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| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 1 |
| Subtitle |
Bad
Blood |
| Date |
October
2005 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Batman
thought of something he learned from his father - write
your problems down to give yourself perspective. He
swooped down on a woman who appeared to be getting attacked
in an alley. After taking the two attackers down, he
realized she was selling them pills. She shot him and
ran.
A man in Colombia appeared to have developed some sort
of death touch - everyone around him died where ever
he went.
Bruce woke up from a dream where his parents told him
to give up the costume. He went out and visited Lt.
Gordon. The drug he'd gotten from the woman was a new
party drug called Sanitiz. He found the woman later
going into a club. He got into plain clothes to follow
her in. He bumped into a girl and made small talk before
finding his prey. He was able to snag her phone for
a short amount of time before the woman pointed him
out to the bouncers. He made short work of them in the
men's room.
As he left the club, paparazzi recognized him. The woman
he bailed on was steamed. He called Alfred, who informed
him of the calls which had been made on the phone he'd
bugged - her supplier was coming in from Colombia. The
plane landed and a HAZMAT team was called in - everyone
had developed a strange illness.
Bruce found out the supplier was also the drug's creator.
He got onboard the plane (posing as a baggage man),
then escaped when he realized everyone was dead. As
the HAZMAT arrived, Bruce passed out. |
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| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 2 |
| Subtitle |
Breathe |
| Date |
November
2005 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Alfred
was taken into custody after Bruce was bagged up. Only
one person on the flight survived (and he was faking
dead). Bruce awakened from yet another dream where his
parents were trying to convince him to give up his night
job - on an operating table. He knew by the way the
attendees were dressed that he was not contagious, so
he attacked and escaped. Back at the cave, he gave Alfred
(who'd also made a daring escape) something to run tests
on. People were already dying across Gotham City.
Batman went to Gordon and they looked over photos of
the plane. He found the carrier - the one who'd not
died onboard. Batman tracked him down to a cab he'd
ridden in, but was interrupted by a nearby apartment
fire. Gordon gave him a list of areas where people had
died (they'd figured out that only the carrier could
spread the disease).
Alfred told Bruce he'd get his inheritance at his next
birthday - in two days. |
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|
| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 3 |
| Subtitle |
Something
in the Air |
| Date |
December
2005 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Dozens
of bodies (all from Gotham City) were found in a cave
in Colombia - it appeared bats were the carriers of
the virus. Bruce realized he and Alfred survived due
to all the time they'd spent in the cave around bats.
The carrier walked the streets of Gotham after dark
and happened upon some mourners who'd lost loved ones
to his plague. He wore a gas mask with the filters facing
outward so he did not spread.
Batman checked out the subway and was attacked by a
survivor. He was tied to a railcar, but escaped before
choking to death. He returned to the man and realized
he'd been friends with the carrier. He bribed the man
and got some information. He got a name and relayed
it to Gordon: Rinaldi.
Bruce and Alfred showed up at the board meeting the
next morning - fashionably late. After "sleeping"
through the meeting, he bumped into the girl he'd met
at the club a few nights previous. She was interning
there.
The carrier met up with the dealer Batman had been following
- they had a "friend" in common. |
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|
| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 4 |
| Subtitle |
Dreamers |
| Date |
January
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Bruce
met with the man who was to turn his father's holdings
over to him. A journal which was to be given to him
was missing - stolen.
The carrier and the dealer met up with all her customers
and killed them. Gordon and Batman picked up on the
pattern and realized the carrier was now murdering those
who were on Sanitiz.
After robbing a bank, Bruce saw them together on the
street. He was able to pose as a pickpocket and stick
a tracer in the dealer's pocket. The carrier went to
the man who'd sold him the treasure map to the cave
where he'd become infected. The man turned out to have
a natural immunity and he was waiting for him. The dealer
(Claire) was killed, and the carrier (Cary) was taken
by gunmen in gas masks. |
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| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 5 |
| Subtitle |
Submerged |
| Date |
February
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Bruce
headed to one of his apartments for a change of clothes.
Alfred called him with a location of the tracer and
that they'd robbed a bank.
An executive at Wayne Industries went to Skye (the woman
Bruce was seeing) and offered her a job working closely
with him if she would update him with Bruce's "state
of mind" occasionally.
Batman caught up with Claire - she'd been wearing a
bullet proof vest. She gave him the details on Cary's
captor. Batman attacked, but was met with an arsenal.
The captor, Barry, went back for Claire's bag (the bank
loot) to find her still alive. She took him at gunpoint.
