Recaps

Roland and Jason discovered endangered animal specimens hidden in the Gotham Gazette as Gotham’s criminal families gathered and fighting broke out. Bruce Wayne hired Roland to protect him, and they entered the wrecked offices to confront the gunmen.

• Roland and Jason found preserved endangered animals in a locked storeroom and suspected the Gotham Gazette was dealing in poached goods.
• A grenade exploded at the Gotham Gazette, and Penguin escaped while ordering his people to track everyone who came out alive.
• Bruce Wayne broke into Roland and Jason’s hiding place, claimed he was inspecting the Gazette as a shareholder, and asked Roland for protection.
• Roland accepted Bruce’s offer of fifteen hundred dollars an hour and agreed to subdue people on command.
• Roland rushed ahead in the damaged hallway and knocked a gunman unconscious before Bruce could question him.

Roland joined Batman in investigating the explosion that killed photographer Diane Gilden, then went with him to question Penguin about smuggling high explosives into Gotham. The chapter left Roland and Batman in Penguin’s office, where Roland pocketed a valuable brooch while Penguin began plotting.

• Roland and Bruce found Diane Gilden’s remains, and Bruce identified evidence of an RDX explosion.
• Bruce agreed to take Roland along to investigate leads about Penguin smuggling explosives.
• Roland rejected a Robin mask and instead entered the Batmobile wearing clown makeup.
• At the Iceberg Lounge, Roland grabbed Penguin while Batman disarmed the gunmen with Batarangs.
• Roland and Batman escorted Penguin to his office, where Roland pocketed a penguin brooch and picked up a jade penguin.

Batman and Roland forced Penguin to confess to smuggling explosives, and Roland devised a way to keep him from returning to crime. Penguin submitted to Roland’s blackmail and escorted them out, though Batman suspected he would wait to see what happened.

• Batman pressured Penguin until he confessed and surrendered the explosives.
• Roland argued that jail would not keep Penguin in check, then proposed exploiting Penguin’s desire to join high society.
• Roland wrote a scandalous speech for Batman to record in Penguin’s voice, threatening to ruin Penguin’s reputation if it became public.
• Penguin agreed to behave and accepted that he would go to jail for smuggling explosives.
• Penguin escorted Batman and Roland out of the Iceberg Lounge, and Batman told Roland that Penguin would likely lie low for a while.

After the Cobblepot Family withdrew from smuggling and money laundering, Carmine Falcone assigned Mikaela Falcone to seize its vacant smuggling business. The Holiday Killer murdered Mikaela at a ball, and Roland later discussed the killer with Jason at the Abandoned Church.

• Carmine Falcone rejected taking over the Cobblepot Family's money laundering business and ordered Mikaela Falcone to claim its smuggling operations.
• Mikaela struck several gangs and took control of Gotham City's smuggling business.
• At a Gotham crime-family ball on March 8, the lights went out and the Holiday Killer shot Mikaela, leaving a blood-soaked Women's Day card on her body.
• Carmine Falcone arrived, ordered his people to find and kill the Holiday Killer, and police searched and questioned the guests without finding the killer.
• At the Abandoned Church, Roland told Jason there were three Holiday Killers and refused to identify them, then joked that Batman's mother would not be the killer's Mother's Day victim.

Roland went to the docks to salvage furs from a capsized ship, where he discovered a corrupt SWAT squad working with smugglers. He left the matter to Gotham’s police leadership and focused on the cargo.

• Roland told Jason that Hugo Strange was a Batman fan who impersonated Batman, then wondered whether Joker and Harley would soon cause trouble.
• After learning a ship carrying furs had capsized and gangs were fighting over the cargo, Roland rode to the docks and asked Jason to bring a truck.
• Roland convinced SWAT officers he was a priest by showing them his crosses and Bibles, then rode through the gunfire to a high spot.
• Roland used Kamaitachi to overhear Captain Boone and his officers discussing how they planned to eliminate the smugglers and why Boone had let Roland go.
• Roland concluded that the SWAT squad was tied to the smugglers and decided the corruption was Gordon’s concern, noting that Commissioner Gilliam B. Loeb and Gotham’s mayor benefited from the system.

