Chapter Eight: The Final Year (1945-1946)
"Seven years as a vigilante would provide numerous life risking injuries. Broken bones, concussions, lacerations and various others would be common. In the example of the Batman, the surprise shouldn't be that he fell, but that he lasted for so long."
Doctor Ami Mizuno, writing in her article 'Vigilantism and Its Long Term Effects on Health', 1998
Mysteries are something those investigating the Batman have to get used to. Identities, actions and motives are quite often obscured by the secrets people held or even the madness that inflicted many of those who played a role during this period help obscure what should have been certain facts. There are times when the mysteries are solved though, the case of Bane is one such example. His origins were unable to be traced for decades until the 1985 revolution of Santa Prisca and medical records being discovered in the infamous prison of Pena Duro.
Santa Prisca was notorious for its oppressive government that lasted throughout much of its history. Only with cutting off of aid to its anti-communist leadership by the Batson Administration did the government fall to revolutionary forces and allowed basic freedoms to the people there. The collapse of the government also opened up huge amounts of documents about the regime and the dark acts they had committed. Among these were medical records from Pena Duro that revealed the past of the man who would break the Batman.
Bane (His actual name was unknown, merely referred to in prison records as Prisoner 9301) had been born in Pena Duro after his mother had been tried for rebelling against the state. Bane's mother passed on shortly after his birth in 1912, leaving the child to be raised in the Hell that was Pena Duro. Despite his youth, Bane managed to survive in the prison, keeping just out of reach of those who sought to use him for their own ends, or worse. Bane first killed when he was only seven years old, defending himself from the designs of another prisoner before being thrown into a solitary cell.
For ten years, Bane had to endure nothing but his own thoughts and the squalid conditions in his lone cell. Despite being in conditions that would have broken and killed many others, Bane seemed to gain focus and ambition. Once he was finally let out, he soon gained power and influence in Pena Duro, the other prisoners in awe of his ability to survive and his rapidly growing strength. By the time he was twenty-one, Bane had killed all his rivals and sought a better destiny, staging a prison riot that saw the guards slaughtered and a mass break out in 1933. From there, Bane went south to Bolivia where he took part in the Chaco War, gaining a name for his brutality as he fought a losing battle. From there, it is hard to trace his steps, vanishing completely until 1938 when a photo was taken of a band of mercenaries fighting in China, Bane among them.
We can only speculate on Bane's actions in China during its bloody conflict against Japan, but it seemed as if the inevitability of Japan's defeat caused him to move on. A person matching his description was involved in a bank robbery in late 1944 in Oregon before heading east. Using the notes and diaries of Hugo Strange, we can be certain that Bane came into contact with the doctor in December of 1944.
Why Bane went to Gotham is one mystery remaining about him. All that can be said for certain is that he had an obsession with the Batman that started as soon as he heard about him. Doctor Strange had himself been an observer of the Chaco War, studying the effects of the conflict on the soldier's mental state and is where the two could have possibly first come into contact. Regardless of that, Bane was quickly hidden by Strange, being placed in Arkham Asylum as the proper files were quickly changed around to help with matters.
It is here that Strange found the perfect test subject for his creation. Having doctorates in psychology and biology, Strange had long been interested by the thought of creating the ubermensch, having been greatly interested in Nazi ideology since the party came to power. He saw the Batman as a potential candidate for such a role, but Bane was one who could actually be moulded into his own take on the philosophy. In striving towards his goal of creating his own ubermensch, Strange had developed a highly potent steroid that would rapidly push the human body to its greatest potential in a short amount of time.
Having developed the steroid throughout the early 40's, Strange had used his control of Arkham Asylum to experiment with the drug. Many patients who were subjected to it were prone to mood swings and extreme violence as the effect on the body soon showed on their minds as well. Very few responded well to the drug, it doing irreparable internal damage or, in the case of those like Aaron Helzinger, severely damaged their mental capacity despite having the intended physical effect.
Surprisingly enough, Bane volunteered to take the drug, if Doctor Strange's own testimony can be believed. Wanting to push himself to the limits to take on the Batman, he spent several months in Arkham, being monitored as he was subjected to the treatment. Amazingly, there appeared to be no adverse effects as Bane retained all his mental faculties and his physical prowess increased to almost inhuman levels. By May of 1945, Bane felt prepared to enact his plans, starting with an assault on Blackgate prison. As the city and country celebrated VE Day, Bane enacted his plan for an assault that was bound to bring the Batman out into the open.
The choice behind this stands out, in no small part due to Bane lining the date with the night that the Joker was to be executed. The 16th June had been selected after a speedy trial and crowds had gathered around Blackgate, many eager to see the end to the monster who had plagued Gotham for so long. Security was high, for fear of a riot and whether the Joker had managed to plan another escape and the area was filled with police as a result. Commissioner Gordon was on hand and the Batman and Black Bat were spotted by various witnesses, hiding in the shadows.
