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76-426: Justice League Task Force refers to superheroes owned and published by DC Comics. It may also refer to: Justice League Task Force (comics) - the name of a former DC Comics publication, as well as a superhero team. Justice League Task Force (video game) - a video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and published by Acclaim Entertainment. Topics referred to by

152-509: A new Wonder Woman being appointed by Hippolyta , Aquaman losing his hand, and Green Arrow dying in a plane crash as his long-lost son took over the role. In the opening of the novelisation, KnightFall , Dennis O'Neil said that part of the reason "Knightfall" was written was due to the recent popularity of more "ruthless" heroes such as the Terminator and James Bond in films, as editors were starting to wonder if readers would prefer

228-453: A better hero. The issues featuring Jean-Paul Valley as Batman on the cover depict him with highly exaggerated musculature and legs which taper into disproportionally tiny feet, mimicking the styles of contemporary "violent hero" artists such as Rob Liefeld . The prelude to "Knightfall" began with the introduction of two new characters key to its storyline in issues prior to the release of "Knightfall": The two characters were quickly added to

304-674: A combination Nomex and Kevlar (inspired by the costume of the Tim Burton Batman films), and drives a new, state-of-the-art Batmobile. He fights former Soviet agents Colonel Vega (who teamed with Asp in "Knightquest: The Search"), KGBeast , and Dark Rider, in order to foil a plot to nuke Gotham City with a device the size and shape of a baseball . Troika is the Russian word for "trio". The saga also shows how Batman makes changes to his life as Bruce Wayne, his relationships with his "family", plans to live without Alfred, and copes with

380-476: A crossover, "Knightquest" was more of an umbrella title that also encompassed some issues of Batman: Shadow of the Bat (to avoid giving away their plans, the publishers treated it as though it were the new status quo, so issues were not numbered as chapters). Additionally, The Crusade served as a launching point for the first ongoing monthly series featuring Robin in solo adventures. Neither thread of "Knightquest"

456-496: A group of rebels, led by Rafael Sierra, who are planning to assassinate Sanobel President Enrique Ramos. They enlist the aid of Count Jeremy Glass, who produces a superlaser that "projects death from miles away", a device the rebels are reluctant to use. Nightwing is assigned by Hannibal Martin to stop Sierra on his own. Meanwhile, the Task Force engages the rebels. During an ensuing fight at the palace, Ramos hurries to shut down

532-529: A hatch to the outside, which covered the very hole he fell into as a child, allowing sunlight to enter the night lenses in Jean-Paul's helmet. After being momentarily blinded, Jean-Paul removes his cowl, sees Bruce standing over him in the original Batman costume and concedes defeat, saying " You are the Batman... You've always been the Batman... and I am nothing... " Bruce comforts Jean-Paul, who leaves to wander

608-527: A larger epic, he and the Batman line writers Chuck Dixon , Doug Moench and Alan Grant convened an authors' summit over a long weekend to flesh out the details and story points. At the same time, the Superman team was planning for a similar character-altering storyline, and neither they nor the Batman group initially had any knowledge of each other's plans. Dennis O'Neil denies the Knightfall storyline

684-630: A mock trial; he is saved only by a rescue attempt from Robin. Over the next few issues, Batman becomes weaker and weaker as each criminal is put away. The rescue of Mayor Krol from the teaming of the Joker and Scarecrow pushes Batman to his mental and physical limits: a dose of Scarecrow's fear gas makes him relive the murder of Jason Todd , which he considers to be his greatest failure. After this encounter, Bane's men assault Batman before he himself makes his move and attacks him at Wayne Manor , his home as his alter-ego—long before this time, Bane had deduced

760-426: A motif of a bat that she subsequently gives to Batman. Shiva's caveat is that these attacks will continue indefinitely until Bruce Wayne breaks his vow to never kill. Finally, in the midst of an attack by the final martial artist, Bruce feigns using the " Leopard Blow " fatal maneuver Shiva had taught him, leaving his would-be assailant apparently dead. Shiva finally declares him worthy of fighting her at some point in

836-625: A notorious psychiatric facility in Gotham City . Aware that he would lose in a direct assault against Batman, Bane's plan consists of weakening Batman by forcing him to deal with the deadly villains simultaneously. Among the freed inmates, there are numerous high-profile villains, such as the Joker (who trapped Arkham's administrator Jeremiah Arkham ), the Scarecrow , the Riddler , and Poison Ivy , as well as many lesser-known villains, such as