Roland caught a disguised sniper and watched Batman and the police expose a corrupt SWAT team that had been protecting smugglers. After the shipment was left unattended, Roland and Jason escaped the docks with it as gang members tried to block their truck.

• Roland knocked out a gentleman carrying a sniper rifle disguised in a cello case and took his suit jacket.
• Batman joined Roland during a gang fight while Captain Boone and his SWAT officers moved to seize the smuggled goods.
• Boone killed a gang leader to silence him, but Hollihan witnessed the murder and confronted the corrupt officers.
• Batman disarmed Boone and stopped the SWAT team from killing Hollihan, and Boone later confessed to protecting smugglers and murdering witnesses.
• Roland drove away from the docks with Jason and the shipment as gang members tried to block their truck.

Roland and Jason fled Gotham City in a stolen truck, fighting off pursuers and encountering a seemingly indestructible would-be robber on the way to Blüdhaven. They continued toward the city after Roland recalled that Nightwing operated there, while Jason worried about how he would fare against the superhero.

• Roland drove the truck out of Gotham City with Jason clinging to the broken passenger door and explained that the road was his escape route.
• A green-haired driver shot out one of the truck's tires, but Roland knocked him unconscious by throwing a beer bottle at him.
• Roland and Jason headed toward Blüdhaven, then struck a bald, muscular man who had stepped in front of the truck to announce a robbery.
• The man stood back up with a bone protruding through his arm, so Roland and Jason drove away before the police arrived.
• Roland told Jason that Nightwing, formerly the Original Robin Dick Grayson, was based in Blüdhaven and warned him not to provoke the superhero.

Roland and Jason sold their recovered furs in Blüdhaven, ate at an Italian restaurant, and headed back to Gotham. On the way, Roland fought off the bald super-strong man from earlier, then met Nightwing at the scene.

• Roland told Jason that Gotham had many fighters who could challenge him and explained why selling the recovered goods was not fencing stolen property.
• Roland and Jason sold the furs cheaply in Blüdhaven, replaced a truck tire, and ate at an Italian restaurant.
• On the drive back to Gotham, Roland recognized the bald man in a nearby car at a traffic light.
• The bald man tore off his car door and attacked Roland, while the driver threatened Roland with a gun.
• Roland dodged a bullet, knocked the driver out with a side mirror, and defeated the bald man.
• Nightwing appeared, and Roland explained that the man was a super-strong supervillain who had attacked him.

Roland was questioned by Nightwing at the Blüdhaven Police Station about Mark Desmond and his reasons for coming to the city, then left without realizing Jason had been left behind. After picking Jason up, Roland discussed ways to surpass human limits and hinted that his own powers came from God.

• Nightwing showed Roland proof that Mark Desmond was the thin chemist in the file and questioned him about defeating Mark and coming to Blüdhaven.
• Roland revealed that he knew Nightwing was Dick Grayson because he was friends with Bruce, but kept his purpose in the city secret.
• Nightwing escorted Roland out of the police station, and Roland drove away without noticing Jason was still inside.
• Roland returned half an hour later to pick up Jason, who said Nightwing had beaten him after Jason challenged him to a test of strength.
• Roland told Jason that surpassing human limits could involve technology, mutation, or powerful allies, then said he ran with God.

Roland returned to Gotham as the Mad Hatter escaped the Falcone and caused chaos with his Brainwave Controller. After Natalia went missing, Hugo Strange rescued the Mad Hatter and recruited him for a joint project, but the Mad Hatter insisted they find Alice first.

• Roland returned to Gotham with Jason and learned that the Mad Hatter had escaped the Falcone by using his Brainwave Controller to turn guards against one another.
• Falcone ordered his men to kill the Mad Hatter and destroy the Brainwave Controller, while Batman searched for him and helped the police suppress the riots.
• Roland learned that Natalia had gone missing and sent his people to search for her, leaving Jason hanging in the air.
• Hugo Strange found the Mad Hatter in a shack and offered to become his ally against Batman and the Falcone.
• Hugo Strange showed the Mad Hatter his fifty-foot genetic research subjects and asked him to give them minds, and the Mad Hatter agreed on the condition that they find Alice.

Roland and Batman found Natalia in the sewers with Killer Croc, who had rescued her and helped expose her kidnappers. The kidnappers’ answers suggested Professor Hugo Strange was behind the abduction, though his motive remained unclear.