As prepared as the GCPD was though, they couldn't match Bane's own plans. He had spent the month travelling to New York, gathering followers there before striking at an arms depot and stealing weaponry bound for soldiers occupying Germany. The raid had been quick and efficient with the government hastily putting limits to any reports that might have revealed the theft. As a result, the GCPD was woefully unprepared when they were attacked by actual military ordinance after Bane and his men struck minutes before the Joker's execution was due to take place.
Chaos ensued as anti-tank ordinance shot into the crowd and battered the walls of Blackgate. Dozens were killed or injured in the first barrage before Bane made his first appearance to the crowd. Flanked by his men, he cut a swathe through the chaos, using his fists as his men used guns. Another blast to Blackgate blew the walls open wide with the chamber where the execution was scheduled to take place now having a gaping hole in it. Other blasts struck other parts of Blackgate that gave prisoners free reign to attempt to escape. The twenty minutes that followed was a blood bath as Bane and his followers looked to keep the police busy as the prisoners of Blackgate staged a mass breakout.
By the time some order was restored, the anti-tank ordinance had been either destroyed or captured and nearly half of the inmates from Blackgate had escaped. Among the escapees were Jonathan Crane, David Cain, Jervis Tetch, Edward Nygma and the Joker. On top of these were over two hundred criminals, most of whom had previously worked for the Falcone Mob. While the GCPD had managed to contain or take down many attempted escapees and a good number of Bane's gang, many still managed to escape, leaving behind 162 dead and injured. The Batman and Black Bat had been spotted by numerous witnesses in the fighting as they worked alongside police to minimise casualties while taking down as man of Bane's men and escapees as they could. Despite their best attempts though, they were still unable to stop Bane's plan from succeeding.
Just as Commissioner Gordon was trying to get as many men as possible to rally to the area around Blackgate and stop as many of the escapees as possible, he received even worse news. Hugo Strange had opened the gates of Arkham Asylum, killing several of the orderlies as he let out thirteen patients who had extremely violent tendencies. The name that stood out was Harvey Dent. Goham exploded into a frenzy of panic and violence as those Bane had released tried to find a safe place to hide or rampaged through the streets. The escape of many high profile names just made the situation worse and many began to panic over the thought of any of them continuing their attacks.
For the week after the dual break outs, the GCPD struggled to keep the city under control as Bane and his men funnelled weapons into the city to make the situation worse. Despite a genuine movement to get the National Guard finally sent in to calm things, Gotham prevailed. The initial outburst of violence was bloodily contained as the police managed to make some sudden arrests although thirty-one people are known to have died in this one week.
After the initial break out, Bane went into hiding, although a photo of him in the middle of the breakout was shown on the Gotham Gazette's front page. A tall, muscular an with his lower face obscured by a prototype gas mask. It periodically released some of the steroid into his body, allowing him to inhale it so he had a constant supply. The design of the mask would become part of Bane's own signature look, many contrasting it with the Batman's cowl. Bane's role was questioned by many in the ensuing months. What was his plan? Did he even have one? Or was he like the Joker, someone who merely followed his destructive whims?
In the immediate aftermath of the mass breakout, there was no answer as Bane went back into hiding and others took the limelight. At first, it was the chaos that came from the escaped prisoners running riot. The smarter ones fled Gotham and tried to disappear into the country or even fled into Canada. Others stayed in Gotham, wanting to try and go back to the old ways of the Carmine family and joined Cobblepot's gang in order to accomplish this goal. This was, of course, a futile hope, but a surprisingly strong sentiment among those who had once worked for Carmine Falcone.
Those that helped plunge Gotham into a crime wave after their breakout soon found that the GCPD were a much stronger force than they had been four years ago. Commissioner Gordon's root and branch reform of the police had helped end the corruption to a large degree and the force was a much more professional organisation than it had been. Along with the efforts of the Batman and Black Bat, the chaos was stemmed after the initial week of the breakout. It didn't end the problem, but it did stop the city from descending into outright chaos. Despite these efforts and successes against the wave of crime however, the extreme criminals were still on the loose and the final part of the Batman mythos was to be brought in.
It is no surprise that Batman's actions inspired others to take on vigilante roles. Although the influence the Dark Knight had on other people shall be discussed in a later chapter, those who became vigilantes and cited the Batman as a reason for doing so are numerous in this period. They stood against the Nazi threat in Europe and fought for greater ideals in the US. Baltimore was the original home of one of these, the heavily Catholic city giving inspiration to its own masked vigilante, Azrael. Donning armour and a cloak as red as a cardinal's cape, Azrael was first seen in Baltimore in January 1942, aiding police in finding the victim of a kidnapping.