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912-422: A partnership. Instead, Azrael reaffirms his dedication to Bruce Wayne. The cover of issue #37 depicts Bane breaking Azrael over his knee in a recreation of the famous cover of Batman #497, "Knightfall" part 11. Each story arc of the "Knightfall" saga ran across a number of Gotham City-related comics. This created a fairly complex reading order, which is summarized below. DC Comics published "Knightfall" around

988-414: A powerful nerve gas to terrorists, when she merely wanted to dispose of it so that it could not be used to hurt anyone). His questionable behavior climaxes when he encounters the serial killer Abattoir , who is keeping an innocent prisoner in a secret torture chamber: Jean-Paul purposely lets Abattoir die, thereby condemning the prisoner to death as well. Other villains Jean-Paul faces include Mr. Freeze ,

1064-421: A rooftop to demonstrate his superiority to the populace. Quick action by Robin and Alfred spares Batman's life, but at great cost - he is left a paraplegic . With Batman incapacitated, Bane assumes control of Gotham City's underworld and takes over several illegal operations within it. After his defeat, Bruce Wayne enlists the aid of Dr. Shondra Kinsolving to rehabilitate him and asks Jean-Paul Valley to take up

1140-575: A series of encounters letting Batman know of his presence and his intentions. In Batman #489-490 (February–March 1993), Bane interferes with encounters pitting villains Killer Croc and the Riddler against Batman, and, to test Batman's limits, goes so far as to inject the Riddler with the Venom drug. This escalation culminates in an assault on Arkham Asylum in Batman #491 (April 1993), where Bane breaks

1216-463: A shapeshifted Martian Manhunter) in order to save the life of Henry R. Haggard, who carries with him a deadly virus, from a savage female tribe. Martian Manhunter is faced with more trouble when two New Blood heroes, Joe Public and Geist seek his mentorship, but by the end of the tale in issue #9, they revoke their membership in the League, confident that they're not cut out to be superheroes. Next,

1292-644: A side effect of the energy, Bruce's broken spine becomes healed. However, the drugs forced onto her by Asp, combined with the effects of the fight with Asp, reduce her mind to that of a child as Shondra's traumatised mind regresses to the past to escape her unhappy present, and Wayne reluctantly puts her into a mental institution . Bruce eventually leaves England to return home to a civilian life in Gotham, but Alfred remains in England, not wanting to see Bruce Wayne damage his body further. He does not return to Gotham until

1368-460: A small band of Santa Priscan soldiers and his old henchman Bird. He restrains Azrael and injects him with Venom, with the plan of using him as a super soldier to take over Santa Prisca. Azrael is able to resist addiction to the drug and eventually conquers Bane and flies him back to Gotham City. They arrive just as the massive earthquake occurs. Bane attempts escape but is unable; as a last-ditch effort he unsuccessfully tries to convince Azrael to form

1444-658: A valuable weapons cache in Gotham Harbor. When they eventually all meet, mass fighting and gunfire ensue. The battle ends with Selkirk's helicopter crashing into the Gotham Narrows Bridge while Bruce and Jean-Paul fight on the attached Batrope; Jean-Paul falls aflame into the Gotham River. Bruce and Catwoman save Selkirk and his aides just before the helicopter explodes from the leaking fuel, his decision to protect criminals affirming to Catwoman that

1520-545: A villainous threat. Despite the advice of everyone in his life, including Dr. Kinsolving, Bruce refuses to rest and continues to pursue his self-imposed duty despite his worsening condition (although not explicitly noted as a cause , these events take place immediately after the death of Superman , Batman's peer, elsewhere in the DC Universe). In addition, since the events from A Death in the Family , Batman struggles with

1596-458: A weapon and sometimes nearly to death. This surge of violence from Gotham's defender puts pressure on Batman's relationship with Police Commissioner Gordon, who begins to distrust and even fear the new Batman and eventually comes to realize he is not the same man he has known. All of Jean-Paul's actions are compelled by "the System"; on numerous occasions, he experiences the ghosts of his father and

