Detective Comics #808

Issue Details

Synopsis

CITY OF CRIME PART 8 - THE NEW FACE Robin has been assigned the duty of watch over Arnold Wesker, a.k.a. The Ventriloquist, while the man recovers from serious injuries, at the hospital. Wesker is the key to know more about the new villain called The Body, and for that reason it is very important to keep him safe. Some members of the Gotham City Police Department are guarding the room as well, but since Robin knows that the new enemy can adopt anybody's appearance, he must remain there, "holding the fort". At that same hospital, Sergeant Frank Ivers is recovering from the shot he received by one of the doppelgangers. Ivers knows everything about them and his knowledge, combined with the strong medication he's been taking, has made him paranoid. As a nurse comes into his room, he jumps at her from behind and uses a syringe to extract some blood from her fingertip, just to make sure that she is a human, with blood and not a monster made of dirt. However, he starts losing his mind, thinking that it's all a conspiracy and that he must look for a safe place to be. The officers at Wesker's door start talking about Ivers and his sudden outburst of madness and Robin finally has something else to do other than guard an unconscious criminal and his wooden puppet.  In the meantime, Bruce has been performing his role of Donnie Maloy, the crane operator for almost a week without result. He decides to steal from Raffi Moosakhanian in order to get the attention of the leader of the construction work and Crow Point. When Bruce is discovered, Raffi and his men leave him chained ot the crane upside down to spend the night thinking of what he did. However, in the morning they find that Donnie is no longer chained up, but has managed to free himself and is drinking a morning coffee at Raffi's trailer. Raffi loses his temper and attacks "Donnie". They fight on the construction site, in front of all the other workers. Bruce allows himself to be punched by Raffi, while he also delivers a couple of punches, but he makes sure to use attacks that won't cause permanent damage. After the fight, Donnie is considered a hero among them and they take him to celebrate at the nearest bar. Raffi is in the celebration and he apologizes to Donnie, considering him an equal now and offers him to stay at his home for a few nights until he finds somewhere to live.   Meanwhile, Frank Ivers is hinding in a supply room of the hospital, while the police and medical staff are looking for him all across the building. The police have blocked every exit and soon he is accidentally found by a nurse. Ivers attacks the nurse, but he is promptly stopped by Robin. Ivers is convinced that everyone is an evil doppelganger and Robin has to tie the man up to stop him from hurting himself and others. Robin tells him that he is going to a madhouse once the police takes him, but Ivers points out that there is no police around. Robin takes a look and he realizes that suddenly, the hospital is empty and there's nobody around while Ivers laughs maniacally.   Bruce is taken to Raffi's home, where they eat dinner cooked by Raffi's wife, Siran. Raffi brags about the food, almost as if he cooked it, but when he discovers that the food he offered Donnie was not exactly what Siran had prepared, Raffi almost attacked his wife. He is stopped by a knock on the door and after a few seconds, Raffi makes an excuse and leaves with another man. Bruce decides that he must follow Raffi and learn about the man's secrets.   At the hospital, three mysterious police officers enter The Ventriloquist's room, but when they remove the blankets from his bed, all they find is Scarface. Robin appears and uses a concussion charge he took from Bruce's personal stash. After knocking out the impostors, Robin goes to another room, where he moved Wesker to and he has also tied Frank Ivers to a chair. As he is getting tired and Ivers seems to be crazier by the minute, Robin has no option but to call for backup.   Bruce follows Raffi to a bar, where he is talking with another construction worker and both of them are answering to a third man. The latter, seems to smile too much for a normal person and Bruce knows that he is the man that holds the answers about The Body and their purpose. However, when the meeting is over, the smiling man goes straight into Raleigh Park, during the darkest hour of night. Bruce hesitates to follow the man for a second and in the meantime, the man vanishes inside the park, forcing Bruce to return to Raffi's place.   The next day, Bruce notices that Siran has a black eye, but he can't do anything yet, but to follow Raffi's lead and wait until the time is right.   Robin is getting anxious taking care of Ivers and Wesker when finally, James Gordon comes into the room, much to Robin's relief. THE BEAST BENEATH PART 1 - CROC'S TALE OF TEARS Through the sewers of Gotham City roams Killer Croc, who has mutated back into the lizard monster and as a result, he is becoming more feral. Eating every living creature he finds, Croc fills his stomach as a beast more than a man.   Croc remembers that it all started when Hush and Riddler injected the mutagenic virus on him and he became a monster. After he was captured by the Government, they found a cure for him and reverted the mutation. Once again, he was "normal" until he was captured by Black Mask and he had Mad Hatter implant a chip on Croc's brain, which caused him to mutate once again. Black Mask used Croc as a puppet and sent him to attack the Hill, a place protected by Onyx and Catwoman. After this, Croc tried to get revenge on Mad Hatter, but Batman prevented it and told Croc that the mutation is out of control.   Croc decides to look for the doctor who cured him previously and he goes straight to Wayne Tech. However, on his way there, he is attacked by members of the False Face Society, but he slaughters them with no effort. Croc breaks into Wayne Tech and a security guard tries to shoot him, but Croc's skin has become thicker and bullets don't harm him anymore. Croc asks the guard for Doctor Maria Belleza, and the guard takes him to her office. After getting her scent from her chair, Croc leaves the place, sparing the guard's life.   Following the doctor's scent, Croc arrives at her home on a rainy night and demands to be cured.