Azrael continued to appear at various points over the next eighteen months before suddenly vanishing. His reappearance in Gotham caught many off guard, as he was seen publicly bringing a bank heist to an end on the 14th July. While the Batman and Black Bat had been either embraced or tolerated by the populace of Gotham, the appearance of Azrael put some elements of the city on edge. Some anti-catholic feeling was present among several parts of the Protestant-majority city, so the Catholic links that Azrael was believed to have made some think his appearance as a Papist plot. Others were more grounded in their concerns that yet another masked vigilante would add strain to an already volatile situation.
Whatever doubts there were about Azrael, they were to be answered. Jervis Tetch was one of the criminals who had escaped and been taken in by Oswald Cobblepot. Remembering the lucrative trade he had done before with the disgraced academic, Cobblepot had hidden Tetch once more and put him to work making his drugs. While the other extreme criminals were rightfully feared for what they could do, Tetch's ability to make people bow to his will through a few intakes of his formula caused great concern.
Having Tetch back under his protection, Cobblepot proceeded to overplay his hand however. The pressure put on him by the GCPD was making him fear for his freedom and he decided that drastic action was needed. He believed that by eliminating Gordon, the GCPD would lose its drive to go after him and maybe collapse back into its old habits. It was the same reasoning used by Mayor Reeves and had the same flaws behind it. The GCPD was stronger that it had been and Gordon had strong and competent officers to take his place should the worst have happened.
The attempt came when a young man named Warren Lawford was slipped some of Tetch's concoction into his drink at the Iceberg Lounge. A well known figure in Gotham's elite for being born into new money and having a criminal record that he used his vast wealth to escape from, Lawford found the rumours about Cobblepot's criminal links to be alluring and spent a lot of time and money in the Lounge. Seeing Lawford as a useful fool, Cobblepot drained the young man for all he could before deciding to use him as a way to strike at Gordon.
The influence Lawford was under made him willing to go straight to Jim Gordon's house, gun in hand with the full intention of killing the Commissioner on the spot. With the pressure Gotham was under though, several non-uniformed officers had been placed around Gordon's house and Lawford was hastily taken down and arrested. Under interrogation, he revealed he had been at the Iceberg Lounge and the police were able to join the pieces from there. The Iceberg Lounge was raided for evidence, but nothing was discovered.
Instead, Tetch had been hidden away in a safehouse that soon came under attack during the police raid on the Iceberg Lounge. Tetch was under armed guard with Cobblepot determined not to lose him again. He was to be greatly disappointed as the safehouse was raided with the lab inside almost completely destroyed as Azrael attacked it on the 29th July. His methods were as effective as Batman's, although possibly even more brutal. The eight men left to guard Tetch had multiple broken bones each and severely concussed when police found them after answering an anonymous call. With the evidence that Tetch had been protected directly by Cobblepot, the crime boss was soon placed under arrest as well, although his wealth and excellent legal team allowed him to quickly come out on bail.
While this job was done alone, Azrael was seen multiple times with either Batman or the Black Bat over the next month, protecting people from the criminals on the streets or continuing the hunt for Bane. As Azrael was increasing his own role in protecting Gotham though, it would be Jim Gordon who would be involved as Harvey Dent resurfaced. Believing that Gordon and the Batman were still responsible for his disfigurement and disgrace, Dent had been eager for revenge since the outbreak in Arkham. Despite his attempts though, he couldn't get close to Gordon due to the greatly increased security detail around the Commissioner.
Having had no luck to try and grab Gordon, Dent actually decided to use his past friendship with the Commissioner instead. He sent a letter to Gordon on the 20th August, asking to have a private conversation about their past and what Dent could do to turn things around. Despite Gordon's own instincts telling him it was a trap, a guilty conscience caused him to agree to the meeting, taking no one else with him. As Gordon was to later admit, he was disappointed, but not surprised, when he met with Dent in the shadow of the couthouse where the fateful attack by Maroni had taken place and the latter pulled out a gun. Blaming Gordon for everything that had happened, Dent then stated that Gordon was on trial for betrayal, attempted murder and the destruction of Harvey Dent's life.
Gordon listened as Dent ranted, charging him and acting as prosecutor and judge, ready to deal a death sentence to the Commissioner. Before he could, Gordon reminded Dent that if this was a trial, he was allowed a defence and he chose Harvey Dent for the job. Dent flipped his coin and it came up clean, leading to Gordon getting his defence. Actually questioning himself, Dent broke down the lies that he had been fed by Nygma as well as those that he himself had created.
The persona that had been created from Dent's scarring was barraged with questions about whether or not Gordon had forced him to the trial, whether it had been Dent's own obsession that had driven him towards it and who was truly to blame. Faced with these questions and with Dent pushing himself, he was forced to confront the truth, that Gordon and the Batman weren't responsible for what had happened. With this self-realisation, Dent dropped the gun and surrendered himself to Gordon. Placing his former friend under arrest, Gordon then escorted Dent back to a station, although those who saw the two noted that the Commissioner looked more defeated than jubilant.