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1672-513: A while later, when Dick Grayson persuades him to do so in later issues. Jean-Paul Valley sees visions of his dead father, who had programmed him at birth to be a deadly weapon. These visions tell Jean-Paul to avenge his father's death, and Jean-Paul searches Gotham for his father's killer. Though the killer, Carlton LeHah, had already been encountered and defeated (in Batman: Sword of Azrael ), Jean-Paul's conditioning had warped his mind to

1748-477: A year to complete in the comic book serials. In later years, the comics were reprinted several times, though never in full, as the "Knightquest: The Search" story arc had not been collected until the second omnibus edition in 2017. The initial idea for the character of Azrael stemmed from a two-part story idea pitched by Detective Comics writer Peter Milligan circa 1991, as he was leaving that position. After line editor Dennis O'Neil decided to expand it into

1824-435: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Justice League Task Force (comics) Because of the varied nature of the missions the Task Force would be employed on, and the versatility of the concept, various writers and artists were featured on this title. Up to issue #13 most writers wrote only up to three issues (even the series' creator David Michelinie only wrote

1900-416: Is revealed in later issues - secretly, he does not want Dick to have to face Bane, as he knows Dick's character will compel him to try. Indeed, Bruce gives Jean-Paul strict orders never to engage Bane in combat—and when Jean-Paul does face Bane, only his modified gloves save Jean-Paul from being thrown to his death. Soon after, Kinsolving and Tim's father Jack Drake are kidnapped and Bruce and Alfred leave

1976-487: Is sufficiently impressed with Jean-Paul's results. Bruce decides to retire and allow Jean-Paul to continue as Batman. But when Robin tells Bruce of the circumstances surrounding Abattoir's death, Bruce sneaks into the Batcave and demands that Jean-Paul step down. Jean-Paul refuses and tells Bruce to leave the cave and never come back. To rehabilitate his skills due to his lost reflexes after so long out of action, Bruce asks

2052-404: Is systematically assaulted and crippled by a "super steroid "-enhanced genius named Bane . Bruce is replaced as Batman by an apprentice named Jean-Paul Valley (a.k.a. Azrael ), who becomes increasingly violent and unstable, tarnishing Batman's reputation. Eventually, Bruce is healed through paranormal means and reclaims his role as Batman. "Knightfall" resulted in long-term ramifications for

2128-558: Is unable to shake the influence of the System, giving in to it completely after his first defeat at Bane's hands and being increasingly influenced by it during the rest of his tenure as Batman. Gradually, Jean-Paul alienates Robin with his paranoia and arrogance. In Batman #500, Jean-Paul, in his new mechanical Batsuit (which is an amalgam of Azrael's costume and the Batman's), confronts Bane in an arduous battle and prevails, although many bystanders are put at risk. Jean-Paul leaves Bane broken mentally and physically, though he struggles with

2204-619: The Zero Hour conflict, and Triumph , a hero retconned into having been a founding member of the original Justice League, appears and joins the team. After Zero Hour , the Martian Manhunter and L-Ron assemble a new group, making the Task Force a training ground for new heroes, and the team consists of themselves, Triumph, the Ray and a returned Gypsy. The new team seemingly fits well together, but Gypsy has trouble reconciling with

2280-559: The Aryan Brigade plans to release a virus that will kill any non-Aryan in Northern America. The League is capable of infiltrating the group, but are soon compromised when a Nation member recognizes Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt . The League eventually manages to escape with the help of Hourman (Rex Tyler) and stop the virus from being spread. After the mission, Hannibal Martin reveals the return of L-Ron , still inhabitting

2356-526: The Batman editorial line made use of all of the Batman-related titles at their disposal, such as Catwoman , Robin and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (normally an anthology title with stories set in the past). "KnightsEnd" was collected in trade paperback as Knightfall Volume 3 soon after completion. The serial nature of the Batman titles continued beyond the end of "KnightsEnd", with

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2432-487: The Caribbean and then Great Britain . Kinsolving's brother-by-adoption Benedict Asp kidnapped her to use her special powers to kill people at a distance. Asp demonstrates this new form of mass murder on a small English village. When Bruce Wayne finds Kinsolving, he finds himself caught in the middle of a telekinetic tug-of-war between Asp and Kinsolving. The battle climaxes with her refocusing her energy to defeat Asp; as

