitman they wanted him to kill in their name, promising him untold power. Hitman said no one was the boss of him and shot Mawzir in the face. Mawzir and Hitman fought throughout the asylum, with Batman joining the battle. Detective Tiegel ordered her men to follow Batman, but they were all too scared, so she went in by herself. Hitman found joker tied up in a side office and shot him in the chest. Batman begrudgingly gave joker emergency medical treatment, and Joker vowed to kill hitman painfully. Mawzir riddled Hitman full of bullets, and he was about to pass out, but Tiegel slapped him and demanded he tell her how she could defeat Mawzir. Hitman used his telepathy and realized Mawzir could be injured with his own weapons. Tiegel shot one of Mawzir’s guns from his hand and hitman used it to gravely injure him. The Arkannone demanded he fight to the death, but he yielded, disgusting his masters. The Arkannone told Hitman to reconsider, saying the superhuman community would turn against him, because he’d introduced bloodshed into their world of brightly colored suits and black and white morality. Hitman told them to buzz off and they returned to Hell. Hitman put his gun to Mawzir’s head and made him say the Arkannone suck, which pushed the Lords of the gun too far, and they dragged Mawzir to Hell, ripping him to pieces with chains and hooks. Hitman told Tiegel and Batman they’d be better off just leaving him alone, since he wasn’t their enemy. Batman and Tiegel agreed that any hitman, superhuman and with a code of honor or not deserved to be behind bars. Hitman accepted he wasn’t going to make peace with them and fled.

(Final Night #1-4, Green Arrow III #1 (fb), 7 (fb)) - Superman organized a summit of superheroes, including Batman, to listen to an alien named Dusk. She'd seen the Sun-Eater snuff out the sun of countless planets, and she was there to warn the heroes that the Sun-Eater was headed towards Earth. Batman and a team of heroes formed a ground crew to deal with the panic that the Sun-Eater's approach would cause. Batman and Superman foiled Vandal Savage's attempt to take advantage of the situation by stealing the Mona Lisa. Batman and Robin then defeated Mr. Freeze, who was also using the worldwide freezing as an opportunity to commit crimes. At S.T.A.R. Labs Luthor designed miniature forcefield units that would hopefully shield the Earth from the sun going nova, but they needed to be delivered via spaceship, and rookie hero Ferro piloted the ship. The sun started going nova before Ferro could plant the forcefields. Superman confessed to Batman that without his powers he was having difficulty dealing with the cold. He felt something leaving his body, but had no idea what it was because his powers were so dampened. Unknown to the heroes Parallax had taken cells of Green Arrow that remained on Superman's costume when he died, using them to rebirth the hero. Parallax offered his help, and although Batman distrusted him, he sacrificed himself to dispel the Sun-Eater and reignite the sun. Batman told Superman he died like a hero, but saving the world didn't redeem him from his past sins.

(Green Lantern III #81) - Coast City; Batman was among the heroes who attended a memorial service for Green Lantern Hal Jordan.

(DCU Holiday Bash #1) - On Christmas Batman went on patrol and left Alfred to clean the Batcave, but didn't want him to think the holiday would be just like any other day so he left him a present.

(JLA #5, JLA: Tomorrow Woman #1) - Batman told Superman he couldn't participate in the JLA membership drive because Mad Hatter s looking-glass people were running amok on Paris Island. He also told Superman he could only act in an advisory capacity in determining the nature of the IF (Implicate Field) that was on a rampage headed east. Later that week Batman discovered that the IF was one of the Lord of Time s weapons and could be shut down with an electromagnetic pulse. Batman and the JLA had to shift their attention to the Miracle Babies, ten million children under the influence of the Sole Jurisdiction empire, acting as their militia. Tomorrow Woman was capable of removing the hatred from their minds and making them normal children, but she could only act on a small scale. The JLA agreed to link minds with her, ending the rage of all the Miracle Babies on Earth once and for all.

(JLA #7-9) - Batman and the JLA met aboard the Watchtower to induct Green Arrow, but they were attacked, and knocked unconscious by the Key. Key hooked Batman and the JLAers up to a machine and injected them with a neural virus that made each member dream of a replica reality, in hopes that they d help him find the keys to creation in their dreams. He knew the JLA always won, and he was counting on it. When they escaped the dreams he made for them they d generate enough psycho-electric energy to open a gateway to negative space. He planned to step through and become one with the center of the universe. Batman dreamed of being retired and married to Catwoman. His son Bruce Jr. was now Robin and Tim Drake was Batman. His children were in grave danger when Joker attacked Gotham. The JLA shook off their dreams and woke up, but before Key could enter negative space Green Arrow knocked him cold with a boxing-glove arrow.

(Aztek: The Ultimate Man #10) - Batman and the JLA inducted Aztek as their newest member.

(JLA #10) - The JLA Revenge Squad, hard-light duplicates of the JLA, wrecked havoc in Star City. Batman and the JLA responded and drove them off, but the Revenge Squad was deactivated and sent back to the Injustice Gang hq. The Gang was merely taking the new JLA s measure before confronting them. Aztek was in the JLA Monitor Womb when he detected a massive amount of energy heading toward Earth, and Martian Manhunter chose to investigate it. He was devastated by the Genesis Wave and realized it was headed toward Earth.

(JLA #11, 12, 14, 15) - Batman, as Matches Malone, recruited Plas, in his underworld Eel O'Brien disguise, for the JLA. Batman and the JLA were still trying to locate the Injustice Gang, and using the clues given Batman correctly surmised their membership and Lex Luthor s plan for a hostile takeover  of the JLA. Matching his corporate tricks Batman turned Mirror Master into a spy for the JLA by paying him more than Luthor, and Mirror Master took his payment in the form of a donation to the orphanage where he grew up. The JLA found the Gang's satellite hq thanks to Mirror Master, defeated them and blew up their satellite. Joker got hold of the Philosopher's Stone, and prepared to use it on the JLA, but Martian Manhunter temporarily turned him sane. Lex convinced Joker to use the Stone to undo the deaths the JLA Revenge Squad caused in Star City, ensuring that Lex couldn't be charged with any crime. The JLA gave the Stone to the real Metron for safekeeping. Aztek and Green Arrow quit the JLA, and Batman decided to devote more time to Gotham City. In the end the JLA decided to disband.

(Batman / Phantom Stranger #1) - Batman found former Street Demonz gang member Jon Kronik standing over a body in a Gotham graveyard and holding a locket from a desecrated tomb, and despite his pleas of innocence he brought him to the police. The Phantom Stranger appeared to Batman and told him Kronik was a pawn in a larger game, and that without Batman s help a great secret would be lost. Batman was in no mood for Stranger s cryptic comments, but went to see the boy as Bruce Wayne, his class sponsor. Kronik wasn't happy to see Bruce, telling him he d left his castle to sponsor kids without a future and gave them false hope. On the ride home Bruce reflected that he d helped few of Kronik s class,and although he d won skirmishes in his battle against crime he d never win the war. The Stranger appeared to him and hinted that Kronik and the locket held the key to the secrets of ancient and destroyed Lemuria. The Stranger was forbidden from direct interference, but knew he could count on Batman, one of the few men who always chosen the right moral path in the face of evil. Kronik was broken out of jail by Boss Vidor, who d killed the man in the graveyard, an assistant of Prof. Cosimo, who d uncovered the secret of Lemuria that was prophesized to make or break the world.  Vidor told Kronik he was now part of his gang and had him accompany him in tracking down the homeless Joel Judd, formerly Joel Jeddu, who was pictured in the graveyard locket and a descendant of the Lumurian prophet Jeddu. Batman and Phantom Stranger cleaned upVidor and his gang, and Kronik  was chosen by jedduas the person worthy to relearn Lemuria s secret. Hre had a vision of the Lemurian utopia destroyed by the greedy and power-hungry, and recalled Jeddu s words that civilization would only flourish when men did unto others as they d have done unto themselves. Phantom Stranger revealed that he was there when Lemuria was destroyed and never wanted to see such an event repeated. He charged kronik with spreading the message, the golden rule at the heart of every religion.

(Hitman #22) - Batman was busy on Christmas Eve, fighting muggers in Gotham’s alleyways.

(Spectre III #62) - Corrigan decided to give up the mantle of the Spectre, at last seeking peace in death. Craemer arranged for his bones to be buried in a small grave, and performed a funeral service, with all of the friends Corrigan met as the Spectre attending, including Batman. The Spectre-Force vanished and Jim ascended to Heaven.

(Batman Versus Predator 3 #1-4) - Batman investigated the deaths of gangbangers whose skulls and spines were removed, and Batman correctly surmised that the Predators had returned to Gotham, but didn't want to fill Robin in on the grisly details of his previous encounters with Predators. Mr. Freeze and his gang robbed Gotham Trust and Securities and evaded Batman and Robin by using the Ab-Zero gun on the Batmobile, but the Freeze gang was later found slaughtered by Predators. Batman took Robin off the case, fearing they'd view him as a worthy target. Batman needed to "borrow" a Jaeger Attack police helicopter prototype from WayneTech, so he had Alfred disguise himself as a WayneTech executive. Batman used the Jaeger to hunt the two Gotham Predators, who had Catwoman in their sights when he attacked. He wounded them, but they crashed the copter. He needed a place clear from the public to battle them, so he had Alfred pose as an OSHA inspector to close down a midtown WayneTech plant. He lured one of the Predators there and did battle, eventually defeating it. The Predator's cohort and son pursued Robin to the Batcave, and Robin and Alfred fended him off until Batman arrived and showed a trophy from its father. The Predator knew it was defeated and returned to space with its father.

(DCU Holiday Bash #2) - Batman apprehended a thief that robbed a synagogue. The thief also spilled the last of the sacred oil, but a young boy named Danny found oil so the Menorah could be lit before the Sabbath.

(DCU Holiday Bash #2) - Batman and Nightwing fought crime on Christmas, and Batman told his partner to get going or he d be late for his date with Oracle.

(Martian Manhunter II #4 (fb)) - Batman and the JLA needed a place to care for the wounded and used Jemm, and Martian Manhunter offered to take him to Z'Onn Z'Orr and explained that Martians were responsible for Saturnians because they created them.

(JLA #16, 17) - From the Batcave Batman watched the JLA press conference announcing their new lineup. Prometheus infiltrated the Watchtower, so Batman teleported to the moon to deal with him. Prometheus downloaded Batman s fighting style to his brain, and beat Batman in one-on-one combat. Prometheus threatened to kill the press aboard the Watchtower unless Superman committed suicide, but Catwoman, who d been disguised as reporter Cat Grant, defeated him and he was forced to flee. Prometheus had methods of defeating every hero on Earth, but didn't keep files on villains, so the newly reformed Catwoman was capable of besting him.

(JLA #18, 19) - Julian September unhinged the universe s laws of probability with his engine of chance, briefly warping history so that everything worked in his favor. He became President and the JLA saved him from seven supervillains that tried to kidnap him. Batman destroyed the engine, leading to Julian s disappearance, and several JLA members blinking out of existence, including Batman. Atom met with the JLA, and Oracle unlocked September s research notes. She did so with reserve, because in September s reordered universe Bruce Wayne s parents never died and he was a happy socialite. September split seven photons to create the Engine of Chance, so Atom shrunk the team to subatomic height and repaired the photons, undoing all the Engine s effects.

(Green Lantern III #103) - Batman requested the JLA take in time traveling Green Lantern Hal Jordan as a member. He hoped the JLA could keep an eye on him in view of Hal's villainous future as Parallax. Green Lantern Kyle Rayner felt he was no longer needed in the JLA, but Batman explained the situation to him and told him to act like an adult.

(Martian Manhunter II #0) - The JLA had a meeting and Martian Manhunter told Batman and his other teammates he was taking a leave of absence to take a pilgrimage to Mars.

(JLA #22, 23) - The Star Conqueror put most of the world to sleep, dreaming of a world in which its rule was absolute. The few JLA members still awake were met by Dream and he sent Hippolyta, Green Lantern and Superman into the Dreaming to confront the Conqueror. Batman stayed awake aboard the JLA Watchtower to study a Star Conqueror spore. There were continent-sized Conquerors orbiting Earth, and Batman determined that they were waiting for an all-clear signal from the spores causing the dreams. The JLA in the Dreaming destroyed the Conqueror s dream and repulsed the spores.

(DC One Million #1, JLA #1,000,000) - Justice Legion A invited Batman and the JLA to travel with them to the year 85,271 to compete in Olympic-style games and celebrate the return of Superman Prime to Earth. Barda refused and stayed behind. Because Batman distrusted the Legion so Batman 1,000,000 knocked him out, and stored his soul in a bottle. Hourman sent the JLA to their time, but was unable to retrieve them, because he d been implanted with a virus by Vandal Savage and Solaris. The virus also took out all of the Justice Legion, until they constructed a Solaris computer to draw the virus away from Earth.

(DC One Million #4) - Solaris was on a rampage decimating planets, and the JLA stopped him by having Green Lantern cause him to go super-nova. The JLA witnessed the return of Superman Prime before returning to their own time.

(JLA #24-26) - Batman and the JLA got a report of a alien invasion in Phoenix, Arizona, but when the team showed up in Arizona the invasion turned out to be a ruse. They were confronted by the Ultramarine Corps, who were under orders from General Wade Eiling to execute the JLA. The fight went badly for the JLA until Superman convinced the Ultramarines that Eiling had gone insane, and his orders no longer carried presidential approval. The JLA and Ultramarines fought Eiling, who had transferred his consciousness into the indestructible body of the Shaggy Man. Although they couldn t defeat him, they transported the General millions of miles into uninhabited deep space.

(JLA #27) -  In Tokyo Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Martian Manhunter met to discuss the future of the JLA. Hourman warned them that in the near future the 5th Dimension would threaten Earth, and Clark suggested another membership drive, while Bruce was steadfast that the JLA had to remain smaller and elite. Professor Ivo placed an upgraded Amazo in the Florida Everglades to free him from Belle Reve prison. Amazo instantly duplicated the powers of any active JLA member and defeated the JLA, and when they called in the reserves, his power only increased as he duplicated the abilities of the reserves. Superman temporarily disbanded the JLA, causing Amazo to lose his powers and shut down.

(Impulse #50) - <April 1st> Joker was holding the employees of the Smith-Johnson Novelty Company hostage, so Batman responded. Impulse was in Gotham and wanted to help Batman take down the Joker, but Batman refused his help, knowing Impulse didn't take orders well, and that could be fatal with Joker and hostages involved. Joker wanted to speak to Impulse, so Batman had no choice but to let him in on the case. Joker made Impulse go on a scavenger hunt and take polaroids from landmarks around the world. Impulse passed on the lay of the Novelty Company to Batman, allowing him to defeat Joker while Impulse saved the hostages. Batman told him his grandfather and cousin would be proud of him.

(Batman I #563) -Batman sent Alfred on reconnaissance, and he was nearly tossed into the Gotham Harbor by thugs trying to verify that it was filled with landmines. Batman struggled with navigating the new Gotham, but reached Alfred in time to save him and speculated on the thugs hinted boss. Batman learned that Commissioner Gordon made the GCPD into a gang, the Blue Boys, to break the backs of the Demonz and LoBoys. Huntress took on the identity of Batgirl to fight back the gangs, and Batman provisionally approved.