Although Dent had been brought into custody without bloodshed, there were still plenty of threats to Gotham as events were soon to prove. A series of dead bodies were found throughout the city in the week after Dent's capture. At first, it was believed to be the Joker, but the murders were not designed for attention and all had the common link of being single fathers with daughters. Witnesses were soon able to give the identity of David Cain as the murderer although his motivations, at the time were utterly unknown.
The security around James Gordon was quickly brought to even higher levels as there were fears that the hitman would return to finish the one job he hadn't been able to complete. Gordon's daughter was also placed under heightened protection, for fear that she would be struck at as Cain could have been after revenge for her stopping him from killing the Batman. Although there was some speculation that it would be 'round two' between Cain and the Dark Knight, it wouldn't be Batman who would step in this time.
After two weeks of his killing spree and nine victims, Cain made his attempt on James Gordon while the latter was making his way home from work. Cain struck by shooting at Gordon's security as they were driving through Gotham's packed streets. Having used some military hardware he had stolen, Cain dealt with the two cars of Gordon's security before focusing in on the Commissioner himself. Trapped between the burning husks of the two cars, Gordon later admitted that he felt as if he was truly going to die at that point.
It was at this point, that Cain was stopped by the arrival of the Black Bat. For those who had seen her fight, the Black Bat had developed a reputation as a no-nonsense sort who put down those who went against her quickly and efficiently. Here though, she hesitated, as did Cain, as Gordon would later note in his diaries. After a few seconds though, the Black Bat struck and the fight was swiftly over, all resistance seemingly leaving Cain as the vigilante unleashed several blows upon him.
Gordon's diaries are an interesting source to use and have uncovered various background facts in the workings of Gotham at the time. But one thing they do not do is offer any speculation by Gordon in regards to the Batman, his allies, their motivations or identities. It can be easy to see why he would do this, to prevent the threat of people discovering his diaries and using them to either discredit him, or try to learn of the identity of the Batman and his allies. They nevertheless did point out the hesitation between Cain and the Black Bat, revealing something no one else had noticed in the fight.
With the insight Gordon's diaries allow us, we now have a reason behind Cain's behaviours in regards to the murders. At the time, it was dismissed as Cain having gone mad in the aftermath of the mass outbreak, but the pattern points to something else entirely. Killing single fathers before focusing on Gordon was believed merely to be work of Cain's mind having snapped after his failures. What it may well point to was the relationship between the Batman and the Black Bat. Although speculation was rife that they were lovers, Cain's actions point to something far different. That the Black Bat was related to Cain and very possibly his daughter.
The murder of single fathers with daughters, coupled with Gordon being the target (Himself divorced and living with his daughter), was almost certainly more of a message to the Batman than anything else. The Black Bat had appeared after Cain's arrest and under Batman's guidance, working against everything Cain had spent his life doing. By going after fathers, Cain hadn't been sending a message to Gordon, but to Batman. It can be argued, albeit with circumstantial evidence, that Cain had been demanding that the Batman return his daughter to him.
This is a statement based off circumstantial evidence, as I admit, but Cain's obsessive actions point to a personal motivation. After his second arrest, he offered no reasoning behind his actions or resistance, bar one comment before his execution, saying that he hoped she was happy. Cain having a daughter, trained to follow in his footsteps, only to reject his ways completely and move towards the path set by the Batman would certainly be a blow a man like him would find hard to recover from.
The fight between the Black Bat and Cain was over almost as soon as it began, Cain surrendering after a few blows knocked him off his feet and Gordon quickly placed the cuffs on him. Other members of the GCPD soon arrived, taking Cain into custody and ending another threat to Gotham, although at a great cost. Despite the spate of arrests though, Gotham was still unsettled and Bane himself was starting to make his presence known, striking at criminals and the police alike as he attacked businesses owned by Oswald Cobblepot. Various rackets were brought under his control as Cobblepot floundered from the legal pressure brought on him by police and the war he had to fight against Bane.
As September passed into October, another gang war had been reignited as Bane looked to seize control and Cobblepot tried to cling onto his power. As the GCPD tried to deal with this, Edward Nygma and the Joker both resurfaced, both feeling they had been out of the limelight for far too long. For Nygma, he felt that the time had come for him to get his revenge on the Batman, believing he had prepared a trap that the Dark Knight would find impossible to defeat this time. For the Joker's part, he created terror in Gotham simply by being seen, many fearing that he would kill on the spot.. He caused panic throughout October, simply by being seen and raiding chemical depots and even chemist stores began once again. A string of bodies were left in his wake and the police once more turned their efforts to bringing the madman in.
