The God of Fear: Part One of Three

#16 - The God of Fear: Part One of Three

The God of Fear: Part Two of Three

#17 - The God of Fear: Part Two of Three

The God of Fear: Conclusion

#18 - The God of Fear: Conclusion



- In the batcave Bats is running a search for a criminal named Billy Wildman.
- Suddenly the seismic sensors go berserk and all hell breaks loose. There is a massive earthquake, destroying many buildings. The disaster area is huge, and there are many deaths.
- Wayne Manor and Batman's cave collapse on top of him while he is inside. Alfred is caught in the wreckage.
- Bats is knocked out and carried away by an underground stream toward a cliff.
- Anarky has tracked down Billy Wildman and is preparing to make his move on him. Harvey Bullock sees the criminal, and steps in to arrest him.
- The earthquake hits, and both try cover. Bullock still attempts to arrest Anarky as an escaped criminal, but Anarky saves his life and then they work together to rescue survivors.
- Oracle is in Clock Tower during the quake, her power goes out but building is secure (fortified by WE, all WE building built to survive 8.5 earthquake). She goes out into the street to see the devastation, she hopes that none of her loved ones were killed.
- She leads the survivors around her and starts instructing them towards damage control.


Part 1: Castles Built on Sand

#73 - Part 1: Castles Built on Sand



- Bats worries this disaster is an enemy that he can't fight. Bats helps in rescue efforts.
- He can't do all of this alone, so find the Penguin. Instead of looting, the Penguin is going to use his considerable resources to help in the relief efforts, because if he doesn't, Bats will make his life hell. Also Gotham is under martial law, looters would probably be shot anyway.
- Tim is in Bludhaven, he steals a motorcycle to get to Gotham (leaves a note he’ll pay them back).
- Seismologist Jolene Relazzo, who predicted the quake, is trapped in her apartment. Two henchmen kidnap her. Their boss believes he can profit off the disaster, and she is part of their plan.
- There is a news broadcast once the televisions are back online...A new villain named Quakemaster is taking credit for the quake and threatening another unless given a million dollars.


Part 9: The Naked City

#74 - Part 9: The Naked City



- Jeremiah Arkham is having troubles at Arkham Asylum. Most of the orderlies haven't shown up for duty and the supplies are running out fast. He knows Gotham is destined to fall, but tries to run the Asylum as best he can.
- When night arrives, a dark figure walks through the corridors. The inmates go crazy, screaming, because it resembles Batman.
- Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is struggling to keep his city alive but he is feeling physically tired and Alfred suggests to him that maybe this time, Bruce can an actually help more than Batman by going to the congressional hearings and trying to convince the government to help Gotham.
- The next day, Joker switches Croc’s meds to amphetamines and breaks into Jeremiah’s office. Joker tells him that he has planned some sort of gladiatorial combat in the Asylum.


Wax Man and the Clown, Part 1

#80 - Wax Man and the Clown, Part 1



- Joker convinces Jeremiah about having a gladiatorial combat between Killer Croc and Pinhead as a way to keep the inmates busy. Jeremiah knows that the situation could turn bad but they continue with the plan.
- Killer Croc and Pinhead fight, Pinhead dies.
- Inmates start to attack guards, they are about to torture Jeremiah Arkham when Joker uses a firehose to stun them and let the guards regain control of the situation.
- Joker kills Wax Man, bur when Jeremiah tells him to stop, Joker obeys.
- When Jeremiah and the Arkham staff realize that they are outnumbered, they step out of the gym and lock the inmates inside. Before the doors closed, Joker throws Jeremiah's diary to him.
- Jeremiah reads the diary and learns that everything that happened was planned by the Joker. The security guards decide to leave, leaving Jeremiah and David (his most reliable staff member) alone. They lock themselves in Jeremiah's office until they can devise a plan. They watch the TV news and learn about the hearings in D.C.. Jeremiah knows that the government will shut down Gotham.
- Later, a shadowy figure (“Batman”) walks into Arkham Asylum's gym and finds it empty. He walks to Solly Bean's cell and tells him to give a message to the rest of the inmates, but suddenly all the inmates appear behind him, ready to receive the message personally.