(Batman I #564) - Huntress begged for Batman's help when Mikey, a former False Facer and one of Father Chris's congregation was shot by his old gang. Batman managed to transport Chris from the hospital and to the triage center set up by Dr. Leslie Thompkins. She told Batman she'd never leave Gotham, and that her memory of Thomas Wayne was part of the reason. Batman admitted that one of the reasons he continued his work was because of her. Batman learned that the False Facers got their weapons from Penguin, and after threatening him he learned that Penguin had the rest of his cache at Father Chris' church. Batman raced to the church as congregation refugee tried to incite the church members to use the weapons against the False Facers, who'd come to take them.

(Batman I #565) - Batman set up a holding facility for criminals with Lock-Up and KGBeast in charge but warned them that if they killed anyone their lives would be worth nothing. Black Mask and his cult rose to power in Gotham and Batman tasked Batgirl with keeping them from storming Wayne Tower.

(Batman: Joker’s Apprentice #1) - Arthur Rankle was a serial killer who raped and killed eighteen women before Batman took him down with a batarang to the head. As he was being arrested Rankel bellowed that Batman was a coward and should have confronted him face to face. He was sent to Arkham, where Joker took an interest in him, believing he knew what made him tick, a hatred of authority. He decided to train Rankel as his protégé as a gift for Batman. Joker helped him escape, and on the outside Arthur read his diploma, finding ways he could contact the joker via a pay phone or e-mail, and keys to one of Joker’s hideouts, the former film studio of Slaphappy films. Arthur settled in, planning his big debut and his next kill. He started talking to a rat he named Lassie. He told the rat all his thoughts, how he was in control and the Joker was not, and how he chose to kill unlike Batman’s rogues gallery, and could stop himself at any time. He told Joker he’d need two men to help him carry out his big kill, and Joker sent him Dr. Thomas DeGeorge, a doctor who was locked up after it was discovered he was causing seizures in his patients so he could save them and seem a hero, and Calvin Marshall, a brute full of rage who killed a nun in broad daylight for rejecting his advances. He had DeGeorge knock on a woman’s door, in tears that his dog was lost, and when she let him in Calvin came close behind and brutally slaughtered her. Rankel filmed the incident, and mailed it to the police under the alias DeMille. The authorities, believing Calvin to be DeMille, saw how sloppy his methodology was, and were convinced he would easily be caught after making a mistake. Weeks later Rankel and his crew had killed 23 more women and Commissioner Gordon was frustrated that he didn’t have a single lead. He met with Batman and said he suspected they weren’t dealing with a simple madman, they were dealing with a lunatic with a purpose, and Gordon suspected he was after Batman. Rankle, Calvin and Thomas killed a celebrity in Gotham, and Harvey Bullock was assigned to investigate. He ended up butting heads with the FBI, who’d also been put on the case. Batman spent 4 days and nights going without sleep researching the case, and Alfred had to force him to eat, saying he was showing his own tendency towards madness by starving himself to death. Batman contacted Oracle, and after hours of research she came up blank, but planted the idea that Batman was looking for more than one unsub. Batman confirmed the hypothesis when he realized the fingerprints left behind at the crime scenes were identical except for their size, and knew the unsubs were using false fingerprints. Batman confronted Professor Milo, who connected Rankel with his associates, and he spilled his guts, but Joker had foreseen this and told Rankel to get ready to ambush Batman. Rankel locked the film studio once Batman was inside and Calvin and Thomas chased him through old film sets with guns and a flamethrower. Batman defeated Calvin and Thomas, and when confronted Rankel went to pieces and curled in the fetal position. Rankel was returned to GCPD custody and Joker laughed his head off at the present he’d gotten Batman for their anniversary, 5 years from the day they first met.

(JLA #30, 31) - When the 5th Dimensional genie Lkz invaded Earth Oracle put Batman in contact with Aquaman, who had previous contact with Qwsp, the 5-D entity that instigated a fight between Lkz and Thunderbolt that threatened to destroy Earth. Batman and Aquaman boarded the JLA Watchtower and confronted Triumph, who was using the 5-D war as an opportunity to usurp the JLA. They defeated Triumph, and Qwsp was apprehended by 5-D authorities.

(JLA #33) - One of the White Martians brainwashed to think it was a human acted as a secretary in WayneTech until he went down in a plane crash in the Andes. This fractured his mental blocks, and unsure of his identity he adopted Bruce Wayne s and went on vacation in France. Batman sent the JLA to apprehend him, fearing his mental blocks would break down again. The JLAers assigned to Wayne provoked him, and he reverted to his White Martian form, but they defeated him before he could telepathically free his fellow Martians.

(JLA #34) - Mageddon approached Earth, and sent a remote sender to Belle Reve prison, driving the prisoners berserk with rage. Oracle coordinated the JLA, allowing them to quell the riot, even though Batman wasn t able to join them because he was busy with the disaster in Gotham.

(Day of Judgment #1-5) - Batman and the JLA battled Asmodel, who'd merged with the Spectre and unleashed Hell on Earth. Asmodel's rampage was halted by the Sentinels of Magic, but Batman and the other heroes still had to contain the demon armies that were on a tear. Green Lantern Hal Jordan's soul was brought back from Purgatory to become the Spectre's new host, but Batman strongly opposed the decision. He was convinced that Hal hadn't changed from his days as a mass-murdering psychopath. Hal took the Spectre-Force from Asmodel, but a new threat emerged when Neron possessed Superman. Hal sent Neron packing to Hell, but Batman still saw no reason to trust him.

(JLA #35) - Anguished by his new life, the Spectre grew to gigantic proportions and started screaming, attracting the attention of Batman and the JLA. Initially the JLA did not recognize Spectre as their old friend Hal Jordan, because it was part of the plan of the Presence that no one should recall the Spectre's old identity. Thanks to the angel Zauriel the JLA could, for the time, see Spectre as Hal. Confused by his new role as the spirit of vengeance, the Spectre showed the JLA the sins of their past as well as the dark parts of their psyche, citing these as reasons they could soon be targets for his mission of vengeance. He showed Batman that his darkest self wanted to cross the line and exterminate his enemies. In an effort to help Spectre, Martian Manhunter took him inside Joker s mind and showed a very small part of the killer s mind that showed the light of the Presence, and therefore the possibility of redemption. Spectre considered turning away from vengeance and becoming the spirit of redemption.

(JLA #36-41, Faces of Evil: Prometheus #1) - Batman and Oracle kept track of the wars sparked off across the planet caused by Mageddon s approach, while the JLA made a battle plan to combat it. Lex Luthor and the New Injustice Gang, who were in Mageddon's thrall, attacked the Watchtower. Batman boarded the Watchtower and confronted Gang member Prometheus. Prometheus wanted another win over Batman, and was doing well until Batman sabotaged Prometheus  helmet, downloading the physical characteristics of Steven Hawking into Prometheus  nervous system. The crippled villain was easy pickings for Batman, but he managed  to teleport away to his Crooked House in the Still Zone. The JLA followed, and Huntress was ready to kill him, but Batman made her stand down. Batman told Huntress she was off the JLA, and Prometheus was pleased at the turmoil he'd caused. Batman and Martian Manhunter needed to attend to Mageddon's threat, but knew no cell they could build would hold Prometheus, who had as many plans for defeating his enemies as Batman had. Manhunter put his mind in a loop, effectively creating a mental prison and leaving him permanently comatose. The JLA overcame the Gang and freed Luthor from Mageddon s control. In the Still Zone the JLA found the White Martian supercarrier, and planned to bring it right to Mageddon. Mageddon s approach caused unabated war on Earth, and Earth s heroes couldn't  contain the violence. The JLA built an anti-war ray, a device that gave all of humanity the ability to resist Mageddon s urgings for them to destroy each other, as well as temporary superpowers so that they could all help fight Mageddon, and the final blow was delivered when Superman absorbed the anti-sun that powered Mageddon.

(Batgirl I #1) - Batman continued training the new Batgirl, and had a training session with her where neither of them were holding back. Batman defeated her, but she made him bleed, and he was proud of her. He told her to stay away from Gotham's big guns, but gave her license to operate on her own.

(Young Justice: Sins of Youth #1) - Batman and the JLA were among the superheroes that attended Young Justice s Justice for All rally in Washington. It was interrupted by Klarion, who magically de-aged Batman and most of the heroes into children. Doiby Dickles pulled out an extraterrestrial aging gun to return the heroes to their proper age, but another of Klarion s spells intercepted his shot. The result was that the younger heroes present were aged to adulthood, but the other heroes remained children.

(Sins of Youth: JLA, Jr. #1, Sins of Youth Secret Files #1) - The de-aged Batboy and JLA fended off an attack by the Point Men, and returned to the Watchtower with Anarky's help. At Captain Marvel's suggestion they visited the wizard Shazam, but he couldn't undo Klarion's spell. They traveled to Young Justice's Justice Cave, where the JLA and JSA's childish tempers erupted in a battle that lasted hours. After everyone was too tired to fight, the heroes made up and decided to split up to find a way to reverse Klarion's magic.

(Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin #1) - The de-aged Batman gave the adult Robin the Batman costume to wear and put himself in the Robin identity. The duo sought out Zatanna to return them to their natural ages, and when they found she had been kidnapped by Niko and Vani Asalachi who wanted her to remove a curse that a witch placed on them. Batman and Robin defeated the cursed twins and saved Zatanna, but she was unable to undo Klarion's spell. The only effect her magic had was to switch their costumes.

(Young Justice: Sins of Youth #2) - Doiby tried using his new raygun on Flash and the other heroes affected by Klarion s spell but it had no effect. Since the heroes  ages were skewed by a combination of magic and science, they would need Klarion s cooperation to undo the transformation. The heroes attacked Agenda s headquarters in Alaska, where Superboy, Superman, Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman were being held hostage. The hq was defended by the Junior Injustice Society, but the heroes prevailed, forced the Agenda to flee, and freed the prisoners. They then forced Klarion to team with Doiby and return everyone to their proper age.

(Batgirl I #3, 4) - Batman expressed his disappointment in Batgirl for not being able to save the life of Good Samaritan John Robinson. He told her they had to succeed despite impossible odds, no excuses. Batman and Batgirl rescued the daughter of the Imperioli crime syndicate's bookkeeper Benny Johannse from the syndicate. They had to fight their way past superhuman Imperioli muscle Meta, and recovered microfiche detailing the Imperioli's illegal dealings from the girl's teddy bear. Batman received a tape of Cassandra Cain executing crimelord Faizul when she was a child. He refused to believe the video was real, and after inconclusive tests on the feed, he went to Macau to learn more about Faizul's murder.

(Flash II #163) - The Turtle tipped Batman to the Scarecrow's whereabouts and dressed a bomb in a Scarecrow outfit. Flash was on to Turtle's schemes, and got rid of the bomb before Batman could leap at it.

(JLA: A League of One) - Wonder Woman learned from the Delphic Oracle that the dragon Drakul Karfang in Switzerland that was destined to fall before the JLA, but kill them before dying. Wonder Woman was determined to cheat fate by taking the JLA out of action, so she knocked out her teammates with cheap shots while they were on missions. Batman foiled a terrorist attack in the Amazon by Poison Ivy when Wonder Woman confronted him, but she had the hardest time defeating Batman. She placed them in lifeboats and sent them into orbit. Wonder Woman told Superman the JLA had a limited oxygen supply, and he flew into space to rescue them. Batman and the other JLAers met Wonder Woman after she destroyed Drakul, and they accepted that Wonder Woman had no choice but to do as she did to save the JLA from destruction.

(JLA #43-46) - Ra s al Ghul stole Batman s secret files, files he had hidden from even his own JLA teammates, which detailed ways to neutralize every member of the JLA if they ever went rogue, and began using those plans against the JLA. Batman first developed these plans when Agamemno enabled the Injustice League to take over the bodies of the Justice League of America. After a number of attacks that took out JLAersthe remaining team members retreated to the Watchtower. Batman was distracted because Ra s had stolen his parents bodies from their grave, and went to find the villain. Ra s activated the Tower of Babel, a device that scrambled the language center of every human mind on the planet, and the result was worldwide chaos. The JLA located Ra s stronghold thanks to Batman, who d recovered the bodies of his parents and refused Ra s offer to resurrect them if he stopped being a thorn in Ra s side. Superman destroyed the Tower, but Ra s had already accomplished one of his goals. While the Tower was in use Turkey and its neighbor Rhapastan went to war, and Ra s agents in Rhapastan were ready to unleash biochemical weapons on Turkey. The JLA stopped Ra s agents and confiscated the biochemical weaponry. Back at the Watchtower Superman called a meeting to decide if the JLA should expel Batman for keeping secrets and making plans that Ra s was able to exploit to nearly destroy the JLA. After the votes were tallied Batman was expelled.

(Justice League of America II #0 (fb)) - Superman and Wonder Woman confronted Batman over the files he kept on how to defeat them. Wonder Woman told him he'd become unhinged ever since losing Jason Todd, and had to stop reliving the horrors of his past.

(JLA #47-49) - The Queen of Fables transformed Manhattan into a medieval forest and kidnapped Wonder Woman, so the JLA entered the forest and rescued their teammate. Batman arrived in the forest and gave the JLA the enchanted tome from which the Queen escaped, and which could trap her once again. The JLA didn't want to subject the other citizens of the enchanted book to the Queen, so they made her realize that outside of her enchanted world she would age and die, then when she tried to renter the enchanted book Flash III switched it at superspeed, leaving her trapped in United States Tax Code Manuel. With the Queen trapped Manhattan returned to normal.

(Batman/Scarface: A Psychodrama #1) - As part of Jeremiah Arkham’s therapy the Ventriloquist was convinced to throw his puppet Scarface into the sea, removing the physical manifestation of his split-personality. The Ventriloquist was released from Arkham, and tried to restart his show-biz ambitions with a ventriloquist act with his new dummy Lola. Penguin attended his first show at Gotham’s Ventriloquist Club, delighted to see his old rival had become a nobody, but Ventriloquist mocked him during his act, infuriating him. Scarface came into Penguin’s possession, and he threw the dummy on the stage during Ventriloquist’s next act, hoping he’d have a nervous breakdown. Ventriloquist’s henchman Rhino convinced him that it was fate that reunited him with Scarface, and Ventriloquist decided to return to a life on crime. Rhino had recorded the audience during Ventriloquist’s acts, just like when he was starting his criminal career, and recorded Penguin working out his next heist, sending expendable men to the Vargas Building as a decoy for Batman while Penguin would join his men hitting the diamond district. Ventriloquist called the GCPD, and while Batman rounded up the men at the Vargas Building Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD foiled the heist in the diamond district and arrested Penguin. Meanwhile Ventriloquist and Rhino burst into Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge, shot a bunch of his men, and stole the money he kept in his vault.

(JLA #50) - While the JLA battled Dr. Destiny s dream-self, the members of the JLA who voted Batman off the team argued with their teammates who voted for Batman to stay. The JLA defeated Destiny, but Superman realized that the team was in discord ever since Batman left; they no longer trusted each other. To solve this Batman was readmitted, but only after sharing his secret identity with the rest of the team. As another show of faith the other JLAers with secret identities all bared their civilian identities to each other.

(Green Lantern III #134-136) - Green Lantern Kyle Rayner assembled Batman and the JLA to confront Nero. He warned them that it might be impossible to stop someone as powerful and insane as Nero without killing him. Nero unleashed a demonic army across NYC, and the JLA dealt with them all. Nero then attacked Times Square, but was defeated by Kyle Rayner. Batman talked with Kyle and told him there should be more ring-bearers. Batman gave Kyle the power ring formerly worn by Jade that Batman had been safekeeping.

