Chapter Summaries

Jino reflected on his assassination of Marconi as the Court of Owls traced the Talon Assassin disguise back to him and ordered Talons to kill the Elliot Family. The assassins reached Elliot Manor, where Jino went out to face them.

• Jino returned to Elliot Manor, absorbed energy from green Kryptonite, and considered the people who might be connected to the Court of Owls.
• Marco bribed a tailor to learn that Jino Luthor had ordered a Talon Assassin outfit, then shot the tailor and took back his money.
• The Court of Owls learned Jino had framed them and ordered Talons to kill the Elliot Family and end its influence in Gotham.
• Jino heard a group approaching Elliot Manor through the rain and saw Talon assassins leap over the iron fence.
• Jino stepped into the rain, spread his arms, and asked the assassins if any of them wanted to leave before they fought.

Jino slaughtered the Court of Owls' Talon Assassins at Elliot Manor and decided to use Loren's information to target the Court. He summoned Talia and as many League of Assassins members as she could bring, leaving the coming attack poised to begin.

• The Talon Assassins attacked Jino, but their blades and throwing knives failed to harm him.
• Jino killed the Talon Assassins by hurling throwing knives with enough force to pierce their heads and shatter their katanas.
• Harleen watched the massacre with growing excitement, while Loren realized Jino had defeated the Court's ultimate assassins.
• Jino ordered Loren to list everyone he knew in the Court of Owls and declared that the Court should change its name.
• Jino summoned Talia to Elliot Manor at nine the next morning and asked her to bring as many League of Assassins members as she had.

Talia and Tina arrived in Gotham, where Jino ordered Talia’s assassins to expose and eliminate the Court of Owls. The League of Assassins deployed across the city to begin the purge.

• Talia and Tina arrived at Elliot Manor, where Jino explained Gotham’s founding to them.
• Jino asked Talia for the location and number of the assassins she had brought, and she said about fifty were hidden in the sewers.
• Jino gave Talia a list of names and ordered her to force them to reveal the other Court of Owls members.
• Talia led the assassins out of the sewers and ordered them to work in groups of three, investigate households, and root out the Court.
• The assassins dispersed across Gotham to begin the operation.

Jino and Talia led the League of Assassins into the Court of Owls’ underground base, where Jino killed its leader after revealing a sack’s contents. After the warriors began searching the base, Talia asked Jino to let her inspect its valuables, and he agreed while keeping his own plans in mind.

• The Court of Owls’ leader ordered a relocation after the Talon Assassins failed to return, but Jino burst into the conference room and killed the man who opened the door.
• Jino and Talia entered with League of Assassins warriors, and the Court’s leader recognized Jino and learned that the League answered to him.
• Jino had the Court’s leader open a burlap sack, then killed him with a Katana before he could speak.
• Talia sent the warriors to search the base and asked Jino to let her see the Court of Owls’ valuables.
• Jino agreed to Talia’s request while planning to keep using her.

Jino explored the Court of Owls’ hidden chambers, discovered their records and sleeping assassins, and devised a plan aimed at Bruce Wayne. At Wayne Manor, Bruce found evidence that his great-great-grandfather had feared a secret assassin organization, then met with James Gordon.

• Jino found a pool of Amber Gold that could extend life and ordered Talia’s assassins to transport it, allowing Talia only one small barrel.
• Jino read Court of Owls records showing they had used the Allen Wayne Foundation to establish twenty-one Owl Nests in Gotham City.
• Jino and Talia found empty coffins containing portraits of children who had been raised and trained as killers, then reached a marble maze where Jino formed a plan aimed at Bruce.
• Bruce read that Allen Wayne had suspected he was watched by an assassin organization before dying in Gotham’s underground tunnels.
• Alfred told Bruce that James Gordon wanted to see him, and Bruce went to meet Gordon in the hall.

After a mass murder and a threat against Bruce Wayne, Gordon urged Bruce to leave Gotham, but Bruce instead became Batman and returned to investigate the crime scene. There, he encountered the mysterious Masked Man, who claimed he had come to help.

• Gordon told Bruce Wayne that more than forty prominent Gotham residents had been murdered and that a notice threatened Bruce’s life.
• Bruce agreed to leave Gotham with Alfred, then changed into his Batman gear aboard the helicopter.
• Batman leapt from the helicopter and headed toward Gotham beneath the evening sky.
• At the former Wayne Group building, Gordon investigated a sound and found the murder scene filled with body bags.
• Gordon confronted the Masked Man, who denied committing the murders and said he was there to help.

Batman investigated the headless bodies with Gordon and identified the killer as an assassin from the League of Assassins. He traced foul-smelling footprints to Gotham’s sewers and wondered why Ra’s al Ghul’s people had come to the city.