Wax Man and the Clown, Part 2

#81 - Wax Man and the Clown, Part 2



- Jeremiah Arkham is still in his office but is suspicious as to why his office door is unlocked. He starts to write in his diary, then checks on the inmates. All the inmates are down in the corridors and have surrounded “Batman”, who in turn threatens them and tells them to go back to their cells immediately.
- The inmates laugh and attack, until Jeremiah arrives and they stop - turns out it isn’t Batman, its David Thurman; Jeremiah's right hand doctor. Thurman said he sorry for having failed Arkham and then dies.
- Jeremiah runs away and locks himself in his office again.
- Days pass, the inmates party, and supplies run low. After Joker kills one of the inmates, some of them decide to let loose some of the most dangerous criminals and more victims are claimed by Poison Ivy, Victor Zsasz, Cornelius Stirk and Solly Bean.
- When the inmates are close to breaking out, Jeremiah offers them a deal: he will open the doors and let them out with the condition that they never go to Gotham; but if the break into his office, he will destroy the door controls and they will all be trapped inside forever. The inmates agree and the doors open.
- The inmates head straight for Gotham (except Riddler). Jeremiah knew that they wouldn't listen, but he tried to hold them as long as possible so Gotham had already been abandoned.
- He is still afraid to leave his office; he can still smell a cigar and hears the Joker’s laugh.


Wax Man and the Clown, Part 3

#82 - Wax Man and the Clown, Part 3



- Oracle hears about the Batman tag, so says it doesn’t sound like him, and he hasn’t tried to contact her.
- Commissioner Gordon declares the Blue Boys will next liberate Old Gotham and their old police headquarters. They stir up a gang war between the Loboys and Street demons to thin their ranks. To do so, they go into Street Demonz territory to spray a false Loboys tag, but things get out of hand and they end up killing two gang members.
- This only serves as fodder for the gang war though, and the gangs do begin killing each other off.
- Elsewhere, Batgirl saves two kids from being robbed. She claims to be the Batman, and that the area is under her protection.

### Interludes:

- Punk tries to rob someone at gunpoint for batteries, but they realize his gun is unloaded because no one would waste bullets (rare) for batteries.
- Punk tries to rob kid, but someone shows up and protects him.
- Punk tries to rob stranger, but shit its the Joker and he gets stabbed. Joker tags a wall and declares the area "Jokerville."


 No Law and a New Order Part Two: Strategy

#83 -  No Law and a New Order Part Two: Strategy



- Scarecrow collects rats and sets them upon the ARC’s food stores to create chaos and fear.
- Father Chris, unknown to Father Papaleo, makes a deal with Penguin for food for the ARC - in exchange, he lets Penguin store guns in their bunker.
- Back at the center, former Black Masker Mikey seems to be a good dude.
- Elsewhere, at the building where Penguin was previously storing his arsenal, the splinter group of the False Facers, try to steal the supplies (not know they were moved). Batman stops them, but they also notice the building was empty and rigged to catch fire so people would think the arsenal was gone.
- Meanwhile, under the refugee center, Father Chris is organizing the arsenal, while Scarecrow asks him how he felt about making a deal with the devil.
- Scarecrow then talks to Mikey, misleading Mikey into believing that Father Chris want him to talk to his old gang and ask for them help. Mikey brings a box of weapons to the False Facers, asking for their protection.
- Leo, leader of the group, takes one of the guns and shoots Mikey. Huntress finds him, left for dead in the street, with a note calling him a traitor, as Scarecrow watches from the shadows.