(JLA #51-54) - The Cathexis unleashed the sentient energy Id on Earth, which transformed wishes into reality, causing havoc all over Earth. When Superman wished he could separate his superhero and private lives the Id split him and the other members of the JLA with secret identities in two. The JLAers found the situation disastrous, as they were no longer felt complete. Bruce was still filled with rage at crime, but now powerless to do anything about it. The JLA figured a way to reunite their civilian and superhero selves. They captured the Id using Wonder Woman s lasso and Flash s vibrations, recombined their identities and sent the Cathexis packing back to the sixth dimension.

(Green Arrow III #2) - Batman reviewed major news broadcasts and caught the story of Star City councilman Freddy Dreyfus, who was exposed as a drug trafficker. He noted the trick arrows used to take him down, and realized they were similar to Conner Hawk's but the angle of the shots suggested the original Green Arrow.

(Green Arrow III #4-6, 8, 9) - Aquaman brought Green Arrow to the JLA Watchtower, and the team was in shock because he was back from the dead. Arrow was taken back by changes in the JLA because he didn't remember any of the last ten years of his career before his death. He turned against his teammates, and Batman knocked him out and promised to find out how Arrow came back from the dead and why he was suffering from amnesia. He ran a series of medical scans on Arrow in the Batcave, and determined that he was the genuine article, but that he was missing a number of battle scars he'd suffered over the last 10 years. He showed Arrow footage and news articles of Green Lantern's death as well as Arrow's death. Arrow wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery, so they traveled to Star City together. Batman tried to jog his memory showing him the old Queen estate, and learned that the cutoff for Arrow's memory was when he accidentally killed a criminal and joined a monastery. The Demon attacked them, saying Arrow was a husk, a human body lacking a soul. They defeated Demon and forced him to change back into Jason Blood, and were soon met by Arsenal and Black Canary, who couldn't wait to be reunited with their friend Arrow. They all traveled to Blood's safe house, and he summoned Abortives, demons from Hell that needed a hollow, a man without a soul, to walk the Earth, and noted that they wanted to get at Arrow. Determining that Arrow was a danger as long as he lived because he could be easily possessed, Blood changed into the Demon and shot hellfire at Arrow. Spectre saved Arrow, and took him away to the afterlife to meet his soul. He sent Deadman to possess and neutralize the Demon, and Deadman told the heroes how Spectre resurrected Green Arrow. Demon changed into Jason Blood and when he learned Arrow was staying with occultist Stanley Dover he told them they had to take down Dover. Dover's house was protected with a blood seal, forbidding anyone not blood related to the residence from entering, but fortunately Arrow's son Conner Hawke arrived to save his father from Dover.

(JLA #55-58) - When the JLA fought Id Martian Manhunter had a fleeting wish about not wanting to be lonely, so Id woke up Earth s White Martians. They created a power base and kept the JLA busy with a number of distractions, including activating a nuclear power station in Murmansk while the JLA were there handing out food. Green Lantern contained the explosion, and Batman found the Martian s lair in Phoenix, Arizona. The Martians captured both Batman and Martian Manhunter. The Martians set up Ion Stations that introduced viral subatomic particles into the atmosphere that attached to oxygen atoms and set them at slow combustion so there d be no fire on Earth, eliminating the Martians one weakness. Superman located one of the stations, but was attacked by the Martians. Martian Manhunter escaped the Martians and destroyed the Ion Stations, but it would take time for the atmosphere to heal. The JLA took a stand at Superman s Fortress of Solitude, using the armaments Superman had stored there. They were defeated, and tricked the Martians into exiling the JLA to the Phantom Zone using Superman s projector. Here they came up with a plan to defeat the Martians without being scrutinized by their telepathy. Atom was hidden at microscopic size in the Fortress, and freed the JLA. The JLA lured the White Martians to the Moon, and a number of heroes with sorcerous abilities created an oxygenated atmosphere on the Moon so that the JLA could create fire there to use against the Martians. Martian Manhunter sent the defeated Martians into the Phantom Zone. Manhunter was badly injured in the exchange, and Batman reminded him that he was never alone, despite being the last Green Martian, because the JLA was always there for him.

(JLA: Our Worlds at War #1) - Batman dealt with the damage caused in Gotham by the Imperiex War.

(JLA #59) - Batman and the JLA rounded up a number of villains that had been Jokerized and gave them the antidote to the Joker Venom. They fought the Jokerized Dr. Polaris, who had absorbed the electromagnetic energy of the South Pole, threatening worldwide catastrophe. He held them back, until they had Plastic Man, who was not vulnerable to Polaris  power, confront him. Plas defeated Polaris, and he was given the antidote to the Joker Venom. Batman went to Gotham City to put an end to Joker s madness.

(JSA #31) - New York City, Batman investigated the kidnapping of Jessica Weintraub, the infant daughter of a recently bankrupt Gotham computer whiz. The kidnappers were Shakedown and New Wave, and when Batman found Shakedown s body he knew the villains had turned on each other when they realized they weren't going to get paid their ransom. The JSA were at the scene of Shakedown's murder and offered Batman their help in finding Jessica. Batman was hesitant, but in the end he teamed with the JSA to save Jessica and capture New Wave.

(JLA #61) - Batman and the JLA fought the mythic Cyclopicon and Kraken, whose battle was causing massive tidal waves. They next confronted an army of creatures from Pandora s box. Abra Kadabra, who was under the influence of a Burrower alien with mysterious motivations, had awakened all these creatures. Kadabra was defeated, the JLA took the Burrower to the Watchtower to examine it, and the mythic monsters went back to where they came from.

(Green Lantern III #149) - Batman attended a JLA meeting to detail the restructuring of the JLA watchtower when the JLA were alerted to a fleet of Crystal Invaders of Karalyx preparing to invade Earth. The JLA scrambled to take out the Crystal Invaders, but Ion told them not to worry, as he'd already sent them back to their homeworld. Ion noticed he was getting some odd looks from his teammates now that he was omnipotent.

(JLA #64) - When Wonder Woman s lasso, the embodiment of truth, broke because she doubted it, the truth became subjective, altering the world. Riddler could no longer understand his clues, and Batman easily captured him. Wonder Woman asked forgiveness of Jarhanpur, the land where truth was broken, and the land granted it, and truth was restored. Rama Khan refused to accept this and attacked Wonder Woman and trhe JLA, but the misuse of his powers caused Jarhanpur to crumble.

(JLA #65) - Plas needed help from Batman because his son Luke was running with a gang. Ten years ago Plas and his girlfriend Angel McDunnah had a child, and Plas ran off, not ready to accept the responsibility. His son was manifesting powers greater than Plas  and headed for trouble, so Batman terrorized the gang he ran with and frightened Luke into going straight. Batman wanted Plas to meet his son for the first time in his life, but Plas chickened out. Batman told him he would have made a good father if he tried, and left the future of his relationship with Luke up to him.

(JLA #66-68) - Batman and the JLA investigated a rain of deep-sea life that fell over Daytona Florida, when they discovered Tezumak, one of the Ancients who d traveled from 1,000 B.C. to kill the JLA because the Ancients believed the heroes to be destroyers. His teammate Manitou Raven joined the fight, temporarily taking the JLA out of commission. Green Lantern freed his teammates as Manitou prepared to sacrifice Wonder Woman. With the tide turning against them Manitou and Tezumak returned to Atlantis in the past, revealing a ruined Atlantis above water where the Atlantic Trench was. When Atlantis was threatened during the Imperiex War Tempest sent it into the past, and the JLA was determined to bring it back to the present to replace the ruins before them. Tempest cast another spell, sending the JLA into the past.

(JSA #37) - Batman was among the crowd of heroes that attended Johnny Thunder s funeral.

(JLA #69) - With the JLA in the past, Batman's contingency plan for a new JLA was activated. JLA-Spheres based on Mr. Terrific's T-Spheres located heroes hand picked by Batman and brought them to the Watchtower, where a video recording of Batman told them they would have to carry on as Earth's protectors in case the JLA never returned.

(JLA #70, 72-75) - Batman and the JLA found an Atlantis that Gamemnae of the Ancients had rose from the sea floor, and kept themselves hidden among the population because Rama Khan, leader of the Ancients, still wanted them dead. The JLA discovered a mystic pool where Aquaman, who d been transformed into water, was being held prisoner. He told them his people were underwater, kept as slaves for the glory of the Atlantis above water. The JLA learned that Gamemnae was responsible for Aquaman s condition, the enslavement of Aquaman s Atlanteans, and the Ancient s false belief that the JLA were evil. The JLA confronted the Ancients, but were slain in battle withg them. Manitou Raven realized that Gamemnae was evil, not the JLA, and cast a spell to preserve them. Manitou cast a containment spell that sealed off Atlantis from the rest of the world, so that Gamemnae could not conquer it. Thousands of years passed, and in the present, when the raised Atlantis had been revealed to the world, Gamemnae broke free, drained Earth s water supply, and battled the Batman s new JLA. Manitou animated the bodies of the JLA to battle Gamemnae, and her spell to absorb others into her only affected the living she fully resurrected the JLA. With this part of the plan complete Zatanna and members of the new JLA went to 1,000 B.C. where they freed Aquaman, who merged with the ocean, and sank Gamemnae s Atlantis. Zatanna cast a spell that returned Aquaman s Atlantis to the present day. Gamemnae, weakened by this change in history, was easy prey for Manitou Raven, and he sacrificed himself to destroy her.

(JLA #76) - Batman's JLA disbanded, and Martian Manhunter used telepathy to council the JLA on dealing with their deaths at the hands of the Ancients. The JLA recovered the scattered atoms of Plas from across the Atlantic and pieced him back together. He explained the trauma of not being whole for over 3,000 years, and quit the JLA to spend more time with his son.

(JSA #54) - Batman, the JLA and JSA celebrated Thanksgiving at JSA hq. Batman was worried that they would come under attack from their enemies, like many previous times the JLA and JSA met on social occasions. Mr. Terrific tried to put Batman at ease, but it didn't stop him from checking out the JSA monitors and asking JSAer Hourman to look into the near future and see if any trouble awaited them. Kulak and the Warlord of Ys ruined the Thanksgiving meal, but were quickly defeated by the heroes. The JLA and JSA settled for ordering out, and had pizza for Thanksgiving, and Terrific had to admit that Batman s hunch was right.

(JLA / JSA: Virtue and Vice #1) - Batman attended the first annual JLA and JSA Thanksgiving celebration when the teams were called to Arusha, Tanzania to stop Doctor Bedlam from disrupting the Pan-African Conference on World Hunger. The JLA and JSA defeated Bedlam, but the attack was a ruse on the part of Johnny Sorrow to give him the opportunity to have Despero possess President Luthor, who was at the conference, and to have the Seven Deadly Sins possess members of the JLA and JSA. Batman was possessed by Anger, and when the Seven Deadly Sins took complete control over the heroes they possessed they destroyed JSA headquarters and incapacitated the unpossessed JLA and JSA members. Under Anger s control Batman put Gotham under martial law, and allowed Anger to spread his influence on the citizens of Gotham. The other Sins also spread their influence across the globe. The JLA and JSA freed Batman and the other possessed heroes from the Sins  influence, and returned the Sins to captivity in the Rock of Eternity. Plas and the others defeated Johnny Sorrow and freed Luthor from Despero.

(JLA #77) - Mnemon, a synthetic lifeform that recorded history by draining the memories of others, landed on the moon and Batman and the JLA investigated. Atom entered Mnemon, who was quick to start eating the memories of the JLA. Mnemon s actions always led toplanetwide destruction, whoich it considered its  own form of art. With Atom s guidance Superman destroyed the magnetic field that kept it cohesive with his heat vision, but this freed the miniature black hole that powered Mnemon. Through great force of will Superman held Mnemon and the black hole in his hands long enough tofly into space and toss it into a wormhole.

(JLA #78) - A large mass of Mirror Matter, previously thought to be only theoretical, was headed toward Earth, and Batman and the JLA disposed of it by having Firestorm transform it into marshmallow fluff. Wonder Woman wanted to speak to Batman about a brief romantic encounter they had in ancient Atlantis but they were interrupted by an extraterrestrial video feed from Kylaq sent to them by Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, who was in deep space. The Peacemaker and his Paciforce decreed that Kylaq would join his forcesor perish. The JLA debated handling a political situation so far from Earth that they didn't know all the details about. Batman argued against interfering, but Wonder Woman said the JLA had a responsibility to nay innocents in danger, and Superman said that handling the Peacemaker was a preemptive measure, because he could eventually target Earth, so the JLA traveled to Kylaq, but Batman staid behind. General Wells called from the Pentagon demanding that Batman return Faith to their custody, but he refused to comply. On Kylaq the JLA defeated the Paciforce and arranged peace talks between the Kylaq and the Peacemaker.

(JLA #80-82) - Batman and Wonder Woman had dinner, but rather than explore whatever feelings they had for each other, Batman wentout crimefighting and took care of hitman Plunder. Wonder Woman demanded another date. The commune Safe Haven, an organization protected by metahumans, was at a standoff with government forces A.T.F. and D.E.O. that wanted to investigate the commune when the JLA intervened. The JLA heard the case of Shepherd, who ran the Haven, and wanted to act as intermediaries. This went south when tensions led Haven members and government agents to fire at each other. An explosion seemingly killed everyone at the Haven, and the JLA were blamed. Superman, Major Disaster and Faith were all convinced that they were responsible, but Batman later examined the scene and found that no one had died. Axis America, led by Shepherd, aka Ubermensch, appeared to battle the JLA and revealed themselves as agents of Mr. Manson, the government operative behind Safe Haven who sacrificed it and used the metahuman the Mouth to convince the JLA they were responsible for hundreds of deaths. All this was so Manson could reclaim Faith for the U.S. government. Faith recognized the setup and forced Manson to leave her alone for the time being, and Axis America retreated.

(JLA #83) - Superman entered Martian Manhunter s transconsious articulator for subconscious therapy. He envisioned President Luthor going to war with Quarac because they supposedly had W.M.D.s, and the American public felt betrayed that the U.S. declared war before they had proof. Superman didn't stop Luthor because he couldn't make up his mind as to the justness of the war. In the end of his vision Luthor told him patriot don t ask questions and killed him with kryptonite. Batman and the JLA woke Superman from the articulator, and he vowed never to use it again.

