We already discussed some of the more awesome moments from the most famous of the early 90’s DC epics, the Death of Superman, but somehow, we have yet to touch on the best of the early 90’s DC epics, Batman’s ‘Knightfall’!

Generated originally as a cool idea to really hammer home to fans why Bruce Wayne is Batman, and why it’s important that a guy like Bruce is Batman, it quickly grew into a monster of a story that spread across all of the main and ancillary Bat-titles in 3 massive parts: Knightfall, Knightquest, and Knightsend. As each of these chapters of this bonkers big story have a LOT going on, we are just going to focus on the first (and most famous) chapter: Knightfall!

So put your Batman soundtrack tape in your walkman, put on your most comfortable Hyper Color t-shirt, take the house phone off the hook, put your feet up and bathe in glorious early 1990’s nostalgia with me as we delve into 5 of the very coolest moments from Batman: Knightfall!

The Flu Always Comes at the WORST Time/Arkham Go Boom

The story begins with Batman in a dark place. He’s not too far removed from the murder of the 2nd Robin, Jason Todd, the loss of whom sent Batman into a bit of a spiral, getting more and more isolated and angry. He has recently enlisted Tim Drake as the (best) 3rd Robin, who is still very young (he can’t even drive yet) and is struggling to both pull Batman back towards center and to earn the dark knight’s trust in the field.

In addition to, or perhaps as a result of, Bruce pushing himself so hard and without rest (punishing himself for failing to save Jason, no doubt) for so long, he has come down with the flu and is battling the symptoms of that, including the aches and chills, the physical weakness, and most importantly, the utter FATIGUE. He’s exhausted completely. He’s not even running on fumes at this point, but more like the fumes of those fumes.

This is when Bane chooses to make his moves.

Bane, for those that don’t know, was born in a prison (one of the worst on earth) and as such was basically property of the prison since birth. He essentially grew up in solitary confinement until he was old enough to join the general population, where he proceeded to kick the shit out of, and usually kill, some of the most dangerous men on earth. For years he ran the prison, and the whole time was afraid of nothing. Well, no MAN, at least. Bane had horrible night terrors involving being chased and hunted by a giant bat creature. So, when he starts to learn of the outside world from his allies Bird, Trogg, and Zombie and hears of the criminal crown jewel of Gotham City, he is intrigued. But when he hears of the man/creature that truly rules the city, the Batman, he feels it is his calling to destroy this Batman, who, to Bane, is the personification of the thing he’s been dreaming about for so long.

Bane and his men escape the prison and travel to Gotham, where he proceeds to study the Batman as much as he can. A brief run-in between the two, and a brief run-in between Bane and Robin, give him some insight into how they operate, and he begins putting a plan together.

Unfortunately for Batman, this plan is enacted while he’s at his lowest, and that plan involves attacking Arkham Asylum, blowing up the walls, and freeing the dozens of criminal psychopaths Batman has helped put away there. In a matter of minutes everyone from the Joker and the Scarecrow to the Ventriloquist and Firefly are free and in the wind. Gotham has just been thrown from the frying pan into the fire, and the one man that could truly do something about it is operating at a fraction of his usual strength and mental acuity.

* * * * * 

No Rest for the Sick

The next phase of Bane’s plan is essentially to put his feet up and just watch Gotham fall to pieces, and to really watch the Batman. Bane will destroy him, but all in good time. He wants to pick his moment and make sure he doesn’t end up on the list of names on the “Almost Got Batman” list.

So he watches Batman struggle to put away the Mad Hatter, the Ventriloquist, Amygdala, and Firefly. He watches Batman push Robin further and further away and sees the physical exhaustion worsen and worsen in Batman. His condition is making it so that each fight is much more intense than it would typically be, which in turn makes him even more tired, which makes the next fight worse, which- you get the idea.

Slowly, all too slowly, but surely, Batman starts putting some of the bigger guns down. After he puts Two-Face away it essentially leaves just the two worst rogues he could face in his condition. Two of his worst, most dangerous enemies. It can’t seem to get much worse.

Oh, look, it did get worse! They’ve freaking teamed up!!! Together they have kidnapped and psychologically tortured the mayor of Gotham, and a barely conscious, partially delirious Batman charges in to face the Scarecrow, one of his most dangerous and unpredictable foes, and the man who murdered Jason Todd, the man who pushes his buttons like nobody else, and who he has not seen since he failed to catch him after Jason’s murder: the Joker.

Even in peak condition this would be a very difficult task. In his current condition? It seems all but impossible…

* * * * * *

Revenge for Robin

I mentioned a long time ago that the first comic book I ever read was Batman: A Death in the Family, the story in which the Joker murders Jason Todd. For myself, and I’m sure for many others that read that story, the biggest let down was Batman never gets his hands on the Joker after he kills Robin so horribly. There is no physical comeuppance for the Joker in that story.

They make sure to make up for that in this story.

Batman seems pretty wasted, hardly able to think straight and needing to lean on walls to walk, and that’s BEFORE he gets a dose of Scarecrow toxin. It seems impossible that he’s going to be able to save the mayor, much less stop either of these maniacs. Hell, he might not even survive this! Look at him, he looks completely done! He- oh.

Oh, damn. He’s just going for it.