Fear of Faith, Part Two: To Serve and Protect

#84 - Fear of Faith, Part Two: To Serve and Protect



- Batman punches Penguin and breaks his nose, then tells Penguin that he will be the one to take down his champion in exchange for the innocent people that Penguin is holding as prisoners. Penguin agrees, but Batman must take down not only Dozer but all of the his henchmen.
- Batman manages to take Dozer down easily but that is just the first of many more fighters ready to fight him.
- Penguin starts taking bets on the fight, but his plans backfire when the bets favor Batman - if Batman win, he’ll lost everything.
- Penguin stops the fight on the grounds that Bats broke the rule but not fighting his opponents to the death.
- Batman tell Penguin that from that point on, he is in charge and that he must tell him every bit of information if he wants to continue running his Lounge. Penguin agrees and Batman disappears.
- GCPD finds out the gang members in the Xhosa and Wreckers territory have been killed and the area is tagged with Blue Boys tag. Most of the cops are shocked, but Com. Gordon knows too well who is responsible (probably Two-Face). Now most gangs in the city are afraid of the Blue Boys and want to align with them.
- A letter appears for Gordon: Justice has been served. They were the first of many.


Bread and Circuses: Conclusion

#85 - Bread and Circuses: Conclusion



- In a neighborhood of Gotham, the Zsasz gang is fighting the Croc gang. Batgirl tries to stop the violence but she is outnumbered and must flee.
- The fight is outside a house inhabited by William “Sarge” Riley. When the Zsasz gang beat the Croc gang, one of the Zsasz men tries to tag Riley's house but Sarge stops him. Mr. Zsasz demands that Riley pay a tribute and forces him to give up all the food in his kitchen.
- After, its revealed Riley has more food in the secret fallout shelter in his basement.
- Riley reminisces about his family’s happy times, and also remembers darker the times during World War II, comparing them to the current state of life in No Mans Land. He still helps the remaining people of his neighborhood as he can.
- There are more fights, with control of the territory shifting to Mr freeze, then GCPD, then Croc.
- Eventually some Red Devils break into the Riley's house and demand tribute, but suddenly Joker henchmen arrive and kill them. Joker enters and say he is the leader of the neighborhood now. He spares Riley’s life but takes his shotgun as a "souvenir”, then leaves.
- Riley is left alone, and despite the tragedies surrounding him, he will not leave his home.


Home Sweet Home

#86 - Home Sweet Home



- Two-Face and his followers are marching uptown. James Gordon and his men are making a grab for Penguin's territory and Penguin is attacking Batman's territory, defended by Batgirl.

- Penguins tell Batgirl to surrender, she refuses and shoots an arrow at his knee. Two-Face arrives and tells Penguin to leave as he has double-crossed Cobblepot. While Penguin was attacking Batman's place, Gordon has already seized Penguin's territory and Two-Face has done the same. Penguin and Batgirl are forced to leave, outnumbered and outmaneuvered by Two-Face’s.

- Batman is being held captive by a Russian woman called Echo. She is a mind reader and forces him to relive his parent’s death. After a while, she feels bad for him and leaves him alone. Batman escapes, only to discover his territory taken over by Two-face. Two Face’s gang used extreme violence to make the message clear: Batman lost to Two-Face.


Claim Jumping, Part Two

#87 - Claim Jumping, Part Two



- In the early days of No Man's Land, Clayface broke into Robinson Park. He offered Ivy a deal - she would produce fruit with help of the refugee kids in the park and he would handle distribution. Ivy tried to “seal the deal” with a kiss to kill, but her plan backfired.
- Present time, Oracle tells Batman about kids seen in Robinson Park. Batman finds out from Penguin that Clayface is running fruit distribution for Ivy.
- Batman and Robin go to Robinson Park and they enter a secret lair Bruce built while he was gone. Inside they find Ivy and her kids, encased in clay and begging for help.
- GCPD are having internal struggles and the department splits, with some people staying under the command of James Gordon and some following Pettit.


