Batman #380

Issue Details

Synopsis

END OF THE BAT It's late night in Gotham City and many events take place. At the Gotham Hospital, Harvey Bullock recovers after he was shot by Mayor Hill, who is none too happy to know that he failed in killing his target and wants that man death. For this reason, the procedure to release Doctor Fang from prison is delayed, but the criminal demands that he should be released to eliminate Bullock, as all his thugs have failed in the task so far. Despite all the grim news about Dr. Fang's release, Bullock rest easy as he gets police protection on his hospital door and Commissioner Gordon decides to stay in the room until Bullock is fully recovered.  Meanwhile, Batman decides to continue his investigation on the disappearance of Night-Slayer following the trail left through the sewers of the city until he reaches a discharge point next to the Gotham River and finds a small hut nearby, from where the Night-Slayer has left earlier, leaving the poor blind girl alone in her thoughts that "Batman" abandoned her. When the real Batman asks her if there's something amiss, she only tells him to go away and leave her alone.   The next day, Doctor Fang is finally released from prison thanks to Hill's political manipulation and he is required to murder Bullock as soon as possible. However, Fang's main objective is to kill the man who first captured him: Batman. Meanwhile, Nocturna still tries to earn Jason's affection, but her efforts are still fruitless. As she is out on the street with her son, the Night-Slayer sneaks into her apartment and hides in her room until she returns.   When Nocturna returns, Jason decides to wait in the balcony in case Batman shows up and as she goes into her room, she is attacked by the Night-Slayer and Jason is soon attacked as well. As this happens, Batman is indeed going towards the Ritz-Carlton hotel to get Robin, but his ulterior motive is also the see Nocturna. Unaware to Batman, he is being followed closely by Doctor Fang, who learns about Batman's destination and breaks into the hotel going to the penthouse of Nocturna. Upon reaching the building, Batman finds Jason and Nocturna tied to chairs and the Night-Slayer attacks the Dark Knight. The fight is even, but Batman gets the upper hand, defeating his enemy until he is distracted by Doctor Fang's sudden entrance into the room.   The Night-Slayer takes the opportunity as Batman is distracted and tries to shoot him, but Batman reacts instinctively and jumps towards the Night-Slayer. The bullet only grazes Batman's cowl and hits Doctor Fang behind him, killing him instantly. Unfortunately, Batman suffers a severe trauma and loses his consciousness, gettings vision of himself and his enemies, crumbling down. When he finally recovers his consciousness, he sees the corpse of Doctor Fang and assumes he is responsible for his death, and thinks he is the Night-Slayer. Anton Knight takes this chance to convince Batman of this utter lie as he removes the Batsuit and adopts the identity of the Batman, leaving Bruce wearing the Night-Slayer's outfit. After Knight has left the building, he goes back to Tina the blind girl, who is still convinced that he is Batman and when the real Batman recovers, he has no memory or recollection of what happened and truly believes he is the Night-Slayer.