Chapter Summaries

Su Ming, Diana, and Green Arrow investigated the massacre at the Iceberg Lounge and identified the killer as a gun-focused Batwoman working with The Batman Who Laughs. Su Ming deduced that Penguin had been targeted for his family’s old smuggling map of Gotham’s abandoned sewer systems, and the group followed the killer’s bloody trail deeper into the building.

• Su Ming, Diana, and Green Arrow found more than a hundred dead gang members at the Iceberg Lounge and examined the machine-gun fire and bullet casings marked with a bat.
• Su Ming identified the attacker as a heavily armed, highly accurate Batwoman, while the group traced four sets of footprints leading toward the back hall.
• Green Arrow questioned why The Batman Who Laughs had targeted Penguin, and Su Ming concluded that Penguin’s family history made him uniquely valuable.
• Su Ming explained that Penguin likely possessed a map of Gotham’s abandoned sewers, including the underground routes built by gangs during Prohibition.
• The group followed the bloody footprints toward the back hall, suspecting The Batman Who Laughs was using the old sewers.

Su Ming, Green Arrow, and Diana traced the Batman Who Laughs to Penguin’s ice palace and found Penguin dead. They discovered the killers had escaped using a dark-energy-powered group teleportation, then Su Ming sealed off access to other dimensions to prevent them from bringing in reinforcements.

• Su Ming, Green Arrow, and Diana followed bloody footprints from the kitchen into Penguin’s ice cellar.
• The three found Penguin dead in his bed, and Su Ming determined that a bullet to the head had killed him after he handed over what the Batman Who Laughs wanted.
• Green Arrow retrieved Penguin’s Black Umbrella while Su Ming’s Cloak detected traces of group teleportation in a vault.
• Su Ming realized the teleportation was powered by dark energy and suspected one of the new Dark Knights had a special ability.
• Su Ming contacted Bobo through The Upside-Down Man and had him activate the Earth Protection Spell Formation, blocking the Batman Who Laughs from obtaining reinforcements from other dimensions.

Su Ming brought Diana and Green Arrow to Poseidonis to recruit Arthur and Mera for a plan to flush The Batman Who Laughs and his allies out of Gotham’s sewers. The chapter ended with Arthur agreeing he could cause a tsunami with Poseidon’s Trident, while Mera worried about the consequences and Green Arrow said they were catching mice.

• Su Ming explained that The Batman Who Laughs had gone underground with three other Batmen, and that he had cut off their connection to the Dark Multiverse.
• Su Ming opened a portal to Poseidonis, where Diana and Green Arrow joined him in seeking Aquaman’s help.
• Nanny Sethia told the visitors that Mera and Arthur were away on the west coast and that communications relied on messages carried by marine animals.
• Arthur and Mera returned, and Su Ming asked Arthur to trigger a tsunami with Poseidon’s Trident.
• Mera signaled her opposition, but Arthur asked why they needed a tsunami, and Green Arrow said they were catching mice.

Su Ming arranged for Arthur and Mera to flood Gotham’s sewers to force The Batman Who Laughs’s team aboveground, while Batwoman fought through Joker’s traps and hallucinations to reach him. As Batwoman’s visions of her parents threatened to overwhelm her, Trench Coat Fighter stabbed her in the side with a sharp object.

• Su Ming explained his sewer-flooding plan to Arthur, who agreed despite not understanding it, and Arthur went to retrieve Poseidon’s Trident.
• Batwoman defeated Chelicerae Butterfly after overcoming Joker’s traps and treated her injuries with medical gel.
• Batwoman continued toward Joker’s maintenance station while laughing gas caused her to see dead acquaintances and struggle with hallucinations.
• Trench Coat Fighter found Batwoman and joined her, bringing a handgun and offering support.
• Joker’s theater-like doorway triggered a looping vision of Batwoman’s parents’ murder, and Trench Coat Fighter stabbed her in the side.

Batwoman entered Joker’s underground banquet after Trench Coat Fighter treated his pain, determined to confront Joker and rescue Catwoman. Trench Coat Fighter drank Joker’s suspicious soup in Batwoman’s place, then collapsed in agony.

• Trench Coat Fighter gave Batwoman Demerol and helped him enter Joker’s gallery.
• Joker posed a riddle about what hid in a rabbit hole, and Batwoman answered that it was the exit.
• Batwoman and Trench Coat Fighter found Catwoman held at gunpoint by Joker, who demanded Batwoman sit at the banquet table.
• Joker served Batwoman black soup he called Justice Sweet Soup and warned that it was made with Gotham rainwater.
• Trench Coat Fighter drank the soup before Batwoman could, then clutched his stomach and collapsed in pain.