Eager to get to the Batman before Joker could make a move, Nygma started a string of attacks of police at their homes. Waiting until they would either leave home for work or come back after their shift, Nymga would fire a shot from a gun at them or their houses before fleeing. There was only one fatality when Nygma's shot went through a window and struck the unfortunate cat belonging to one of the officers. These attacks appeared random at first, until it was discovered by the Batman that the letters spelling out the number of each house the attacked police officers lived in were, in actual fact, a code based off the Enigma machine used by the Axis powers. Deciphering the code led to Batman tracking down Nygma's hiding place on the 18th October to a rented out storage space in Gotham Docks.
Arriving there, the Batman would find the warehouse mostly abandoned, except for a large steel crate. Having opened it, the Batman had in fact set Nygma's trap off, that of a series of explosives placed around the building that were strong enough to blow the entire warehouse. The resulting explosion levelled the building and the shockwave from it caused windows to shatter across the street. Having watched from a safe vantage point, Nygma then got into a car and travelled to the nearest police station, handing himself in and confessing to the crime of 'killing' the Batman.
Such was Nygma's ego, that he was willing to risk the electric chair just so people would know that he had finally outsmarted his rival. But, as he was in the middle of his gloating, Nygma was stopped as the officers pointed to the window, all of them able to see the Batman standing on the opposite side of the street. Within moments, Nygma began to have a full fledged breakdown as he couldn't believe what he was seeing, screaming that this was a trick, that Batman had cheated, that there was no possible way he could be alive. He soon had to be restrained before being dragged to his cell, screaming the entire way.
How Batman managed to survive the blast was a source of speculation, with some even believing that he didn't and the one who appeared afterwards was a stand-in or ally. The most likely explanation is no less remarkable however. Nygma revealed that he had left the bomb with a timer of exactly ten seconds, as the steel crate had a small message inside, a final piece of gloating from Nygma to the Dark Knight. While the time wasn't enough for the Batman to have fled from the building, it was enough for him to read the note, dive into the crate and shut it before the explosives went off. The thickness of the crate actually saved Batman's life, given great help by Nygma's ego in the fact he had to leave Batman enough time to read the note and know who was responsible.
The reasons behind the escape came out after an investigation by the GCPD into the building revealed the truth, with some deduction involved. The Black Bat and Azrael were both seen by witnesses and it's not unreasonable to assume that they helped dig Batman out of the wreckage of the building. Despite though, the shock from the explosion must surely have had a long term effect on his health, most likely explaining the following events and why they happened the way they did.
Only two names were left now among the GCPD's most wanted list, John Crane and the joker. While the gang war between Bane and Cobblepot continued with the former gradually gaining the upper hand, the fears over what the escapees could do everyone on edge. What was unknown at the time was that Crane still had various stashes of his gas throughout the city and had spent his time gathering them and quietly making more. He looked to unleash it all in one blast, focusing on an event that would cause a death toll in the thousands.
The 1945 football season was starting to wind down with the Gotham Knights having had a mediocre run throughout the year. Taking on the Fawcett City Marvels on the 8th December, the Knights and their fans packed into the Knights Dome Sporting Complex for one of the last games of the season. Due to the chaos in the city in recent months, there were fewer Fawcett City fans than hoped. Most of those who had escaped from Blackgate had been brought back into custody, with the GCPD or the Batman and his allies having recaptured them. Those from Arkham were still on the loose though, with evidence pointing towards them having rallied around the Joker. Each person who had escaped from Arkham had violent tendencies and them being led by the Joker was a nightmarish prospect for many.
It was Crane who would be the first to rear his head though, having spent the months since his escape gathering all his resources to attack. Besides the exits of the building, Crane placed explosives with the gas inside, his plan to cause a panic in the stadium before setting off the explosives as people left, causing the fear gas to effect hundreds of people and spread panic throughout the crowd and into the city. Thankfully, Crane had left a trail of clues, such as witnesses spotting him get close to the arena and the police had already been alerted, although concern over setting off any trap made their response cautious. This was not so for the Black Bat and Azrael, who appeared on the scene.
The attempt by Crane to unleash such a horrendous attack is notable as it was the first time Azrael and the Black Bat were seen together. The lack of Batman was also noticed, it being only a week after surviving Nygma's trap and even someone with his physical abilities must have needed time to recover from being at ground zero of such an explosion, shielded or not. Having hid himself high in the nosebleed seats, Crane was waiting for the right time to set off a panic with a grenade primed and ready to throw. Before he could do such a thing though, the Black Bat appeared to swiftly take out the former psychologist in a series of short blows. Having carried a gun with him as well, Crane didn't even have time to use that, having it knocked from his hand with a swift kick that sent it down the stairs and finally made the crowd realise what was going on.
