Batman Faces Justice As Gotham's Villains Team Up To Drive Him Mad
Batman has been operating outside of the scope of the law once again, and a group of Gotham villains have decided to judge the Dark Knight themselves. The target on Batman’s back has been growing and his newest foes plan to drive him over the edge.
The morale of many Gotham citizens had already been low because of Joker War and other recent catastrophes, but the murder of Sarah Worth has proved to be another heartbreaking blow to a city that is rebuilding itself. Bruce Wayne’s recent move into Gotham’s city limits made him a new neighbor of Worth’s. But when the GCPD catches Batman investigating the deceased body in Detective Comics #1035, they declare him a suspect in the crime. Sarah’s father and Gotham heavyweight, Roland Worth, puts pressure on Mayor Nakano and the GCPD to find the culprit. The Mayor also has to contend with the Party Crashers, and Gotham’s established crime families and gangs, but Worth isn’t willing to wait to receive justice.
Batman’s days of being the authority on vigilante justice in Gotham will come to an end when the Jury forms to avenge the wrongs in the city. DC has announced that in the upcoming Detective Comics #1041, by Mariko Tamaki and artist Dan Mora, Mr. Worth will join with the Penguin, the Party Crashers, and Falcone crime family to hold Batman accountable as the Jury. The judgement that the Jury will dispense to Batman comes in the form of the “Vile” serum, designed to drive its victims into a violent rage. In Detective Comics #1042, by Tamaki and Viktor Bogdanovic, the Dark Knight will be subjected to Vile and have to survive the madness long enough not to give into his bloodlust. Batman’s efforts in the city have already been under strain and having such a powerful group of enemies after him will make life hell.
As Mr. Worth’s group and the GCPD terrorize Batman, the real culprit responsible for the circumstances of Sarah’s murder still roams free. And a number of other deaths have piled up. Mayor Nakano is under immense pressure to turn the city around, and the extreme anti-vigilante measures to hunt Batman have negatively impacted the ability for crimes in the city to get solved. With the formation of the Jury, there will be another faction in the city taking justice into their own hands. There are enough potential calamities in the city compounding, but with a Batman driven into the same insatiable bloodlust as some of Gotham’s villains, the crises have the potential to boil over uncontrollably. This makes it easier and easier to see how Gotham ended up the way it did in Future State.
The Dark Knight hasn’t faced an organization with the versatility and power that the Jury can wield against him, especially with his currently limited operation. Fighting battles on multiple fronts and being infected by the dangerous and deadly serum is not a good recipe for Batman. Mr. Worth demands justice for the loss of his daughter, and may see Gotham burn to achieve it. Detective Comics #1041 will be on sale August 10th, and Detective Comics #1042 is on sale August 24th.