When Batman sees the Joker, he just snaps. Screaming Jason’s name over and over, he hands out one of the worst ass beatings he’s ever put on anyone to that point. Nothing the Joker tries works at all; his taunts and jokes are cut off by throat chops, jaw breaking haymakers, rib smashing kicks, and being tossed off of things and through things.

I never feel bad for the Joker when he gets his, but damn. He just keeps on hitting him, huh.

God damn.

Batman defeats the two villains and saves the mayor, but he is beyond spent. He barely makes it back home, and as he limps through the door he is greeted by an unconscious Alfred and none other than the monstrous Bane standing in the foyer to Wayne Manor. He knows the Batman’s identity, he has infiltrated his home, he has taken over his city, and now it is time to break him.

* * * * * 

Bane’s Big Break

It’s all come to this. All of Bane’s planning, years of waiting and watching, it has all come to this. Bane is at the absolute peak of his powers and Batman is at his absolute lowest. Bane has ambushed the Batman in his own home, throwing him even further off of his game. Batman is unprepared, sick, beyond exhausted and beaten up, and now must face the toughest opponent he’s ever faced.

Things… do not go well.

Batman’s attacks are useless; he just doesn’t have the strength left in him to put up any kind of prolonged fight. Plus, Bane is high as fuck on Venom.

No, not the alien goo covered asshole that used to torment Spider-Man, but an incredibly potent anabolic steroid that gives the user borderline superhuman strength and makes pain a distant memory. Think PCP… but like if the PCP was itself on PCP. After an experimental surgery he was chosen to be a guinea pig for while in prison, Bane has a direct line into his blood stream that he floods with Venom any time he needs to do something unspeakably violent. So, y’know, he’s using it, like, a lot.

So end of his rope Batman doesn’t stand much of a chance against PCP Rey Mysterio, and he is soundly beaten in his own Batcave. Then, to drive home his victory, Bane cements himself in DC and comic book history by doing the one thing nobody thought possible. He breaks the Batman.

As horrible as that is, he’s not done. Bane takes the broken Batman into the city, where he loudly proclaims himself to all as the new king of Gotham, then promptly tosses the mangled Batman off of the roof! Batman falls a few stories onto the street below, and while he might not be dead, he sure looks like isn’t far off.

Batman is spirited away by some paramedics, who are actually Alfred and Robin in disguise, and rush him back to the cave to attempt to save his life.

* * * * * 

 

There’s a New Sheriff in Town and He’s F*cking Crazy

Bane has won. The Batman has fallen. Gotham is in the hands of an unstoppable madman.

Bruce Wayne cannot answer the call; cannot come to his city’s aid. But Batman and Robin can never die. So, who does Bruce ask to fill in for him? Nightwing? That would make the most sense. He was the first Robin, he knows how to do it, and he’s more than capable. Maybe ask the JLA to handle this asshole for him? “Hey, Superman, can you go beat up this luchador looking freak for m- what? It’s done? Wow.”

Nah, he chooses to give the mantle of the Bat to one Jean Paul Valley, a former brainwashed assassin for an ancient religious order who is more commonly known as Azrael.

In the months leading up to Knightfall Bruce had run into Azrael, learned of his history, and tried to help him break the brainwashing of the Order of St Dumas and use his very, very considerable skills to help people, not kill them. Jean Paul ditched the Azrael identity and turned his back on the Order and has been living in Wayne Manor and training with Robin. He certainly has the skills to fill in for Bruce, but he is still very new to this hero thing and is in no way, shape or form mentally prepared for what is about to happen to him.

The pressure of the mantle of the Batman is immense, and the mission statement of the Batman is diametrically opposed to the one that he was brainwashed into for decades. It’s only a matter of time before things go way, way south.

But first, Jean Paul is going to ignore Bruce’s explicit order to stay AWAY FROM BANE, DAMMIT, and he’s gonna go after Bane. He builds some intense clawed gauntlets that fire out razor sharp batarangs and runs through Bane’s thugs like they were already unconscious when they started fighting, but finds he is not quite enough to defeat Bane.

So, Jean Paul goes to the cave and enters a meditative trance he used in his days as Azrael, allowing his subconscious (“The System”) to take over. When he ‘awakes’ he finds he has been rather busy and has redesigned the Batman suit! This new Batman again soars into the night and publicly confronts Bane. This time Jean Paul not only beats Bane and does so in front of dozens and dozens of witnesses, but he humiliates him. He cuts the line that allows Bane to flood his system with Venom, then just bets the living shit out of him. Bane now lies broken at the feet of the new Batman!

Jean Paul’s ferocity and determination is on par with Bruce’s, but there is something wild about him. Where Bruce is all about control and fights with controlled violence, Jean Paul is just explosive. There is little nuance, little control to be seen. There is just speed, power, and a ruthless streak that rivals the likes of Deathstroke. And he’s watching over you, Gotham. Sleep well!

This story ushers in a new era of Batman: we can no longer trust that we have even the faintest idea of what this guy is going to do next. He’s like the anti-Bruce Wayne!

Surely, this new Batman will be able to fight against his brainwashing programming to kill pretty much everyone that crosses him. Right?

Can Robin get along with this new Batman? Can Commissioner Gordon? Other heroes?

How will the villains react to this all-new, all-crazy Batman?

Well, we can discuss all of that when we do 5 Coolest Moments From… Knightquest!

(But the answers are no, no, no, no, and poorly)