• Natalia escaped her dungeon and encountered Killer Croc in the sewers, where he protected her after learning she was Batman’s girlfriend.
• Roland and Batman tracked Natalia underground and found her with Killer Croc, who said he had rescued her to repay Batman for helping Hollihan.
• Killer Croc invited Roland to join his Underground Kingdom, but Roland declined and asked about Natalia’s kidnappers.
• Killer Croc woke two European kidnappers, and they identified themselves as members of the Maroni Family who had abducted Natalia to pressure a debtor.
• Batman learned the debtor was Professor Hugo Strange, and he and Roland suspected the kidnappers had been hypnotized by Strange.

Roland, Batman, and Killer Croc captured Professor Hugo and learned that the Mad Hatter was behind the events in the Sewers. Roland confronted the Mad Hatter, freed the controlled crowd by killing him, and left the chapter with the civilians' fate apparently resolved.

• Roland ambushed Professor Hugo in the Sewers and knocked him unconscious after Hugo followed Natalia's trail.
• Batman interrogated Professor Hugo, who revealed that the Mad Hatter was searching for Alice and gave them his location.
• Roland and Batman found a crowd of hypnotized civilians attacking them, so Batman drew the crowd away while Roland headed for the Mad Hatter's cabin.
• Roland accidentally demolished the cabin, then woke the unconscious Mad Hatter by having a frog kiss him.
• The Mad Hatter said the civilians would remain controlled as long as he lived, so Roland twisted his head around and killed him.

Roland killed the Mad Hatter, then blamed Batman, who became the target of a public backlash. Roland and Jason plotted to remove Commissioner Gilliam and put Gordon in charge, while Harvey’s therapy revealed he was suppressing a darker side and hiding his struggles from Gilda.

• Roland lied to Batman about the Mad Hatter’s death, and Batman questioned whether he had indirectly broken his No-Kill Rule.
• Commissioner Gilliam publicly portrayed the Mad Hatter as a beloved citizen and condemned Batman, prompting Roland to plan Gilliam’s removal with Jason.
• Roland planned to gather evidence against Gilliam and help Commissioner Gordon replace him.
• Roland monitored Harvey, whose stable routine and reassuring diagnosis from Gilda seemed to show he was doing well.
• Harvey’s psychologist warned him that suppressing his anger could bring out an evil personality, but Harvey refused to let Gilda see him struggling.
• A red-haired woman entered the psychologist’s office and began asking about a friend.

Julianne stole Harvey Dent’s medical record and used it to bargain with the Italian mobster. The next day, Batman secretly disabled armed Mob members during a police raid, and Harvey’s violent outburst at the arrest threatened to create a scandal.

• Julianne stole Harvey Dent’s medical record from the psychiatrist’s office and met an Italian mobster to sell it for money to raise her child.
• Commissioner Gordon asked Roland for help surrounding a heavily armed Mob hideout because Batman was wanted by the chief.
• Batman entered the hideout first, knocked out and disarmed the Mob members, and told Roland to take them outside.
• Harvey Dent joined Commissioner Gordon at a press interview and announced that he had a fiancée and would marry her later.
• A conscious Mob member splashed muddy water on Harvey, who hauled him up and slammed him into the mud before Gordon and Roland stopped him.
• Roland reassured Harvey that the reporters could be paid to shape their coverage.

Harvey Dent lost control after learning that Scarecrow had been released, then went home and suffered a terrifying dream about a violent older figure who claimed to be another part of him. He woke drenched in sweat and stared out into the Gotham night.

• Bruce Wayne joined Roland, Harvey, and Commissioner Gordon for food, and Harvey said he was feeling better after losing his temper earlier.
• Roland told the group that Jonathan Crane, also known as Scarecrow, had been released after a witness recanted, and Harvey flew into a rage.
• Roland suggested killing Scarecrow, but Bruce and Commissioner Gordon restrained Harvey before he could leave.
• Bruce asked how Harvey let off steam and recommended animal-assisted therapy, while Harvey said he used a punching bag.
• Harvey went home, slept, and dreamed that a menacing figure resembling an older version of himself claimed they shared the same body.
• Harvey woke from the nightmare drenched in sweat and stared out at Gotham City.

