Arkham Manor #4

Issue Details

Synopsis

OUT IN THE COLD Having placed his trust in Eric Border to remove a fragment of Clayface from Arkham Manor, Bruce Wayne, who is disguised as a patient called Jack Shaw, is surprised to find that the fragment has been infected with Joker Venom and is attacking the other inmates. In the confusion, patient Sybil Silverlock escapes.   Leaving her be for the moment, Bruce considers his options and decides his best bet is to recruit Mr. Freeze to help contain Clayface, using the liquid nitrogen from his containment unit. Bruce is forced to lure the fragment to Freeze's cell, and finds it terrorizing an inmate he recognizes. He had only just taken out his anger about his home becoming an insane asylum on this man a few nights earlier. Now, he can see how much damage he did and he regrets it.   He grabs the man's gurney and drags it back to Freeze's cell, picking up Dr. Arkham en route. When the creature follows, Freeze blasts it with the liquid nitrogen, freezing it solid. Knowing he has to keep up the façade of Jack Shaw, Bruce grabs Arkham and chokes him to sleep, promising Freeze an escape, but secretly hoping to ditch him and get into the Batcave unnoticed. Once outside, though, Freeze admits that he doesn't intend to escape as he has nowhere else to go. Taking him at his word, Bruce moves on.   In the cave, Hush taunts Bruce, but Alfred ensures that their prisoner isn't unscathed by cooking a delicious meal he knows will go to waste for Bruce, allowing Hush to see it, and then serving the prisoner gruel. Intent on catching the killer within the asylum's walls, Bruce dons his Batsuit and pays a visit to Dr. Arkham. He interrupts the man midway through a conversation with himself, worrying that the doctor may not be any more stable than his patients.   He explains to Arkham that he knows who the killer is, and that he intended Arkham to be his next victim. In fact, the killer is waiting in the walls as they speak, and Batman climbs into the ceiling to find him, warning the doctor to put the asylum on lock-down and prepare a cell for another dangerous offender.