Chapter Summaries

Chen Mo studied Killer Croc’s anatomy and planned how to use the docks against him while caring for Bruce and repairing his suit. After spotting Batman heading toward the docks, Chen Mo decided to go after Killer Croc himself and leaped into the night.

• Chen Mo counted his remaining money, reflected on the damage from his fight with Killer Croc, and used Peter Parker’s learning ability to analyze the crocodile’s fighting habits.
• Chen Mo took Bruce to the Gotham Public Library and studied reptile anatomy and mutant metabolism, identifying possible weaknesses in Killer Croc’s jaw, abdomen, and joints.
• Chen Mo mapped the docks and planned to trap Killer Croc’s tail and use the cranes and containers against him.
• After seeing Batman fly toward the docks, Chen Mo chose to pursue Killer Croc rather than leave the fight to Batman, then repaired Bruce’s spider-silk leg wrap and left the attic in his suit.

Chen Mo used sonic devices, adhesive webbing, and a carefully planned cargo collapse to subdue Killer Croc at the docks. As Chen Mo joked with the trapped Croc, Batman appeared above the yard and watched him.

• Killer Croc waited at the docks, hoping Batman would appear, while Chen Mo watched him from a crane.
• Chen Mo attacked Killer Croc with high-frequency sound and adhesive webbing, then evaded his charge.
• Killer Croc climbed the crane, but Chen Mo’s sonic device disoriented him and sent him crashing to the ground.
• Chen Mo lured Killer Croc into a narrow passage and triggered a collapse that pinned him beneath containers before cocooning him in webbing.
• Chen Mo demanded compensation from Killer Croc and asked whether his suit looked good, then spotted Batman watching from the top of the crane.

Chen Mo captured Killer Croc at the docks and handed him over to Batman, who called Commissioner Gordon to collect him. At Maroni Manor, Sal Maroni blamed Penguin for spreading rumors and placed a bounty on Spider-Man, setting the Maroni Family against him.

• Maroni Family thugs discussed Scarface's condition, Killer Croc's challenge to Batman, and rumors that Maroni had lost control; their bartender secretly passed what he heard to Penguin.
• Chen Mo showed Batman Killer Croc, bound with webs and industrial adhesive, and joked that Batman could handle the prisoner.
• Batman inspected Chen Mo's precise setup, asked who he really was, then called Gordon to collect Killer Croc as Chen Mo swung away.
• Gordon arrived at the docks, recognized Spider-Man's note on Killer Croc, and ordered officers to preserve it for the files.
• Sal Maroni had two thugs' tongues cut out for spreading rumors, blamed Penguin for stirring trouble, and ordered a bounty on Spider-Man, dead or alive.

Chen Mo, acting as Spider-Man, stopped a gun battle between Black Mask’s men and the Falcone Family in the East End, rescuing a little girl and webbing up the gangsters. Batman arrived after the fight, and Chen Mo proudly explained how he had sorted the captives.

• Chen Mo began heading home after patrol but jumped into action when Black Mask’s False Face Society and the Falcone Family opened fire in the street.
• Chen Mo stopped a runaway sedan from hitting a little girl, carried her to safety, and told her to hide and count to a hundred.
• Chen Mo disarmed and restrained gangsters from both sides, hanging several from streetlights and mocking them as he worked.
• Chen Mo sensed a Black Mask gunman sneaking up behind him, knocked the weapon away, and pinned the attacker against a wall.
• Batman arrived in his armored vehicle, and Chen Mo identified the captured men and learned that Roman Sionis’s men had raided a Falcone underground trading site.

Chen Mo joined Batman during a battle with Gotham gangsters, rescuing civilians and helping force a captured boss to reveal Roman’s weapons cache and plan to blow up Wayne Tower. Batman left Chen Mo to clean up the scene, and Chen Mo finished the job before swinging off after him.

