Recaps

Batman interrupted Catwoman as she tried to steal the Tears of the Atlantic, causing her heist to fail. On a rooftop, Catwoman attacked Batman in anger, and their fight began.

• Batman received a security alert and identified Catwoman at a jewelry store in Gotham Old Town.
• Catwoman cut through a window, disabled the cameras, and navigated the infrared beams to reach the Tears of the Atlantic.
• Batman’s Batarang triggered the alarms, forcing Catwoman to flee before she could steal the diamond.
• Catwoman threw the Batarang at the police, but Batman redirected and caught it with a remote control.
• Catwoman confronted Batman on a rooftop and slashed his gauntlet before continuing her attack.

Batman drove Catwoman from their rooftop fight, but she escaped through a door onto a fire escape. At home, Miao Mu caught a burglar who turned out to be Central City police officer Barry Allen, leaving him wondering why the future Flash had come to his house.

• Batman countered Catwoman's attacks and threw Batarangs as she fled across the rooftop.
• Catwoman escaped through a door on the fire escape, and Batman left after failing to find her.
• Miao Mu checked the world for signs that his time-related worries had come true, then noticed a burglar approaching his house.
• Miao Mu used a flashlight and stun gun to knock the intruder unconscious, and Jason found a police badge in the man's wallet.
• Jason identified the burglar as Barry Allen of the Central City Police Department, and Miao Mu suspected the Time Grandfather Clock had affected time.

Miao Mu interrogated a Barry Allen from ten years in the future, who claimed to know him and refused to reveal what Miao Mu would be like later. Meanwhile, a mysterious visitor entered Miao Mu’s home, examined Jason’s room and the study, and left with a canister of Fear Gas.

• Miao Mu restrained Barry and discovered that he was a stronger, older Barry Allen from another world who had arrived without the Speed Force.
• Barry recognized Miao Mu despite his paper-bag disguise and revealed that he had come from ten years in the future.
• A goggle-wearing visitor used a spare key to enter Miao Mu’s home, checked on the sleeping Jason, and searched the study.
• The visitor took a canister of Scarecrow’s Fear Gas and vanished into the night.
• Miao Mu asked Barry about his future self, but Barry refused to answer, so Miao Mu ordered Otis to deal with him.

Miao Mu agreed to let the time-displaced Barry stay with him until the Time Grandfather Clock could be used again, while Barry asked to observe Batman. Meanwhile, Constantine followed a magical trail to Gotham, where a trap branded him and left him temporarily blinded.

• Miao Mu freed Barry after questioning him and learned that Barry needed the Speed Force to return to his own time.
• Barry sensed the Speed Force in Miao Mu's clock, and Miao Mu told him it would not be ready for about a month.
• Miao Mu offered Barry a place to stay and a trainee police uniform, and Barry agreed while asking to see Batman from a distance.
• Constantine followed a golden chain into Gotham's frozen swamp and found the burned remains of a Volkswagen Beetle.
• Constantine's illusion revealed that a demon had used the car to contact the son of Hell's Demon King, and the scene triggered a trap that marked Constantine's hand.
• Constantine tried to look toward Gotham through magic, but a demon's face attacked him with fire and injured his eyes.

Jason left for school while Miao Mu and Barry planned to search for Batman after dark. Bronze Tiger practiced Iron Monkey Fist and met the mysterious guest from Miao Mu’s home, while a masked woman intervened when punks threatened Alexis and revealed she was the new teacher.

• Jason ate breakfast with Miao Mu and Barry, then left to help Alexis prepare for the Christmas rehearsal.
• Miao Mu told Barry they would look for Batman at night, and Barry agreed to follow his lead.
• Bronze Tiger used the Iron Monkey Fist forms to train through an illusion, then agreed to hear the mysterious guest’s request for a favor.
• A masked woman stopped a punk from attacking Alexis, drove off the delinquents, and announced that she was the girls’ new teacher.
• Jason arrived at school, rode over the injured punk, and hurried inside after Alexis warned him that a teacher planned to keep him after school.