(Superman / Batman #1-6) - Metallo dug up his mortal remains buried in Gotham City, and Batman and Superman teamed up to stop his desecration of the cemetery, but he shot Superman with a kryptonite bullet. He fell into an open grave, and Batman tried to remove the bullet, but Metallo buried them both in the grave. Batman blasted his way into the Gotham sewers, and took Superman to the Batcave, where Alfred removed the bullet.* A Superman from a future timeline told Superman that a decision he made in the near future would lead to the death of all his friends. He fought his past self and tried to kill him, but before he succeeded he had to return to his own timeline. A kryptonite asteroid was headed towards Earth, and President Luthor blamed Superman. He put a billion dollar bounty on Superman's head so he could face a trial for crimes against humanity. The heroes went to the White House so Superman could confront Luthor about his accusations, but they were attacked by a legion of villains looking to collect the bounty. They fought valiantly, but were vastly outnumbered, and only the timely appearance of Captain Atom, Major Force, Black Lightning, Power Girl, Starfire, Katana and John Stewart saved them. The heroes announced they were there to bring Superman into custody. They battled, but Katana and Power Girl switched sides against their teammates. The fight led to Tokyo, which was nearly destroyed when Major Force exploded. Katana told Batman and Superman about boy genius Toyman, who had a plan to stop the kryptonite meteor, but Hawkman and Captain Marvel blocked them from meeting the boy. Batman and Superman let the JSAers defeat them so Katana and Power Girl could meet with Toyman, and when the time was right they blindsided the JSAers. Luthor got word of Batman and Superman's defeat and announced their capture to the world. Members of the Batman and Superman Families raided the White House to free their friend but were captured by Luthor. Batman disguised himself as Hawkman and Superman disguised himself as Marvel to gain access to the White House and free their friends. They returned to Tokyo, and after receiving a substantial payment from WayneTech Toyman designed the Composite Superman / Batman Rocket Ship to destroy the asteroid. Captain Atom appeared, telling them he'd met the future Superman that briefly fought with Superman and Batman. the mistake they would make is having Superman pilot the ship, because being that close to kryptonite would weaken him, cause him to fail, and result in the death of everyone on Earth. Atom knocked out Superman and piloted the rocket himself, breaking the asteroid into hundreds of smaller pieces of kryptonite that reached Earth. Luthor put on his battlesuit and decided he was the only one who could bring down Batman and Superman. In a public fight with Superman Luthor admitted that he knew Superman was not responsible for the asteroid, and that his presidency had ties to Apokolips. These statements ensured that Luthor would be impeached. Batman and Superman defeated Luthor, who fell from Lexcorp Towers with his suit in ruins.

(JLA #84-89) - A wave of fear and remorse washed over the inmates of Arkham Asylum, the prisoners of Blackgate and President Luthor. Batman and the JLA investigated, and when Martian Manhunter, who d rejoined the team after Scortch healed him of his fear of fire, tried to fix Luthor s mind, he was assaulted by a powerful psychic force. Hostile nations and hate groups started feeling remorse and killing themselves. Firestorm s powers were taken away, and realizing it was connected to world events, Manitou Raven guided the JLA to Vandal Savage s mountain stronghold. Vandal recognized the world events as the attack of the Burning, a Martian he killed 20,000 years ago. He presented the Burning s head to the JLA, and they brought Savage and the head to the Watchtower, only to discover Superman, who d been attacked and bonded to the JLA meeting table. They freed Superman, but the revived Burning defeated the JLA and would have killed them if Major Disaster didn't use evac protocols to teleport them to Superman s Fortress of Solitude. Superman suspected that the Burning was actually Martian Manhunter, and in preparation of combating him they entered the Phantom Zone to ask the White Martians for aid. The Burning was already in the Zone and had slaughtered the Martians. The Burning again defeated the JLA, but they were saved and spirited away by Green Lantern John Stewart, who d been brief on the Burning and how to deal with it by the Guardians of the Universe. The Burning was a dangerous, chaotic race that the Guardians genetically modified to become Martians, and gave them an innate fear of fire so they couldn't access the powers of the Burning. When Manhunter overcame his fear of fire, his race memory turned him into the Burning, who needed fear and fire in multitude to asexually reproduce. Batman contacted the amnesiac Plas as his backup plan and convinced him to confront the Burning while Manitou contacted Martian Manhunter on the spiritual plane and found his soul dominated by the Burning. Burning unleashed nuclear attack to create the chaos and flames he d need to asexually reproduce, but the JLA stopped the bombs, except for one that hit Chongjin, North Korea, but Flash evacuated the population. Plas fought Burning to a deadlock because his mind was non-organic and not vulnerable to telepathy. Thanks to Manitou Martian Manhunter separated himself from the Burning, and Scorch sacrificed herself to sap the Burning s flame. Manhunter confronted the Burning and destroyed him with his Martian-vision.

(Flash II #201, 204, 205) - Thanks to the Spectre Batman and the rest of the world forgot that Wally West was the Flash. Wally had forgotten he was the Flash too, but Batman learned the truth and presented him with Barry Allen s Flash ring to jog his memory. Wally returned to action as the Flash, and Batman told him they had to talk. Batman was furious to learn Spectre was responsible for the worldwide mind-wipe, he was sick of seeing Hal Jordan play god. He understood that Flash wanted to protect his family after Zoom caused his wife Linda to miscarry, but he wanted Flash to level with the JLA. Flash told him he wasn't ready yet.

(JLA #90) - Batman and Wonder Woman teamed up to take down the Steel Fang, and once again tried to talk about their feelings for each other. Wonder Woman, struggling with her emotions, asked Manhunter to use his transconciousness articulator. He reminded her that it was only a peek at the subconscious, and that she should still actually talk to Batman. She saw possible futures where Batman s influence made her darker, and others where she brought out the light in him. They were capable of great love or great disaster, and when they finally talked they agreed it wouldn't be worth the risk.

(Green Arrow III #33) - Batman saw the Arrowcar, long thought destroyed, was up for bids on an auction site. He bought it for Green Arrow, and told him to take better care of his toys.

(JLA #91-93)- A meteor storm ripped holes in the JLA Watchtrower, and Plas plugged the holes with his body as a stopgap until the JLA arrived to make repairs. The storm was caused by a rip in spacetime when an alien ship arrived near the moon. The JLA investigated and met the alien Pe-Paey, who told them he monitored Earth s progress from time to time and needed to locate specimens of the silver-masked monkey. The JLA traveled with Pe-Paey to South America, but found a construction crew demolishing the monkey s last habitat for grazing land. Superman spotted a silver-mask and tried to save it, but the crew s explosives were already set and the blast killed the monkey, probably the last of its species. Pe-Paey was upset; his people s Book of Lol predicted the silver-masks would become Earth s dominant species. He asked to see all of Earth, and the JLA obliged, with Batman coordinating the team and othermembers taking him to monuments, museums, an in the interest of full disclosure, and at Superman s request, strife ridden countries like Santa Prisca and Minglia. The JLA foiled insurgents and terrorists in Minglia, and asked Pe-Paey what he thought. Pe-Paey assured them the silver-masks should have been the dominant species, and that humanity was choosing to become extinct, so he would help. He used his ship to bring meteors crashing toward Earth, but the JLA stopped any damage and told him their race was confused, not suicidal. Disheartened by the inaccuracies in the Book of Lol, the only thing he believed in, Pe-Paey returned to his ship and blew it up, killing himself.

(Superman / Batman #7) - Superman and Batman asked Robin and Superboy to meet with the new Toyman, who they thought had a great potential for doing good in the world. The duo got Toyman to begin working for Batman as a tech, and along the way they helped apprehend Metallo.

(Detective Comics I #790) - The designer drug G.H.D. killed over a dozen Gothamites, but people kept taking it because of the allure of its' danger. Batman threw G.H.D. dealer Derek out of a window to get him to reveal where the drug came from. Batgirl was worried about Batman, because he seemed more violent and intense than usual, but Batman refused to discuss anything with her. Batman found Stanley, the G.H.D. supplier, and offered him a choice, take G.H.D. or go to jail, and he chose to go to jail. Batman took Batgirl to the grave of Jason Todd, and told her it would have been his 18th birthday today.

(Detective Comics I #791-793) - The Hill's Street gang started operating outside their usual territory, and Batman confronted them to learn why. They attacked, and he took them out, but not before being shot with an ice bullet, leaving Batman to conclude they were tied to Mr. Freeze. Leslie Thompkins contacted Batman asking for help, she had a pregnant teen in her ward who'd been shot and needed an ID so she could contact her family. Batman searched his computer files, told Leslie the girl was Neisha Dupris, and after learning she was shot with an ice bullet he went to see Biggie Tiny, leader of the Hill's Street gang. After beating on Biggie Batman returned to Leslie's clinic to find it deserted. Batman learned that Neisha was a surrogate for her pop star mother L'Shea, and that L'Shea's husband Capo Siegel went behind her back and had Neisha shot because she was going to the tabloids with her story. Batman went to L'Shea's loft, where she'd taken Leslie and Neisha. L'Shea had her husband captive, and was waiting on Biggie and his gang to arrive so she could kill them. When they arrived they came equipped with hi-tech weapons from Mr. Freeze, intending to kill Capo and take his place in the Hill's Street hierarchy, and Batman took Leslie and Neisha to safety. The building collapsed, killing Capo and Biggie, and although Batman and Leslie saved Neisha's baby, Neisha died. L'Shea took the baby and claimed it was her own. Batman chose not to reveal the truth, but told L'Shea her dead husband had powerful mob enemies, and to watch out for herself. He also criticized her for only looking out for her own interests. Batman confronted Mr. Freeze, well aware that someone hired him to cause dissent in the Hill's Street, but couldn't get an answer out of him.

(Green Arrow III #35) - Green Arrow called Batman asking for advice when Riddler set up shop in Star City. Batman profiled Riddler, and offered his help, thinking Arrow couldn't handle the villain, but Arrow told him he'd do fine without assistance.

(JLA #94-99) - Batman investigated a number of child abductions and murders that seemed to have a common perpetrator, and got the JLA involved. Manitou Raven had already learned that the Tenth Circle was responsible, so they spirited him away with vampire bats. Atom examined his telling stones at microscopic size looking for clues about where Manitou went, but soon after disappeared. They learned that most of the missing children possessed the metagene and could be powerful as a collective. Superman found children being taken into a van in Metropolis, and intervened, but the metahuman Nudge took control of his mind, and took him to her master Crucifer. Crucifer bit Superman, bringing him under his control, and sent him after his teammates. After defeating and abducting Faith Crucifer sent him back to the JLA Watchtower. Wonder Woman, in her research of the Amazon archives, matched a symbol found at the abductions to the Tenth Circle, a cult of vampires defeated by the Amazons in the early days of Greece. Superman surreptitiously destroyed the archives because they described how the Circle could be defeated, and lured Wonder Woman to Castle Crucifer. Superman attacked Wonder Woman, and Nudge, rebelling against Crucifer, tried to influence the battle, but when Superman briefly regained his senses Crucifer stabbed Wonder Woman with a sword. Crucifer dumped Wonder Woman on a highway, with the Tenth Circle calling card on her, a challenge for the JLA to oppose him. Batman didn t want the team walking into a trap, and considered it misdirection. John Stewart had encountered the Doom Patrol while battling Tenth Circle members abducting more young metahumans, and the DP told him the Circle was their responsibility. Batman and the JLA went to the DP s Key Mordaz hq to compare notes. Chief s tech was able to find Atom in the telling stones, he d found a side-door dimension that Crucifer used for transporting his cultists. The JLA and DP teamed up and confronted Crucifer in Barnes, Saskatchewan, where he prepared to transfer the souls of his vampire lords into the metahuman children he collected. The heroes drove him off, and Atom destroyed the vessel containing Crucifer s heart he had stored in the side-door dimension. Crucifer was weakened enough for Superman to break Crucifer s hold over him and destroy him.

(Superman / Batman #8-13) - Superman agreed to remain on monitor duty in the JLA Watchtower for two weeks while Earth's heroes collected the hundreds of pieces of kryptonite that fell to Earth. Batman discovered a Kryptonian rocketship was part of the kryptonite asteroid, and it landed in Gotham harbor. A young girl emerged, and she was confused and caused chaos until Batman subdued her with kryptonite. In the Batcave Batman determined she was Kryptonian, and Superman spoke to her and learned she was his cousin Kara Zor-El. Kara spent a month in Superman's Fortress of Solitude, and Batman didn't trust her at all, especially since the Kryptonian writing on her spaceship said she'd either be a treasure or terror to Earth depending on how it was translated. Superman ignored Batman's suspicions and was ecstatic to be reunited with a family member. Kara spent her first day in public with Clark Kent in Metropolis, with Batman shadowing them. Wonder Woman learned about Kara, and was determined that she should be trained on Paradise Island. Kara spent her first day in public with Superman in Metropolis, and Wonder Woman, Artemis and Harbinger went to retrieve her. Batman and Kara agreed that Paradise Island was ideal for her training, but Superman was feeling very overprotective and kept an eve on Kara. Darkseid wanted Kara for his Female Furies, and he sent and army of cloned Doomsday animates to Paradise Island to kidnap her. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Amazons fought them off despite heavy casualties, but they managed to bring Kara to Apokolips. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman got a boom tube from Big Barda, enabling them to travel to Apokolips on a rescue mission. Batman located a cache of hellspores that could devastate Apokolips, but had to fight off demon dogs to activate them. Superman was dealing with Kara, who'd been brainwashed by Darkseid, and he had to subdue her with Batman's kryptonite ring. Batman threatened to explode hellspores that would destroy Apokolips unless Darkseid gave his word to leave Kara alone, and Darkseid had no choice but to agree. On Earth the damage Darkseid did to Supergirl was undone with a combination of Amazonian science and Barda's mother box. Darkseid was waiting for Superman and Kara in Smallville, and told them he wasn't breaking his word because he'd come to kill Superman, not Kara. He shot omega beams at Superman, but Supergirl jumped in front of her cousin and was seemingly disintegrated. Superman actually spirited her away with the JLA teleporter so Darkseid would think her dead. Superman and Darkseid engaged in battle, which ended when they traveled to the edge of time and space and Superman hurled Darkseid into the Source Wall. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman threw a party on Paradise Island to introduce Supergirl to the superhero community.

(Batgirl I #51, 52) - The GCPD were in a highspeed chase with criminals, and Batman blew out their tires with a batarang while Batgirl saved a homeless man they almost ran over. The old man was distracted because he was making chalk drawings on the sidewalk, and he told Batgirl he was drawing his vision of a perfect Gotham city that he’d seen in dreams. Batman worried about the man’s mental stability, but admitted some nights he wished Gotham City could actually be replaced by a utopia. Oracle dragged Cassandra Cain to Chris Colson’s art opening. Colson was an installation artist known for transforming environments, and Bruce Wayne funded his project of transforming two city blocks of Gotham destroyed during the earthquake into art. Cassandra wasn’t keen on going, but Barbara reminded her there was more to life than crimefighting and she needed to experience new things. Bruce Wayne unveiled the project, with Colson having transformed the blocks into a luscious garden he proclaimed as a recreation of the original Garden of Eden. Bruce Wayne fell ill and had to leave the event, and Cassandra was disturbed that the garden had a strange effect on the patrons, as they stripped nude and gave into base desires. Cassandra had to leave, changing into Batgirl and returning to her comfort zone, fighting ninjas. As night fell the patrons turned more animalistic and started attacking each other savagely and Batgirl investigated. Oracle was in a feral state and attacked Batgirl, who had to restrain her. Batgirl found Chris Colson tied up in vines and hanging from a tree. He told Batgirl that Poison Ivy inspired his art installation and grew the entire garden from a single seed, but he never knew what she was planning. Colson’s garden was spreading out across the city, and when he questioned Poison Ivy she told him she no longer had a use for him. Poison Ivy gathered the patrons, telling them she was glad the hallucinogenic properties of her garden’s flowers had forced them to return to nature, and said they should reject city life, which mother nature considered an abomination. Poison Ivy bragged about how her garden would turn all of Gotham into a new Garden of Eden, but Batgirl foiled her, setting the garden on fire. Batman commended Batgirl on her actions, and Batgirl checked in on her homeless friend dreaming of a better Gotham, and nodded approvingly.

(Green Arrow III #37) - Albert Davis cast a spell over Star City, cutting it off from the rest of the world with a mystic shield, and populating it with demons that killed anyone breaking any laws or acting out in any violent fashion, Davis' idea of a perfect society because his wife and children were killed in a carjacking years ago. Batman and Superman failed to breach the mystic shield to save Star City, and enlisted Jason Blood, who recognized the spell and told them the spell could only broken from within the city, so they were all counting on Green Arrow to save Star City.