2508-786: The Mad Hatter , the Ventriloquist , the Firefly , the Cavalier , the Film Freak , Mr. Zsasz , Cornelius Stirk , Abattoir , and Amygdala . The scenario creates a rift in the relationship between Robin and Batman, as Batman irrationally seeks to face the outbreak alone — in later issues, Robin asks Batman if he is even needed as his sidekick anymore. A later flashback to this time period ( Showcase '93 #7-8) shows Batman pursuing Two-Face alone, being trapped and kidnapped to stand

2584-687: The Trigger Twins , Gunhawk and Gunbunny, the Tally Man and Clayface III and IV; the most notable encounters are with Catwoman and the Joker, both of whom could tell that Valley was not the original Batman. "Knightquest: The Search" follows Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth's search for Jack Drake and Shondra Kinsolving, the father of the current Robin and the physical therapist with whom Bruce Wayne had fallen in love during his rehabilitation sessions, respectively. Their investigation leads them to

2660-409: The "Prodigal" and "Troika" storylines, and into subsequent unbannered stories. This setup resurfaced in later arcs such as " Contagion ", " Legacy ", " Cataclysm ", " No Man's Land ", and " War Games ", and has on occasion continued into the present. The intent of Knightfall' s writers was to counter the then-popular style of violent heroes in comics and demonstrate that the traditional Batman made for

2736-530: The Batman continuity, as Batman's trust from the police, the public, and his fellow superheroes had to be rebuilt due to Azrael's violence. Additionally, Bruce realizes the peril and burden of attempting to work in solitude, leading to the eventual creation of the modern incarnation of the Batman Family . The events of "Knightfall" also led to the (temporary) resignation of Bruce's loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth . The entire "Knightfall" storyline took over

2812-609: The Batmobile before Jean-Paul's trap destroyed it, reasoning that he would have done the same thing with a less dangerous trap. The final battle of the "Knightfall" saga takes place between Jean-Paul Valley and Bruce Wayne in the caverns surrounding the Batcave below Wayne Manor: rather than beating Jean-Paul at hand-to-hand combat, Bruce outwits him by escaping into a passage too narrow for Jean-Paul to go through in his armor, thus forcing Jean-Paul to remove most of it. Bruce then opens

2888-583: The Justice League Task force had a variable line-up, there was no definite number of stable members, aside from the Martian Manhunter and Gypsy, who (with the exception of issue #9 in Gypsy's case) appeared in every issue of the run. Other members who made regular appearances include Triumph, Ray, L-Ron (in Despero's body) and Mystek. The first mission of this new Justice League team concern

2964-630: The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas which had brainwashed him. Later, he returns to Gotham City to aid Batman and the series was retitled Azrael: Agent of the Bat at issue #47. The series ended after 100 issues, with Valley's apparent death. Each issue was written by Dennis O'Neil . Azrael's demise occurred at the same time as the Batman: Hush storyline, which focused on how Bruce Wayne as Batman interacted with his various friends, allies, loved ones, and enemies; oddly enough though, Jean-Paul Valley

3040-701: The body of old foe Despero , to warn the team of the coming threat of the Overmaster . Shortly afterward, the Justice League collectively faces the Overmaster, who kills the superheroine Ice in Justice League Task Force #14. During the assault on Overmaster's citadel, Gypsy is left behind in an Arctic wasteland as the main group forged forward, leading her to quit the team after the battle. The Task Force then become embroiled in

3116-416: The cast in the monthly Batman titles, with Azrael being a superhero-in-training who fights alongside Batman, while Bane was introduced as a supervillain. Within the regular series, the buildup to "Knightfall" begins with a six-issue run in Batman #484-489 (September 1992 - February 1993), in which Batman (at the onset of a personal psychological mid-life crisis) is forced to deal, in rapid succession, with

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3192-412: The choice of whether to simply kill Bane or hand him over to the police. He decides that he will let Bane go to Blackgate Prison. Jean-Paul continues to watch over Gotham after the fight, but grows increasingly unstable. At the onset of "Knightquest", Jean-Paul Valley has been established as Batman, and Bruce Wayne is out of the country. Instead of a crossover with a definite ending, the publishers treated

3268-501: The country to find them - their story is continued in "Knightquest: The Search", while the happenings in Gotham are recorded in "Knightquest: The Crusade". Jean-Paul is shown to be a different, but not dangerous, Batman until an encounter with the Scarecrow, which results in Jean-Paul being infected by Scarecrow's fear gas and "The System"—his programming as Azrael—taking over, in order to combat Jean-Paul's fear. Following this, Jean-Paul

