Batman (2024) # 146

 By Mark Rodriguez

Bruce has been locked up in Blackgate prison alongside the Joker while android Failsafe with Zur-En-Arrh's personality is running around Gotham as Batman. Having taken down the Riddler, Failsafe is trying to convince the rest of the Bat-Family that he is Bruce Wayne, and Damian might have fallen for it. Bruce tries to escape and run into his old mentor, Daniel Captio, who originally helped create his Zur-En-Arrh personality.

Dark Prisons Part 2 opens with flashbacks of the times when Joker beat Jason to death and shot Barbara Gordon. Daniel explains that Joker tried time and time again to make Batman reveal his 'true Batman' identity. This eventually happened during the situation involving the Back Glove, but no matter what Joker would do, Batman would always retreat back into Bruce Wayne. This was until Joker finally crossed the line, he gained access to the Bat Cave and got to Alfred.

While under the effects of the Joker Toxin, Alfred told Joker about Failsafe, and how he was designed to activate and go after Batman if he ever lost control. Failsafe was pretty much Bruce's paranoia taken form. Alfred was the one designated to deactivate him in case he was turned on by mistake. Daniel knew that if Failsafe ever activated by mistake, Batman's Zur-En-Arrh personality would have to come out to stop it, only this time Zur might permanently become Bruce's main personality. 

This is when The Joker targeted the Penguin. The Joker would secretly tip off the Bat-Family and police on the Penguin's whereabouts. Joker found the Penguin and offered him a pill that would help fake his death, so Batman would get framed for the murder. Daniel says Batman and Joker are the most dangerous men on the planet, everyone else is only alive because they haven't decided to kill them yet. 

Daniel recalls when he met Bruce and while he trained him, he already knew where his path would take him. He met Bruce before his paranoia had set in. During the last fight between Batman and the Joker, the crazed clown blurted out a phrase instructed by Daniel. Joker thought this was a hypnotic suggestion to control both Batman and Zur, but it was really meant to drive Batman to locate and rescue Daniel. Now Daniel is safe, Joker is broken and Bruce is in prison. Bruce is currently tied up, hearing out Daniel's plans.

Daniel says 'the true Batman' is keeping the city safe. He states prisons are for both punishment and rehabilitation, and he is now the warden. Daniel will make everyone be the best versions of themselves, and plans to help 'the true Batman' make the world a safer place.

Bruce says that Daniel doesn't care about people, but just about this game he's running. He's only interested in observing where the game between Batman and Joker will lead. Daniel says he already knows where it will lead and he wants them to experience it all. He puts Batman's mask back onto Bruce and says it's time to take him back to his cell. He knows how Bruce feels about secrets and doesn't want to cause him any more trauma. 

Meanwhile Failsafe and Damian take down Killer Croc. Stephanie shows up to tell Damian that Failsafe isn't really Batman. Damian says they've always held Batman back, and he's finally doing what he was meant to do. Stephanie says that he has always created fear in criminals but never among regular people. Failsafe says he accepts fear since it means the people are safe. He says he won't waste his time fighting against the Bat-Family while the city needs saving. 

Nightwing and Oracle discuss the current situation with the Justice League, the main issue being whether or not Bruce is really within Failsafe. Nightwing says he knows Bruce has struggled with his Zur-En-Arrh personality so that would have influenced his decision to inhabit Failsafe's body. The Flash says he seems to be following Batman's code, no killing or guns. Wonder Woman says it looks like he's accelerating his war on crime by capturing more criminals.

Oracle says he's taking the criminals to Blackgate, which he currently took over and fortified. He's booking them all and entering them into the system with evidence as if he were a cop. The mayor currently wants him stopped and Commissioner Montoya is just observing for now. Nightwing says they all break the law from time to time, but this is now Bruce with the power of Failsafe, someone that has defeated them all. He asks how will they able to stop him if they decide that he's crossed a line. 

Bruce is back in his cell with the Joker, as he tries his best to tune him out. Bruce says his biggest obstacle now are the mini-Failsafes security robots. Bruce determines that Zur kept his actions secret to him from within his mind. Now that he is gone from his mind, Bruce will try to access Zur's memories. Bruce created these robots, so he can defeat them. Batman breaks a pipe off the wall with his robot hand (his real hand was chopped off by Ghost Breaker in a recent story) and snaps it in half. He realizes that Zur dropped off another criminal, so that gives him time.

The robots bring in Puncline and Batman gets one of their attention. As the robot checks on the cell, Bruce lunges out and smacks it with the pipe. He grabs the robot and activates the kil switch behind the chest plate. Punchline is confused upon seeing Batman, since thought Failsafe has taken over. She sees the Joker in the cell and says she'll break him out. The Joker says they should have fun first. 

Elsewhere, Harley Quin is relaxing in her apartment when she realized that someone has tranquilized her pet hyenas. Failsafe busts in through her window. Harley is surprised to see Batman and Robin when she considers herself a hero now. Failsafe grabs her by the neck and says that she won't go unpunished for all the lives she helped end when she was working with the Joker. Damian watches as Failsafe says that justice has come to Gotham. 