By then, it was too late to witness much, aside from the Black Bat putting some cuffs on Crane to restrain him. Some confusion reigned as the crowd started to question what was going on, only added to as the GCPD came into the stadium and forced an evacuation (To some relief, as the Gotham Knights were losing quite handily) while they searched for explosives. Azrael had been seen by police finding some of the explosives at one of the stadium's entrances and defusing it, giving the GCPD the sign to do so themselves. Clearing the stadium and taking Crane into custody, the GCPD tracked down and defused the bombs left there, the Black Bat and Azrael leaving once their part was finished.
While both the Black Bat and Azrael had been seen before without the Batman, this was the first time both had been seen without him present. With the belief that he was leading the trio very common, his absence was noted by witnesses and the press, many wondering if he was starting to pull back after the years under the cowl. Confidence in the Dark Knight wavered as the Christmas season passed and nothing was seen of him, even as sightings of the Black Bat and Azrael continued. The Batman himself wouldn't be seen until the 31st December, and it would be in the most dramatic fashion.
Having spent as much time as he could tolerate in the shadows, the Joker finally decided to make his move. He had gathered enough chemicals to make a liquid form of his gas, using his gang to drive it to the Gotham City reservoir. Insulted over how people like Bane and Scarecrow kept stealing his spotlight, the Joker was determined to do something to make his name known, so that he would stand above everyone else in Gotham. Having attacked the reservoir and filled the water meant for the city with his concoction, the Joker was all but prepared to release it when the Batman appeared.
What happened that night is something that has never been settled and, without dramatic new evidence being found, probably never will. All the GCPD found when they reached the reservoir four hours into the New Year was the Joker's gang beaten and trussed up, the viaducts of the reservoir blown up, stopping all water from reaching the city and a single body floating in the poisoned water. As news spread about the discovery and what had happened at the reservoir, frustration over losing access to water quickly switched to intense scenes of celebration.
The Joker was dead.
Those of Joker's gang who were interviewed weren't the most reliable of witnesses, each with a past of violence and a history of mental health issues. They each told the same story though, that the Batman had somehow managed blow up the viaducts of the reservoir before the Joker could release the poisoned water into the city, taken the gang out before chasing after the Joker himself. What happened next had no witnesses but it ended with the Joker's corpse being fished out of the poisoned reservoir and the Batman nowhere to be seen.
Did the Batman murder the Joker? That is the question, more than almost any other, which has caused debate for anyone who has studied the Batman, or is even aware of him. Had the Batman, disgusted by the Joker's crimes with the attempt to kill tens of thousands of people, finally pushed him to ending the madman's life? Had there been a struggle between the two that had caused the Joker to fall into the poisoned water, it being nothing more than an accident in a fight? Or had the Joker, frustrated at the derailing of his scheme and knowing he would be sent to the chair as soon as he was in custody anyway, kill himself in an act designed to destroy the Dark Knight's reputation?
All interpretations have been suggested and I share my opinion with what Joseph Dawson put forward in his own research for Watching The Darkness. In all the years that Batman defended the city of Gotham, no death can be directly and reliably attributed to him. There were always rumours, but nothing verifiable and the fact that Batman could have easily brought Joker in to be executed means that the act of murder would have been completely unnecessary. A final act of spite is the much more logical assumption, as much as logic can be applied to the Joker.
What is also telling is that Commissioner Gordon never put new resources forward to hunt down the Batman. As much as he must have been indebted to the Dark Knight, Gordon's integrity was beyond reproach. If he had believed that the Batman had murdered someone, it would be beyond doubt that he would have charged him for it. As it was, the death of the Joker was ruled justifiable following several weeks of investigation and, it must be admitted, an incredibly biased populace. Because of the Joker's crimes he had inflicted on Gotham, it's entirely plausible that no one could have been convicted for his death, regardless of circumstances.
After having his remains identified and examined, the Joker's body was then cremated and his ashes were meant to be scattered at an unknown spot. Records that were later opened to the public forty years later revealed that Detective Harvey Bullock of the GCPD had been responsible for the ashes and, in an action which was described as being typical of the man, he promptly dumped down the filthiest toilet he could find. It was an end that few would have found reason to disagree with.
The first few days of 1946 passed with many celebrating and feeling that the worst had finished, the GCPD now free to focus on Bane, who now quickly started his end game. It began by taking out Cobblepot's most loyal and toughest lieutenant, Waylon Jones. The man known as Killer Croc had been at the forefront of the war between Bane and his employer, stopping as many of the incursions on Cobblepot's territory as he could. Now, Bane acted by striking at Jones as the latter was running a shipment of guns for his boss's embattled forces.
