Batman: War Games
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War Games is a comics story arc published by DC Comics between October 2004 and January 2005. It appeared in all the DC titles set in and around Gotham City: Detective Comics, Legends of the Dark Knight, Nightwing, Batman: Gotham Knights, Robin, Batgirl, Catwoman, Batman, and Gotham Central. In addition, the prelude was published separately as Batman: the 12 Cent Adventure.
[edit] Synopsis
The plot revolves around a gang war involving all the major criminal groups in Gotham. It starts with one of Batman's most ambitious plans involving one of his aliases, Matches Malone. Batman felt that if the crime situation in Gotham ever got completely out of hand, he would need to resort to drastic measures to contain it. Thus he developed a plan that would unite all of Gotham's underworld under a single crime boss: Matches Malone. Unfortunately, this plan was discovered by Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, who was serving as Robin at the time and who was unware that Malone and her boss were one and the same; she simply believed that he was an "employee" of Batman. When she attempted to implement this plan without Batman's knowledge and participation, the resulting chaos caused a massive gang war and resulted in Stephanie's brutal death at the hands of The Black Mask, a tragedy for which Batman holds himself responsible.
[edit] Aftermath
Besides the aforementioned death of Stephanie Brown, many other side effects came about from this event. The biggest of these included Black Mask becoming the single crime boss in Gotham, something that would remain until his death at the hands of Catwoman. Another would be Commissioner Atkins effectively making all vigilantes criminals, a move that would stay in place for over a year until the return of Commissioner Gordon to the Gotham City Police Department. The more controversial effect, though not seen until the follow-up story War Crimes, was turning Leslie Thompkins, a doctor and a close ally of the Batman, into, essentially, a murderer by allowing Stephanie Brown to die from her wounds as Batman's "punishment" for allowing children into his war on crime. Finally, the citizens of Gotham City no longer consider Batman to be an urban legend (which has been in place since Zero Hour), as he was caught on camera trying to save the life of a wounded student at the end of Act One.
[edit] Reading Order
Act One - Outbreak:
- Prelude: Batman: The 12 Cent Adventure #1
- Part 1: Detective Comics #797
- Part 2: Legends of the Dark Knight #182
- Part 3: Nightwing #96
- Part 4: Gotham Knights #56
- Part 5: Robin #129
- Part 6: Batgirl #55
- Part 7: Catwoman (2002) #34
- Part 8: Batman #631
Act Two - Tides:
- Part 1: Detective Comics #798
- Part 2: Legends of the Dark Knight #183
- Part 3: Nightwing #97
- Part 4: Gotham Knights #57
- Part 5: Robin #130
- Part 6: Batgirl #56
- Part 7: Catwoman (2002) #35
- Part 8: Batman #632
Act Three - Endgame:
- Part 1: Detective Comics #798
- Part 2: Legends of the Dark Knight #184
- Part 3: Nightwing #98
- Part 4: Robin #131
- Part 5: Gotham Knights #58
- Part 6: Batgirl #57
- Part 7: Catwoman (2002) #36
- Part 8: Batman #633
- Epilogue: Detective Comics #800
- Epilogue: Batman #634
| Batman | |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Bob Kane • Bill Finger • Other writers and artists |
| Supporting Characters: | Robin (Tim Drake) • Nightwing (Dick Grayson) • Batgirl • Batwoman • Alfred Pennyworth • Lucius Fox • Barbara Gordon • Commissioner Gordon • Harvey Bullock |
| Villains: | Bane • Catwoman • Clayface • Harley Quinn • Joker • Killer Croc • Mr. Freeze • Penguin • Poison Ivy • Ra's al Ghul • Red Hood (Jason Todd) • Riddler • Scarecrow • Two-Face • Other villains |
| Locations: | Arkham Asylum • Batcave • Gotham City • Wayne Enterprises • Wayne Manor |
| Miscellanea: | Batarang • Batmobile • Batsuit • Popular media • Publications • Storylines • Alternate versions of Batman |