Fruit of the Earth, Part One

#88 - Fruit of the Earth, Part One



- Batman sees a Bat-Signal and goes to the source. There, he finds a girl and a father waiting for him. They tell Batman the leader of their group (They call him The King of Gotham because he helped them) is missing and that they need him in order to survive. Batman goes looking for him.
- Elsewhere, a couple of hoodlums are beating The King but before they can finish him, they are attacked by Killer Croc, who wants The King.
- On his search, Batman realizes that the man's work is all around Gotham. Batman deduces that The King must obtain the supplies from somewhere, so he heads to the man with resources; Penguin.
- Batman asks Penguin about The King. Penguin says he has been trading goods with the man, but Batman makes him realize that The King has been stealing from him and Penguin is infuriated.
- Batman goes looking for clues on The King's whereabouts. He finds a trail of dead and unconscious crooks, he finds a scale at the Crime scene and knows to is behind it.
- Killer Croc is at Babylon Towers's Mall beating The King and telling him to acknowledge Croc as the real king of Gotham.
- Batman uses a concussion grenade to stun Croc's henchmen and knocks them all down. Batman and Croc fight. Batman sends Croc flying down a four-floor drop. Batman knows that Croc can survive it.
- Batman checks on The King and learns that the man's identity is Stanley Demchaszky, a former criminal and Blackgate inmate. Stanley tells Batman that he was released from prison the day before the earthquake and that he stayed in Gotham to help the people to redeem himself. Batman is unsure of what to do next.
- Batman takes Stanley back to the refugee center and the people finally meet The King of Gotham.


The King

#89 - The King



- Batman and Lynx by The Fist of Heavenly Serendipity gang members led by Jade-Faced Wu. They fight and are forced to retreat due to exhaustion, with Lynx injured. Batman takes Lynx to a doctor in Chinatown and the doctor heals Lynx as best as he can.
- Lynx insists on going back. When they arrive, it is oddly claim. They find out Jade-Faced Wu was killed when the slaves fought back. One of the enslaved girls, Mei, saw Lynx fighting and was inspired to unite the slaves to revolt, but she was unfortunately a casualty of the revolt.
- Lynx is devastated. Batman tells it’s part of the cold truth about being a hero and she tells him that she will never care again for that kind of thing.
- Elsewhere in Gotham City, Bane is preparing great amounts of explosives for his next attack: The Gotham Hall of Records.


Low Road to Golden Mountain: Positive Role Model

#90 - Low Road to Golden Mountain: Positive Role Model



- Bock wins the cage fight. Penguin gives Bock the instructions for that night for his people to escape.
- Bock and Vanessa DeVries move the children in their care to the bus that will take them to the way out of Gotham. Robin arrives and helps protect the bus from attacking gangs (many people angry at Bock, lost a lot of money betting on the fight). They reach the underground train station to escape Gotham.
- Penguin, who is empathetic toward Bock’s kids after losing one of his birds to the Joker, send people to help protect the train out.
- As a result of the skirmish, the train crashes into the outside wall of Gotham. The U.S. Marshals notice the train coming from out of it and go to check the situation. The kids are taken to a hospital - Vanessa and her father go with them. Block returns to Gotham. The Marshalls seal the tunnel.


Underground Railroad: Part Two

#91 - Underground Railroad: Part Two



- The U.S. Marshals outside Gotham City feel a sudden gust and they report it to their leaders. They disregard the event as a "little change in the weather".
- Turns out if was Superman at supersonic speed sneaking into the city. Batman knows.
- Superman chats with an old man about his orchard, Clark uses his knowledge from his farm and advises the old man on how to keep the crops growing.
- Clark and the old man go out for a walk because Clark wants to see the community garden at the Blue Boys territory.
- Clark notices a young woman covered with a blanket on the sidewalk, but she is secretly an informant to Oracle, staking our the area for info.
- Pettit’s men approach. Pettit is completely deranged and tries to force Clark to join him and his men to fight against everyone who opposes him. The girl is furious and attacks Pettit, causing his men to attack Clark and the old man.
- Clark stops a bullet midair, and a batarang disarms Petit. Batman fights Pettit and his people and drives them away and then he tells the old man to get back to his home.
- Batman and Clark talk. Clark tells Bruce that he wants to help the people of Gotham in a different way than he did the last time he was there. Clark admits he is there to make sure Batman is taking card of himself, and comments about the recent drought effecting crops in Gotham.
- Batman realizes Clark is using his heat vision on the sky during the conversation. Shortly after Superman flies off, it starts to rain.