Ambushing the truck carrying the weapons on the outskirts of Gotham, Bane would lead his men in the attack, actually facing Jones himself in hand combat as both men were eager to get their hands on the other. Jones was well known for his strength and brutal fighting style, having gone toe-to-toe with the Batman and gone down defiantly. In Bane though, he would find a man who was even more brutal in his fighting than anyone who he had faced before. From those who witnessed the fight, this wasn't the struggle that had been Jones fighting the Batman, this was a brutal beat-down that Jones barely survived.
The fight took place on the banks of the Delaware River, the Moon-light being the only thing that made the two sides visible to each other. From the outset, Bane was ready and willing to press every advantage he had, outmatching Jones considerably with a brutal beating. Despite everything, Jones apparently remained defiant throughout, insulting Bane when his fists couldn't defend himself. After one barb to many, Bane broke both of Jones' arms and then threw him into the Delaware River to die.
His work done, Bane allowed the surviving members of Jones' group to flee before taking the weapons for himself. That done, he proceeded onwards to Gotham, looking to end Cobblepot's control over crime in Gotham once and for all. News soon spread of Bane's imminent arrival, the rumours of the fight at the Delaware River reaching Gotham hours before Bane himself did. When the rumours reached Cobblepot, he reacted in a way which surprised most of those who knew him.
His empires in tatters, his forces weakened and a veritable army rushing for his front door, Cobblepot reacted with an almost serene attitude to things. He closed down the Iceberg Lounge to the public, paid off all his remaining employees (Legitimate and otherwise) with generous sums before bidding them fond farewells. He then sat and waited calmly for his fate in the foyer of his club, the one legitimate achievement that he had accomplished with his life that had nothing to do with crime. This surprising act of courage and nobility seemed to go against Cobblepot's character in many ways. But, as the man was to later say, the Cobblepots had lived and died in Gotham since its creation, but they had never fled from it.
On the third of January, at three o'clock in the morning, Bane and his men pulled up in front of the Iceberg Lounge, ready to finish Cobblepot off once and for all. They were to get a surprise in the form of the GCPD, who were rushing to the scene in order to catch Bane, and the Batman and his allies, who led the defence. The Batman, Black Bat and Azrael fell upon Bane's men as soon as they left their trucks, catching them by surprise. With it being dark, the smaller group had the advantage of surprise before Bane himself intervened.
Although many had left the area around the Iceberg Lounge, a few brave and foolish people lingered on as they had hoped to see the fight unfurl. As Bane left the truck, those who remained admitted that their attention went directly on him, Bane's large form and commanding presence catching their attention. They were not the only ones, as the Batman threw one of Bane's men through a wind-shield before facing the man who had been responsible for all the following the outbreak of Arkham and Blackgate.
The two faced off against each other, Bane towering over the Batman before they started their fight. For the first flurry of action, it seemed as if the Batman held the advantage, unleashing blows that Bane did little to counter. This changed all too soon however, as Bane shrugged off the initial attacks from the Dark Knight and dealt a blow that sent the Batman to his knees. What followed was a constant attack as Bane beat down his opponent relentlessly, using nearby cars to throw the Dark Knight into as his men managed to keep the Black Bat and Azrael at bay.
Things were rapidly changing though as more and more of the GCPD flooded the area, trying to get to Bane. With the Batman barely able to stand, Bane decided to end it quickly and dramatically. In a great display of strength, Bane held the Batman over his head and then slammed him across his knee, ending the fight in a swift action that left everyone stunned. There was an actual pause in the fighting as this action was watched, no one moving, all having witnessed the defeat, maybe even death, of a legend.
In that moment, Bane had broken the Batman.
Within moments however, Commissioner Gordon finally arrived on the scene to lead the GCPD to arrest Bane and his men. This was the signal for Bane himself to flee, getting in a car as his followers covered his retreat. In the confusion, the Batman and his allies disappeared, with only two witnesses saying they had seen Black Bat and Azrael take the Batman to safety. All Gordon had by the time the fighting was over was a handful of arrests and deaths from the fighting while the story about the Batman's defeat soon spread across the city like wildfire, it being the headline in every morning edition newspaper in Gotham.
For many living in Gotham, the defeat, and possible death of the Batman, was a shock to the system. He had retained his popularity as a folk hero to many, despite (Or even because of) the death of the Joker mere days before. The morale of many in Gotham, having reached dizzying heights after the Joker's death, now plummeted and many feared that Bane was unstoppable, a fear aided by a bomb being set off outside Gotham's City Hall. Two people were killed, a much lower death toll than normal for such an action in Gotham, but with a note left claiming it was the work of Bane, it was was seen as a real possibility that Bane would take over as Carmine Falcone had once done.