Batman worried about Harvey and anticipated Joker’s return for April Fools’ Day, while Roland ran into Harvey and became suspicious of his behavior. Roland followed him and overheard a caller reading Harvey’s psychiatric diagnosis aloud, leaving Harvey’s secret exposed.

• Batman patrolled Gotham, worried about Harvey, and expected Joker to cause trouble on April Fools’ Day.
• Roland and Jason discussed preparing for the holiday before driving to buy vegetables.
• Roland argued with Harvey on the road, then noticed Harvey seemed unusually guilty and flustered.
• Roland used his Kamaitachi to track Harvey while Jason drove after him.
• Harvey answered a call from an unidentified man, who read out an evaluation diagnosing him with schizotypal personality disorder.

Roland intervened when the Mob threatened Harvey with his medical records, but Harvey’s Dark Side took over and killed the men before burning the records. Roland brought the unconscious Harvey to Gilda’s Psychology Clinic for help, where he learned that Bruce had been kidnapped.

• Roland sneaked into the villa and watched Harvey snap under the Mob’s threats, then helped him kill the remaining gangsters and burn his medical records.
• Harvey told Roland that the Mob had infiltrated Gotham’s businesses and declared he would replace his weak side and confront the city in his own way.
• Roland restrained Harvey when he feared psychiatric treatment would make him disappear, then got him drunk and took him to Gilda’s clinic.
• Gilda said Harvey’s Dark Side had suppressed his normal side, and Roland called for help before discovering that Bruce had been kidnapped.

Bruce woke in a peaceful Gotham where his parents were alive and he had never been Batman, then learned the world was a dream created by the Wonderland Device. Roland had entered the dream to rescue him, but the device instead showed Roland his parents being murdered.

• Bruce woke to find Thomas and Martha Wayne alive and discovered that Gotham was peaceful, he had never been Batman, and his many girlfriends were calling him.
• Bruce spotted a Batman outside his window and pursued him, only to learn that the masked man was Roland.
• Roland explained that Harvey had turned evil, Bruce had been kidnapped after an attack involving a grenade, Scarecrow's fear toxin, and a falling chandelier, and the Wonderland Device had taken control of Bruce.
• Bruce realized he was inside the Wonderland Device's dream world, and Roland recounted how he had seen his parents shot upon entering it.

Roland and Bruce escaped their shared dream, then learned that Harvey had been overtaken by a dark personality and that Scarecrow had produced a vast quantity of Fear Toxin. Bruce entered Harvey’s dream to reach him, but after several days found no sign of the real Harvey until a brutal murder occurred.

• Roland threw Bruce from a height to end their dream, and they woke in the Abandoned Church.
• Commissioner Gordon showed Bruce evidence of a fire Harvey and Roland had caused, while Roland revealed Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin scheme at the Wayne Chemical Plant.
• Bruce went to investigate the chemical plant, and Commissioner Gordon learned that Joker and Harley Quinn had escaped prison.
• Roland proposed entering Harvey’s dream, and Bruce agreed to go in while Gilda monitored them at her clinic.
• Bruce found himself living as Harvey in a dream where Harvey had made Gotham City free of crime and Bruce was a playboy.
• Bruce spent several days searching for the real Harvey, but a brutal murder occurred before he found him.

Bruce investigated Sir Dennis Kajou’s murder and realized the killer was connected to a split personality, but his dream revealed that the evil side belonged to Bruce himself. He woke from the Wonderland Device and let Roland try it, warning him not to destroy himself with his evil side.

• Bruce questioned the maid who witnessed Sir Dennis Kajou being beaten to death by a disfigured man with a cane.
• Bruce identified the victim as Sir Dennis Kajou and told Commissioner Gordon that Harvey Dent’s other personality had committed the murder.
• In the dream, Bruce told Gordon he had taken poison, but Gordon transformed into a chained bat and revealed that the demon was Bruce’s.
• Bruce saw his own reflection wearing metal goggles and a Joker-like grin before Gilda woke him.
• Bruce explained his dream to Gilda and Roland, then warned Roland against taking his evil side down with him as Roland tried the Wonderland Device.

