Scans_Daily

It ends the arc that started back in July 2022 with issue #1062 and ran for about two years, interrupted only by 2023's line-wide " Knight Terrors " crossover.

Issue #1088 had Batman fighting Dariah Orgham, impetus of the Orgham family's work to take physical and metaphysical control of Gotham City. He'd overpowered her in combat as those on his side had beaten her servants.

She wasn't beaten yet - the power that she wielded afforded her a monster form, which she took on and threw at Batman.

( Batman met her. )

His return, his appearance to save Jim Gordon and the Question (Renee Montoya) from the forces of the Orgham family, had been the end of #1083's main story.

He fought off the Orghams' men and monsters, denying the representatives of those who had Gotham City in their power.

When the battle was done, he had " It's good to see you too " for Jim.

For the Question, he had especially concrete evidence for the case she'd been working.

( He'd picked it up between issues. )

The main story has Batman as one - his struggle with the azmer the Orgham family'd inflicted on him's ripening him up for Barbatos.

In issue #1081, Talia al Ghul'd set him on a path to overcoming the azmer - had taken him to the Aras desert for it.

At the outset of Batman's subconscious struggle, Doctor Hurt'd appeared and left.

When Batman's progress took him to " the Gotham that the Batman saved ", the doctor came again.

( He guided Batman through the hypothetical. )

Catwoman and the crew she'd put together for the occasion had got him away from the Orgham family in issue #1079.

She and Jim Gordon had him in the back of a van, speeding towards the Gotham waterfront - forces led by the Orgham retainer Neang following close.

Neang and his men cornered them eventually, demanded the surrender of Batman to them so that they could finish his ritual execution and the formalization of their power over Gotham.

Catwoman refused. Neang made to take the Bat -

- and then a sniper shot downed one of his men.

( A coin turned upwards through the air. )

He's thrashing through the streets of Gotham, racked by an azmer of the Orgham family's.

He's running in his head too, being pursued through memories by that demon.

Outside his head, he's being pursued by Gotham police, who want him for the destruction that the Orghams maneuvered him into.

( There's two directly on the Batman's trail, and police commissioner Renee Montoya taking their reports. )

In issue #1067, representatives of that family'd made their next move in Gotham City - the purchase of land rights in the city's Narrows, the burning of buildings thereon, and the taking of people therein.

Bruce Wayne, hearing about the last two as they were happening, drove off towards the Narrows.

Batman, above the fray of the Narrows, leapt into it. He grappled with the Orgham agents in issue #1068, fought an even enough fight until he was poisoned.

The situation was in the Orghams' favor, then - until Harvey Dent (forcibly pulled into the Orghams' orbit back in issue #1063) gave himself over to Two-Face.

( Two-Face made away with Batman. )