3344-559: The decision of making Jean-Paul his replacement. A one-shot that features the return of Alfred after his resignation during "Knightquest: The Search". It has Nightwing going to England in order to track Alfred down. A new series following Jean-Paul Valley began in April 1995, titled Azrael . In it, he is found on the street by Bruce Wayne and given money to leave Gotham to travel the world and find his purpose, as had Bruce. His journeys take him to Europe, where he uncovers conspiracies within

3420-410: The events of the entire arc, considerable time passes before Commissioner Gordon restores his trust in the idea of a Batman working for good. Gordon can tell that he is not looking at the original Batman (based on Jean-Paul's costume and Dick's height, and the fact that Jean-Paul was more than ready to kill people), and he refuses to place blind trust in a costume after spending so long learning to trust

3496-404: The extent that he no longer remembered the incident. He eventually comes to believe that Penn Selkirk, a Gotham mobster turned weapons dealer who has taken over the remnants of LeHah's organization, is his father's murderer. Valley now spends his time doggedly pursuing him. Returning to Gotham, Bruce meets with Tim. Even though Jean-Paul disobeyed Bruce's order to refrain from attacking Bane, Bruce

3572-403: The fact that the Despero on the team is not the Despero that killed her parents. As they train together, they are called to aid Vandal Savage , whose supply of replacement body parts and organs has been stolen. They are able to uncover the perpetrator, but do not allow Vandal Savage to kill her, earning them his wrath as he destroys their headquarters. Gypsy's fears are later added to when she and

3648-463: The famed assassin Lady Shiva to retrain him, using a mask to conceal his identity and arguing that she will do it for the same reason that she does anything; it might be interesting. After helping him regain the essentials of his combat reflexes, Shiva then pits Bruce against several vengeful expert martial artists , having killed their master while wearing a distinctive tengu mask that carries

3724-405: The first three issues, although a misprint on the cover of issue #5 credited him with the story, but it was actually written by Denny O'Neil ), which changed when Mark Waid came on board, who wrote Justice League Task Force for eight issues and changed the concept to what it would ultimately become. His last few issues were co-written with Christopher Priest , who came on at issue #18 and wrote

3800-478: The four-issue Sword of Azrael miniseries and the Vengeance of Bane one-shot, which also laid foundation for the larger story. "Knightfall" ran from April to October 1993, Batman issues #492-500 and Detective Comics issues #659-666, with the two titles sharing a single narrative during this time. The two series each hit numerical milestones at the end of the arc, with a triple-size 500th issue of Batman and

3876-508: The future, with Bruce only revealing his adversary's survival to Nightwing and Robin after her departure. Shiva would later learn the truth. Now back in fighting shape, Bruce returns to the Batcave and resumes his role as Batman. Along with Robin and Nightwing, he tracks Valley down to Selkirk's penthouse . Coincidentally, Catwoman is chasing the same man because he owns a neural enabler which might allow her paraplegic friend to walk again. Selkirk already wants to kill Jean-Paul for destroying

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3952-532: The incredible physical and mental burden Bruce places on himself in donning the Batsuit. During the story, a firm bond arises between Dick and Tim as they share Wayne Manor together in Bruce's and Alfred's absence. It is revealed later in "No Man's Land" that Bruce also used this time to set up contingency bases throughout Gotham. When Bruce finally returns for good, he wears a sturdier, matte-black Batsuit made of

4028-399: The inmates free and supplies them with numerous weapons to escape. Meanwhile, Robin finds it difficult to work with Jean-Paul, due to the man's violent subconscious training and lack of social skills, and also finds himself being shut out from working alongside Batman. The plot of "Knightfall" begins with the master criminal Bane freeing all of the maximum-security inmates of Arkham Asylum ,

4104-502: The man. "Prodigal" was utilized as a way of tying up the numerous loose ends that "Knightfall" left, with Killer Croc , the Ventriloquist , the Ratcatcher and Two-Face , along with many other, less notorious escaped inmates being returned to prison. In doing so, Dick avenges his worst mistake from his days as Robin, when a mistake in a confrontation with Two-Face caused a man to die and nearly killed Bruce. He also comes to appreciate

