(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. Hurt said Batman went to great lengths to make himself strong, which only revealed the weakness he felt he had to overcome. He told his club that their targets, Batman’s family, awaited. Jezebel Jet visited the Batcave for the first time, telling Batman it 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. Batman had a brief suspicion that the Black Glove was manipulating her into undermining his confidence in his mission. 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 Pennyworth arrived 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. Robin was ambushed by Pierrot and Swagman, but escaped them on his motorcycle. Charlie Caligula sent his roman centurion themed goons after Nightwing, who beat them in a fight. He was then confronted by Scorpiana. She captured him, and Le Bossu had him committed to Arkham Asylum as Pierrot. 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, having wandered into Crime Alley, sewed a motley Batman costume, and even though he doubted weather or not everything he was experiencing was real de declared himself the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh.

(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. Robin realized Nightwing was MIA, and had his motorcycle tires shot out by Swagman. They clashed in a junkyard, and Robin set off an avalanche of trash to pin down Swagman before stealing his motorbike and fleeing. 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.