(Batgirl I #53) - Batgirl broke up an arms deal, but when the crooks broke out a hi-tech gun she called Batman for backup. Batman sent his new Robin Stephanie Brown her way, and they brought the hi-tech gun to Oracle. Oracle told them the gun was a Masami NK-4, commissioned by the British government and manufactured in an arms lab in Kyoto. Only five were made, and they were all promptly stolen. Penguin was behind the arms deal and had already gotten his hands on the other four. Batgirl and Robin went to confront him, and Robin was overjoyed that Batman had chosen her to be his new partner, saying it was a dream come true. Batgirl and spoiler leaned heavily on Penguin’s men, learning that he was using his underlings with children to have their kids courier the remaining guns

(JSA #62) - Flash I and Green Lantern I contacted Batman, who'd heard about Spectre Hal Jordan having embraced becoming a spirit of vengeance. They told Batman they were keeping an eye on him, and asked him to give Hal a second chance. Batman told them he already had, and Hal had blown it.

(JLA #100) - Manitou Raven sensed a disturbance in the Earth, and there were several volcanic eruptions, the hole in the ozone layer opened further, and other geothermal events signaled an extinction level event. Gaea, speaking through the earth-powered Major Disaster damned humanity for their abuse of her and their failure to get along. Sister Superior of the Elite v.2 had also realized that Gaea was ready to destroy humanity, and proposed a plan to Batman and the JLA, and although they doubted her trustworthiness they agreed. The Elite stormed Washington, demanded all governments dissolve and declared themselves rulers of Earth because humanity had proved themselves unfit to rule. After UN meetings and a staged defeat of the JLA by the Elite, every nation on Earth put aside their differences to tackle the Elite. Gaea once again believed in humanity, seeing them unite against a common enemy, and held back her wrath. The Elite allowed themselves to be defeated, and the cover story was that the JLA had them imprisoned on the moon. Sister Superior discussed forming a Justice League Elite, a black op force to make preemptive strikes. Batman had long considered the possibility, but didn't trust Superior, and neither did Superman, who was an archenemy of her brother Manchester. Flash spoke out, saying she deserved a chance to be heard out.

(Doom Patrol IV #1, 2) - Batman knew there was something he missed during the battle between the JLA, Doom Patrol and Tenth Circle, and he had Martian Manhunter use his telepathy to replay the fight. Batman realized one of Crucifer s agents, Wormhole, escape uncaptured. Batman, Manhunter and GL John Stewart traveled to Crucifer s castle, where they caught Wormhole. Negative Man was also in pursuit of Wormhole, but at the sight of Manhunter he attacked the Martian. Larry Trainor restrained his Negative Man, Wormhole died fleeing from the JLA and being exposed to sunlight, and the JLA destroyed Crucifer s mansion, which contained extradimensional doorways.

(Identity Crisis #1) - Batman investigated Sue Dibny's murder scene and then returned to the Batcave to process the evidence.

(Batgirl I #55) - During Gotham’s gang war Oracle and Batgirl did their best to contain the situation. Batgirl stopped the Odessa Mob from killing a four year old boy who’s family was in the mafia, and Oracle realized things were escalating beyond control. Oracle received a report that after a botched hit there was a major gun battle at Louis Grieve Memorial High, Tim Drake’s school, and phoned in Batman. Batgirl was distressed that no one knew where Stephanie Brown was and found her trying to quell the gang war as Spoiler. Spoiler said she was only trying to help and Batgirl begged her to go home and stay out of it. Spoiler agreed, but Batgirl sensed she was lying to her. Oracle coordinated while Batman and Batgirl slipped into Louis Grieve when shots suddenly rang out.

(JLA #106) - Batman and the JLA learned that the Abernathy family all possessed vast superpowers. Mr. Abernathy had just started his superhero career when he died on Superman's watch, so the family distrusted the JLA. She wanted the JLA to leave them alone, but they soon discovered she was using vigilante methods to uncover the improprieties that led to the destruction of the apartment building where her husband died. She was ready to kill the landlord when the JLA talked her down, making her realize that if she killed him she'd go to jail and her children would have lost both parents. Batman, Superman and Martian Manhunter made her understand they'd lost loved ones as well and knew her pain. Together they all visited her husband's grave. Although she found peace Joey still blamed Superman for his dad's death.

(Identity Crisis #4) - Jean Loring was attacked and Batman investigated ex-Suicide Squad members as suspects. He realized they weren't involved in Sue's murder or Jean's attack because they had nothing to gain.

(Flash II #215) - Batman continued working on the Sue Dibny murder case while Flash visited the Batcave to learn about his estranged wife's whereabouts from Nightwing. Flash was worried that whoever killed Sue would target other hero's family members.

(Identity Crisis #5, 6) - Batman and Robin were on patrol when they received a distress call from Jack Drake. By the time they reached his home they found his body alongside the corpse of Captain Boomerang, they had killed each other. Batman comforted his ward, and later went looking for Calculator, who d sent Boomerang to Drake s house., but Calculator managed to evade him. Batman finally realized it was Jean Loring who killed Sue Dibny.

(Flash II #217) - Batman confronted Flash about Flash's Rogues being out of control after Captain Boomerang slew Tim Drake' s father. Flash told him the Rogues were more dangerous than people realized, and told Batman to be there for Tim and tell him he loved him.

(Firestorm II #6) - The JLA concluded their investigation into Firestorm s death, and despite their hopes, nothing of Ronnie Raymond lived on in the new Firestorm. The new Firestorm visited the Watchtower out of curiosity, where he was met by Batman and Martian Manhunter. They'd been watching him use his powers for showboating and petty revenge, and warned him that he d better start living up to his namesake. Manhunter put a psychic tracer on him so the JLA could continue to monitor him.

(Identity Crisis #7) - Batman and the JLA had a meeting in the wake of learning that Jean Loring had killed Sue Dibny. Flash couldn't look Batman in the eye after learning the JLA had mind-wiped him years ago after he caught them magically lobotomizing Dr. Light. Batman suspected something was wrong from how Flash was acting.

(DC Countdown #1 (fb, BTS)) - After learning that the Justice League of America mind-wiped Dr. Light years ago Batman removed his mementos of his time as a Leaguer from the Batcave. Batman also deduced that the Justice League had wiped his own memories when he saw what they did to Light. He created the Brother Mark I satellite to keep surveillance on the worlds' superheroes and uploaded all his information about them, including their secret identities to the Brother.

(Robin II #132, 133, Batgirl I #58) - Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake and a grieving Crystal Brown attended Stephanie Brown’s funeral. Tim told Bruce he was emotionally drained after the deaths of his father, Darla Aquista and Stephanie. Bruce wanted to talk about his future and Tim said he was determined to take up the mantle of robin again, but he wanted to be nothing like batman, grim, vengeful and cut off from humanity. Tim said his father’s death hit Dana hard, but he heard there was a clinic in Bludhaven that treated severe PTSD. Bruce agreed to make a generous donation to the clinic and Tim said he’d made up his mind to make Bludhaven his new home. Alfred Pennyworth helped Robin move into his new hq, a building in Bludhaven owned by Wayne Industries. In his first week in Bludhaven Robin made his presence and authority known. He busted small-time crook Ronald Sekowski and presented him with jewels that had been stolen from the Hanson Smythe estate. Robin told him to present them to mobster fish Eddie to get on his crew and said Ron was now his informant and he owned him body and soul. Alfred was worried about Robin becoming darker after the losses he suffered and conveyed his concerns to Batman. Robin fought some crooks who turned out to be a distraction so Shrike could attack him. Shrike said Robin had been making his bosses in the underworld uncomfortable, and he hoped to kill him and force Batman to send Nightwing back to Bludhaven since they had unfinished business. Shrike beat Robin brutally and drew his sword, prepared to deal the killing blow when Batgirl, who’d moved to Bludhaven on Batman’s orders to keep an eye on Robin appeared to stop him. Alfred picked up increased phone chatter at Blockbuster’s old estate and told Batman he’d visit Robin to inform him. Alfred was still helping Robin set up his new Bludhaven Robin’s Nest and visiting Robin’s stepmother in the hospital. Alfred and Batman couldn’t guess that Penguin had taken over Blockbuster’s criminal empire and had captured Batgirl and Robin. The increased phone chatter was due to Penguin calling up several crimebosses to auction off the rights to unmask Batgirl and Robin.

(Superman / Batman #14) - In order to preserve their own timeline the Legion of Super-Villains Cosmic King, Lightning Lord and Saturn Queen traveled back in time to kill the Kents the moment they found Kal-El on Earth and claim Bruce Wayne right after his parents were murdered. They also killed most of the heroes Flash, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman. Their interference in the past altered the timeline. They raised Kal-El and Wayne as their own, and the boys grew to become Batman and Superman, who helped the Legion subjugate Earth. On Superman's birthday Batman located Green Arrow, one of Earth's last remaining heroes, and they killed him.

(Green Lantern: Rebirth #1, 2, 4-6) - Batman and the JLA tended to Guy Gardner after he lost control of his powers and destroyed Warriors. The only thing standing in Warriors was a statue of Green Lantern, leading the JLA to worry that Hal Jordan was involved and had returned to the dark side. Batman was completely convinced that Hal had once again blown a chance at redemption and argued with John Stewart, Hal s only supporter. They confronted Hal, but he promised he wasn t responsible for what they d seen. Green Lantern John Stewart, under the control of Parallax, went berserk and attacked his teammates. Ganthet assembled Zatanna and a number of other heroes to battle Parallax, who d completely taken over Hal Jordan. They weakened him enough for the Sectre to separate Hal from Parallax, allowing Hal s soul to return to his body, resurrecting him. Parallax possessed Ganthet, and Hal was ready to stop him, but Batman and the JLA stood in his way because they didn t trust him using his power. Batman got in Hal's face, and Hal punched him, telling him there was no time to debate. Hal and the other Lanterns combined their forces to drive Parallax from Ganthet s body and trap Parallax in the Central Power Battery, proving he was once again a hero

(JLA #110-114)- Martian Manhunter alerted Batman and the JLA to more fluxes caused by the cosmic change their battle with Krona caused. The Crime Syndicate of Amerika, who d been posing as the JLA, revealed themselves and attacked the heroes. The JLA were battered and forced to retreat. The essential differences between the anti and positive-matter universes that prevented the Crime Syndicate from ever being victorious on the JLA s Earth no longer applied after Krona tampered with the universe, meaning Earth was theirs for the taking. The JLA knew there only advantage was that the Syndicate was small because they had a tendency for in-fighting and back-stabbing, so the JLA would raise all their reserve members. Qwardians traveled to the positive-matter universe and blamed Earth for the reality altering wave Krona unleashed. They prepared to attack Earth with the doomsday weapon Erdammeru. The JLA and their reserves split into thre teams, one to fight the Qwardians, one to battle the Syndicate, and one to travel to the anti-matter universe to shake up the Syndicate s Earth. Batman was on the team that battled the Qwardians, and after fighting them to a standstill, the Syndicate, who d been temporarily driven off Earth, arrived to pick off the weakened loser. Diataria Lysis was afraid of Qwardian leader Roval s insatiable bloodlust, and brokered peace between Qward and Earth. The JLA informed the Qwardians that Krona was responsible for Qward s destruction, and had been defeated by the JLA. The Qwardians returned to the anti-matter universe, but vowed to destroy the Crime Syndicate s Earth for having dared try to invade their planet. Batman had planned for this to happen, and set his team on the anti-matter Earth into motion. The rest of the JLA entered the anti-matter universe, and forced the Syndicate to ask them for a favor, help in defeating the Qwardians. The Construct, who d become an integrated being and was grateful to the JLA, contacted Flash and promised it could communicate with Erdammeru, the Qwardian doomsday weapon. Erdammeru still didn't understand the concept of other and refused to make peace with the Construct, but their connection enabled Green Lantern John Stewart to absorb the weapon into his power ring, defanging the Qwardians. This was broadcast to the populace of anti-matter Earth, and when the people saw that the Syndicate was not invincible and began to rise up against them.

(DC Countdown #1) - Blue Beetle visited the Batcave to inform Batman that someone was manipulating Wayne Enterprises funds. Batman still didn't want to associate with anyone he'd worked with as a Justice Leaguer so he dismissed Beetle. Unbeknownst to Batman Maxwell Lord was the one manipulating Wayne's money, and Lord had taken control of the Brother Mark I and all the information it contained.

(Batgirl I #63) - Batgirl told Batman about how McSweeny Realty was buying up Bludhaven and forcing business-owners out of the city. Batman issued grants through the Wayne Foundation to save Batgirl’s new friend Brenda Miller’s cafe from McSweeny. Batman commended Batgirl on being interested in community building. He also warned her that when she foiled Penguin’s arm deal she hurt his standing with The Society, and he’d be seeking revenge.

(Blood of the Demon #2-5) - Batman investigated the reappearance of the Demon in Gotham. With Zatanna s help he tracked down Etrigan, and she offered to contact the JLA, but he told her Gotham was his turf. The Demon was out of control and Batman attacked him. Demon initially defeated him, but Batman quickly recovered and followed him for a rematch. Randu et Singh met up with them and transformed Etrigan back into Jason Blood. Jason asked for some time to figure out what ha turned Etrigan so savage. Batman told him he had 12 hours, and after that he d come after him again. Batman called in Superman and Wonder Woman and waited in Blood s apartment. The Demon was put in the thrall of Morgaine Le Fay, and they defeated Morgaine and broke her control using Randu Singh s mystical amulet.

(Green Arrow III #50) - When Arsenal was kidnapped by Drakon and the Riddler Green Arrow contacted Batman to help locate him. Arsenal was equipped with an Outsiders transmitter for just such an emergency and Batman pinpointed it. He sent Arrow off to confront Riddler, and chided him for letting an ally get kidnapped.

(Batgirl I #65) - With Father’s Day coming Batgirl fell into a depressive move. She started wondering who her mother was, and asked Batman if he had any idea. They both suspected that her mother might be Lady Siva, and Batman remembered when he erred thinking Shiva was Jason Todd’s mother. Batman offered to help Batgirl in any way he could finding her mother, but she decided to embark on the quest by herself.

(JLA #115-119) - Flash called the JLA to the Watchtower and told them that if they didn't confess to Batman that they altered his memory he would tell him. The JLA was divided on what to do, but they were interrupted by distress signals from Happy Harbor and Opal City. Former members of the Secret Society of Super-Villains had their memory restored by Despero, and were seeking vengeance on the JLA for tampering with their minds. Martian Manhunter went to speak to Batman, who was preventing Catwoman from stealing jewels previously purloined by Firefly. The Society members made short work of the JLA and then turned their attention to Batman, presenting him with the unconscious bodies of the JLA. The JLA revived, and the villains chose to retreat. The JLA confessed to Batman, but he already knew they d manipulated his mind. He was in a rage and decked Hawkman, who was very much behind all the JLA s actions. The JLA presumed that the former Society members who had their minds intact remembered their secret identities, and went to look in on their loved ones. Batman tended to Catwoman, who d been injured by the villains and rebuilt Red Tornado, whose body had been decimated by the Society. Batman got a video feed in the Batcave of the villains attacking the Daily Planet to strike at Superman. The JLA prevailed, but while they were occupied Despero took the minds of Martian Manhunter and Aquaman. They burst into the Batcave, and Despero took Batman s mind. Zatanna had a change of heart, and after putting Despero in suspended animation she mindwiped the Society members again. The JLA agreed that they were a shadow of their former greatness and disbanded. Batman talked with Manhunter about forming a new League in the future, and shared his feelings that the JLA could have altered Catwoman's mind. She was once a fierce enemy, but after a brief membership in the Secret Society she became an ally of sorts.