An armored truck was blown from the building into the
frozen river below. Batman went with it, and found three
dead inside. He also found a steel coffin, which he
assumed carried the carrier. Alfred saved him from hypothermia
and got him home. After warming up, Batman visited Gordon,
who told him the carrier was now in an airtight cell
at Arkham - he'd been driven over the edge. Gordon told
him he was missing a hand, which could recreate the
virus. Batman told him of Barry Lewison (Cary's captor)
and went after him.
Bruce saw a psychiatrist. |
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|
| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 6 |
| Subtitle |
5
Fingers of Death |
| Date |
March
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Bruce
had a session with a psychiatrist. Claire (the dealer)
kidnapped Barry and was able to get Cary's hand back.
She dumped him and told him to call off his auction.
Bruce met up with Skye and they both agreed to start
from the beginning. After taking her home from their
date, Alfred pointed out the signal shining across the
sky. Gordon told Batman that Claire wanted to set up
a deal, but would only work with Batman.
Claire told Batman about the terrorist auction. Batman
went in to take them down, but ended up foiling a FBI
raid. He escaped after he and the terrorists were rounded
up and took Claire to Arkham to see Cary. Inside, she
removed her protective outfit and kissed him. They died
together. |
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|
| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 7 |
| Subtitle |
Four
Months Later |
| Date |
April
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Four
months after the plague (and its carrier) were dead,
Alfred interrupted an embrace between Bruce and Skye
to tell his employer he was late. He told his psychiatrist
he was finding balance between his light and dark with
his new love, and he'd not had a dream-visit from his
father since the previous winter. Later, he visited
an advisor and brought to the table his dream of a foundation
to honor his father. Skye took him to the man who oversaw
their foundations. Bruce was also introduced to their
director of magazines - Barry Lewison (the man who'd
sent countless treasure-hunters to die the the South
American cave).
That night, the Batman had to get out. He saved a woman
from a high-rise ledge, then burst in on the reason
she endangered herself: a hostage situation. Inside,
an architect was holed up from a group of women stealing
his plans. Both Batman and the police entered at the
same time - the women appeared to have been brainwashed
into attacking.
Gordon told Batman about a fire which killed two cops
- it was set by a child wielding a flame thrower. Jim
hypothesized that the "crazy" element in Gotham
City may be Batman's fault. |
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| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 8 |
| Subtitle |
Matchstick
Boys |
| Date |
May
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Bruce
realized Skye was actually a girl he'd met the day his
parents died - Summer. She was the daughter of the man
Thomas was meeting. He called her on it and told her
to go - he had to think.
Gordon called Batman; one of the women he was questioning
had entered a trance. They exchanged details. Batman
was at the site of a housing development his father
started, but was now a dump. He realized it would soon
be prime real estate. While there, an explosion occurred.
Inside was the boy who was starting fires and another
copycat vigilante (another was killed in the subway
a few days before). He got the boy to safety, but was
opposed by several others in identical firefighter costumes.
One of them stabbed him as the police sirens neared.
He woke up the next morning from a dream where his father
turned into him. He realized his dreams were a vision
of himself, not his father. He went into the office
and made a plan to buy back the derelict land and recreate
the housing project. The plot to "take him out
of the picture" got stronger.
Bruce visited a palm reader who appeared to be the only
link between the women who were brainwashed into attacking
an architect. |
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|
| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 9 |
| Subtitle |
Mindset |
| Date |
June
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Batman
talked with Gordon at the once-again burning Wayne Village.
Maurice and Jack (the two conspiring against Wayne)
talked again. Jack told his man (Barry) how he'd come
to power: together, they took down the Wayne Industries
board of directors. They faked their deaths and drugged
them in Arkham.
Batman found a link with the children - their psychiatrist.
He broke into the doctor's office and found the doctor.
His own son was the ringleader of the pyro children.
Elsewhere, Joey - the pyro ringleader - met with Barry.
The kid watched a surveillance cam he'd set up in his
room. When he saw Batman there, he detonated explosives
under his bed. Batman got himself and his father out
of harm's way. Another explosion rang out nearby - Batman
got the doctor to the site and they found his son, Joey,
watching the blaze. Barry Lewison was dead inside.
The next day, Bruce made dinner plans with Skye before
a meeting. Inside, the plot against him waited. Bruce
flipped out when he was given a posthypnotic suggestion.