The threat that Bane represented to the city of Gotham seemed to be unstoppable. He had defeated the Batman and it seemed that he would take over. Although remaining in Gotham, Cobblepot was helpless to stop the remains of his organisation defecting en masse to Bane in the week following Batman's defeat. Left with just the Iceberg Lounge, he stayed to manage it as he was forced into purely legitimate means to support himself. For one week, it seemed as if nothing could stand against Bane as he eluded police and took part in numerous attacks against Gotham city authority, as if he wished to tear everything down. Bombs were set and public officials were publicly attacked as the police strained to contain the wave of violence.
Then, on the 11th January, a bomb went off at Gotham City Bank at eleven at night. Two of Bane's men, having taken what they had wanted after breaking into the vaults, had blown the place up to prevent any evidence being found. Having tried to escape via the roofs of Gotham, they were stopped by a shadowy figure. Their attempts to kill him while trying to escape were for nothing as they were quickly beaten and subdued. When the police found the men, the question as to who did this to them was answered in the most surprising way.
The Batman had returned.
The news (Which Gordon helped to leak) sent shock waves through the city and it seemed as if there was actual hope against Bane now. The Batman had accomplished the impossible before, so why not now as well? Was it not possible for him to have recovered completely from his defeat? I shall look more into this later, but the important fact was that the Batman had seemingly returned and was ready to take the fight to Bane. The reaction Bane had to this was to offer the challenge to Batman, wanting to end the threat quickly.
Leading his men to Wayne Tower in Gotham's Diamond District on the 14th, January Bane took the workers in the building hostage, demanding that the Batman reveal himself. Giving the Dark Knight until midday, Bane and his men faced off a siege from the GCPD as everyone waited for the Batman to arrive. Commissioner Gordon was there, getting closer to ordering his men to take up positions to take the building when the Batman arrived. On one of the few occasions where he was seen in broad daylight, he stood outside of Wayne Tower, as if challenging Bane himself. It was one that Bane answered.
Waving aside his men, Bane stepped outside of Wayne Tower to face the Dark Knight. While he had left himself vulnerable to a shot from the police, the window of opportunity was quickly shut as the Batman moved forward, starting the fight between the two. The crowd which had quickly gathered on the freezing day instantly began to shout encouragement to their hero as he went toe-to-toe with Bane. All the while, the guns of the police were trained on the two men, ready to take the shot needed if given a chance.
Unlike the first fight, Bane did not hold back at first, instead meeting the Batman's blows with his own. Neither gave an inch or quarter as they fought on the street, proving equally matched as Bane's strength was countered by the Batman's better reflexes and speed. Commissioner Gordon made several telling comments in his diaries about this, noting that the fighting style didn't seem as familiar from when he had seen it before. It plays into a theory I shall discuss later, but despite the legend surrounding the Batman and his incredible abilities, it can be taken as a fact that the man who fought Bane at Wayne Tower was different from the one who had faced him at the Iceberg Lounge.
Before long, the battle had left both men beaten and swaying on their feet. Bane seemed to get more agitated with each passing moment. Unable to finish off the Batman, Bane was slowly worn down by blows that would have easily felled a lesser man. With his own natural strength amplified by Hugo Strange's steroid, Bane could take a beating beyond the endurance of normal men. Even with the steroid though, the Batman found a way to overcome the odds. Using a rope with a metal hook attached to it, the Batman had thrown it up onto a ledge on Wayne Tower earlier in the fight. Once Bane had grown so distracted that he was focused solely on his opponent, the Dark Knight lured him into a position where he could pull on the rope in an impressive display of strength, causing the stone on the ledge to fall and collapse on top of Bane.
Lying under the ruins of Wayne Tower, Bane was still stirring and defiant until the Batman walked over to him and landed one final blow that put him to rest. For a moment, it appeared that the Batman was going to land another punch, potentially killing Bane, but stopped at the last moment, content to leave the police to clear up the mess. Inside Wayne Tower, Bane's men had been dispatched by the Black Bat as everyone had focused on the fighting, allowing the hostages to go free.
With Bane's defeat, Gotham finally knew peace after years of chaos from the downfall of the Falcone family and the extreme criminals which had infested its streets. Slowly, the Batman himself faded from view. There were always reports afterwards from people claiming to have seen the Batman in some place or another, even an outlandish one where several people claimed to have seen two Batmen fighting each other in August of 1946. Without the need for a Dark Knight to help it, Gotham City was able to grow beyond Batman, sightings of him growing less and less over the years with actual, reliable, confirmed sightings all but stopping in 1947.
Gotham City had changed greatly since 1939. Once corrupt and dangerous with little hope of breaking the cycle of crime, the Batman had been the force that had helped break the crime syndicates and bring forward a new age. He had help from many others, of course, but it was the Batman who had helped make the momentum unstoppable. But, there were still lingering issues in the years after the Batman defeated Bane. The city still had to deal with the changes that had happened and there were those who continued the Batman's work. Unanswered questions still lingered as well, including the most important one.
Who was the man under the cowl?