Roland entered Harvey Dent’s dream to challenge him, but Harvey’s tricks enraged him, while Gilda’s dream revealed that she loved both sides of Harvey. Bruce left hopeful that Gilda’s love might help Harvey.

• Roland chose to repair the ship carrying three hundred people, then fought back when the other ship’s armed passengers captured him in the dream.
• Roland returned to Harvey’s dream, drank both glasses Harvey offered, and woke furious after learning they contained elephant bodily fluids.
• Roland put Harvey to sleep again, and Gilda entered a dream of her wedding to Harvey.
• Gilda told Harvey she loved both his handsome and disfigured selves and promised to cherish him.
• Roland recorded Gilda’s sleeping words, and Bruce said her love gave Harvey hope.

After Harvey reunited with Gilda, Roland used his Goodwill Value to draw prizes and received a healing spell. He rushed to the fire at ACE Chemicals, where an old man described an absurd chain of accidents that ignited the plant, leaving Roland to wonder if Death had come for the workers.

• Bruce left to prepare to question Falcone, while Commissioner Gordon departed to respond to a robbery in Central City.
• Harvey and Gilda were left alone together, and Harvey began thinking about how to propose to her.
• Roland learned that his underlings had sold his stored items and gave them another batch to sell before spending his Goodwill Value on prize draws.
• Roland received Nathaniel Hawthorne's Red Letters and Shi Buzhuan's Minor Healing Spell among his draws, then heard that ACE Chemicals was on fire.
• Roland rode to the fire, helped victims with Minor Healing Spell, and heard an old man explain how a fight, spilled water, faulty electrical equipment, liquor, and ether had caused the blaze.

Roland spoke with Harvey Bullock about the bizarre fire that Joker had reported in advance, then helped Bullock respond to a gunfight at the chemical plant. The chapter ended with Roland ambushing two gunmen by hiding beneath a moving cabinet.

• Harvey Bullock told Roland that two conflicting accounts of the chemical plant fire were both true and that Joker had reported the blaze ten minutes before it happened.
• Roland and Harvey Bullock joked about Bullock's smoking trick, and Roland demonstrated how he could smoke five cigarettes using his blood-powered ability.
• Harvey Bullock received Gordon's order to resume investigating, then decided to treat the fire as an accident so Wayne Enterprises' insurance division would pay out.
• After hearing gunfire, Roland used Domain Expansion to locate gunmen exchanging fire with the police inside the chemical plant, and Harvey Bullock rushed to the scene.
• Roland climbed into the plant, hid beneath a tall iron cabinet, and dragged two unsuspecting gunmen inside when he reached them.

Roland rescued Harvey Bullock and his officers from Maroni Family gunmen at the Chemical Plant, where they learned Joker had stolen Fear Toxin. The next day, Roland recruited Killer Croc to play a Gotham villain who captured and publicly executed Batman in a show.

• Roland emerged from a cabinet and subdued the gunmen attacking Harvey Bullock and his officers at the Chemical Plant.
• Harvey Bullock identified the captured gunmen as key Maroni Family members and forced one to reveal that Joker had stolen the stored Fear Toxin.
• Batman searched for Joker but found Catwoman burglarizing a jewelry store, then let her escape while he remained distracted.
• Roland went into the sewers and persuaded a homeless child to take him to Killer Croc by claiming they were relatives.
• Roland offered Killer Croc a role in a show where he would capture Batman and publicly execute him, and Killer Croc agreed.

Batman, Killer Croc, Roland, and Commissioner Gordon staged a fake execution to lure Joker into the open, but Roland’s plan was disrupted when Dick Grayson and Jason arrived. Joker watched a staged attack on Dick and raced to the television station, where he crashed through the doors to rescue Batman.

• Batman explained that Killer Croc’s capture of him would anger Joker, and Roland reviewed the execution plan with the others.
• Killer Croc began broadcasting Batman’s public execution, while Jason and Dick Grayson appeared among the spectators.
• Roland’s crew captured Jason and immobilized Dick, then staged Dick’s bloody beating and apparent death to make Joker fear Batman was being replaced.
• Joker saw the staged execution on television and raced toward the station, furious at Killer Croc.
• As Killer Croc began the countdown, Joker crashed a car through the station doors and announced that he had come to save Batman.