Batman: Shadow of the Bat #89

Issue Details

Synopsis

NO MAN'S LAND PART 51: THE KING Batman stops a gang of cannibals and prevents them from killing another man. As Batman is rescuing the man, the Bat-Signal appears in the sky and Batman goes to see what happened.   Batman arrived at the signal's source and he finds a girl and a father waiting for him. They tell Batman about the group of people they belong to, that their leader is missing and that they need him in order to survive in Gotham City. They call him The King of Gotham because he helped them when they most needed it. The King gave them medicine and taught them how to purify water. Without many clues about The King, Batman goes looking for him.  Elsewhere, a couple of hoodlums are beating The King but before they can finish him, they are attacked by Killer Croc, who wants The King.   On his search, Batman realizes that the man's work is all around Gotham. Batman deduces that The King must obtain the materials from somewhere and thus he heads to the only man with resources in the city; Penguin. Batman scares Penguin with his unannounced visit and after asking him about The King, Penguin tells him that he has been trading goods with the man, but then Batman makes him realize that The King has been stealing from him and Penguin is infuriated. Batman leaves the Penguin alone and goes looking for any clues on The King's whereabouts. He finds a trail of crooks knocked unconscious or dead and upon checking one of the scenes Batman notices a scale left on the crime scene. Batman knows who is behind it all.   Killer Croc is at Babylon Towers's Mall beating The King and telling him to acknowledge Croc as the real king of Gotham. When one of his own henchmen tell Croc to calm down, Croc punishes him by bashing his head against the wall. Batman sees what is happening and uses a concussion grenade to stun Croc's henchmen and knocks them all down. Croc grabs Batman from behind and Batman hits him hard with the back of his head. The two of them fight for a while and then Croc tosses Batman to the ground. Before delivering the final blow, Croc launches himself towards Batman and the latter uses his legs to send Croc flying down the building on a four-floor drop. Batman knows that Croc has survived worse and that he will be fine. Batman then goes to check on The King and learns that the man's identity is Stanley Demchaszky, a former criminal and Blackgate inmate. Stanley tells Batman that he was released from prison the day before the earthquake and that he didn't leave Gotham with everyone else because he wanted to stay and help the people to redeem himself. Batman is unsure of what to do next.   In the end, Batman takes Stanley back to the refugee center and the people finally meet The King of Gotham.