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in: Dick Giordano/Executive Editor, John Byrne/Cover Artist, Anthony Tollin/Cover Artist,
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Changes: Batman Vol 1 434

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* {{a|[[France]]}}

Revision as of 18:40, 9 June 2017

"The Many Deaths of the Batman - Chapter Two: How Many Times Can a Batman Die?": Batman finds himself in hot pursuit of a mysterious cloaked person across the rooftops of some small city and when he finally captures the person, both of them fall to the river.

Quote1 I've known him from the start, from the first days he showed in Gotham. I've seen him in action. Spoken to him. Shaken his hand more than once. If that was different men, then I've been in the wrong line of work for all these years. - Certanly he's been a friend to this city. Sometimes a better friend than I think she deserves. Quote2
— Commissioner Gordon

Batman #434 is an issue of the series Batman (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1989.

Synopsis for "The Many Deaths of the Batman - Chapter Two: How Many Times Can a Batman Die?"

Batman finds himself in hot pursuit of a mysterious cloaked person across the rooftops of some small city and when he finally captures the person, both of them fall to the river.

A few hours later, a body is picked from the Gotham River by the Gotham City Police Department and they are shocked to learn it is apparently the Batman's corpse. The doctor assistant coroner verifies the death to Commissioner Gordon and they arrange for the body to be taken to the Morgue, where the cause of death will be revealed. When they remove the cowl from the corpse, both Gordon and the doctor recognize the man as Mark Jenner, former stock car racer, who was paralyzed in an accident. The doctor believes Jenner could perfectly be the Batman, but Gordon knows better as this is the fourth death person wearing a Batman costume.

Later in his office at the GCPD Headquarters, Gordon examines the evidence and tries to make a connection between all the victims, but he is unable to come up with something. When the autopsy results are revealed, the Doctor informs Gordon that Jenner was drowned alright, but the water in his lungs reveals he didn't drown in the river.

At that moment, the notorious athlete Peter Allison arrives at the "Swet Shoppe" gym in order to fulfill his end of the arrangement with the manager of the place. The manager however, is baffled at Allison's presence in his gym, but he allows the stunt to continue as it means free publicity for his business. Allison then goes to the changing rooms and comes out dressed as Batman, much to the manager's surprise. Allison starts performing some acrobatic movements on the bars, when he is shot with a crossbow from the storage room of the the gym. The bolt pierces Allison's chest and kills him instantly. When Gordon and the police arrive to investigate, they also learn that the tip of the bolt was poisoned, to make sure the victim would die. While investigating the crime scene, they eventually find the murder weapon and the gym's manager recalls that the crossbow olympic champion has recently arrived to the city.

In the meantime, Batman has captured the cloaked woman and takes her to the French authorities when he learns about the supposed death of Batman, back in Gotham.

Following their only lead, Gordon and the Doctor go to interrogate Raphael DiGiorda at his mansion. On their way there, the Doctor insists that the men who have been killed could've well been the Batman, as she believes there to be many of them. However, Gordon knows better and he is certain that Batman is only one man, whose sacrifice for the city is sometimes greater than the gratitude shown for his actions. Eventually, Gordon and the Doctor arrive at DiGiorda's place and they are shocked to learn that the man is already waiting for them, dressed in a Batman costume. DiGiorda explains that he was invited by Bruce Wayne to a costume party and that the Batman costume came with the invitation. Gordon starts telling DiGiorda about the "Batmen Murders", but he ignores the warning and right then, the Doctor comes to the wrong conclusion that Bruce Wayne is the killer. Gordon steps forward and defends Wayne as a respected citized, but the Doctor's opinion stands. As the two of them argue, DiGiorda collapses and he is dead seconds later.

Back at the Morgue, Gordon and the Doctor learn that DiGiorda was poisoned with a special chemical that was coated in the Batman costume. Without any delay, Gordon makes arrangememnts to go to Wayne Manor, whether to interrogate Bruce Wayne, or save him altogether.

Gordon and his men arrive at Wayne Manor, where a weary Bruce welcomes them into his house. Gordon informs Bruce about the Batmen murders, but Bruce has not received a Batman costume. It is then that Alfred recalls that a package came earlier that day. Bruce opens the box with Gordon and his men watching closely and indeed, they find a Batman costume inside. Without any doubts, Bruce and the others realize that he was the target, but the murder attempt has failed. When a police officer takes the belt of the costume and locks it together, the suit starts melting the cupboard it was placed upon with strong acid, which would have been a gruesome death for Bruce Wayne. Altough the crisis has been averted, Bruce makes the most important question: who is the next victim?

Elsewhere in Gotham, a fat, bald man has been lured into a trap by a "city gal" and he is forced to wear the Batman costume before the killer strikes again.

Appearing in "The Many Deaths of the Batman - Chapter Two: How Many Times Can a Batman Die?"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Villains:

  • Fredrick Stone (Behind the scenes)

Other Characters:

  • Officer Chambers
  • Mark Jenner (Appears only as a corpse)
  • Stone (In a photograph only)
  • Kinglsey (In a photograph only)
  • LaSalle (In a photograph only)
  • Hank Jones (Single appearance)
  • Peter Allison (Single appearance; dies)
  • Webber (First appearance)

Locations:




See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

Template:Batman Links

The Many Deaths of the Batman
Part One: Batman #433 Part Two: Batman #434 Part Three: Batman #435
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