Gordon and Sarah discussed the Joker Gang’s latest killings while preparing to attend the Zatara Circus, and Gordon rebuffed Flass’s demands at the police station. Meanwhile, Miao Mu took Barry shopping for supplies and gifts, leaving Barry wary of revealing what would happen ten years later.

• Sarah told Gordon that another batch of Joker Gang thugs had killed seven people, including a Mafia boss, and invited him to take the next night off for the circus.
• Flass demanded updates on the Struthers Street vandalism case and Batman, but Gordon stood his ground and left him a circus flyer.
• Miao Mu and Barry bought discounted canned food, candy, and chocolate at a crowded department store.
• Miao Mu asked Barry to share what would happen ten years in the future, but Barry refused because he feared changing the world.
• Miao Mu asked Barry to carry the purchases and gift boxes to the car while mentioning that Jason was away.

Edward Nashton endured the harsh conditions at Mrs. Gunn’s Orphanage, where older boys planned to leave and Mrs. Gunn controlled the children. When Miao Mu arrived with Christmas gifts from Ms. Thompkins, Nashton recognized him and received a mysterious green gas canister from someone outside.

• Nashton watched the orphanage’s older boys smoke and learned they planned to join the Roman when they left at sixteen.
• Mrs. Gunn scolded Nashton for opening a window as she came downstairs.
• Miao Mu arrived dressed in a police uniform and delivered Christmas gifts and canned food from Ms. Thompkins while Barry entertained the children as Santa Claus.
• Mrs. Gunn ordered Nashton to keep the children quiet, and Miao Mu secretly gave him candy.
• Nashton froze when he saw Miao Mu, then threw down the gift box and ran after a green gas canister tossed through the window by a departing figure.

Miao Mu and Barry waited for Batman while Barry explained that he had followed a familiar black Speed Force into this world. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne attended an auction reception with his uncle Philip and cousin Kate, where he met Selina and reunited with Cameron, leaving their hidden identities poised to intersect in Gotham at night.

• Miao Mu questioned Barry about why he wanted to meet Batman, and Barry said he had crossed into this world while pursuing a familiar black Speed Force.
• Bruce Wayne prepared to attend Philip Kane’s auction invitation, and Philip reminded him not to leave early.
• Bruce rode to the auction with Philip and Kate Kane, who teased him about his reputation as a playboy.
• At the reception, Bruce noticed a Morse-code message flashing on his watch and declined a drink from Selina before becoming intrigued by her.
• Selina told Bruce she was interested in his money, and the two flirted until Cameron arrived and exchanged introductions with her.

Miao Mu and Barry Allen patrolled Gotham in Santa and reindeer costumes, stopping robbers and interrupting a would-be attacker before following Batman’s trail. At the auction, Bruce sat with Selina as the diamond she had tried to steal was introduced.

• Miao Mu and Barry Allen stopped a supermarket robbery, disabled the getaway car, and arrested the robbers.
• Miao Mu and Barry rode a bicycle toward Batman’s trail, and Miao Mu scared off a man who was following an office worker with a knife.
• At the auction, Philip Kane bought an Indigenous shield for five hundred thousand dollars and promised to donate it to the Gotham Museum.
• Selina sat beside Bruce and asked whether he would show himself at the auction.
• The auctioneer introduced a diamond associated with Gotham’s mysterious master thief, and Selina waited for it to appear.

Joker and his gang hijacked a diamond auction, turning it into an armed robbery and forcing Philip to the stage. Bruce secretly contacted Alfred for police and equipment support as the gang held the guests at gunpoint.

• Kate Kane planned to bid on the Tears of the Atlantic diamond to attract the female jewel thief she admired.
• The auctioneer revealed the bound auction manager in place of the diamond display, while Selina spotted Joker standing nearby.
• Joker announced that the guests would surrender their money and ordered Philip to bring up the item he was auctioning.
• Joker struck the auction manager with the auction hammer and had his gang drag Philip away as Kate tried to intervene.
• Joker shot a guest who stood near Kate, and his gang forced her back into her seat.
• Bruce supported Kate and used Morse code on his watch to ask Alfred to contact the police and prepare equipment.