• Batman persuaded Gordon to examine faint marks on a wall and used a lighter to reveal the message, “Let’s play a game, Batman.”
• Gordon showed Batman the bodies, and Batman recognized the clean decapitations as the work of the League of Assassins.
• Batman spotted black footprints on a ceiling beam, struggled once to grapple up to it, then found the prints smelled of Gotham’s sewers.
• Batman wondered why the League of Assassins had come to Gotham, since he saw nothing in the city that would interest Ra’s al Ghul.

Batman left Gordon behind and followed the League of Assassins through Gotham’s sewers, where he uncovered a hidden labyrinth and a mysterious figure tied to the League. The figure challenged Batman to escape the assassins hunting him and promised to reveal the truth about Gotham City.

• Batman tricked Gordon into turning away and escaped through the window alone.
• Batman entered Gotham’s sewers and suspected the Court of Owls and the League of Assassins were connected.
• Batman found a hollow section in a granite wall, broke through it, and discovered a vast underground labyrinth.
• Batman saw a recording of a masked man seated among League of Assassins members, who promised to reveal Gotham’s truth if Batman survived the hunt.
• The masked man started the game, and Batman heard assassins approaching from every direction.

Batman endured a week of fighting through the League of Assassins' maze while suffering injuries, thirst, and hallucinogen-induced visions. After he confronted the mysterious white-masked man again, Jino caught his Batarangs and mocked him.

• Batman fought off repeated waves of League of Assassins members as he searched the maze for an exit.
• Batman drank from a pool, realized the water contained hallucinogens, and saw visions of Thomas and Martha.
• Batman suppressed his rage and prepared to face footsteps approaching through the darkness.
• Batman threw Batarangs at the white-masked man, but they disappeared before Jino caught them and taunted him.

Jino confronted Batman after admitting he had killed people, then overwhelmed him in a fight and left him badly injured. As Batman lost consciousness, Jino urged him to remember the fear and become stronger before they met again.

• Batman asked Jino whether he had killed the people, and Jino admitted it before praising Gotham as a city full of villains.
• Jino mocked Batman and challenged him to bring him to justice, then the two began fighting.
• Batman tried to choke Jino, but Jino shrugged him off and slammed him into a wall, leaving him injured.
• Jino lifted Batman and broke his spine, causing Batman to collapse in agony.
• As Batman fainted, Jino told him to remember the fear and become stronger for their next encounter.

Bruce woke with a broken spine but discovered the Nameless One had healed him and left evidence about the Court of Owls. After learning that the Court had secretly controlled Gotham and was now dead, Bruce resolved to become stronger and prepare for another encounter with the Nameless One.

• Bruce sat up despite his spinal injury and concluded that the Nameless One had saved him.
• Alfred gave Bruce an assassination list implicating the Court of Owls and a bottle of the mysterious healing liquid.
• Bruce read the Nameless One's note declaring the Court of Owls dead and realized they had been among the elites and officials killed at Wayne Tower.
• Bruce blamed himself for failing to uncover the Court's influence sooner, but Alfred urged him to do his best.
• Bruce ordered full-body photographs of Jino Luthor and an anti-'The Nameless One' dossier project with Priority S.

Jino jumped from Gotham Hospital's rooftop to test his control over the energy field around his body and survived the fall. He caught Talia plotting to steal his Amber Gold and ordered her to prove her loyalty.

• Talia told Jino that the Amber Gold bottles had been placed in the wine cellar at Elliot Manor, then asked why he had saved Batman.
• Jino stepped onto the rooftop ledge and leaped toward the road below, trying to control the energy field around him as he fell.
• Jino struck the ground with enough force to shatter the pavement, and Talia assumed he was dead and celebrated her chance to take the Amber Gold.
• Jino appeared behind Talia and grabbed her by the throat after hearing her plan to steal the Amber Gold.
• Jino released Talia and ordered her to kneel and crawl over to prove her loyalty.

Jino demonstrated his ability to fly to Talia, then used his Bio-field to launch himself beyond Earth’s atmosphere. He reached space and saw the blue planet below him.

• Jino asked Talia to watch as he used his Bio-field to rise into the air.
• Talia left the rooftop, imagining how she could use a child with Jino’s powers to rule the world.
• Jino unleashed his Bio-field and accelerated out of Gotham City and through Earth’s atmosphere.
• Jino broke through into space and looked back at Earth beneath him.

Jino flew toward the Sun, gained Heat Vision, and returned to Gotham, where he learned that Ra's al Ghul planned to take over the city. Ra's interrogated Talia about Jino, while Jino began planning to lure him into a trap for himself and Batman.

• Jino flew closer to the Sun, absorbed its energy, and unlocked Heat Vision.
• On Demon Island, Ra's al Ghul confronted Talia and demanded she tell him everything about Jino.
• Jino returned to Gotham and read messages from Thomas, Lex, and Talia, learning that Ra's intended to come to the city.
• Jino checked his remaining negative points and planned to lure Ra's al Ghul to Gotham using a maze for him and Batman.

