Detective Comics #38

Issue Details

Synopsis

ANARKY, PART 2 Despite the explosive charges detonated at Wayne Tower, Batman was fast enough to insert a containment compound into the building's sprinkler system to distribute a hardening foam that would absorb the majority of the heat and force of the explosions. However, that foam hardened around a bunch of innocent employees, and he now needs to use a reversing agent to free them before they suffocate. Fortunately, he does so in time, and though he is grateful to be alive, Harvey Bullock still wishes that a less sticky solution had been on the table. Worriedly, his friend Nancy Yip wonders what Anarky might try next, if this was just the opening act.   Having burnt a several-story high "A" into the side of Wayne Tower, Anarky assumes control of all Gotham television signals to announce that the end of the season-long anticipation of Christmas has come, and with it, the dawn of a new day. He has left presents outside the doors of nearly every home in Gotham, and he promises that inside it is an opportunity. Last night, on Christmas Eve, he erased the digital footprint of every Gothamite. Nobody in the city exists as far as the government is concerned. Inside the present boxes are masks that symbolize that newfound freedom. They are blank, and he encourages everyone to decorate their own. The people will choose their own faces - and they will shape their own future. The Anarky Revolution will begin here and now.   That morning, City Councilman Sam Young explains on live TV that he feels that Anarky's broadcast serves to demonstrate that there is a segment of Gotham's society who are being under-served. He criticizes Mayor Hady's office, commenting that Anarky shouldn't make more sense to the people of Gotham than the Mayor does, while deftly dodging questions about his likelihood to run against Hady for the mayoralty. After the interview, Bullock and Yip accost the councilman to ask him about Jeb Lester - the Wayne Enterprises employee and one-time accessory to child trafficking whom Anarky murdered. Young refuses to answer questions about that, so Bullock takes a different tack, showing him photos of children he found in Lester's briefcase. Young responds that the photos were taken by Child Services, and takes his leave. Though it seems to Nancy that the attempt to question Young was fruitless, Bullock insists that he got what he was looking for.   Meanwhile, Batman uses the identity of Matches Malone to question a young delinquent and former hacker Lonnie, who insists that he is trying to go straight. Lonnie had once hacked into WayneTech, and Matches comments that there must be a link between him and Anarky. Lonnie responds that in order to go straight, he had to sell off all of his back-door entry keys. He'd sold that particular key to Jeb Lester. Just to test him, Matches offers Lonnie a job, and the boy refuses, explaining that Anarky's erasing his record gives him an even better chance to start over. Matches responds that Lonnie doesn't need a freak handing out masks to give him permission to change his life for the better.   Alfred reports that the computers have finished mapping the faces of the skulls that Batman found at the waterfront wreckage the night before. Bruce notes that the system is still down, so the faces can't be identified yet, but he assures Alfred that they will get closure for the families.   Batman travels to the prison where the Mad Hatter is incarcerated, and tries to get him to admit that he is guilty of murdering the children whose bodies he found. Tetch is still so deluded that he thinks his Alice is still alive, despite having killed her the year before. Alfred interrupts with word of an armed robbery, and Batman gives up for the time being to deal with that.   At the Gotham National Bank Bullock and Yip are among the police presence outside of the developing hostage situation, where masked thugs hope to take advantage of Anarky's gift of anonymity to get the money they need to run the streets. At that moment, though, the Batmobile crashes through the front window of the building, throwing the situation into chaos. Only one of the thugs manages to get out of the building unscathed with a hostage, shoving her into a stolen cop-car and making a getaway. Bullock and Yip scramble to give chase, as the Batmobile speeds past them in its own pursuit.   While the thug tries to shoot at the authorities, his hostage grabs the wheel and aims it at a wall, causing a crash. Annoyed, he gets out of the car and hurries into an alley with Yip and Bullock chasing on foot and Batman above him. As he rounds a corner, Yip insists that she has a clear shot of him, but Bullock and Batman can both see the civilians who are too close to him. She takes the shot, and Batman looks on with horror as her bullet hits Lonnie instead of the thug. The gathering crowd seems to blame Batman for killing an unarmed kid.