Dark Knights, Dark City III: The Last of the Batmen

Welcome back to this, the third and final installment of Dark Knights, Dark City. I hope you’ve enjoyed it – I know I have.
Hell, I may even do this, or something like it, again someday…

Parts One and Two are here and here respectively.

Thomas Wayne II became the fifth Batman in the 1960′s, and was virtually unique in being the only man ever to be Batman who was actually recruited by his father. But Thomas’ life was far from easy. He fought alongside Anthony Gordon and Harvey Dent only to see Dent fall prey to his family curse, assuming the role of Two-Face as his father had before him.1 He fought against many of the familiar faces of the Gotham underworld, including the Man-Bat (who was his own grandfather, Brutus Wayne), the third Joker, the second Penguin and others – and other less familiar faces. The fourth Batman teamed with both Spiderman2 and Daredevil,3 and encountered the Hulk,4 the Aliens5 and the Predators6. But he did not do so alone – like his father, he recruited a Robin, a youth named Jason Todd, whose grandfather had been the half-brother of the original Jason Todd7. But Todd was no Dick Grayson, and he was eventually slain by the Joker after his rashness led him into a trap8.

On the other hand, it was also Thomas who achieved some of the greatest triumphs of the Batmen. He found and properly buried the remains of Joshua Wayne9, the original Batman, and most importantly, he set free the demon Barbathos, whose captivity had slowly transformed it into a more benign presence. Indeed, referring to itself as Gotham, the demon elected to remain present as a spirit of the city, but was no longer an integral part of it.10 The various criminal roles that continued to crop up – particularly the first rank of Gotham’s criminals, such as the Penguins, Jokers, Two-faces, Catwomans and the like, would no longer be compelled by the various curses laid on the city, although the conditions would remain ripe for anyone who sought to travel the same paths. At the same time, Gotham had lost the living spirit that had protected it from so much over the years. Perhaps this explains the rapid reversal of Gotham’s fortunes in the months that followed.

Shortly after the demon was freed, Ra’s al Ghul returned to the city, bringing with him plagues.11 Another demon, known only as Scarface, created an earthquake that almost destroyed the city.12 Perhaps Barbathos’ new-found freedom made him less able to protect his city. Perhaps it was simply bad luck. But these disasters, combined with Gotham’s high crime rate, brought the city to its knees. By federal decree, in 1974 Gotham City was cut off from the USA, and became a No Man’s Land.13 This state of affairs continued for a year, until Gotham was welcomed back into the United States after the President was pressured into allowing its re-entry to the union. But there was a price to be paid – 1975′s Keene Act specifically outlawed all costumed and super-powered heroes, excepting only those who worked for the government14.

Most were reasonably happy to retire, excepting only Superman, who continued to work for the government, and the team of the third Green Arrow (Oliver Queen III) and the second Black Canary (Dinah Lance), who took to the underground, preaching revolution. In a conflict between these three, the Canary was slain and Green Arrow’s arm was torn off by Superman. After a short time, the Arrow escaped from prison, and continued his fight, covertly funded by Thomas Wayne.

By 1985, the situation in Gotham had grown almost unbearable. Thomas Wayne returned to the streets as Batman, just as the Joker escaped and went on a final homicidal rampage. In their last meeting, Batman slew the Joker, and the government elected to send in Superman to bring him to heel. Thomas almost succeeded in killing Superman as well, with the aid of the third Robin (Carrie Kelley) and Green Arrow. Instead, he faked his own death, destroyed the mansion and literally went underground with his allies, intending to return one day and clean up the entire planet. Alfred, his butler, was badly injured in the explosion, and Thomas’ son Bruce arranged for the aging retainer to be put in a home.15

Superman left the service of the government thereafter, and formed what he called the Kryptic Order, a group of super-powered individuals who fought crime invisibly and without any public notice. In partial expiation of his guilt, Superman created memorials for Thomas, Oliver and Dinah in the Order’s trophy room.

In 1998, Bruce, now an agent of the FBI, teamed up with tabloid reporter Lois Lane to investigate the Kryptic Order. Discovering the truth about his father, Bruce too donned the mantle of the Batman16. Marrying Lane, he returned to Gotham City and rebuilt his grandfather’s mansion. He fought off the return of Brass to Gotham the following year, when the mercenary sought to reclaim his lost gold17. Like all Batmen, he encountered that peculiar group of investigators, Planetary18.

Finally, after the death of Lois, Bruce himself went up against the king of all vampires, Dracula, and was turned by him. Fighting back, he managed to defeat Dracula, and continue his fight as Batman. Eventually, he succumbed to his own bloodlust, and allowed himself to be staked rather than betray his ideals19.

The long saga of the Waynes was at last at an end.

1. Batman: The Long Halloween
2. Batman and Spider-Man
3. Batman and Daredevil
4. Batman Vs the Incredible Hulk
5. Batman and Aliens
6. Batman and Predator
7. Batman: Dark Victory
8. Batman: A Death in the Family
9. Shadow of the Bat #45
10. Batman #452-454: “Dark Knight, Dark City”
11. Batman: Contagion & Batman: Legacy
12. Batman: Cataclysm
13. Batman: No Man’s Land, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4 and Vol. 5
14. Ironically, this had been anticipated: DC Comics once published a book entitled Watchmen, which sounded a warning clarion that allegedly retired heroes might take it upon themselves to return. Like Morgan Robertson’s Wreck of the Titan, Or, Futility, the book was ignored until it actually happened.
15. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
16. JLA: Secret Society of Super-Heroes #1-2
17. Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #132 – 136
18. Batman/Planetary: Night On Earth
19. Batman: Vampire