Joker disrupted a Joker Gang auction and encountered a second Joker, who was apparently a counterfeit from another world. Batman arrived as the counterfeit fell, but the dead body disappeared into another dimensional space.

• Joker broke Philip's hand, threatened Kate, and shot a man in the thigh when the man could not name a price for his life.
• A cloaked stranger interrupted Joker, who then took a submachine gun and fired wildly into the auction crowd; Bruce shielded Kate before escaping to get help.
• Bruce ran to the underground garage while Joker, disguised as a janitor, took a submachine gun and searched the building for the Joker Gang's counterfeit.
• Joker entered a sealed room where a Black Magic practitioner was conducting a ritual, and the practitioner used the magic formation to throw him back into the auction hall.
• The two Jokers faced each other, and the newcomer shot the auction-stage Joker, whose body vanished after he fell.
• Batman confronted the surviving Joker, while the Black Magic practitioner found the corpse in another dimensional space.

Batman and Selina fought the Joker Gang during the auction hall shootout, helping the frightened guests escape. Batman emerged from the smoke wounded but ready to confront Joker.

• Batman knocked Joker to the floor, and the Joker Gang opened fire on him.
• Batman rolled smoke bombs across the floor to obscure the gang's aim.
• Selina comforted Kate, then disarmed a Joker Gang member and fought her way toward the exit.
• A middle-aged man took a submachine gun and covered the guests as they fled the hall.
• Batman threw Batarangs that knocked the gang's guns aside, then emerged from the smoke with a graze on his shoulder and confronted Joker.

Batman fought the Joker and his gang while Miao Mu and Barry searched for a way out of a dimensional space. Zatanna emerged through a portal with the blinded Constantine, leaving them together in the corridor.

• The Joker revealed that he had survived and burned Batman's abdomen with an electrified glove.
• The Joker gang attacked Batman, and the Joker knocked him down before raising an auction hammer to strike his head.
• Miao Mu found Barry investigating the strange empty rooms and learned that someone had trapped them in a dimensional space.
• Barry spotted a dark violet portal opening in the corridor, and Zatanna stepped through with Constantine.
• Zatanna gave Constantine a cane and threatened to punish him if he had tricked her.

Miao Mu, Barry, Constantine, and Zatanna met inside a magical barrier in Gotham and investigated how to escape it. Constantine sensed that the barrier was a hidden magic circle and led the group onward.

• Zatanna confirmed that someone had summoned a demon in Gotham and attacked Constantine, while suspecting Constantine might have summoned it himself.
• Barry arrived and pretended not to know Zatanna or Constantine, while Miao Mu threatened Constantine with his revolver and demanded an explanation.
• Constantine said someone had summoned a demon and admitted the summoner was stronger than him, though he left his own involvement unclear.
• Zatanna introduced herself, and she and Constantine identified their surroundings as a magical barrier hiding something rather than a dimensional space.
• Constantine followed a magical trace and led the group forward as Zatanna playfully squeezed Barry's reindeer headpiece.

Miao Mu, Zatanna, Barry, and Constantine confronted Solomon Grundy after Constantine charged into Felix Faust’s lair. Their attacks and Zatanna’s spells failed against Faust’s defensive magic array, and Miao Mu hurled a grenade at Grundy.

• Constantine burst through a door and was thrown back out by a towering creature, which he identified as Grundy.
• Miao Mu shot Grundy in the face, but the zombie healed within seconds without showing pain.
• Zatanna’s spells failed to affect Grundy, and Constantine explained that Faust’s array redirected magic into outer space.
• Miao Mu learned that Felix Faust was the black magician behind the defenses and prepared his grenade.
• Miao Mu pulled the grenade’s pin, placed it in a gift box, and threw it at Grundy.

