It's never easy to find inner strength and peace, even when the outer world is relatively stable...the destruction of physical reality always does spiritual damage. 
Batman #556 is an issue of the series Batman (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1998.
Synopsis for "Help, Trapped, Money, Rescue, Ruins"
Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake clean up the debris from the Batcave and discuss what Bruce told Tim when they faced the Ratcatcher about commitment and the future. Dick Grayson and Alfred descended from Wayne Manor to help them with the batcave after they finished fencing off the collapsed area of the Manor. Alfred suggests that if they were to remove every evidence of the batcave from the place, they might be able to call people to help them repair the manor without risking to expose their secret identities. Batman thanked all of them for their contributions and then he went out to Gotham City to help.
The press and the police arrived at Gotham's First Federal Bank to help three men that were trapped inside the bank's vaults. Batman managed to enter the bank without being noticed and descended his way down to the vault. The three men inside were thieves who were stealing from the vault when the earthquake struck and were trapped since then. When Batman entered the vault using a ventilation duct, he recognized the three escapees from Blackgate Prison. The thieves decided to attack Batman, but in their weakened state, they were not a match for Batman who beat them with ease and turned them to the police.
Later, Bruce decided to check upon the Wayne Tower to see how was his company doing with the rescuing efforts, the shelters provided and the services to the city. After speaking with Jolene Relazzo and Lucius Fox, he told them to keep up the good work while he goes out to find some "nightlife".
Batman then arrived to a rescuing operation. The Gotham City Police Department were trying to get a man out of an unstable building but the old man refused to get out. When the man started to nail some tables to his window, the building started to collapse. Batman helped the man to get out of the building that fell to the ground completely. After being saved, the man was grateful and renewed with hope.
At the break of dawn, Bruce went to visit Vesper Fairchild at her radio station. Bruce walked her to home. On the way, they discussed about the city's situation and how each and every single person can help the city. Bruce left Vesper telling her to not surrender and to keep Gotham's spirit up, for it is too precious to stay in ruins.
Appearing in "Help, Trapped, Money, Rescue, Ruins"
Featured Characters:
- Template:Apn
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- "Fast" Frankie Gang (Single appearance)
- "Fast" Frankie
Other Characters:
- Gotham City Police Department
- Gina Scovall (Single appearance)
- Preston (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Wayne Manor
- First Federal Bank
- Wayne Tower
- KGC Radio Station
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- The issue's title are keywords to the five events that happened in the story and in the same order.
- This issue is reprinted in Batman: Road to No Man's Land Vol. 1 (Collected).
See Also
Links and References
  This issue is a part of the Cataclysm crossover that swept through all Batman Family Titles during 1998. Gotham City was almost completely destroyed by a massive earthquake. This story led into the events that would eventually create No Man's Land. Cataclysm
Detective Comics #719 • Shadow of the Bat #73 • Nightwing #19 • Batman #553 • Azrael #40 • Detective Comics #720 • Catwoman #56 • Robin #52 • Blackgate: Isle of Men #1 • Shadow of the Bat #74 • Batman Chronicles #12 • Nightwing #20 • Batman #554 • Huntress/Spoiler #1 • Detective Comics #721 • Catwoman #57 • Arkham Asylum: Tales of Madness #1 • Robin #53 Aftershock
Shadow of the Bat #75 • Batman #555 • Detective Comics #722 • Shadow of the Bat #76 • Robin #54 • Batman #556 • Shadow of the Bat #77 • Batman #557 • Detective Comics #724 • Shadow of the Bat #78 • Shadow of the Bat #79 • Batman Chronicles #14 • Batman #558 • Batman #559 • Detective Comics #725 • Detective Comics #726 |