Bruce built a new Batsuit from Promethium and Intron Metal after Jino defeated him, while Jino learned that Ra's al Ghul was preparing to destroy Gotham with a dirty bomb. Bruce went to meet Thomas and Jino, leaving his suspicions about Jino unresolved.

• Alfred found Bruce forging armor in the Batcave and urged him to eat and rest.
• Bruce and Alfred molded a new Batsuit from Promethium mixed with Intron Metal.
• Bruce rejected Alfred's suggestion that he trust allies and compared Jino's photograph with his memory of The Nameless One.
• Jino received Talia's warning that Ra's al Ghul was bringing a hundred assassins to Gotham to plant a dirty bomb, then forwarded the message to a friend in Metropolis.
• Bruce saw Thomas and Jino at the gate and went to greet them, while Thomas discussed Wayne Enterprises and Lex with Jino.

Bruce learned that Ra's al Ghul was bringing the League of Assassins to Gotham with a dirty bomb, while Jino watched Bruce leave to investigate. Ra's and his assassins began their advance on Gotham after killing a gang member in the subway.

• Alfred welcomed Thomas and Jino to Wayne Manor, where Bruce greeted them despite pretending to have a twisted ankle.
• Jino and Bruce recalled their first conversation about Gotham and laughed together, though Bruce felt bitter about the city.
• Bruce received a message that Ra's al Ghul planned to destroy Gotham with a dirty bomb and hurried off to investigate.
• Ra's al Ghul's assassins slaughtered the Whisper Gang's men in the subway and severed Luca Volk's tendons.
• Ra's al Ghul killed Luca after Luca cursed him, then ordered the League of Assassins to advance on Gotham.

Batman raced to stop the League of Assassins from reaching City Council Hall, where Mayor Mark worked, and discovered they had begun coordinated attacks across Gotham. After defeating an ambush in an alley, he escaped into the sewer, while Ra's al Ghul arrived and followed his trail.

• Alfred told Batman that the League of Assassins was advancing from all four directions toward City Council Hall.
• Assassins transporting a dirty bomb spotted Batman heading toward the city center and reported him to Ra's al Ghul.
• Batman avoided a steel-wire trap, survived his motorcycle's explosion, and knocked out the assassins who attacked him.
• Batman realized the League had discovered his identity and jumped into a sewer to relocate.
• Ra's al Ghul found the unconscious assassins and Batman's footprints leading into the sewer.

Batman confronted Ra's al Ghul in Gotham's sewers while the League of Assassins prepared a mass-casualty attack on the city. Ra's poisoned Batman with throwing darts, leaving him swimming away through the filthy water as Ra's pursued him.

• Batman lost contact with Alfred while searching the sewer and encountered Ra's al Ghul, surrounded by League of Assassins members.
• Ra's al Ghul explained his centuries-old history, his hatred of humanity, and his plans to destroy Gotham.
• Batman refused to let Ra's destroy the city, and Ra's attacked him with a sword.
• Batman dodged Ra's strikes with his Grappling Gun, but Ra's's poisoned darts pierced his cape and wounded his arm.
• The poison disoriented Batman, who fell into the sewer water and tried to retreat as Ra's chased him.

Batman lured Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins into the maze, where he fought Ra's and was recognized as a former League member named Bruce. As Batman tried to change the battlefield, Jino appeared above the maze and ordered both men to stop fighting.

• Batman escaped through the sewage, took an antidote, and entered the maze to use its terrain against Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins.
• Ra's al Ghul sent his assassins into the maze, learned Batman was difficult to find, and heard that Batman's fighting style resembled the League's.
• Ra's al Ghul entered the maze and encountered Batman, then fought him in close combat.
• Ra's al Ghul recognized Batman as the former League member who called himself Bruce and summoned his assassins.
• Batman fired his Grappling Gun to change the battlefield, but Jino appeared atop the maze wall and told Batman and Ra's al Ghul to stop fighting.

Jino confronted Batman and Ra's al Ghul in the underground maze, forcing the two enemies to agree to fight him together. Ra's al Ghul transformed with power from the Lazarus Pit and attacked, but Jino punched him through the passage and into the night sky.

• Jino appeared before Batman and Ra's al Ghul and urged them to fight him.
• Jino challenged Batman to show how much stronger he had become since their last encounter.
• Ra's al Ghul and Batman agreed to attack Jino together, while each secretly considered how to survive.
• Ra's al Ghul used the Lazarus Pit's power to transform into a giant and charged at Jino.
• Jino struck Ra's al Ghul with an upward punch that blasted him through the underground passage and into the night sky.