Stormy Weather

#92 - Stormy Weather



- Joker learns about Washington’s plan to reopen Gotham.
- Batman goes to Oracle's Watchtower to give Oracle the discs. They reveal that at least 300 tons of construction material has been moved into Gotham. It is clear that someone is preparing to rebuild the city. Oracle and Batman both know who is the person involved.
- At that moment, Penguin is talking to the mysterious woman and offers her his services in terms of protection. However she turns it down as she is already under someone's protection: Bane.
- In Blue Boys territory, Pettit and his men march to the court house and demanding to see Two-Face in order to execute him. Renee Montoya stands against them until Batman arrives and forces Pettit and his men out of Blue Boys territory. Huntress is still working with Petit.
- Batman tells Azrael and Batgirl to evacuate the territory near Joker's place and to bring the people to the Blue Boys' territory.
- After learning about Washington’s plan to reopen Gotham, Joker also decides that it is time to make his move.
- Robin has been keeping an eye on Bane and the mysterious woman and keeping Oracle in the loop. Oracle tells Batman that Bane and the woman are on the move and that there are some helicopters approaching the city.
- The helicopters bring Lex Luthor and a swarm of reporter. Luthor doesn't pay them any attention and he tells tell the woman, Mercy, to get ready to rebuild Gotham. Batman is close, watching the scene in silence.


Assembly Redux

#93 - Assembly Redux



- December 31: James Gordon, Barbara Gordon, Richard Grayson, Lex Luthor and the Gotham City Police Department are at the funeral ceremony for Sarah Essen. Batman shows up in front of them and Jim asks him if it was all worth it. Batman doesn't answer.
- Lex Luthor starts to execute his master plan and begins buying real estate in Gotham City. Later, at Oracle's Watchtower, Batman and Oracle find out Lex is buying real estate from land owners that died during the earthquake, using a fake account and name. Batman arranges a meeting with Lucius Fox to prevent Luthor from achieving his goal.
- In the GCPD Headquarters, the members of the force are remembering their times and experiences with Sarah Essen and they celebrate her life. Renee Montoya, however, notices that the Jim Gordon isn't present and she looks for him and finds the man, alone and devastated in the backyard of the building.
- At Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox meets with Bruce Wayne and explains to him about Luthor's irregular activities. Lex is planning to own Gotham by buying the majority of the real estate in the city. Bruce fakes surprise and Lucius tells him that he is going to talk to Luthor personally. Knowing Lucius will be killed if he confronts Luthor directly, Batman follows him to the Gala for reopening Gotham.
- Lucius confronts Lex. As soon as Lucius steps outside, Lex tells Mercy kill him. Batman arrives and defeats Mercy. Batman stares at Luthor and warns him again not to mess with Gotham as it isn't for sale.
- At midnight, Nightwing goes to Park Row's medical center and visits the recovering Helena Bertinelli. When the clock strikes midnight, they kiss.
- James Gordon is at the Gotham Cemetery, in front of Sara's tombstone with a couple of champagne flutes. Jim shares the coming of the new year with his bride, in a symbolic way. At the same time, Batman leaves a couple of roses at the Waynes' tombstone and looks to the sky with renewed hope.


Endgame Epilogue: Days of Auld Lang Syne

#94 - Endgame Epilogue: Days of Auld Lang Syne



- Pamela Isley is a plant biologist. She’s hot and hot for the bats. She has dramatic mood swings.
- She’s into composting. She was victim of experiments by Dr. Woodrue that turned her into poison ivy. She doesn’t trust men.
- Her body manufactures toxins and her blood is poison.
- She holds a Wayne Enterprises gala hostage. She poison kisses Bruce Wayne and threatens to release poison spores all over Gotham.
- Bruce switches into Batman and goes after Ivy. Ivy gives Batman a poison kiss. Turns out antidote to her poison was a second kiss. Batman stops her and puts her in Arkham.


Year One: Poison Ivy

Annual #3 - Year One: Poison Ivy



This series is notable for its psychological examination of various characters in the Batman comics. Each issue opened with a "Shadow of the Bat falls on..." and the focus character. It was replaced by Batman: Gotham Knights (Volume 1) after Batman: No Man's Land.


Batman: Shadow of the Bat (1992 - 2000)

Comics