• Chen Mo clung to the Batmobile as Batman drove into a gunfight, then jumped down to rescue and treat wounded civilians while Batman fought the gangsters.
• Chen Mo helped Batman intimidate a small-time boss, who revealed that Roman had stockpiled weapons at Warehouse Four in an abandoned mask factory and planned to blow up Wayne Tower the next night.
• Batman told Chen Mo to stay behind because the police would arrive soon, then drove away while Chen Mo protested being left with the cleanup.
• Chen Mo subdued and webbed the remaining gangsters into rows beneath a café sign, leaving a mocking note about Batman and the Batmobile.
• Commissioner Gordon arrived with officers, and Chen Mo watched from a rooftop before swinging into the night and deciding to follow Batman.

Chen Mo helped Batman defeat Black Mask's men and disable their sonic cannons, but Batman left without sharing the ledger or giving him a ride. Afterward, Chen Mo sensed and captured the assassin Shadow, while red-eyed pigeons watched from the alley.

• Batman raided Black Mask's factory, but modified sonic cannons weakened him until Chen Mo webbed their power lines and sealed the exits.
• Batman defeated the thugs and opened a safe containing a ledger, then argued with Chen Mo and left alone in the Batmobile.
• Chen Mo swung through Gotham, thinking about the ledger and the names Black Mask, Falcone, and Maroni, when his Spider-Sense warned him he was being followed.
• Chen Mo lured Shadow into a dead-end alley, trapped him in webbing, knocked him unconscious, and stuck a cartoon turtle note to his forehead.
• Red-eyed pigeons landed near Shadow and watched him as Chen Mo disappeared.

Penguin set a plan in motion to lure Batman into a dockside ambush and provoke Maroni into a gang war, hoping to profit from the chaos. Chen Mo prepared for another exhausting night patrol, while Penguin watched his pieces move into place, unaware whether his carefully laid plan would succeed.

• Penguin marked routes between Falcone's dockside warehouses and Maroni's territory, planning to ambush Batman and use the gang conflict to seize power.
• Penguin ordered his men to prepare and relied on his birds to track events across Gotham.
• Chen Mo fed Bruce the puppy, complained about the demands of patrol and comic work, then put on his patched suit and left for the night.
• Penguin's birds reported that Batman was following a fake arms-deal lead toward the dock district while Spider-Man patrolled the East End.
• Penguin watched a crow fly off and celebrated his plan to weaken Batman and Maroni, confident he would profit from the ensuing fight.

Bruce Wayne investigated Spider-Man’s identity and decided the child needed protection, but left to confront Penguin after detecting trouble at the docks. Chen Mo continued patrolling the East End, avoided a poisoned sandwich, and swung toward explosions at the docks.

• Bruce Wayne found no official records identifying Spider-Man and decided to pursue protecting and adopting him.
• Alfred alerted Bruce that Falcone and Maroni’s conflict had intensified, and Bruce went to face Penguin at the docks.
• Chen Mo finished a busy patrol and stopped a nervous robber from holding up a convenience store.
• The clerk gave Chen Mo a sandwich, but Chen Mo’s Spider-Sense warned him it was poisoned, and a pigeon died after eating a crumb.
• Chen Mo heard gunfire and explosions at the docks and swung toward the flames.

Batman survived Penguin’s ambush at Gotham’s docks, defeating the gunmen while injured. He realized the arms deal was bait and headed toward the much larger battle between Maroni’s and Falcone’s men.

• Batman followed a tracker to Warehouse Three and dodged a sniper’s shot before gunmen surrounded him with crossfire.
• Penguin taunted Batman over a loudspeaker, revealing the ambush was meant to show Falcone that Batman could bleed.
• Batman used smoke, stealth, and a Batarang to disable the snipers and machine gunners, then captured the remaining attackers.
• Batman bound his shoulder, secured the gunmen and their weapons, and learned Maroni’s men had raided the real warehouse district.
• Batman abandoned the false arms-deal lead and headed toward the battle between Maroni’s and Falcone’s forces.

Maroni's forces attacked Falcone's warehouse while Black Mask's False Face Society raided the docks for smuggled tobacco. Batman intervened on both fronts, disabling the raiders and reaching the warehouse's second floor as the gun battle continued.