He stabbed Maurice with a pencil, then leapt into the
crowd of attendees before jumping through a window. |
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|
| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 10 |
| Subtitle |
Buried
Evidence |
| Date |
July
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Bruce
woke up the next morning in an alley. He soon realized
he was wanted for murder. Gordon and the police were
at Wayne Manor. Alfred showed them around. He then snuck
down to the cave to tell Bruce about the palm reader
he now had no recollection of seeing.
Jack Newcomb got word from the surgeon that Maurice
(Sullivan - Wayne CEO) would live. Batman paid a visit
to the psychic. She had her call takers under a spell
and they opened fire on him. He was able to get them
to shoot the sprinklers and shock themselves (through
their headsets). The police arrived soon and took control.
Batman learned from Gordon that Bruce Wayne's victim
wasn't dead. He promise his partner that he would deliver
Wayne to him the next morning.
Bruce visited his psychiatrist, who confirmed he could
never kill, then Maurice. Jack came in. He had his muscle
take care of Wayne; they found a tape recorder on him.
In Arkham, one of the former Wayne board members recognized
Bruce as his father. The person who was to "take
care of him" there recognized him and reported
to her boss - the Joker. |
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|
| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 11 |
| Subtitle |
Psycho's
Analysis |
| Date |
August
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
The
Joker, somehow in charge of things at Arkham, pondered
what to do with his new celebrity patient. He found
Dr. Serona's card on Bruce, and called her in to help
with the diagnosis.
On the day Maurice Sullivan returned to work, he was
greeted by Alfred, who told him he had been willed everything
by Bruce.
Joker killed Serona after grabbing the Wayne file from
her. Continuing to pose as Wayne's doctor, Joker taunted
him about his father as he began to wake up.
Alfred spoke with Gordon - it had been weeks since Bruce
went missing. The psychic gave it up that Wayne had
not gone psycho - she had been paid to give him hypnosis.
Alfred ended the conversation when he saw intruders
on the security cameras.
Joker showed Bruce his new toy - a finger cut from the
plague carrier. |
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|
| Issue |
Batman:
Journey into Knight 12 |
| Subtitle |
-- |
| Date |
September
2006 |
| Writer(s) |
Andrew
Helfer |
| Artist(s) |
Tan
Eng Huat |
| storyline |
Gordon,
wondering about both Wayne and Batman, exited police
headquarters to find two thugs tied up. A note from
"Batman" told him they'd tried to assassinate
Alfred Pennyworth. Jack and Maurice called their goons
to confirm the kill, but Alfred answered their cell
phone.
One of Arkham's Wayne Wing patients began to see through
things. He told Bruce about his father, but his mind
had been poisoned against him by the Joker. He was Bruce's
godfather. Joker's goon entered and knocked them both
out. Maurice Sullivan paid the goon $10 thousand to
speak with Bruce. Joker shot him as he attempted to
break Bruce out.
Gordon got word that an anonymous call came in - Bruce
Wayne was going to be returned.
Joker killed his goon Elmo with the cut-off finger of
the plague carrier as a warm-up for what he had in store
for the entire city. The moment came and Gordon saw
the Joker on stage with Bruce and a finger. He shouted
out the phrase that was used to induce his hypnosis.
Wayne heard and attacked the Joker. After the madman
was down, Gordon knocked Wayne unconscious.
Two weeks later, Batman was back on the scene. Bruce
took Jack Newcomb to the scene of his new office building.
He detonated it and fired the man. Back in the office,
Skye told Bruce she was leaving. She handed him his
father's notebook, which was blank save for one inscription:
"Remember Bruce: just write it down!" |
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| Notes,
references to time, and chronology: |
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I have
a hard time placing this item in continuity. Obviously, it is
meant to be in the Year One era, but there's no way the timing
works. First off, the four-month jump between issues 6-7 is
ok - other stories could take place during this time. I have
a hard time placing the three months where Bruce is Joker's
patient in Arkham Asylum. Not only would the Joker be a first
timer (having only appeared in The Man Who Laughs), but he's
taken over the Asylum? Batman is gone for three months? |
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Book one:
Gordon is lieutenant and mentioned Batman saving his son (Year
One). |
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Book five:
The river is frozen, so it's winter. |
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Book six:
there is a batsignal, and Batman has a customized car (though
not really a Batmobile). |
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Bruce's
paternal grandfather's name was Jackson Wayne. |
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Book seven:
email and cell phones exist and appear to be in common use.
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Book seven:
Gordon mentions Batman catching the Joker. |
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Book twelve:
"Batman promised he'd deliver Wayne -- but that was three
months ago -- and I haven't heard from him since." (Gordon,
internal) |
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