Batwoman rescued Catwoman from Joker and stayed behind to fight him during their dinner. Joker stabbed Batwoman in the abdomen, leaving her to face him while badly wounded.

• The Trench Coat Fighter took Joker's stomach-poisoned soup meant for Batwoman, and Batwoman gave him her only dose of morphine.
• Catwoman refused Joker's order to leave, so he beat her until Batwoman demanded that he disarm her bomb.
• Joker disarmed Catwoman's collar and gave Batwoman the remote, allowing Catwoman and the Trench Coat Fighter to leave.
• Batwoman overturned the dinner table and attacked Joker, who fought back with a knife, poison, and a fake explosive.
• Joker stabbed Batwoman in the abdomen, and she tied off her intestines while preparing to continue the fight.

Batwoman defeated Joker and carried him toward the Batcave, but Joker, disguised as Trench Coat Fighter, shot and killed Selina. As Batwoman collapsed in grief, Joker revealed how he had orchestrated the entire deception and invited her to continue their confrontation.

• Batwoman beat Joker unconscious, restrained herself from killing him, and decided to lock him in a heavily secured cell beneath the Batcave.
• Batwoman reached Selina and the apparent Trench Coat Fighter outside the subway station, believing Joker had been defeated.
• Trench Coat Fighter shot Selina through the heart, and Batwoman cradled her as she died.
• Trench Coat Fighter revealed himself as Joker and taunted Batwoman while she sat frozen in grief.
• Joker explained that he had planned Selina's murder from the moment he learned she intended to marry Batwoman, using disguises, Jane Doe, Bane, and Chelicerae Butterfly to isolate and deceive her.

Joker tried to drive Batwoman into killing him so he could become part of her, while Batwoman remained trapped in a drug-induced hallucination. Harley and her companions arrived just in time to interrupt him, leaving Joker struck down and Batwoman wounded by her own shot.

• Joker taunted Batwoman with the gun that had killed her parents and Catwoman, while Batwoman hallucinated a cheerful world beyond a rabbit-hole door.
• Joker pushed Catwoman's corpse away, lay in Batwoman's arms, and urged her to shoot him so he could become part of her.
• Joker injected morphine near Batwoman's wound, placed the revolver in her hand, and pressed its muzzle against his chest as he tried to wake her.
• Batwoman's shot struck her own leg, but Harley flew in and hit Joker with Dorothy before he could be shot.
• Harley joined the others as Joker staggered up, and she prepared to take her turn now that his confrontation with Batwoman had been interrupted.

Harley confronted Joker after Catwoman's death, while Damian and the others tended to Batman and removed the bodies. Meanwhile, Su Ming's group crossed the flooded waters toward Gotham, where Su Ming planned to flush out The Batman Who Laughs.

• Harley found Catwoman dead in the rain as Joker stood surrounded by the Shame Squad and Teen Titans.
• Joker cursed Harley and insisted he was helping Batman, but Harley charged him with her hammer after threatening him.
• Damian took Batman's gun and helped Billy Wu carry him away, while Barbara and Bonebreaker retrieved Catwoman's body.
• Su Ming, Arthur, Diana, and the others traveled through the flood as Su Ming discussed his plan to draw out The Batman Who Laughs.
• Su Ming ordered Arthur to make the waves big and fast so The Batman Who Laughs would have no time to react.

Su Ming’s team flooded Gotham gently to prepare for an ambush, but they found Catwoman dead and Batwoman mentally broken after Joker’s attack. Su Ming captured the real Joker, identified a drowned impostor as Jane Doe, and decided to keep Cindy with the Justice League while he searched for Water Rat.

• Arthur used Poseidon’s Trident to drive seawater into Gotham without damaging the city, while Su Ming searched for The Batman Who Laughs through obscured satellite images.
• Su Ming teleported to 12th Street and found the Teen Titans and Shame Squad carrying Catwoman’s corpse and a catatonic Batwoman through the floodwater.
• Poison Ivy told Su Ming that Catwoman was dead and Joker had driven Batwoman insane, while Harley fought Joker nearby.
• Su Ming ordered Arthur to ambush Joker, and Arthur struck him unconscious before Harley repeatedly hit him with her hammer.
• Arthur found another Joker in the water, and Su Ming revealed the body was Jane Doe disguised as a corpse; he confirmed that the captured Joker was real.
• Su Ming concluded that The Batman Who Laughs might be eliminating Batwoman as part of a larger plan, so he kept Cindy with the Justice League and planned to find Water Rat.