• Maroni's assault team smashed through the western fence and came under heavy fire from Falcone's fortified warehouse.
• Black Mask redirected the False Face Society to surround Batman, but his riders found Falcone's tobacco crates and began loading them onto motorcycles.
• Batman moved across the container roofs toward the fighting and silently knocked out two False Face Society riders.
• Maroni's men rammed a truck through the warehouse gate, but Falcone's gunfire forced them back.
• Batman climbed into the warehouse through a ventilation window and emerged at the second-floor firing position after disarming a gunman.
• Batman used his Grapnel Gun and Batarangs to stop the False Face Society riders as they tried to flee.

Chen Mo intervened in the dock battle between Maroni’s and Falcone’s forces, using a collapsing stack of containers to block the False Face Society’s reinforcements without crushing anyone. He joined Batman inside Warehouse Three, where they faced the remaining gunmen together.

• Oswald ordered his men to withdraw and let the False Face Society and Batman fight, planning to clean up afterward.
• Batman silently took down gunmen inside Warehouse Three while working to defuse a bomb threatening the docks.
• Chen Mo surveyed the battle from a crane, then toppled a stack of unsecured containers to block the False Face Society’s motorcycle convoy without hitting the gangsters.
• Batman watched Chen Mo’s careful control and recognized that he was trying to avoid hurting anyone.
• Chen Mo smashed through a warehouse window and joined Batman as the surrounding gunmen aimed at them; Batman told him not to kill anyone.

Chen Mo and Batman defeated Falcone and Maroni’s gunmen at the docks, then helped drive off the False Face Society while Penguin’s sniper attacked from above. Afterward, Batman addressed Chen Mo as “Spider-Man” and told him to get down from the Batmobile, leaving them about to continue on foot or separate.

• Chen Mo disarmed and webbed gunmen while Batman fought Maroni’s men inside the warehouse.
• Chen Mo spotted a brief scope reflection at a shattered second-floor window as Batman emerged wounded.
• Batman used a captured machine gun to shoot the False Face Society’s motorcycle tires while Chen Mo webbed off their routes.
• Penguin’s sniper shot a rider, throwing the False Face Society’s attack into chaos and forcing its commander to retreat.
• Batman summoned the Batmobile, called Chen Mo “Spider-Man,” and told him to get down from the roof.

Batman and Chen Mo raided a False Face Society stronghold as Black Mask’s forces took over Falcone’s remaining outer bases. Chen Mo sealed the exits while Batman fought inside, and the chapter ended with Batman warning that people were still inside.

• Batman revealed a new passenger seat in the Batmobile and drove Chen Mo toward the stronghold.
• Batman told Chen Mo to hold the perimeter and prevent anyone from escaping.
• Chen Mo webbed up the alleys and rear entrances, trapping a False Face Society member on a motorcycle.
• Chen Mo disarmed a gunman firing from a second-floor window while Batman subdued the stronghold’s occupants.
• Batman emerged with an unconscious gang member, and Chen Mo reported that no one had escaped.
• Batman said there were still people inside, and Chen Mo replied that he thought he had seen them.

Batman and Chen Mo raided Penguin’s stronghold and destroyed his elite troops, while Black Mask used the attack to weaken Penguin. Chen Mo left before Gordon arrived, and Batman headed back to the Batmobile.

• Batman revealed that Penguin’s False Face Society had been bait and that elite flanking troops guarded the stronghold.
• Batman and Chen Mo stormed the surveillance room and fought through Penguin’s forces, while Chen Mo webbed up bombs and several attackers.
• Batman captured the flanking force’s commander and made Penguin listen over the communicator as his troops fell.
• Chen Mo and Batman took out the last sniper, and Penguin watched every green dot on his monitors turn gray.
• Black Mask watched from a nearby rooftop, pleased that Batman had crippled Penguin’s henchmen, then slipped away.
• Chen Mo left before Gordon arrived, and Gordon asked Batman whether Chen Mo was his new partner before Batman returned to the Batmobile.

After a night patrol, Chen Mo watched Gotham’s news blame masked vigilantes for the dock fight and compare him unfavorably with Superman, while learning Bruce Wayne had funded medical care for injured civilians. He left for home worried about money, repairs, and overdue comic pages.