(Green Arrow III #52) - Green Arrow was convinced whoever blew up his home knew his secret identity and talked to Flash and Batman. Flash noticed how uncomfortable he was around Batman, and told him that at some point he'd have to confess that he and Zatanna had manipulated Batman s memory.

(JLA #120) - Aquaman invited Batman and other JLAers to Happy Harbor, where the League began, to finalize the team's dissolution. Aquaman hoped that the disagreements and lack of trust that led to the dissolution wouldn't last forever, and reminded them what the JLA once stood for. Everyone except Batman tossed dust into the wind as an act of cleansing and left. Batman made it clear he still didn't trust his teammates and went to investigate the destruction of the Watchtower.

(JLA #121, 123-125) - Aquaman proposed forming a covert League with Green Arrow, Black Canary and John Stewart. He worried about Batman splitting from the JLA, and his comments that the concentration of power in the League was too dangerous to exist. After the creation of Brother Eye, Aquaman also feared Batman as a foe, and his team tried to recruit Nightwing to have a hold over Batman, but the bid failed. Nightwing reported back to Batman, who d anticipated his former allies actions. Batman did some detective work and found that the Key had escaped Arkham and was responsible for recent rampage killings. He planned to cleanse the Earth of human life to silence the voices in his head, and Batman teamed up with Green Arrow to battle him atop Wayne Tower. The villain s activities had attracted Envy of the Seven Deadly Sins, who boosted his powers, letting him enter and attack the minds of thousands. Envy turned Green Arrow against Batman and they fought. Envy planned to keep Key from destroying humanity, but also wanted to use him as a conduit to the human consciousness so he could enjoy the seamy thoughts of others and turn brother against brother. Key didn t like being a puppet and absorbed thousands of minds and forced their thoughts into Envy s mind. This overloaded Envy, and he broke away from the Key and retreated. Batman wanted to take the Key back to Arkham, but he begged Manitou Dawn to save him. She knew his madness and powers would only grow in Arkham, so she sent him to the astral plane. Insulated from the material world and no longer afflicted by voiced the Key found peace within himself. Arrow reminded Batman that they couldn't have saved the day without each other, but Batman reiterated that the League was dead and would stay that way.

(Robin II #175) - <Week 30> - Bruce emerged from the cave at Nanda Parbat after forty-nine days, and declared that he d purged his demons and that Batman was gone.

(Blood of the Demon #11) - Jason Blood's apartment burned after his death, and Batman saved Detective Pruitt and Anjeli from the fire, although Anjeli was terribly burned by the time Batman got her out. Her husband Randu explained to Batman that it was only Jason s magic that kept the apartment intact.

(Detective Comics I #815, 816) - Batman investigated Mr. Zsasz' escape from Arkham, but the police and Commissioner Akins seemed more interested in capturing him. Bruce and Alfred attended a police charity ball, where Mr. Zsasz stabbed Alfred. Bruce rushed Alfred off to get medical treatment, and the media let Zsasz believe Alfred was dead so that he wouldn't be a continued target. When Zsasz slew two police officers Bruce called a press conference to announce that Alfred was alive to rattle Zsasz. Zsasz tried to reach Alfred's hospital room, but Batman stopped him despite Akins interference. Bruce apologized to Alfred for putting him in danger to capture the killer, but Alfred told him he trusted them because they were family.

(Green Lantern IV #9) - Batman summoned Green Lantern to the Batcave and gave him the scoop on a new meta, the new Tattooed Man, and told Hal to get him out of Gotham. Hal didn't like Batman s distant, professional tone, and told him he wasn't a sidekick to be ordered about. Batman slugged him, told him they were even, and they teamed up to confront the Tattooed Man. Hal dealt with his living tattoos, allowing Batman to defeat the villain in physical combat. Back at the Batcave Hal offered his ring to Batman, wanting him to see that he could use it to overcome his greatest fear, the thing that made him Batman. Batman attempted it, but the flashback of his parents murder was too much, and he told Hal he couldn't do it, not now at least. Batman finally called Hal by his first name again, and told him he was glad that he was back as a hero.

(Catwoman III #53) - <one year later> Selina got pregnant, left left the East End, and took up residence in the posh Gotham Arms as Irena Dubrovna to cut ties with her past. She still felt an obligation to the East End, and Holly Robinson agreed to train and take her place as the new Catwoman. Selena gave birth to Helena Kyle. She received a social call from Batman, who'd set up a college fund for Helena, and brought a giant teddy bear as a gift. Selina was grateful, and laughed at the idea of the fearless crimefighter holding a teddy. Batman told her he thought it was foolhardy to send Holly into action, and Selina said he of all people had no right to criticize the idea of making a youth into a sidekick, and assured him Holly would be fine.

(Justice League of America II #0, 1) - Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman met in the Batcave to discuss forming a new Justice League of America. They went over a number of possible candidates for the new League.

(Green Lantern IV #15-17) - Batman and the Justice League traveled to Russia to bring Green Lantern Hal Jordan back to America. Hal had violated the Freedom of Powers Act, which forbid superheroes from operating outside American soil, so they told Hal he was coming with them for his own good. Alan Scott was also present, and demanded an explanation, so Hal told him that his friend Cowgirl had been captured by Chechnyan terrorists. The League held off the Rocket Red Brigade, who wanted to arrest Hal, while Hal finished his rescue mission. Alan Scott used his Checkmate connections to clear Hal, but Russia demanded a formal apology from the League to the Rocket Red Brigade. Batman suggested to Superman that they think of recruiting Rocket Red One, who kept his cool against the League. Batman was approached by a ring from the Sinestro Corps. It chose him as a Corps member  for Space Sector 2814 because of his ability to instill great fear, but his previous use of a GL ring, and  his tremendous willpower forced it to reject him. Batman wondered what in Hades had just happened to him.

(Green Arrow III #69-72) - Bruce Wayne funded Mayor Oliver Queen s Berkley Gardens, a housing development meant to help Star City residents displaced in the previous year s Society bombings. Bruce attended the official opening, laid on the drunken playboy act a bit thick, and Queen poked fun of him. Bruce was also in town on business, as Red Hood was in Star City. He tried to buy hi-tech weapons from crimelord Brick, but Arrow and Speedy had previously disrupted the drop-off. Green Arrow sympathized with Batman for having his old sidekick become a villain, but Batman told him there was nothing personal about his conflict with Hood, that he was just another piece of dirt. Arrow didn't buy Batman s bravado. They got drop locations for the weaponry and split up. Speedy found a deserted building, but Batman and Arrow were ambushed by the villains. Brick took on Batman, and when he started losing he revealed that he was just distracting Batman, who he knew he d never beat in one-on-one combat. While he was distracted Red Hood s thugs had captured Speedy. Batman tracked Speedy s location to her own high school gym, while Arrow berated him because he d foreseen Hood going after Speedy. By the time the heroes arrived, Speedy had been released and the Hood had disappeared. He simply wanted to get into Speedy s head and plants doubts in her about her mentor.

(Justice League of America II #7) - Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman decided to form their new Justice League of America from the heroes present during their battle with Solomon Grundy. They built a Hall of Justice in Washington, D.C. on the former site of JSA hq. The Hall also had a teleport to the new JLA Satellite. The new members all accepted their invitations, and the group took a team photo.

(Firestorm: The Nuclear Man II #25) - Killer Frost and Mr. Freeze attacked NYC, and Firestorm responded, but was taken into space by Frost. Batman arrived, took down Freeze, and waited until Firestorm returned to Earth, with a defeated Frost in tow. Batman told him he d made progress, but should have prevented any loss of life, and shouldn't have let Frost get the drop on him. He said that with his power those kind of mistakes meant he wasn't cut out to be a superhero. Firestorm was shaken, but was exhilarated at what a tough guy Batman could be.

(Green Arrow III #75) - Batman and the Justice League arrived in Star City in time to save Green Arrow and his family from being killed by Deathstroke and Drakon. The villains set off an explosive filled with kryptonite, making the decision to run away and fight another day. The league watched as Mayor Ollie Queen (Green Arrow) resigned from office.

(Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1) - Green Lantern was investigating the newly formed Sinestro Corps, and recruited the JlofA to help him track down leads. Batman told him that a Corps ring tried to recruit him, but that he overcame it with his willpower. They confronted Zoom, a former Society teammate of Sinestro, but he had no information for them and managed to flee. Green Lantern admitted that there was little evidence of the Corps presence on Earth at the present.

(Batman / Lobo: Deadly Serious #1, 2) - Batman was mentally contacted by Astrella who told him his help was needed aboard a space station light-years from Earth, and she teleported him there. He met Sophie, who d also been recruited by Astrella, and she filled him in on the situation. An entity was taking over women aboard the station, making them incredibly ill mannered and violent. Lobo was aboard the space station looking to collect a bounty, and was standing over a dead woman. Batman assumed he killed her and attacked him, but the woman was actually the last worn out shell of the entity, and it moved into Sophie, shot at the heroes, and took off to another part of the station. The entity jumped into the body of a schoolgirl on a fieldtrip and stole Lobo s bike. Batman and Lobo disagreed over how to handle the entity, and Batman forbid Lobo from using deadly force. The entity jumped into a dancer named Elsie, and Astrella once again made mental contact with Batman, telling him to stop viewing the entity as pure chaos and start seeing it as a misguided free spirit, and to stop resisting her attempts to communicate with him. Elsie grabbed a starship and made her way off the station and towards Earth. She landed in McClellan Air Force Base and kills a hundred men before Commissioner Gordon apprehended her with the help of Astrella, Batman and Lobo. Elsie escaped and possessed Lobo, whose alien physiology possessed a high level of estrogen. Astrella captured Lobo and brought him to her facilities in the Arizona desert, but Lobo soon broke out and made his way to Vegas, leaving bodies in his wake. Astrella and batman confronted him, and after Astrella drew the entity into herself she had Gordon s men shoot her down, sacrificing her life but destroying the entity. Gordon asked exactly who she was, because her claims of being a government official were false, and Batman simply told him she was a friend.

(Batman I #670, Robin II #168, Nightwing II #138, Detective Comics I #838) - Two men from the League of Assassins visited Hong Kong to see I-Ching and demanded to know how to find the hidden road to Nanda Parbat. He told them about the Book of Changes, and how it was the voice of the world deciding what course of action to take next. One of the men turned on the other, killing him, and and again demanding the path to the secret road, but Batman was hidden in the shadows and knocked him cold. Batman wondered what Talia wanted with Nanda Parbat, and asked why the men turned against each other. I-Ching reminded him of Sensei, who ran a splinter group of the League and could possess others. Talia hired Dragon Fly, Silken Spider and Tiger Moth to cause a distraction at a Gotham ball so she could pull off an retrieval. She asked the villains to try not to come across as has-beens. Batman put Dragon Fly and Tiger moth to sleep with gas, and Silken spider told him he was a fool if he thought they’d returned to a life of crime for Talia. She said they were going it for the greatest criminal of all, Ra’s al Ghul, and assured Batman his old enemy was alive and well. Batman was incredulous that Ra’s could live again, and I-Ching fed him hints to send him in thee right direction. Ra’s returned to life by possessing the body of his chauffer Sam Tang. Tang had promised himself to Ra’s, but ended up betraying him by poisoning himself with radiation. Ra’s new body was falling apart, so he knew he needed a more permanent solution to remaining alive. Ra’s tried to claim Damian’s body, but Talia protected him and told him to run. Damian fled to Gotham City, and Ra’s sent a cadre of assassins after him, saying he hadn’t dragged his spirit through frozen nothingness to be foiled by a spoiled child. He bound Talia’s wrists and escorted her back to his stronghold with the League. He reminded her Damian’s whole purpose was to be a suitable shell for his lifeforce, and he thought of several horrifying ways to punish and execute Talia. Talia reminded him that Damian was her son, and she only did what any mother would. She told her father he’d completely lost touch with his humanity. Batman rescued Talia from Ra’s stronghold, and she told him Ra’s might already be on his way to Nanda Parbat. He was ready to pursue the demon, but Talia warned him Damian’s life was in danger and pleaded with him to return to Gotham City. Batman said he could simply alert Nightwing to protect Damian and Talia was furious, telling Batman it was easier for him to pursue a vendetta against an enemy than to take care of his own son. Batman called Nightwing, telling him to get to Gotham to protect Damian. Batman and Talia rode through Tibet in the Batmobile, and Talia said that even if Batman defeated Ra’s he would surely return again. She claimed his victory was inevitable, but admired how implacable Batman was. She was still disappointed Batman wasn’t personally taking care of Damian. She asked him if he was concerned about Robin, and Batman said his son could take care of himself. Talia responded that she hoped that was true since his father wasn't going to do it. Nightwing, Robin and Damian valiantly fought hundreds of League of Assassin ninjas at Wayne Manor but in the end they were overwhelmed and the ninjas made off with Damian and Robin. The League brought Damian and Robin to Ra’s stronghold, but when they entered Ra’s throneroom the heroes revealed they’d been feigning unconsciousness and attacked their captors. Damian found a corridor and slammed the door behind him, saying it was foolish of Robin to help him since he considered ?Robin an enemy. Ra’s told Robin not to think of him as an enemy, and said he was in need of a strong mentor. Robin responded that he had Batman, but Ra’s said Batman’s resources were limited and he was only trying to save one city. Ra’s reach was worldwide, his resources were limitless, and since he’d learned to conquer death he could bring back Robin’s servants if only the boy would work with him. Robin turned him down, as Ra’s was fairly certain he was going to, and knocked Robin out with a karate chop to the neck. Batman and Talia approached Ra’s stronghold, and Talia had loaned Batman a suit of armor that she called a family heirloom. League ninjas, but I-Ching showed dup and helped them fend them off, saying karma had revealed to him that he had a larger role to play in upcoming events. They snuck into Ra’s stronghold where Ra’s challenged Batman to a sword duel. He remarked that the Darknight Detective had gotten faster since their last battle, and Batman disarmed him. Ra’s showed that his League had Robin and Damian at his mercy. He warned Batman that Sensei was the real villain, not him, and Batman would need his help to defeat Sensei. He told Batman to choose weather Damian or Robin would be the one for him to possess.