4180-445: The mantle of Batman so that Gotham has a protector. Tim Drake argues with Bruce to allow Dick Grayson (the former Robin and then-current Nightwing ) to become Batman, as he is more experienced and mentally competent. Bruce replies that Grayson has his own responsibilities and would only take up the mantle of the Bat reluctantly (Dick later expressed resentment at not being asked to stand in as Batman). Bruce's rationale for this decision

4256-523: The ominous Detective Comics number 666 wrapping up the storyline only one month apart. The massive story was quickly collected into two volumes of trade paperbacks . Volume One was subtitled Broken Bat and Volume Two Who Rules the Night . "Knightfall" was the first time that multiple Batman titles had shared a single narrative for an extended period since the Crisis on Infinite Earths era. "Knightfall"

4332-582: The patriarch Saint Dumas giving him guidance and he is driven to near-insanity by the time the saga ends. He repeatedly redesigns his Batman costume, adding more gadgets and lethal weapons, including metal claws, a laser, razor-sharp batarangs and a flamethrower. Eventually, he also adds a Bat-symbol, matching the one used for the series' logo. Valley becomes compelled by a desire to be a better Batman than Bruce Wayne, especially when he discovers his lack of interest in detective work caused him to make false assumptions about Catwoman (he thought that she would sell

4408-741: The returning villain Black Mask and his gang (who target Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox ), a crazed killer called Metalhead, and a sharpshooter assassin hired by an imprisoned mobster to murder Commissioner Gordon . Batman begins to feel that he has lost his edge, especially after his failure to capture Black Mask. He finds himself unable to meditate or even focus. As Bruce Wayne, he contacts holistic therapist Shondra Kinsolving for treatment. He also assigns Robin ( Tim Drake ) to train Jean-Paul Valley in detective work to aid them as an ally, hoping to guide Valley's brainwashing away from making him

4484-446: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Justice League Task Force . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Justice_League_Task_Force&oldid=777978064 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

4560-576: The same time as " The Death of Superman " storyline. "Knightfall" started almost immediately after the "Funeral For a Friend" storyline in the Superman books. During the breakout at Arkham Asylum, Batman and Robin both wear a black arm band with the S-shield engraved on it. The two stories involved DC Comics 's most prominent characters. Similar stories followed for Green Lantern , Wonder Woman , Aquaman , and Green Arrow , with Green Lantern Hal Jordan being driven insane and replaced with Kyle Rayner ,

4636-461: The scenario as though it were the new status quo, leaving it open-ended. "Knightquest: The Crusade" follows the story of Jean-Paul Valley during his tenure as Batman. He becomes increasingly violent and mentally unbalanced. During this time, he drives Robin away because he believes Gotham to be so tough that only violence could answer its criminals. In several issues, Robin is left horrified as Jean-Paul ferociously attacks common criminals, often with

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4712-429: The secret identity of Batman. The fight between Bruce Wayne and Bane is detailed in Batman #497. After three months, the exhausted Batman was no match for Bane; Bane pummels him ruthlessly before breaking Wayne's back over his knee inside the Batcave below the manor, symbolically "breaking" Batman. Bane takes the grievously-wounded Wayne (still costumed in the Batman outfit) downtown to Gotham Square and throws him from

4788-510: The site of his own death with a hostage. In Azrael issues #36-40, a final thread of the "Knightfall" plot is resolved in the four-part storyline "Angel and the Bane" and its following issue, "Hour of the Quake". After the events of Batman: Bane , Azrael is tasked by Batman to track down the recently resurfaced Bane. After meeting, the two men struggle, and Bane gets the upper hand with the aid of

4864-527: The streets of Gotham, homeless and destitute. Bruce decides not to take Jean-Paul to the police because it was his decision to make Jean-Paul the Batman, leading to his subsequent breakdown. "KnightsEnd" was collected into a trade paperback about a year later. Originally released as Batman: KnightsEnd , recent editions retitled it as Knightfall Volume 3 . Shortly after the events of Zero Hour: Crisis in Time , Bruce reaffirms his partnership with Tim, resolving

4940-460: The superlaser and finds himself in Nightwing's sights, but, in a crisis of conscience, the superhero cannot pull the trigger. Ultimately, Ramos destroys the machine, but at the cost of his own life. As the story ends, Rafael Sierra becomes President, and Martin reveals that he selected Nightwing because he knew that the hero would never kill; he intended Nightwing to fail. Nightwing and Flash quit