• Chen Mo watched a news report criticize Batman and Spider-Man for the damage and casualties caused during the dock conflict.
• Chen Mo saw Killer Croc’s web-wrapped arrest photo and watched footage of Superman stopping a runaway school bus in Metropolis.
• Chen Mo learned Wayne Enterprises and Gotham Public Hospital had created a medical fund for civilians injured in the conflict.
• Chen Mo finished his patrol, changed out of his Spider-Man suit, and bought a cheap sandwich at a convenience store.
• Chen Mo worried about feeding Bruce, repairing his suit, and finishing his artwork before he ran out of money, then headed home.

Chen Mo defeated loan sharks who tried to collect his dead father’s debt, then returned home to find that his system had raised his strength and improved his webbing. He ended the night trying to draw, only to snap his pen with his newly enhanced strength.

• Chen Mo refused to pay the loan sharks’ inflated claim that his father owed a hundred thousand dollars and defeated the four men who attacked him.
• Chen Mo tore up the IOU and forced the skinny collector to admit that the debt had been a mistake.
• Chen Mo stuffed the four brutes into a garbage can and left the alley, then returned to his attic and greeted Bruce.
• Chen Mo’s system increased his strength limit from four tons to eight tons and made his webbing stronger and adhesive.
• Chen Mo tested his new webbing, sat down to work on a comic page, and accidentally broke his pen.

Chen Mo finished the second issue of Gotham Phantom, tested his upgraded strength and webbing, then began patrolling Gotham as Spider-Man. He left three car thieves cocooned for the police and swung off toward the next block.

• Chen Mo completed the second issue of Gotham Phantom and hid the sealed envelope under his sofa.
• Chen Mo tested his eight-ton strength and thicker webbing on a rooftop, breaking bricks off an abandoned chimney.
• Chen Mo swung to the East End and caught three car thieves attempting to steal a pickup.
• Chen Mo bound the thieves in webbing, left a note on one of them, and swung toward the next block as police sirens approached.

Bruce Wayne announced a new education program for homeless and undocumented children while the Falcone Family took control of Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge and assets. Penguin returned to the emptied lounge and, left with little more than his umbrella and crows, resolved to endure his losses for now.

• Bruce Wayne defended funding the East End shelter and announced a Wayne Foundation education program for children excluded from school.
• Alfred briefed Bruce that Falcone had taken the Iceberg Lounge, its records, and Penguin’s remaining personnel, while Penguin himself remained alive.
• Penguin returned to the lounge and learned that his signed authorizations had transferred its operating rights to the Falcone Family.
• Penguin found the underground base emptied, fed the remaining crows, and restrained his anger as he considered his losses.

Chen Mo was swept into the Wayne Foundation’s street-level school registration program after deciding free meals were worth the risk. Bruce Wayne recognized him on a live camera feed but chose not to intervene or give him special treatment.

• Chen Mo crossed chicken breast off his budget, then heard a Wayne Foundation bus offering free meals and compulsory school registration to homeless children.
• Chen Mo tried to avoid the registration team, but a clipboard-carrying woman and a reflective-vested man recorded him as a fifteen-year-old with no fixed address and put him on the bus.
• Chen Mo noticed the community station’s per-child subsidies and realized gang-linked workers were profiting from hauling children to school.
• Bruce Wayne watched the registration vehicles on a Gotham map and recognized Chen Mo from the East End bus’s camera feed.
• Bruce told Alfred not to intervene, explaining that the citywide program could reach unregistered children without exposing his search for Chen Mo.

Chen Mo enrolled at the Wayne Foundation’s East End registration point and received a temporary student ID, school supplies, and a mailing address despite having no guardian or permanent home. As he prepared to start at East End No. 7 Public Middle School, a gang observer took note of him, and Chen Mo quietly toasted Bruce Wayne.

• Chen Mo gave his name and explained that he had no birth certificate, guardian, or fixed address, and the staff enrolled him using a temporary student number.
• The registration staff issued Chen Mo a student ID, lunch card, school bus map, medical appointment slip, backpack, and food.
• Chen Mo realized the Wayne Foundation’s registration system could bring homeless children into school despite their missing documents and addresses.
• A man in a red cap watched Chen Mo and noted that he was alert and worth observing, but decided to leave him alone for now.
• Chen Mo shouldered his backpack, looked at his student ID, and quietly toasted Bruce Wayne.