Synopsis
The Destroyer is a three-part Batman crossover written by Alan Grant and Dennis O'Neil, with illustrations by Chris Sprouse, Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle. It introduces a villain called the Destroyer who blows up old buildings for the sake of artistic expression, and takes a look at the history of Gotham City through its architecture. Running a single issue each through three different volumes, it's published in Batman, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight and Detective Comics. It follows Flyer and The Idiot Root, and is followed by Faces and The Return of Scarface.
Synopsis
Batman begins to investigate as a series of uninhabited buildings are blown up across Gotham City. The culprit is a man called the Destroyer, who is responsible for killing several homeless men in his explosions. It's quickly ruled out that Destroyer can't be an arsonist or a terrorist, so Batman correctly guesses that he's doing it for the sake of art and architecture. He visits a Wayne Foundation building to look up archived clues on where the Destroyer might strike next, just as Destroyer is blowing up the very building he's in.[1] These archives show him that every building destroyed has revealed architecture by Cyrus Pinkney, an unpopular Gothic architect commissioned to design most of Gotham by Solomon Wayne. The building explodes and Batman is barely able to take refuge in the basement, where he's rescued as Bruce Wayne in his underpants. He determines that the Destroyer is Andre Sinclair, an architecture student and Navy SEAL obsessed with the works of Pinkney. Sinclair believes as Pinkney and Solomon Wayne did that architecture can hold back demonic forces. Batman confronts Destroyer on a rooftop, but he escapes and plans to blow up GCPD Headquarters with everyone inside.[2] Batman barely gets the GCPD evacuated in time, and their new headquarters explodes. They realize that Sinclair will have left the city, so Batman declares a plan to draw him in using Bruce Wayne as bait. They announce on TV that Wayne will buy and demolish the Corolla Building, Pinkney's headquarters, and turn it into a shopping mall. Sinclair is enraged and returns to kill Wayne, where Batman ambushes him. During this fight Sinclair is hit with a wrecking ball and hospitalized, leaving Bruce to announce the demolished building will become the new Wayne Foundation headquarters. Sarah Essen believes she has deduced that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but is convinced otherwise by Alfred impersonating Bruce over the phone.[3]
Issues
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
  This event or storyline is specifically related to Batman, or to members of the Batman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Batman Storylines category. |
| Destroyer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Batman #474 | Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #27 | Detective Comics #641 |