(Batman I #671, Robin II #169, Nightwing II #139, Detective Comics I #839) - Batman refused to choose between Damian and Robin, and told Ra’s there was another way for him to restore himself. He offered to take Ra’s to Nanda Parbat and the Fountain of Life, and Ra’s accepted. Ra’s was surprised that Batman knew where to find Parbat, and Batman said he’d recently traveled there to undergo Thogal, a Buddhist rite of purification. Sensei had already come to Parbat and set it on fire. Ra’s asked Batman if he ever saw someone that hated their enemy as much as Sensei hated Ra’s. Batman battled the Men of Death, and was surprised with how easily he overcame them. The monks of Parbat said Rama Kusha had strengthened his hand and weakened theirs. Batman and Ra’s made their way to the fountain of Life, which Ra’s had always believed was the prototype of the Lazarus Pits that had kept him alive over the centuries. Sensei was infuriated to see Ra’s yet lived, and asked what he needed to do to get rid of his wayward son. Ra’s asked him why he stood in his way, and Sensei responded that under Ra’s and Talia’s rule the League of Assassins had lost their way and their honor, and he needed to restore both to them.. Sensei rammed his staff into Ra’s chest , saying that if he just died Sensei might spare the Fountain. Batman and Sensei engaged in battle, with Sensei breaking Batman’s arm. Sensei was clearly the more skilled fighter, bragging that Batman had trained in combat for decades while he’d trained for centuries. Sensei threw his staff, driving it through Batman’s stomach. Batman knew he was outmatched, but because of his advanced age Sensei had limited stamina, and Batman kept the fight going long enough to get the advantage. They fell into the Fountain of Life and Sensei found himself burning, unable to stand the purity of the Fountain. Ra’s transferred his consciousness to one of the Nanda Parbat monks, but found that his presence immediately caused the monk’s body to start decaying. He told the Men of Death that with Sensei dead it would be sensible for them to align themselves with him. Batman approached them, and Merlyn, deciding he wanted to go down in history as the man who killed Batman, shot an arrow at him. Batman dodged it and floored Merlyn with one punch. Ra’s warned the Men of Death that if any of them tried to attack Batman they’d have to go through him first. Ra’s knew Batman had emerged from the Fountain of Life, and said that in a sense they’d both been reborn. He offered Batman his hand in friendship, saying they could accomplish great things together. He warned that this was the last time he would ever offer his friendship, and Batman grasped his hand and crushed it.  Ra’s contacted White Ghost, telling him to send backup to Nanda Parbat, and enough explosives to blow up the hidden city if need be. Damian disguised himself as a League ninja to join White Ghost, who easily saw through his disguise. Alfred flew Talia, Robin and Nightwing to Nanda Parbat, where all Hell had broken loose. Ra’s had hold of Damien, ready to possess his body while Batman and the monks of Parbat fought furiously with the League of Assassins. The new arrivals turned the tide of battle and Batman pulled Damian away from Ra’s, telling his son to grab a sword and fight. Talia was furious, accusing Batman of being willing to send his own son to his death, and Batman replied that he expected the same out of Damian as he did his other children. White Ghost offered himself up to Ra’s, asking him to take over his body. Ra’s was touched that the son he always despised always gave the most, and took control of his form, effectively killing his son. Ra’s told Batman and company that his son’s sacrifice would not be in vain, and because he believed in an eye for an eye he would kill Robin and Damian. Talia knocked out Damian and fled with him, telling Batman he was surely going to die in his final stand against Ra’s, and she was protecting the legacy of the man she once loved. Batman clashed furiously with Ra’s while Robin and Nightwing fought the Men of Death, keeping them from interfering. A blast of mystic energy separated Ra’s and Batman, and the monks of Parbat said they’d prayed to Rama Kushna and showed her the devastation Ra’s had wrought. Kushna decreed that Nanda Parbat was forever closed to Ra’s, and that if he refused to leave he would face death everlasting. Ra’s didn’t want his fight to be over, but when the ground started opening up beneath him he was forced to flee with his League of Assassins. Alfred flew Batman and company back home, and Batman hoped Talia would bring Damian to a place where he could be safe and leave behind the life he’d known.  Robin asked him if he would be okay with Damian’s new life not involving Batman, and Batman said that Damian needed to live without being forced to make choices based on destiny, and if one day he wanted to be part of the Batman Family it should be a personal choice. Alfred appreciated the sentiment and reminded them that it was Christmas day, a wonderful time for a family to be together.

(Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Cyborg-Superman #1, Green Lantern IV #24) - The Sinestro Corps planned their invasion of Earth, and intended to take out the JlofA. Cyborg-Superman and his Manhunters disabled the JlofA satellite s defense systems, rendering the satellite inoperable, and the Sinestro Corps battered Batman and the League, allowing their Warworld to enter Earth s orbit. The Sinestro Corps intended to conquer the planet, making it a symbol of the Sinestro Corp s power and their ability to control any planet. Batman and the Justice League were among the heroes who helped stave off the invasion.

(Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime #1) - An army of Earth s heroes, including Batman and the Justice League appeared to take Superboy down during the Sinestro Corps invasion of Earth. The heroes focused on wrecking his armor, because after a year on Oa, and away from a yellow sun his Kryptonian body still wasn't at full strength, and his armor collected sunlight. Superboy bragged that once the sun rose on Earth he d be at full power. Superboy was battered by Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman, who blamed him for Superboy s death, as well as Supergirl and Power Girl, who blamed him for the death of the Superman of Earth-2. As the fight went against him, Superboy broke down in tears. He tried to wipe them away, saying that it was impossible foir boys to cry, and then whining that no one ever thanked him for sacrificing his Earth to save the multiverse. The battle lasted until dawn, and he flew into the sunrise. As he achieved full power he declared himself the one, true Superman. The Guardians arrived with Sodam Yat, the new Ion, and pitted him against Superboy-Prime.

(Green Lantern IV #25) - The Sinestro Corps War raged on Earth, and while Batman and an army of superheroes battled the Corps the Anti-Monitor prepared to unleash an anti-matter wave to destroy Earth. With Earth s destruction, the entire 52 would fall, and he would once again rule all that was. The GLC ruptured the heart of Anti-Monitor s Warworld, the Sinestro Corps central power battery, and created a shield around Warworld and the Monitor. The ensuing blast nearly destroyed the Anti-Monitor, and he was finished off by Superman-Prime, who betrayed him for having destroyed his home, Earth-Prime. GL Hal Jordan defeated Sinestro in personal combat, and the Sinestro Corps, lacking any leadership, fled Earth. The heroes rejoiced and began rebuilding the damage the Sinestro Corps did.

(Batman I #672) - Michael Lane’s programming kicked in, and as Bat-Devil he stormed the GCPD station and demanded to see Commissioner Vane. When his request wasn’t immediately met he shot off his napalm gun, burning a number of police officers. Commissioner Gordon was on a call with the mayor to explain his relationship with Batman when he heard the commotion and responded. Bat-Devil screamed that he’d walked through Hell to share a secret about himself and Batman, and Gordon said he was commissioner now and Bat-Devil could talk to him. Bat-Devil grabbed officer Peter Farelli, who pleaded that they used to be friends. Bat-Devil demanded Gordon follow his orders, showing his GCPD bagel to show Gordon he was one of his own. He took Gordon to the rooftop and lit the bat-signal. Bruce and Alfred watched an episode of The Scene discussing Bruce’s relationship with Jezebel Jet. They read from the tabloid Gotham Noir suggested that Bruce was going to propose to her when they were set to raise money for charity by base jumping. Alfred seemed annoyed with Bruce, who reminded him it was Alfred's idea for him to not ignore his civilian life. Alfred admitted that what he was suggesting was superficial liasons. Bruce felt a connection to Jezebel because she’d lost her father and gave up her life to carry on his work, so like him, she knew what it was like to have your life completely changed by violence. Bruce and Jezebel went base jumping when Bruce spotted the bat-signal and told Alfred to tell Jet he’s overshot the penthouse or whatever excuse came to his mind, and promised to be back as soon as he could. Gordon told Bat-Devil Batman had warned him another maniac cop in a batsuit would turn up, and Bat-Devil said he’d already released Bat-Bane and expected him to join them shortly. Gordon refused to answer the Bat-Devil when he asked if he believed in the devil, and he shoved his napalm gun down Gordon’s throat when Batman came swinging to the rescue. Batman and Bat-Devil fought furiously, with Batman realizing Bat-Devil was every bit as ferocious as the vision he’d had of him. Bat-Devil said he was a good cop before the city turned against him, and said Batman was responsible for everything that happened to him,. He shot Batman in the chest, and although his bulletproof costume protected himself somewhat he was badly injured and had a heart attack. Bat-Devil then shot Gordon. Batman’s backup personality as the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh began to emerge, and Bat-Mite appeared to him, possibly as a hallucination, telling Bruce he was really in trouble

(Batman I #673, 674) - Batman hallucinated, having memories of the present and past flash through his mind. He remembered the Thogal ritual he’d undertaken, where he experienced the sensation of death, after-death and rebirth. He remembered when he finally tracked down Joe Chill and started terrorizing him by appearing every night at his penthouse. Joe was terrified, and began heavily drinking and experiencing anxiety attacks. He had his cronies around him at all times to protect him, and told them any violence or murder he committed could be justified by class warfare.He thought back to murdering the Waynes, and how he couldn’t bring himself to kill Bruce because he reminded him of the son he lost. Batman flashed back to childhood memories of discovering the cave of bats under Wayne Manor. Bat-Mite told him he didn’t need to be afraid of bats, and assured him the dark wasn’t so bat once you became friends with it. Batman flashed forward to when he worked with NASA, agreeing to undergo isolation experiments to contribute to the new field of space medicine. Psychiatrist Dr. Hurst presided over the experiment, and called an end to it because Batman hallucinated over and over again Robin dying in different ways. Hurt said he was a hardy specimen with an above-average mind but even Batman’s mind could be broken by stress and shock. Batman would later admit to Robin that he volunteered for the experiment to experience psychotic states so he could get a glimpse of how Joker’s mind worked. His mind returned to confronting Joe Chill, dispatching his goons and confronted him with the gun he’d used to kill the Waynes. Joe Chill finally recognized Batman as the young boy whose parents he’d killed. He was in shock that he was the man who made the Batman, and said the underworld would destroy him if they knew what he was responsible for. Batman handed him the gun and left. Joe Chill started at the gun, and feeling he had no choice pulled the trigger. Batman woke up, and found himself restrained with Devil-Bat standing over him with implements of torture. Bat-Devil told Batman all about the secret GCPD program run by Dr. Hurt to replace Batman in the event of his death. Batman passed out and had a hallucination remembering when he started having blackouts and told Robin he was retiring because he feared he was putting his ward’s life in danger. Bat-Mite appeared and suggested Batman had been responding to subconscious commands Dr. Hurt put in his head during the isolation experiment. Batman woke up, and Bat-Mite said he’d always been his best pal and just wanted to help him, having traveled all the way from Space B of Zrff to prepare his passage. Bat-Devil showed Batman the notebook that contained all the records of Dr. Hurt’s program, saying it had all the answers Batman needed, and then he burned it. Bat-Devil said the program broke him entirely, just as it broke his fellow recruits. Batman remembered fighting Bat-Cop and Bat-Bane, thinking it was a hallucination of the Batman he could have been. Bat-Devil told Batman in grisly detail about the murder of his family, and said he believed Dr. Hurt was the Devil. Batman broke his restraints and battered Bat-Devil, who activated a signal that summoned Bat-Bane. Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD arrived, and Peter Farelli, who’d known about Hurt’s program, shot Bat-Bane in the head, killing him. Farrelli wanted to see his fellow officer out of his misery, and blamed Batman for what happened. Batman fled, but was confronted by Bat-Devil, who said Dr. Hurt had reactivated his Three Ghosts of Batman because he knew Batman’s luck was running out. Bat-Devil disappeared and Batman contemplated the existence of an ultimate villain whose methods he couldn’t conceive of.

(Robin II #170) - Batman and Robin apprehended Marcel Pincus, who's illegal monetary transaction had just been busted up by vigilante Violet, who took off with his money. The description of Violet s costume reminded Robin of Spoiler, but when he tried to talk to Batman about her, he just said that she knew the risks going into the jb. Batman said they d talk later, but Robin knew they wouldn't. Violet didn't seriously injure anyone, so Batman declared her low-priority.

(Nightwing II #140) - Batman had a meeting with Alfred, Nightwing and Robin at the Batcave, telling them to keep Ra's and Talia on the front-burner. Batman realized their threat level, and Robin had noted internet chatter from the League of Assassins.

(Robin II #171) - Batman and Robin took out the Condiment King, who'd again been released from prison because parole boards couldn't take him seriously.

(Nightwing II #141) - Dick had Bruce buy him several NYC buildings to use as safehouses, and Bruce applauded their strategic value.

(Batman I #675) - Bruce took Jezebel to the Alhambra Rooms for a fancy dinner, and went with the story that the injuries he received at the hands of Bat-Devil were a result of landing in a dumpster when they went base jumping. Jezebel said she was sick on not knowing where Bruce was for days at a time, and him cancelling dates with her, reminding him that her time was as precious as his was. She said she wasn’t some bimbo heiress like most of the girls Bruce dated, and she was afraid they’d never be closer than they’d already gotten. Bruce seemed willing to end their relationship, and she was hurt, saying she thought what they had meant something to Bruce. She told Bruce he was witty and charming but she sensed something dark and cruel within him. Their conversation was interrupted by the Nine-Eyed Man, who was sent to abduct Jet, saying her father’s enemies wouldn’t rest until her home country of Mtamba was ruined. Bruce didn’t bother to change into Batman, he snapped and beat the criminal to within an inch of his life, accusing him of working for the Black glove. Jet was shocked by the violence he was capable of, and he told her she should just leave him. She looked in his eyes and said everything made sense to her now, and she knew he was Batman.

(Titans II #1, 2) - Batman contacted Nightwing when Trigon decimated Cyborg s new Titans team, the Teen Titans East. Trigon and fate made sure Nightwing would be part of the reformed Titans. Trigon was bent on destroying every Titan, past and present, and the Titans asked their mentors for help. Batman saved Damage from being killed by Trigon's minions.

(Batman I #676) - Batman was obsessively running down leads on the Black Glove when Robin told him he needed to clear his head and suggested they take the new Batmobile for a spin. Robin was impressed with the Batmobile, which Batman told him was equipped with the latest automated smart technology. The Green Vulture, a drug-addled and mentally ill man determined to be Gotham’s latest supervillain abducted a couple and drove their car at high speeds down Gotham's streets. Batman drove the Batmobile in front of him, causing him to crash. He begged to be beaten, but Robin said he was embarrassing himself and needed help. Batman was thrilled to return to Wayne Manor and Jezebel Jet. He’d decided to not only share his identity with her, but his entire personal life. Robin told Alfred he was still surprised at Bruce’s decision, and asked if he’d ever trusted anyone he dated that much. Alfred mentioned Silver St. Cloud and Sasha Bordeaux, who Alfred praised as honorable and discreet women. Robin shared his concerns with Alfred about Batman’s mental state after Batman’s rite of Thogal. Alfred recognized that simulating death and rebirth would push anyone’s mind to the limit, but told Robin that Batman always strived towards human perfection, not only in crimefighting but in other endeavors such as becoming a zen adept. Robin was also curious to know if Batman had done a DNA test on Damian to see if he was really his son. Alfred admitted that he had, but said batman wasn’t ready to tell him the results. Robin took this to mean Damian was batman’s son, and bemoaned having a demon for a brother. Bruce visited his parents’ grave with Jet, having told her about how he became Batman after their murder. Jet asked him if he would knew when his mission was done, when his vengeance would be fulfilled. Jet said she had to get back to her own life for a bit, but had a mystery they could investigate together. She told him about a cabal of secretive super-wealthy individuals who threw private parties. Bruce was unnerved when she handed him an invitation from the black Glove, asking for his and Jet’s presence at their Danse Macabre party.

(Robin II #174) - Robin encountered Spoiler, and thought she was an impersonator, so he asked Batman to help track her down. Robin was overjoyed to learn that she was Stephanie, and that Leslie had helped her fake her death. Batman strongly suspected she was alive, and told Robin that was why he never made a memorial for her. She visited the Batcave and made her intentions clear, she wanted to resume her crimefighting career.

