- Yes, but this is Gotham, sir. And she does not know it. She doesn't know the way it sneaks up on you. Catches you off guard, even when you think you're in control. I have watched this place - this life - take the people I care about and grind them down. And I do not want my daughter to be one of them.
Batman Eternal #33 is an issue of the series Batman Eternal (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 2015. It was published on November 19, 2014.
Synopsis for "Contents Under Pressure"
After Hush caused an explosion that implicated the Batman, Commissioner Jason Bard holds a press conference to warn that martial law and the curfew will remain in effect until the guilty party is brought to justice. Knowing that Batman is about to be framed as a criminal acting against the city, Julia Pennyworth encourages him to make a statement in response, but Batman reminds that reclaiming his stolen weapon caches from Hush is the priority, lest there be other attacks. There are seventeen such sites, and Hush has probably recoded the DNA locks since he broke in. Julia suggests that she let her father try to track down Hush from the cave, and Batman should let her enter the field and help cover the caches. She is, after all, a field operative for the SAS.
Later, Bard angrily confronts Hush for using his officers. His men were purposefully caught in the blast that Hush pinned on Batman. Hush warns him that there will be no backing out of his plan. Batman will surely be heading to check out his other caches, and more men will need to be sent to stop him. He suggests Bard speak with a S.W.A.T. officer named Gilpatrick who has been working on something to help against Batman.
Batman explains that due to the nature of the caches' security systems, they face a puzzle, and one wrong move could lead to an explosion, given that they don't even know which sites have been compromised. With a short-range EMP, they can buy a minute to bypass the main lock. Julia comments that Batman might have guessed that these caches would be used against him one day. The pair are interrupted suddenly by a chopper, from which a man leaps down and knocks Batman through a skylight. He recovers quickly, but his adversary does too. Gilpatrick is sure of his victory, using his specially designed tools to subdue Batman - but Batman dodges his every attack, turning his weapons on himself. By the time Batman has finished with him, Gilpatrick is trapped within a glut of his own quick-hardening foam.
In the meantime, Julia successfully picks the lock to the cache site in the allotted minute, and proves that she can handle this herself. Batman assigns her a set of cache sites to check while he checks his own. All they need to do is get inside, and pull a lever that activates an acid shower that will destroy all the weapons and explosives within.
Meanwhile, at Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox is forced to deal with the spreading news that the company funded the weapons caches for Batman. If the weapons or their designs can be traced back to Wayne Enterprises, it will be bad for the company. It doesn't help that the company is already associated with Batman Incorporated. A legal adviser warns that they will need to know who authorized what and when - and be sure that the previous night's explosion was an isolated incident. Afterwards, Lucius calls to Bruce Wayne and complains that he should have been told of the cache sites. Bruce insists that he had to maintain secrecy, and that the situation is under control. He gives his word.
As Julia faces her first cache site alone, Alfred confides in Batman that he doesn't like the idea of her out there by herself. While she is better trained than each of Batman's proteges were when they started, they had Batman to watch over them. Julia, though, is new to Gotham. She doesn't know how it can break a person.
When Julia accesses her cache site, she is surprised by Hush, who demands to know who she is.
Appearing in "Contents Under Pressure"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Hush
- Gotham City Police Department
- Commissioner Jason Bard
- Officer Gilpatrick
Other Characters:
- Lucius Fox
- John
- Vicki Vale (Mentioned only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Batman Eternal Vol. 2.
See Also