Batman Annual #12

Issue Details

Synopsis

SLADE'S DEMON Bruce Wayne has been invited to a "murder party" at the grotesquely designed Slade State in New York by the current owner of the house, Monica Slade, and every guest is required to take a couple. Bruce's date is socialite Ruby Smith and on their way there, they discuss the legendary curse of Slade Manor, which talks about the presence of an ancient curse, brought upon the house as a result of a strange affair between the original owner of the place, his wife and the builder of the house.  Bruce and Ruby arrive at the place at the top of a gorge, where Monica is waiting for the rest of the guests alongside her young lover, Jake Sweeney. Monica informs Bruce and Ruby that all guests are to roleplay as specific characters to uncover the murder plot during the evening. Like this, Ruby becomes a famous actress and Bruce is given the role of the detective, in a coincidental turn of events. In the same way, Monica gives every one of the incoming guests their respective roles, but the absence of the 13th guest is noted by everyone in the house.   Just as Monica is done giving everyone their roles, thunder strikes and turns the power off the mansion. Monica claims that she will bring some candles, but after a few seconds, the guests hear only a woman's scream coming from upstairs. Bruce is the first to arrive and he finds the room where the scream came from. The window was broken and upon closer examination, Bruce notices the corpse of Monica Slade several feet below. Many of the guests think it is all part of the party and decide to gather in the living room, but Jake, Monica's lover wants to make sure she is truly dead. Bruce has changed into Batman and confirms her death seconds before Jake could reach her. Afterwards, Batman goes to warn the rest of the guests that this is no longer a party and that they are all in danger. He also assures them that Bruce Wayne has been safely taken out of the place, but he also learns that some of the guests have noticed the presence of a strange and hulking entity around the house.   Batman then goes to investigate the crime scene, where he is attacked by a furious Jake, who believes Batman is responsible for Monica's murder. During their struggle, one of the guests shows up and attacks them. Rene Cesar, reveals himself as the former lover of Monica and the father of Jake as a result of their affair. With this revelation of an incestuous relationship, Rene also reveals that he is a descendant of Jerry Swanson, the original builder of Slade Manor, who had been betrayed by Deacon Slade, the first owner of the place, after Swanson had an affair with his wife. Cesar makes one final confession and reveals himself as Monica's killer, ending his personal vendetta against the Slade family for the wrongs done to his ancestors. In the final part of his scheme, Cesar plans to activate a mechanism that will blow the house's foundations, making it collapse into the gorge, but first he must get rid of Batman.   Cesar ties Batman and throws him through the window from which Monica was killed. During the fall, Batman breaks free from the ropes, but he would have died if he wasn't grabbed by the big monster of Slade Manor. The monster grabs Batman's cape and takes him to the caverns below the building, where he explains that he is not a monster, but in fact the assistant of the original builder, who has lived for ages in the caves thanks to the magic of the place. He explains that Slade Manor is built upon a sacred place for the Indians, which is the real reason for the curse. Batman notices that Cesar has started to blow the foundations of the building and he hurries to the place to evacuate all the guests, except for Cesar and Jake, who are still on the top tower and both of them die once the building collapses into the gorge. In a cloud of smoke and dust that comes from the collapsed building, the giant shape of a demon bursts out and disappears shortly afterwards, ending the curse of Slade Manor for good. Batman only noticed that the immortal assistant was trying to prevent the house from collapsing, but he also disappeared when the house went to hell.   Finally, Batman leaves the guests at dawn and informs them that Bruce Wayne will be waiting for them at the nearest police station. Hours later, Bruce is joined by Ruby Smith and he explains that he convinced Batman to save him by offering to donate money to his favorite charity. As Bruce drives away from the cursed place, the immortal man-monster watches from the distance. THE BACK-UP After ending classes, a teacher suggests Jason Todd to engage in more extracurricular activities at school. Taking the man's advice, Jason joins the hit squad in charge of the auditorium lights. However, the young kids show Jason that they have found a way to get illegal access to the school's records thanks to their job. With this access, they modify their respective report cards and improve their grades. Jason knows what they are doing is wrong, but he doesn't want to rat them out and become an outcast.   Going to the school's record, Jason thinks of a lesson taught to him by Bruce and decides to use the school's back-up records to make the troublemakers trip themselves. The next day, the school's principal learns of the mischief and Jason's involvement goes unnoticed, which allows him to keep his new friends while also doing what's right, following the steps of his mentor.