Detective Comics Annual #3

Issue Details

Synopsis

ICARUS: CHAOS THEORY On the morning of Friday, October 9th, Annette Aguila beat her boyfriend Dante in a dirt bike race, forcing him to admit that she was the better rider. Sadly, he believed that her mother Elena would never let their relationship stand, given his drug history. He had been clean for some time, though, and Annette assured him that her mother didn't even know he was in town. Even if she had got clean too, all her mother would see of him regardless would be the man who made her daughter into an addict. Sighing, he begged her to go back to New Orleans with him. He had one more job to do that would make them the money they'd need. Nervously, she agreed.   That afternoon, Batman had learned of a cache of weapons stolen from police impound during the eclipse. Suspecting a gang of mercenaries called the Bastards of Black Gate.   Nearby, the Kings of the Sun biker gang had left a young man named Dante alone with their crates of Icarus for delivery to The Squid, making him wait until their deal with the crime boss had been struck. After his bosses had left, Dante received a call from his girlfriend who had planned for them to leave town sometime soon. He assured her that he needed to do one last thing before they could leave.   In the Narrows, meanwhile, Batman beat his way through the Bastards of Black Gate, learning that their stolen weapons were the Caldwell Industries weapons confiscated from The Wrath. What was more important than the fact that he found them was where he could find the rest. His question was answered by a kid, who was watching. He introduced himself as Aden and explained that he had overheard the gang talking. In exchange for his information, he demanded only the chance to own a batarang on his birthday. Aden revealed that the guns are coming from the Salt Yard. Noticing the state of the boys shoes, Batman deduced that Aden had followed the gang there. Wondering why, he looked more closely, and discovered bruises on Aiden's face. His father had been beating him - and he'd forgotten his son's birthday.   Later that evening, Jonny Loman and the Squid met with Julian Day in the back of their limo. Squid had put Day in charge of the deal with the Kings of the Sun because it was too vital for the business to trust with Jonny. He hoped that Jonny might learn something from Day that night. Grumpily, Jonny obeyed his older brother, unwillingly accompanying Day for a drink while they waited.   At the bar, Julian explained that part of why his older brother is the one who calls the shots is because he had a name. In Gotham City, branding was important, and having a recognizable identity mattered. Jonny commented that "Julian" isn't a particularly inspiring name, prompting the larger man to punch him in the gut before excusing himself to the washroom. There, he encountered Matches Malone, who attacked him without explanation. After being pressed, Matches explained that this beating was punishment for missing his son's birthday. Angrily, he slammed Julian's head into the wall and scoffed that he should get a damned calendar. Taking Julian's defeat as a sign, Jonny decided to earn a payday by carrying out the deal with the Kings of the Sun on his own.   Impatient with Dante, Annette called him again, hoping he'd be back to get her before her mother got home. She was disturbed though, to hear the shake in his voice, as she learned that his "one last thing" was protecting a shipment of Icarus. Knowing his sobriety was at risk to a very dangerous drug, she begged him to get out of there, but he hung up on her. As the sound of gunfire from outside the storage unit reached him, Dante gave in to his craving.   Having killed the other guards outside, Jonny and his men made their way into the storage unit, hoping to steal the Icarus for themselves and prove himself to his brother. Upon opening the unit, though, Dante burst through the door, engulfed in flames and screaming that he'd kill them. Jonny's men shot him dead, and mocked him for his inability to handle the drug.   Receiving no answer upon calling again, Annette knew that she was too late.   At the Gotham Salt Rock Depot, Batman planted charges while listening in on the Bastards of Blackgate's plans to become mercs for hire around Gotham. He attacked, warning that recognition comes with a price - his attention. Almost immediately, they opened fire on him, prompting him to detonate the charges, causing the salt to fill the valley and bury the gang up to their necks.   Later, at the Gotham Aquarium, Squid assured Holter and the Kings of the Sun that he had nothing to do with the ambush on their stash. Holter insisted that somebody who worked for the Squid murdered his men and stole the Icarus, and so he would Squid responsible. Squid insisted that he would do whatever he could to mend the relationship, and Holter warned him to remain as good as his word. After returning to his brother, Jonny pinned the blame for the theft on Julian Day, claiming he ditched him at the bar.   Batman, returning to Day's house to reward Aden for his good work discovered that a note had been left for Julian explaining that Aden had been kidnapped. He worried that a thug like Julian Day wouldn't take the bait. Soon, the leader of the Bastards of Blackgate received the call they were expecting.   Believing that Julian Day had come to retrieve his son, the Bastards of Blackgate were surprised when the man who appeared at the Gotham Rail Yard that night was Batman in one of his heavy armor suits. After taking out all of the Bastard's men, he turned to the leader and warned him to give up the weapons. Incredulously, the Big Bastard aimed a rail gun at him, refusing. In response, Batman unleashed a magnetic pulse, overloading the weapon's generator, and forcing the Big Bastard to surrender.   The next morning, Bruce saw to it that Aden would be given a place in Elena Aguila's Aguila Family Shelter for Women and Children.