5016-486: The team face Baron Űman von Mauler, who believes Gypsy to be his long-dead wife Nakia. She narrowly defeats him, and proceeds to hitchhike her way through Romania, leaving behind her teammates. She eventually ends up at Bronze Tiger 's place, where the Martian Manhunter asks her to rejoin the team. During this run, Christopher Priest established a piece of the series' lexicon: the tuna sandwich . When debating Vandal Savage's intelligence, Triumph asserted that Vandal Savage

5092-531: The team in anger. Gypsy proceeds to go on a solo mission in issue #4, in which she and the Martian Manhunter (who follows Gypsy) defeat Sa'ar, the Ageless One. Afterward the team becomes involved with the KnightQuest , in which they aid Bruce Wayne in the search of Dr. Kinsolving and Jack Drake (father of Tim Drake , the third Robin . The team next encompasses a complete female membership (including

5168-526: The tension caused by Bruce's unwillingness to accept help during the Arkham prison break. Bruce passes the mantle of Batman to Grayson so he can finish his recuperation and re-evaluate what it will take to restore his aura of invincibility. This begins the Prodigal storyline, a reference to Dick Grayson essentially being Bruce's prodigal son; Bruce had adopted Dick after his parents were murdered. Because of

5244-409: The title up to its cancellation at issue #37. Similar to the role of the writers, few pencillers stuck around for more than one or two issues, with exception being Sal Velluto, who, alongside David Michelinie created the book, and pencilled 22 issues of the title. The only other regular artist was Ramon Bernado, who pencilled nine issues in total and pencilled the title's last few issues. Because

5320-465: The trauma of the loss of his protégé Jason Todd . The next storyline, in Detective Comics #654-656 (December 1992 - February 1993), involves a young military student usurping power in Gotham's underworld and assaulting a police station, with Bruce's fatigue continuing to worsen. At the conclusion of this story, Bane and his henchman are shown monitoring Batman's performance. Bane begins

5396-402: The true Batman has returned. When Bruce tries to find Jean-Paul using the Batmobile, it explodes due to a planted booby-trap. Nightwing fears Bruce dead and takes his vengeance out on Jean-Paul on a party boat. The police arrive in time to prevent Nightwing from committing murder, but Jean-Paul escapes. However, to his shock, Jean-Paul finds Bruce waiting at Wayne Manor; Bruce had managed to escape

5472-525: Was a super-genius, not a tuna sandwich. Throughout the series, "tuna sandwich" became a euphemism for someone of low intelligence. This series has been collected in the following volumes: KnightSaga " Knightfall " is a 1993–1994 Batman story arc published by DC Comics . It consists of a trilogy of storylines that ran from 1993 to 1994, consisting of "Knightfall", " Knightquest ", and " KnightsEnd ". The story takes place over approximately six months. Bruce Wayne (Batman) suffers burnout and

5548-399: Was collected in book format until over two decades later. Although previous parts of the "KnightSaga" had taken considerable time to run their course, the entirety of "KnightsEnd" was published within a two-month span, as the Batman books had to prepare themselves for DC's impending company-wide crossover Zero Hour , which would immediately follow the "KnightSaga". Nothing was truncated, as

5624-404: Was immediately followed by "Knightquest" in the monthly serials. "Knightquest" is divided into two storylines, one following Bruce Wayne ("Knightquest: The Search") and the other on the new Batman ("Knightquest: The Crusade"). The stories were not treated as crossovers and the Batman titles continued as they had before "Knightfall" where the creative teams each pursued its own storyline. Instead of

5700-454: Was in any way inspired by the Death of Superman storyline and states that it was already in development by as much as three years, saying that if the Batman staff had known, the storyline would likely have been pushed down a year. The serial stories of the monthly Batman comics titles began slowly building toward the "Knightfall" arc several months prior, in conjunction with the publication of

5776-472: Was neither mentioned, alluded to, or appeared during this time. This crossover event involves a rematch between Batman and Bane, who is now allied with Ra's al Ghul . It is followed by the one-shot graphic novel Batman: Bane . Batman Annual #22 featured the return of Arnold Etchinson (Abattoir)'s spirit, wishing to take revenge on Batman (specifically, Azrael-Batman) for his death. Now calling himself Etkar, he possesses Azrael's former Batsuit and returns to

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