Miao Mu confronted Felix Faust during a botched demon summoning, while Selina transformed into a black cat and fled as Gotham police surrounded the building. Batman and a Joker-painted man appeared at an upstairs window, and Police Commissioner Loeb ordered officers to arrest Batman.

• Miao Mu blasted Solomon Grundy with a gift-box bomb, rushed inside, and aimed his gun at Felix Faust beside the magic circle.
• Faust realized he had summoned a demon, then froze as he recognized that the summoned figure might be the person who had entered the room.
• Selina turned into a black cat, grabbed a diamond, and tumbled down the stairs as police officers charged into the building.
• Police Commissioner Loeb arrived with the Special Action Team and demanded to know where Gordon was, while Bullock reminded him that Gordon had taken leave for the Zatara Circus.
• A Joker-painted man was left dangling outside an upstairs window, and Batman was slammed against the window as Loeb ordered Bullock to arrest him.

Batman fought the Joker while trying to protect Kate, but the Joker vanished after cutting his own throat as a magic circle appeared beneath him. With police arriving, Batman escaped through a window and lost consciousness after hearing someone call him Bruce.

• The Joker strangled Batman and seized Kate, while Batman remembered the cables in his gauntlets.
• Batman used the cables to pierce the Joker's arm, disarm him, and free Kate.
• The Joker detonated a bomb at the doorway, and Batman shielded Kate with his cape.
• The Joker beat Batman with a stick until a magic circle appeared beneath him, then cut his own throat and disappeared with the circle.
• Batman saw police arrive, escaped through a window, and collapsed after hearing someone call him Bruce.

Barry tried to get the unconscious Batman out of the police-encircled building, while Miao Mu and Zatanna fought Faust and his fire demon. Miao Mu broke through Faust’s magical barrier and left him battered against a wall.

• Barry found Batman unconscious and wounded, then decided to get him away before police exposed his identity and enemies could attack him.
• Zatanna joined Miao Mu as he fought Faust’s fire demon with the Holy Flame Hammer, while Zatanna summoned water to douse the flames.
• Miao Mu sent the demon to Zatanna and attacked Faust, first firing the Holy Flame Hammer and then shooting his protective barrier with guns.
• Miao Mu shattered Faust’s barrier with gunfire and punched him into a wall, breaking the bones in his face.

Miao Mu drove off Faust and destroyed the blood-stained magic circle, while Zatanna and Barry dealt with the demon puppet and got Batman moving toward the Batcave. The chapter left Constantine trapped in Hell before Malebolgia and the laughing Joker.

• Miao Mu burned away Faust’s black liquid form, but Faust reappeared as a shadow and warned that Gotham would become part of Hell before disappearing.
• Miao Mu discovered blood in the magic circle and burned the circle and the floor beneath it with the Holy Flame Hammer.
• Zatanna threw the demon puppet into the Gotham River, while Barry asked her for help and carried Batman to the Batmobile.
• Barry set the Batmobile to take Batman to the Batcave, and Zatanna returned to the building to take Constantine through a portal.
• Zatanna dragged Constantine through the portal, unaware that his soul was in Hell, where Malebolgia demanded it as the Joker laughed.

John Constantine met Hell’s demon king Malebolgia, who tasked him with finding the Spear of Destiny and defeating a rival for territory in the mortal world. Bruce woke at home on Christmas after a dangerous night in Gotham, where Alfred revealed a cat named Hangina had followed the Batmobile back.

• Constantine offered Malebolgia a deal, but Malebolgia asked him to find the Spear of Destiny and defeat a rival competing for Hell’s territory.
• Bruce woke in his bedroom and learned the Batmobile’s autopilot had brought him home while he was injured and unconscious.
• Alfred told Bruce that Master Philip and Mr. Cameron had visited, and that more than ten people had jumped from buildings amid Gotham’s stock-market crisis.
• Alfred introduced Hangina, a bandaged black cat he had found on the Batmobile, and Bruce agreed to keep her.

