Batman: Shadow of the Bat #48 is an issue of the series Batman: Shadow of the Bat (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1996.
Synopsis for "Contagion, Part One: The Apocalypse Plague"
Azrael sends Batman a video showing the horrible effects of a highly contagious virus developed by the Order of St. Dumas and tells Batman that the plague is headed to Gotham City. Batman decides to get some information from the United States Army and he gives Robin the task of tracking the man that is carrying the virus in his body.
Batman tells the new police commissioner Andrew Howe about the virus but he won't listen. Batman then forces his way into an Army's secret installation to learn about the virus and if there is a possible cure. He finds the head investigator in an isolated room. The man has acquired the virus and is dying without any chance of survival. The general tells Batman that the virus was a variant of the Ebola virus named Ebola Gulf-A. The general tells Batman the symptoms and that the virus mutates too fast to develop a cure. The only hope is to find a survivor, someone who had been infected but survived. After telling all that he knows, the general dies because of the virus.
When Batman gets himself out of the secret installation, Robin tells him that he found the man carrying the disease. The man is called Daniel Maris; he was the only man arriving to Gotham from Africa in the last few hours and he is staying at Babylon Towers. Maris is carrying the virus unknowingly. He is an acolyte for the Order of St. Dumas and acts as chairman of the Babylon Towers apartments. His mission is to enclose himself and the other residents of Babylon Towers inside so the virus will eliminate the entire city of Gotham without affecting the people inside Babylon. What he doesn't know is that he is carrying the virus and by the time he exposes the plan to the Babylon residents all the people who Maris has been in touch with is already infected by the virus; even the servants that are later sent outside Babylon to Gotham. Maris tries to seal off Babylon from the plague, but traps everyone inside with it. As Batman is trying to figure out a plan, the virus is already spreading among the Gothamities and inside Babylon as well.
Appearing in "Contagion, Part One: The Apocalypse Plague"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Police Commissioner Andrew Howe
- Mayor Armand Krol
- Daniel Maris (First appearance)
- Sacred Order of St. Dumas
Other Characters:
- Gotham City Police Department
- Mr. Ames (Single appearance)
- Mr. Zavier (Single appearance)
- Mrs. Ames (Single appearance)
- Palmoy (pilot)
- Grant (Single appearance)
- U.S. Military
- Gen. Mondial Derwent (Single appearance; dies)
Locations:
- Africa
- Gotham City
- Wayne Tower
- Babylon Towers (First appearance)
- Batcave
- Gotham City Police Headquarters
Items:
- Apocalypse Virus (First appearance)
- Batcomputer
- Batsuit
Vehicles:
Notes
- This is the first issue of the Batman: Contagion storyline.
- Batman: Contagion continues in Detective Comics #695.
- This issue is reprinted in the Batman: Contagion collected edition, as well as the 2016 edition.
- The Ebola virus is a real virus and it can produce lethal outbreaks.
Trivia
- There is a small reference to Quasimodo the "hunchback".
- There is also a reference to the Sarin Gas Attack on Tokyo which was almost at the same time of the issue's release.
See Also
- Cover gallery for the Batman: Shadow of the Bat series
- Images from Batman: Shadow of the Bat Vol 1 48
Recommended Reading
- Batman Recommended Reading
- Batman (Volume 1)
- Batman (Volume 2)
- Batman (Volume 3)
- Batman and Robin (Volume 1)
- Batman and Robin (Volume 2)
- Batman and Robin (Volume 3)
- Batman Confidential (Volume 1)
- Batman: Gotham Knights (Volume 1)
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (Volume 1)
- Batman: Shadow of the Bat (Volume 1)
- Batman: Streets of Gotham (Volume 1)
- Batman Incorporated (Volume 1)
- Batman Incorporated (Volume 2)
- Batman/Superman (Volume 1)
- Batman/Superman (Volume 2)
- Batman/Superman: World's Finest (Volume 1)
- Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 1)
- Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 2)
- The Brave and the Bold (Volume 1)
- Detective Comics (Volume 1)
- Detective Comics (Volume 2)
- Superman/Batman (Volume 1)
- World's Finest (Volume 1)
Links and References
  The events from this issue are related to the Contagion crossover that went through the Batman Family Titles in 1996, in which Gotham City had an epidemic of a mutant strand of the Ebola virus. The events of Contagion lead into Batman: Legacy, Batman: Cataclysm, and ultimately No Man's Land. Crossovers
Shadow of the Bat #48 • Detective Comics #695 • Robin #27 • Azrael #15 • Catwoman #31 • Batman #529 • Shadow of the Bat #49 • Detective Comics #696 • Batman Chronicles #4 • Catwoman #32 • Azrael #16 • Robin #28 |