After assigning the group search and protection duties, Su Ming led them to investigate The Batman Who Laughs’s sealed Batcave beneath Challenger Mountain. They found the entrance and prepared to use Green Arrow’s key, but had not yet learned what their enemy planned next.

• Su Ming let Green Arrow assign tasks, sending several groups to escort Batwoman and Catwoman, search for The Batman Who Laughs, transport Joker, and protect the Shadow Pact Squad and Pandora.
• Su Ming told Oliver that flooding Gotham had disrupted The Batman Who Laughs’s sewer-based plan, but that the villain was likely hiding in a building connected to the sewers.
• Su Ming decided to inspect the Batcave beneath Challenger Mountain, and Oliver remembered that he had The Question’s key to bypass Batwoman’s sealed door.
• Su Ming gathered Diana, Harley, Ivy, Arthur, and the others and used the Upside-Down Man’s Teleportation Portal to reach the foot of the black mountain.
• The group found warning tape and a heavy steel door marking the Batcave entrance, and Su Ming gestured for Green Arrow to use his key.

Su Ming’s group entered Batwoman’s Batcave to search for clues while Damian returned to Wayne Manor with Batwoman and Selina’s body. Batwoman received treatment, Selina was placed in cold storage, and Damian learned that Joker had been captured.

• Oliver used the Key to Heaven to open the cave’s defenses as Su Ming’s group passed through the traps left by The Batman Who Laughs.
• Su Ming assigned Diana and Harley to search the upper levels, Ivy to guard the entrance, Green Arrow to search the main floor, and himself to inspect the cells below.
• Wally and Djinn delivered Joker to Arkham before returning to Wayne Manor with Damian and the injured Batwoman and Selina’s corpse.
• Alfred treated Batwoman with the Final Machine and placed Selina in the freezer after considering the dangerous costs of known resurrection methods.
• Damian told Alfred that the Justice League had captured Joker, then checked Gotham’s surveillance and communications systems.

Su Ming searched the Batman Who Laughs’s Batcave and discovered his Tower of Babel Protocol, which documented recruits and their weaknesses. He identified Brutal Knight’s obsession with killing Commissioner Gordon and left to gather a team to hunt him.

• Su Ming found a hidden records room beneath the freezer after Strangle detected moving air.
• Su Ming searched the files and learned that the Batman Who Laughs had recorded plans and weaknesses for potential recruits, including the still-living Devastator and Bliss.
• Su Ming discovered the file describing Brutal Knight, a gun-wielding Batman recruited after the Batman Who Laughs manipulated him into blaming Gordon for his parents’ deaths.
• Su Ming saw that Gordon was listed as Brutal Knight’s weakness and target, then took the files and flew out to gather a team to kill Brutal Knight.

Commissioner Gordon discovered that the corpse found in Crime Alley was the real Bruce Wayne, leaving him uncertain who he had met as Batwoman. Meanwhile, the Brutal Knight watched the police station and prepared to target Gordon as The Batman Who Laughs set his plan in motion.

• Gordon examined Bruce Wayne's body after the coroner confirmed its fingerprints, physical measurements, and DNA matched Wayne's records.
• Gordon realized the corpse appeared to have died without a detectable cause and wondered who had answered the Bat-Signal earlier.
• Gordon considered going to Wayne Manor but hesitated to use the Bat-Signal because he feared summoning the wrong Batwoman.
• Gordon heard what sounded like gunfire outside the police station as the Brutal Knight watched the building from a nearby park.
• The Batman Who Laughs had sent the Brutal Knight after Gordon, expecting him to distract the Justice League while Deathstroke remained in Metropolis.

Brutal Knight attacked the Gotham Police Department to kill Gordon, but Zorro confronted him in the basement and drove him into memories of his parents’ murder. Brutal Knight put away his escape tools and fought Zorro with a dagger as the memory showed Little Bruce shooting the robber in the back.

• Brutal Knight stormed the police station, killed the officers who tried to stop him, and headed for the morgue to find Gordon.
• Zorro ambushed Brutal Knight in the basement, cut off one ear of his helmet, and introduced himself as Don Diego, the First Swordsman of Europa.
• Brutal Knight fired his machine gun and pistols at Zorro, but Zorro split the bullets, dodged them, and destroyed his weapons.
• Zorro taunted Brutal Knight about his parents and challenged him to swear that he had faced their killer fairly.
• Brutal Knight put away his Smoke Bomb, drew a dagger, and fought Zorro as the scene shifted to Crime Alley, where Little Bruce shot the robber in the back.

