Batman: Shadow of the Bat #40 is an issue of the series Batman: Shadow of the Bat (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1995.
Synopsis for "Anarky, Part One: Prophet of Doom"
A homeless man wearing a "THE END IS NIGH" sandwich board stands near a public basketball court where some teens are playing. A ball nearly hits his head, but one of the players, Tim Drake, saves him. Tim inquires about the allegedly impending apocalypse, but the man says he just gets paid to wear the sign and doesn't know any details. Tim leaves the game shortly afterward, telling his friends he has work to do.
Roxanne Machin, watching the game from her apartment balcony, encourages her son Lonnie to join in. However, he is hooked up to his "biofeedback learning enhancer," a device intended to enhance his intelligence by synchronizing the hemispheres of his brain. She pulls him out of it, to his annoyance, and voices her worries about how he isn't like other boys. Lonnie assures her that she and his father have been good parents, and, picking up a baseball bat emblazoned with the anarchy symbol and "EACH MAN HIS OWN MASTER," tells her he's headed off to a game.
A talk show host interviews "Malochia, Prophet of Doom," the man behind the apocalypse marketing campaign. Malochia cites a variety of predictions from a wide range of cultures forecasting catastrophe in the late 1990s or early 21st century.
As dusk falls, Tim arrives at Wayne Manor, where Bruce is struggling to get his heating system fixed in Alfred's absence while watching Malochia on TV. The two descend to the Batcave and suit up. Batman assigns Robin to stay behind and research Malochia while he goes out on patrol.
Lonnie dons his Anarky costume and contacts Joe Potato, a PI he has hired. Potato reports that armed men are taking explosives out of a phosphate plant, but refuses to endanger himself by investigating more closely until Anarky offers him more money. Unfortunately, the men catch Potato almost instantly and knock him out.
Jim Gordon is in a diner, devastated by conflicts with his wife, Sarah Essen, and his dismissal from the police force, with Sarah replacing him as commissioner. Businessman Harry Coles approaches him and recruits him to run for mayor, saying that Mayor Krol is losing support rapidly, Gordon's track record makes him a strong candidate, and the business community is prepared to throw their support behind him.
While Batman tangles with common criminals, Robin discovers that Malochia is funded by the Anarky Foundation, which Lonnie established after becoming a multimillionaire by selling political and philosophical writing over the internet. Meanwhile, Anarky himself arrives to rescue Potato; not confident that his fighting skills will be sufficient to take down opponents this experienced, he shoots off a signal flare before he engages, which Batman spots. He heads for the plant and orders Robin to join him.
Malochia himself appears, brushing off Anarky's accusations of lying to him to get his money, and his men to kill Anarky and Potato. Batman arrives just in time, knocking down the henchmen before they can shoot their captives, then confronting Malochia. Though Batman at first seems to easily outmatch the villain, Malochia blasts his with the evil eye, followed by a concussion grenade, rendering him unconscious.
Malochia has his men tie Batman, Anarky, and Potato to the outside of a blimp carrying the stolen explosives, then gives them their promised pay, warning them that they'll have to spend it outside of Gotham. He launches the blimp and he heads to a studio for another TV appearance.
Appearing in "Anarky, Part One: Prophet of Doom"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Malochia
Other Characters:
- Joe Potato
- James Gordon
- Harry Coles
- Roxanne Machin
- Marion Grange (Mentioned only)
- Armand Krol (Mentioned only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Malochia says that the Mayan Calendar runs out in 2014. However, Mayan Calendar actually runs out in 2012.
- Lonnie Machin has brown hair in this issue, rather than the strawberry blond of his earlier appearances.
See Also
Links and References
