52 Vol 1 11

"Batwoman Begins!": Night 5

"Batwoman Begins!"
52 Vol 1 #11
September, 2006
Executive Editor	Dan DiDio
Cover Artists	J.G. Jones Alex Sinclair
Batwoman Begins!
Writers	Geoff Johns Grant Morrison Greg Rucka Mark Waid
Pencilers	Keith Giffen
Inkers	Marlo Alquiza Jack Jadson
Letterers	Nick J. Napolitano
Editors	Jann Jones Harvey Richards Stephen Wacker
The History of the DCU (Part X of X)
Writers	Dan Jurgens
Pencilers	Dan Jurgens
Inkers	Andy Lanning
Letterers	Nick J. Napolitano
Editors	Jeanine Schaefer Ivan Cohen Eddie Berganza
Previous Issue	52 # 10
Next Issue	52 # 12

...that's why you hate yourself, Renee Montoya... because you did the right thing.

— The Question

52 #11 is an issue of the series 52 (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 2006. It was published on July 19, 2006.

Synopsis for "Batwoman Begins!"

Night 5
Ralph Dibny tracks down some new members of the Cult of Conner and attacks them in hopes of finding its leaders. He discovers one of the members is just a young girl, and his surprise at this fact allows her to get away. He then receives a message from the caretaker of his storage shed -- who says that someone has broken into it.

Day 6
Renée and The Question meet with Kate Kane and discover that her family does indeed own the warehouse at 520 Kane Street. Kate gives them a lead on the last company to rent the place. With that information in hand, The Question and Renée start to take off. Kate wants to know what is happening, but Renée brushes her off -- to protect her, as Renée explains later. Back at his file-filed van, The Question digs for a lead while revealing to Renée that he knows about the death of her partner and her inability to exact revenge on the man responsible. While Renée ponders that, The Question finds a link to Intergang and a name: Whisper A'Daire. Meanwhile, Batwoman listens from afar.

That night, The Question and Renée break into an Intergang front company and discover that Intergang has some kind of shipment coming in from Kahndaq. The Question and Renée are found out, however, and are left by Whisper A'Daire to die at the hands of shape-shifters. Batwoman arrives to rescue them -- and Renée realizes who she is. Batwoman leaves and asks them not reveal her involvement to the police.

Night 7
Ralph goes to the storage unit of his that was broken into and discovers that a suit his wife used to wear was stolen by the Cult of Connor.

Elsewhere, we see the Cult of Conner has created a "mannequin" of Sue, dressed in that suit, in preparation to resurrect her.

Appearing in "Batwoman Begins!"

Featured Characters:

• Ralph Dibny (Elongated Man, not in costume)
• Question
• Renée Montoya

Supporting Characters:

• Batwoman

Antagonists:

• Devem
• Kyle Abbot
• Whisper A'Daire

Other Characters:

• Mallory Kimball (First appearance)
• Cult of Conner
• Wonder Girl
• Sue Dibny (In a photograph only)

Locations:

• Gotham City
  • 520 Kane Street
• Washington, D.C.
• Opal City
  • Opal City Storage

Items:

• Batarang
• Batrope
  

Synopsis for "The History of the DCU (Part X of X)"

Donna Troy witnesses the climactic events of Infinite Crisis and also discovers that on a "divergent path" (a hint about the storyline in 52), she was supposed to have died instead of Jade. The Orb confirms this -- and so does a Monitor, who appears in New Chronus to Donna's surprise.

Appearing in "The History of the DCU (Part X of X)"

Featured Characters:

• Donna Troy

Supporting Characters:

• Monitor

Other Characters:

The following characters appear in flashbacks

• Alexander Luthor
• Batman
• Captain Marvel
• Chemo
• Firestorm
• Flash (Jay Garrick)
• Flash (Wally West)
• Hawkman
• Ion
• Bart Allen (Kid Flash, not in costume)
• Lois Lane of Earth-Two
• Martian Manhunter
• Monitor
• Nightwing
• Multiple OMAC soldiers
• Power Girl
• Superboy
• Superboy-Prime
• Superman
• Superman of Earth-Two
• Wonder Girl
• Wonder Woman

Locations:

• New Chronus
• Titans Tower (Flashback only)

Items:

• Universe Orb

Notes

• This issue is reprinted in the 52 Vol. 1 collection.
• This issue does not have a designated title on its credits pages -- but "Batwoman Begins!" suffices.
• Crispus Allen died in Gotham Central #38, but becomes the Spectre in Infinite Crisis #4.
• Gotham Central #39 and #40 deal with the fallout from Allen's death, and specifically its impact on Renee Montoya.

Trivia

• The cover copy "Batwoman Begins" is a reference to the 2005 feature film Batman Begins.

See Also

• Cover gallery for the 52 series
• Images from 52 Vol 1 11

Recommended Reading

• 52 #1-52
• Countdown #51-0
• World War III #1-4

Links and References

• 52: The Comic
• 52 article/interview with editor Stephen Wacker
• 52 series index at the Grand Comics Database