Su Ming’s team killed Brutal Knight by exploiting his memories of Crime Alley, then learned that The Batman Who Laughs had been monitoring the fight and destroying their communications. They reviewed the remaining Dark Knights and began planning their next moves, including finding a safehouse and preparing for Batman Owl.

• Zorro manipulated Brutal Knight with a staged memory of Crime Alley, giving Oliver the chance to ambush him with poisoned Nth Metal arrows.
• Diana cut off Brutal Knight’s head, and Su Ming took his equipment before The Batman Who Laughs spoke through a device and destroyed their electronics.
• Su Ming considered the enemy’s claim that his team was already behind, then ordered Strangle to dispose of Brutal Knight’s corpse.
• Su Ming gave Green Arrow files on The Batman Who Laughs’s observed targets, and the team identified Batman Owl as a likely spellcaster among the Dark Knights.
• Su Ming warned the team to use every tactic against their enemies, regroup at Wayne Manor if separated, and avoid being alone.
• Su Ming set out to find Commissioner Gordon and secure a safehouse.

After defeating Brutal Knight, Su Ming and the others reached Gordon and learned Harley Quinn had been brought back from ARGUS. Meanwhile, flooding disrupted Arkham Asylum, where a sinister Batwoman appeared and killed a guard.

• Su Ming explained that Brutal Knight was dead, and Ivy dispelled the group’s hallucinations with a foul-smelling flower.
• Su Ming told Gordon that Brutal Knight had killed officers before he arrived, and Harley Quinn revealed that Batwoman had brought her back from ARGUS.
• Gordon reflected on how Arkham’s distance and repeated crises forced him to travel across Gotham to deal with trouble.
• Two Arkham guards patrolled the flooded asylum and spoke about their work and retirement plans.
• A laughing figure resembling Batwoman appeared behind the guards, revealed a wide, yellow-toothed grin, and cut Bob down with a sickle.

The Batman Who Laughs broke into Arkham to find and kill Joker, but discovered that the Joker in the heavily guarded cell was an impostor. He left to check on his teammates, planning to hunt the real Joker later.

• The Batman Who Laughs slaughtered Arkham guards with a chain sickle and set Firefly ablaze with a bomb disguised as medicine.
• The Batman Who Laughs reached Joker’s cell and opened its security door by claiming he was Batwoman.
• The Batman Who Laughs killed the Joker in the cell, then realized the lack of genuine joy meant he had killed an impostor.
• The Batman Who Laughs feigned leaving, confirmed the fake Joker did not rise, and departed to check on his teammates.
• Backup guards discovered the dead and injured guards, found Old Bob alive, and called for an ambulance and Commissioner Gordon.

Joker escaped Arkham by posing as a wounded guard and warned Bob to leave Gotham before his coming confrontation with Batman. Su Ming brought Gordon to the Batcave, where the Teen Titans watched over the unconscious Bruce Wayne, while Strangle tried to turn Su Ming into a more theatrical Godfather.

• Joker revealed that he had disguised himself as Bob, knocked out the ambulance staff, and escaped by jumping from the vehicle.
• Joker met the real Bob, paid him fifty thousand dollars, took his service pistol, and warned him to leave the city.
• Joker leaped from the bridge into the swollen river after joking that he might visit Bob for Thanksgiving.
• Su Ming brought Gordon to Wayne Manor and showed him the Batcave, where Batwoman lay unconscious after surgery.
• The Teen Titans stood near the unconscious Bruce Wayne, while Strangle formed a rose from Su Ming’s suit and suggested he pose with a cat.

Alfred brought Batwoman back from a mental breakdown, and Batwoman recovered a memory of becoming Gotham’s protector before identifying The Batman Who Laughs’s plan. Su Ming sent Damian, Harley, and Ivy to Poseidonis while the remaining heroes prepared countermeasures.

• Su Ming asked Alfred to try to reach Batwoman, while Damian questioned Deathstroke about what he knew of Batwoman’s origins.
• Su Ming asked Harley if she could pilot power armor and promised to get her a suit when circumstances allowed.
• Alfred held Batwoman’s hand and called him Master Bruce, bringing him back to reality as he remembered his childhood and becoming Batwoman.
• Batwoman dressed, ordered takeout for himself and Alfred, and failed to notice Damian, who left with Su Ming for Poseidonis with Harley and Ivy.
• Batwoman searched Brother Eye and told Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Deathstroke that he knew The Batman Who Laughs’s plan and they should begin countermeasures.