Miao Mu received Bronze Tiger’s belongings and martial arts notebook after learning that Bronze Tiger had left temporarily to fulfill a promise. He set aside a meeting and prepared to oversee the Joker’s transfer to Arkham Asylum that night.

• Nygma told Miao Mu that Bronze Tiger had left a crate and messages at the Arkham Police Department, explaining that he would return after completing a promised task.
• Miao Mu opened the crate and found the Iron Fist Stone Monkey statue, Bronze Tiger’s mask and knuckle-dusters, and a notebook bearing the name Benjamin Turner.
• Miao Mu studied Bronze Tiger’s martial arts insights and qigong notes, which helped him begin to grasp the sense of qi.
• Nygma reminded Miao Mu about his packed schedule and the night transfer of the Joker captured in the television station case.
• Miao Mu decided to lead the team receiving the Joker and checked that Otis was managing security at Arkham Asylum.

Lois and Clark visited Gotham’s Zatara Circus, where Clark bought tickets and Lois suggested they visit Officer Miao Mu. Constantine sensed Clark’s immense soul and, worried about Hell’s plans for Gotham, decided to make preparations in Los Angeles while Bronze Tiger headed by speedboat toward Star City.

• Lois and Clark explored the circus grounds and watched an elephant steal bananas.
• Lois explained that the Daily Planet had sent her to Gotham to avoid offending LexCorp on the day Lex Luthor was released.
• Clark showed Lois the two tickets he had bought for the evening performance.
• Lois suggested that she and Clark visit Officer Miao Mu, and Constantine hurried away after sensing Clark’s powerful soul.
• Constantine considered the forces preparing to bring Hell into Gotham and decided to travel to Los Angeles to make preparations.
• Bronze Tiger left Gotham by speedboat and headed along the coast toward Star City.

Bruce resumed training while recovering from his injuries and learned of a problem connected to Wayne Enterprises’ environmental energy division. At Arkham Asylum, Miao Mu received Joker from Commissioner Gordon and began processing him as a prisoner.

• Alfred told Bruce that his spare suit was ready and relayed Lucius’s suggestion that he attend a Wayne Enterprises meeting.
• Bruce asked about the environmental energy division after Alfred hinted that it involved a serious problem.
• Commissioner Gordon arrived at Arkham Asylum with Joker and warned Miao Mu to keep the transfer secret from reporters.
• Miao Mu saw Joker’s injuries and heard him call Arkham Asylum his home.
• Miao Mu ordered the staff to photograph Joker and shave off all his green hair.

Miao Mu had Joker’s teeth pulled and ordered him confined at Arkham Asylum, but Joker soon escaped to the hidden basement laboratory. After killing the pig-masked doctor, Joker decided to take teeth from the Werewolf corpse.

• Miao Mu questioned Joker about his condition, then ordered him locked up without treatment.
• Miao Mu pulled out Joker’s front teeth and ordered guards to remove the rest before placing him in room J2.
• Doctor Simon Hurt treated Joker’s wounds while the room lights flickered.
• Joker awoke in Arkham’s hidden laboratory and killed the pig-masked doctor with a scalpel.
• Joker rejected the doctor’s rotten teeth and began preparing to take the Werewolf’s fangs.

Doctor Hurt remembered his mission to serve Darkseid but also identified himself as Barbatos, then empowered Joker to spread despair through Gotham. At Blackgate Island, a shipment was interrupted when red-cloaked figures burst from a container, leaving the captain staring at a figure from a New York urban legend.

• Doctor Hurt evaded Otis's rat surveillance and teleported to a hidden laboratory, where he remembered Darkseid's summons and declared, "I am Barbatos."
• Doctor Hurt confronted Joker, learned he wanted a stronger chemical, and dunked him in a glowing green pool before warning him to drive Gotham into despair.
• Joker saw a flaming version of himself in a reflection and dismissed it, saying he was busy.
• A cargo ship docked at Blackgate Island while the captain watched the Whisper Gang hack a man to pieces on the docks.
• A container from New York fell open, its sliced locks dropping away as red-cloaked figures and chains surged out, startling the captain.