(Nightwing II #145) - Gordon called Batman and Robin to let them know Ra's had escaped from Arkham Asylum, and they leapt into action.

(Batman I #677, 678) - Dr. Hurt brought his Club of Villains to Gotham City, telling them their mission was to break Batman in body and soul. Club member Le Bossu unleashed his henchmen, called the Gargoyles, loose on Gotham, and Batman caught one of them in Gotham's sewers. Batman told Gordon he was convinced the Gargoyles were linked to the Black Glove. Gordon had done some research, and the only time the name Black Glove came up was an old movie produced by John Mayhew, a friend of the Wayne family. The movie dealt with the story of two lovers destroyed by a cabal of super-rich gamblers. Batman returned to the Batcave, distressed to find one of his black casebooks missing. He learned that the movie Black Glove was playing at the Gotham Village Cinedrome, and asked Alfred to go to a screening to get his take on it. Alfred was concerned about Batman’s mental state, but agreed. Jet told Batman the Batcave was a shrine to violence and the reaction of a scared boy to his parents’ death. She told him there were other ways he could help society. Jet said she was telling Batman what no one else would because they were scared of him, and insisted that the menace he projected kept even his family in fear of telling him the truth. Bruce had a brief suspicion that the Black Glove was manipulating Jet into u8ndermining his confidence when he needed help, and he tried to show her how the Batcave aided his war on crime. Jet suggested that the black Glove was a creation of Bruce’s own mind since he craved an unbeatable enemy. Batman watched his viewscreens and saw a number of Gotham alleys with graffiti reading Zur-En-Arrh, and he went into convulsions. Le Bossu’s Gargoyles and King Kraken invaded the Batcave, setting fires, and when Alfred returned from the movies they beat him mercilessly. Bruce woke to Dr. Hurt standing over him, and the villain dosed him with crystal meth before dumping him in a Gotham alley. He awoke to a homeless man yelling at him to stay off his possessions. Bruce recognized the man as Honor Jackson, who he’d given money to as Batman because he sensed kindness in the Dark Knight. Jackson seemed to recognize him too, and tried to help him walk off the effects of the drugs. Jackson said he was on an odyssey and help Bruce, who couldn’t remember who he was, navigate life on the streets. Jackson gave him a broken radio called the Bat-Radia that he said was a great treasure and sent Bruce to his drug dealer Lone Eye Lincoln before suddenly disappearing. Lone Eye told Bruce that he couldn’t have been sent by Jackson, who’d overdosed on heroin the day before, and Bruce suddenly realized he was in Crime Alley. Dr. Hurt kept Alfred hostage, and delighting in his triumph he took Thomas Wayne’s Bat Man costume from its’ Batcave display case and donned it. He shared champagne with his Club, saying that with Batman out of the way Gotham was theirs for the taking. Bruce sewed a motley Batman costume, and even though he doubted weather or not everything he was experiencing was real he declared himself the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. Bat-Mite appeared to him and seemed somewhat worried.

(Batman I #679) - The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh talked to the city and after a chat with some stone gargoyles he felt he saw the lines that connected Gotham with the lives of its’ inhabitants. He found Le Bossu’s hideout, but Bat-Mite warned him Dr. Hurt had implanted a homing device on him, and he was forced to dig it out of his tooth with a knife. Batman took a baseball bat to Bossu’s Gargoyles, and then went to wash his wounds in a public restroom. Bat-Mite told him he’d first hallucinated bout Zur-En-Arrh, the planet with two Batmen, when Professor Milo doused him with hallucinogenic gas. Dr. Hurt was subjecting him to isolation experiments at the time, and used Zur-En-Arrh as a mental command he could use to shut down Batman. What he hadn’t anticipated was that Batman was prepared for mental attacks, and created the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh as a psychotic backup personality. There was internecine conflict in the club when Charlie Caligula learned Le Bossu was muscling in on his Gladiator territory. Charlie and King Kraken interrogated a Gargoyle before Kraken killed the thug, with charlie feigning disgust, saying he hated to get his divine hands dirty. Batman confronted them and captured Charlie, but Kraken managed to flee. Batman interrogated charlie, who threatened him saying he’d ruin his entire life. Batman knew Charlie was once an up-and-coming Mafioso “Little Boots” Calzone but said he was past his prime. The white makeup he wore and psychotic babblings he feigned made it obvious he was a pale imitation of the Joker, and Batman called him a has-been before taking a baseball bat to him. Commissioner Gordon and a GCPD officer went to Wayne Manor demanding to see Bruce Wayne. El Sombrero laced the manor with death-traps, and the officer got an arrow through the head after tripping a laser beam. Dr. Hurt was confident Gordon would soon be dead as well, and prepared for the final confrontation with Batman at Arkham Asylum. He was disappointed in Swagman for not capturing Robin, saying he’d promised the boy to Joker. Dr. Hurt claimed to be Thomas Wayne and beat Alfred, saying he knew he was Bruce’s real father. Alfred said he knew Thomas Wayne well, and knew Dr. Hurt was not the man he loved and admired. The Club kidnapped Jezebel Jet and handed her over to the Joker, telling him it was showtime.

(Batman I #680, 681) - Dr. Hurt invited the Black Glove to Arkham Asylum for the annual Danse Macabre, where they’d bet on the life or death of a victim chosen by Hurt. Batman was this years victims, and they watched his progress through viewscreens. Batman fought off the Club’s henchmen to gain entry to Arkham, and Bat-Mite said he could no longer him because he represented the last trace of Batman’s reason, and there was no place for him in Arkham. Batman asked if he was really an imp from the 5th Dimension or a figment of his imagination, and Bat-Mite responded that imagination was the 5th Dimension. Dr. Hurt set Joker loose, and Le Bossu told Joker how much they all admired him. Joker was unimpressed, and after Le Bossu explained that his hunchback disguise represented the ugliness within him Joker took a razor to him and disfigured his face. Joker told El Sombrero his hat made hi m laugh, and hung him, breaking his neck. Batman confronted Joker, demanding to see Jet. Joker told Batman he’d learned that he’d allowed Dr. Hurt to perform isolation experiments on him in hopes of understanding Joker’s psychopathic mind, and Joker was amused that Batman thought he could ever understand him. Joker said Batman couldn’t analyze him or break him down into components like a crime scene. Joker was still furious that Batman broke their arrangement as eternal arch-enemies by shooting him in the face. Batman protested that the man that shot joker was Josef Muller, an imposter trained and set on Joker by Dr. Hurt, but Joker refused to listen. After a brief clash Batman saw Jet behind a glass case with flower petals falling on her. The petals contained powerful neurotoxins, and Dr. Hurt told Joker to let things play out. Batman broke the glass, but the petals poisoned him and further warped his mind. Jezebel Jet laughed, revealing herself as a member of the Black Glove. Dr. Hurt buried Batman alive in a shallow grave. Batman dreamt about his Thogal ritual, and having tea with a monk afterwards. During Thogal Bruce first saw the hole left behind in his memory by Dr. Hurt and came up with the idea of a backup personality as a defense against psychic attacks. The monk said he’d poisoned Master Lo, and had poisoned Bruce as well in service of his Dark Master. Bruce had switched the tea cups before they drank, and saved the monk’s life with an antidote. He said that after Thogal he’d directly confronted death, killing any remaining traces of fear in his mind. He told the monk the Dark Master should have gone after him before he’d fully completed his training. The Black Glove held a mock funeral for Batman, and some of the members told Dr. Hurt they weren’t yet satisfied with his promise that they’d see a noble spirit completely broken. Hurt said that they’d dine, and then dig up Batman.. He only had thirty minutes of oxygen in his coffin, and when they unearthed him he would have suffered permanent brain damage. Jezebel Jet suggested they take the helpless Batman and torture and mutilate him. They returned to Arkham, and Joker said he wanted to bet on Batman’s survival. Dr. Hurt told Joker only members of the Black Glove could vote, and Joker argued he was worthy of membership because he’d burned more money than most of them had and was more infamous than any of them. He broke the neck of a Black Glove member and said he bet Batman would not only survive but make them all regret they’d ever tried to destroy him. He presented Batman’s Bat-Radia, which Jet said was a broken radio he’d found in a homeless man’s shopping cart, but realized it was sending out a signal to the Batcave, locking down Arkham. Joker said he was leaving and would collect his winnings from the Black Glove in due time. Batman, his original personality having been restored, escaped his coffin and grave to confront the Black Glove. Jet goaded him, saying there was no court, judge or jury they couldn’t buy, and no matter what they’d never be brought to justice. Batman knew that Jet and her mother were won by President Mkele during a wager with the Black Glove, and claimed he had the only thing Jet valued in life, the last note her mother sent her before being executed. Jet called Batman a liar, and said that after her he’d never be able to love or trust another woman again. Batman had always suspected something was off about Jet, and realized that what he was attracted to was the darkness he knew was inside her. Nightwing, had been kidnapped by the club and taken to Arkham so Le Bossu could give him a lobotomy, freed himself. He helped Batman fight off the Club and Dr. Hurt at Arkham Asylum. Hurt prepared to takeoff in a helicopter piloted by Bat-Devil, and claimed to be Thomas Wayne. Batman didn’t believe him, and Hurt said he’d staged photos that would paint his parents and Alfred as criminals and degenerates, threatening to release them unless Batman agreed to serve the Black Glove. Batman refused and jumped on the helicopter. Bat-Devil couldn’t control the flight and the helicopter plummeted into Gotham Harbor, exploding in a burst of flames. Nightwing dredged up Batman’s uniform, and Talia al Ghul, who came to Gotham as soon as she learned Batman was in trouble, promised to avenge the father of her child. In the coming months several members of the Black Glove turned up dead. Talia wanted personal revenge on Jezebel Jet, and sent a squad of Man-Bat Commandoes after her private plane as she was trying to return to her home country of Mtamba.

(Batman I #682, 683) - Mokkari and Simyan set up a new Evil Factory in Bludhaven, taking Batman prisoner and hooking his mind up to the Lump. They were creating Batman clones to serve as a strikeforce for Darkseid and needed Lump to explore his mindscape so they’d have a mental template for their clones. Batman replayed the early years of his career in his mind with Lump playing the role of his loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth, triggering, sorting and converting memories. Alfred gave Batman a novel he’d written postulating what a world would be like without Batman. In his mindscape Batman realized he wasn’t talking to the real Alfred, and said he’d be coming after him once he figured out what was going on. Batman’s mind started playing out “Alfred’s” novel. Mokkari and Simyan briefly panicked at Batman recognizing Lump as a mental intrusion, but agreed the strength and superiority of his mind was exactly why they needed it for their clones. Batman’s career played ou alongside Bruce Wayne’s mundane life following in his father’s footsteps as a doctor. Batman started asserting control of his mindscape and the Lump replayed Bane breaking his back, saying he had ways of making Batman behave and promising to replay his most painful life moments over and over again. Lump gloated about the clones Mokkari and Simyan were creating, and Batman said that if his pain was what they wanted he’d give it to them all at once. The multiple traumas of Batman’s life fed into the clones, who started tearing themselves apart, unable to handle the mental strain. Mokkari decided he could salvage the clones as cannon fodder and shot Lump with soul-killing shells to stop the emotional transfer. Lump realized he’d been betrayed, and Batman lent him mental strength to rise up and attack Mokkari and Simyan. Lump destroyed the remaining clones and freed Batman from captivity before dying.

(Batman & The Outsiders Special #1) - Batman left a holographic message for Alfred in the Batcave in the event of his death. His hologram said that, even though he never got to tell Alfred in life, he viewed him as a father. He then asked Alfred to continue his mission of maintaining the Outsiders team, because they all represented aspects of his personality, and he always wanted there to be a "Batman" outside Gotham.

(Batman I #704)- Bruce watched Dick save Catgirl from the murderous Reaper, and told him they had to talk. He d put Dick in charge of Gotham while he operated Batman, Inc., but he needed Dick to persuade Catgirl's mentor Catwoman that she was too young for the madness of costumed adventuring.

(Justice League of America II #0 (ff)) - Batman and Wonder Woman consoled Superman and Ma Kent after Pa Kent's death.

(Justice League of America II #0 (ff)) - Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman met at the Hall of Justice to discuss Flash's discovery of a parallel Earth resembling their own.

(Justice League of America II #0 (ff)) - Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman fought Lex Luthor after an incident involving his son.

(Justice League of America II #0 (ff)) - Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman attended Hal Jordan's wedding. They had a pool going as to who would be the last of them married, and they'd always assumed it would have been Oliver Queen.

(Justice League of America II #0 (ff)) - Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman met on Paradise Island to discuss Wonder Woman's upcoming edding. Batman and Superman were surprised that she'd give up her immortality for a man, but her mind was made up.

Comments: Created by Bob Kane & Bill Finger.

Batman received profiles in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #2, Who's Who Update '87 #1 and Batman Allies Secret Files and Origins 2005.  He received profiles in Silver Age Secret Files #1 under the Justice League of America entry. Sins of Youth Secret Files #1 under the JLA, Jr. entry. He profiles in JLA-Z #2 under the JLA (The International  Era), JLA (The Magnificent 7  Era) and JLA (Current) entries.

*Post Zero Hour/Pre Infinite Crisis only (Batman uncovered a STAR Labs file detailing Metallo's background, and it strongly suggested that it was Metallo in his days as a petty thief that killed Martha and Thomas Wayne)

Batman had a cameo in 52 / WWIII Part Three: Hell Is For Heroes #1, Action Comics I #554, Aquaman Secret Files #1, Aztek: The Ultimate Man #8, Batgirl I #62, 64, 69, 70, 71, Batman I #685, 705, Batman: Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat #1, Beast Boy #3, Catwoman II #50, 58, 60, Catwoman III #52, DC Comics Presents #6, 26, 30, Demon III #0, 12, 27, 31, Enginehead #2, Firestorm II #13,Flash II #207, 216, 225, Formerly Known as the Justice League #4,Green Arrow III #11, 17, 47, Green Lantern III #101, 146, Green Lantern IV #3, Guy Gardner: Warrior #27, Hitman #21, Impulse #48, Joker #2-4, 6-8,  Legion of Super-Heroes III #7, Martian Manhunter II #14,  Nightwing II #152, Other Side #2, Outsiders IV #15, Question I #2, 26, R.E.B.E.L.S. #13, Sandman II #2, Showcase '93 #1, Spectre II #22, 54, Suicide Squad I #1, Swamp Thing II #70, 77, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #332.

Batman was pictured on the cover of Green Lantern III #25, Joker #1, JLA #101 and 107.

There were pin-ups of Batman in Batman: No-Man s Land Gallery #1 and Legends of the DC Universe 3-D Gallery #1.

Bizarro-Superman wrote and illustrated the Bat-Man,  Captain Marvel and the Sham Shazam,  Who Erased the Eraser?,  Batman,  That s Really Super, Superman,  J'onn J'onzz Celebrity Roast  and  Wonder Woman s Day Off  comic books featuring Batman in Bizarro Comics #1.

In Martian Manhunter II #24 Martian Manhunter told a story about Batman, the JLI and his addiction to choco cookies. This may have been part of Batman s history, but more than likely it was just an anecdote Martian Manhunter found funny.

In JLA #60 Plastic Man told his friend Woozy Wink s nephew Wheezy a Christmas story in which Batman and the JLA saved Santa Claus from Neron, who wanted to replace Santa, giving out presents in exchange for boys and girls being naughty.