Batman #400

Issue Details

Synopsis

RESURRECTION NIGHT! Ra's al Ghul embarks upon one of his most ambitious schemes to confound the Batman. He engineers a massive breakout at both Arkham Asylum and Gotham State Penitentiary, uniting both prisoners and patients, he arms them with their uniforms and weapons, giving them special instructions. Meanwhile, Batman finds a note taped to the Batcomputer that reads, "Know your foes!" and Ra's enters the cave to tell Batman what he has done. He further offers his service in permanently eliminating Batman's adversaries should he agree to join his crusade. Batman naturally refuses, and Ra's takes his leave.   He soon discovers that the villains have kidnapped people with strong connections to the Batman -- Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Bullock, Julia Pennyworth, and Vicki Vale. Moreover, the Joker and the Penguin have enveloped GCPD Headquarters with a giant steel net, turning the police into prisoners. The Joker forces Commissioner Gordon to contact Batman and tell him that he has three hours to rescue them or else all of the hostages will die.   Batman and Robin find assistance from Catwoman and Ra's daughter Talia. They split into two teams to tackle the mission from different angles. Robin and Talia go after the group of villains at the GCPD, while Batman and Catwoman confront the criminals who have kidnapped Batman's allies. Throughout the course of the long evening, both parties prove successful and after Batman defeats the Joker and regains control of the GCPD, the heroes then travel together to Ra's base of operations.  They track him down to an old decrepit windmill where Ra's is housing one of his Lazarus Pits. For the first time ever, Ra's immerses himself in the pit while still alive, and soon emerges, now ten times as strong as a normal human. Batman and his allies approach the windmill and uses explosive charges to blast away at the foundation, providing them with a quick entrance. Batman and Ra's fight one another and through the course of the conflict, he flips Ra's over his head. Ra's lands for a second time inside the Lazarus Pit. The explosives have greatly weakened the structure of the windmill, so Batman and the others race out of there just as it collapses. With Ra's base collapsing the heroes retreat, assuming that Ra's is gone for good.   Afterwards, most of Batman allies gather together in the Batcave to celebrate Batman's anniversary, but the Dark Knight refuses to join them, knowing that there are many criminals still at large and that his mission is far from over.