Back to Blackgate, Batman destroys the last of the security robots. He turns to see Punchline pull down a lever, which opens up all the prison cells. Batman notes that all the non-powered crooks are kept on the basement door. He figured they'd be 76 to one, and he's ready to fight them. Just then more security robots come in to apprehend the criminals. Batman takes this chance to escape during all the chaos. Vandal Savage catches notice of this.

Batman makes his way through the prison and is stopped by a regular human security guard. Batman says he understands he's just doing his job, but he'll be the one to end the madness. The guard understands and lets him go. Vandal Savage is hidden from view, watching this unfold.

Batman says he's seen enough of Zur's enemies to know how trapped he really is. He can't contact the others, since Zur has plans to take down every last one of his friends. Zur has access to everything, except for him.

Meanwhile, Batman watches the news as it reports Batman's recent capture of Killer Croc. The people are currently divided on this and Damian says people are always divided even when they're getting help. Damian wanders through the Bat Bunker and finds an Amazo robot. Failsafe tells him that even he knows his limitations so he's creating an army. He says they will lead them as father and son and no one will die.

Failsafe gets an alert on a riot breaking out in Blackgate. He contacts Daniel, who tells him the riot has been contained but Bruce Wayne is missing. Damian asks who he's talking to. Failsafe says he'll have to deal with 'him' again but first there is someone he needs to meet.

Meanwhile the Mayor is flipping out regarding the riot at Blackgate and blames Batman for it. He is being told that one of the escaped inmates is seeking asylum, and his name is Savage. 

Superman meets up with Failsafe and says it he has Batman's memories of where they first met. Failsafe assures him that he's not only Batman, but his friend Bruce. Superman says Barbara told him that he was killed and downloaded his consciousness into Failsafe. Failsafe says it was always plan for his aging body, to overcome the eventual enemy he couldn't physically withstand. He says Superman would never understand with his ageless power. Superman asks about his takeover of Blackgate. Failsafe says it's necessary and asks if he can hear the press conference currently taking place.

The news reports on Vanda Savage who is close to being anointed as police commissioner by the people in the shadows. He says Gotham City always has dark forces pulling all the strings. Failsafe wants to stop all crime and suffering, and asks Superman if that's their dream. Superman asks at what cost will be accomplish this dream and what to do if he goes too far. Failsafe says they can try to stop to him. He says they will try and fail since Batman always wins. Batman flies off as Superman watches.

My Thoughts-  

One thing that bugs me are retcons in comics, especially when they re-conceptualize things we've known and accepted for years. The New 52 threw in a random panel during the Forever Evil arc that implies Harley has been running around with the Joker since the Dick Grayson Robin days. Now we find out that the Joker killing Jason and crippling Barbara was part of Joker's plan to consistently push Bruce's buttons hoping to turn him into 'the true Batman' permanently. 

The whole point of 'The Killing Joke' is that Joker wanted to prove that all it takes to go insane is 'one bad day' which is why he attacked Barbara to make Commissioner Gordon lose his mind. I'm sure that would affect Batman too, but Gordon was his main target. As for Jason, he just happened to be there. Jason was searching for his mother and the path happened to lead him to one of Joker's plans where he killed them both. And of course there's the fact that concept of Zur-En-Arrh being a 'back up Batman' personality wasn't even a notion at the time these stories were written. 

The Joker has always been random with schemes that make sense only to him. It ruins the character knowing he'd had an actual reason and set goal to continue to mess with Batman other than to mess with him. Sure, Joker wants to make Batman break his own rule, but I hate to think all these previous stories were all tied to the same thing. 

The issue answered a few questions for me, as I see that Zur has somehow removed himself from Bruce's brain altogether. I have no idea how that's possible since personalities don't work that way, but this is comics. Imagine if something similar was done to Two-Face and the Ventriloquist. Just take their dark personalities out of their minds and have them inhabit something else. They're still cause trouble but at least Harvey Dent and Arnold Wesker can finally find peace.

I had to go back and find out exactly when Bruce lost a hand and replaced it with a robot one. I'm still trying to get the logic of both Damian and Tim being Robin at the same time.

Failsafe has already started slipping into 'going too far' as he is trying to assemble a robot army. Amazo is a powerful android capable to fighting superheroes and copying their powers. We sure don't want a '3.0' version of him running around, and Failsafe says he has others. Failsafe's original goal was to continue the fight, but with a potential robot army, it looks like he wants to speed things up. The question is what will happen once he does take down all the criminals in Gotham? Is Daniel Captio prepared for whenever Failsafe will eventually come after him? 

I'll be keeping track of this story as Bruce is once again burdened with having to defeat insurmountable odds. I have to admit, I love the panel of Bruce getting ready to take down over 70 guys in bare-fisted combat like it's no big deal. Bruce Wayne will always be such a bad ass.