Loaded with raw multiversal energy, Halliday uses a portal to flee into the DC Omniverse (which encompasses all forms of DC’s multimedia depictions) with the energy he carries potentially harmful to all of reality. As Batman confronts the Red Mask, he discovers that Halliday’s corporate experiments gives him a window into the multiverse, along with the realization that he is this universe’s version of the Joker. Instead, Batman is transported to an alternate reality where Gotham is ruled by villainous corporate mogul Darwin Halliday, with Halliday striking fear under his costumed alter ego as the Red Mask. Zdarsky and Jimenez’s first arc on Batman, “ Failsafe,” ends on a cliffhanger with the rogue artificial intelligence Failsafe apparently vaporizing Batman as it seeks to subjugate the DCU to its twisted vision of justice. Here’s how “The Bat-Man of Gotham” quietly set the stage for its surprise journey through the DC Multiverse, some of the more prominent Batmen to appear in the landmark issue, and how DC has steadily been embracing the infinite possibilities of its restored multiverse across a variety of media.

Packed with cameos and supporting appearances of classic iterations of Batman and the Joker throughout the characters’ history in comics, film, and television, the issue sees the main DC Universe’s Caped Crusader try to return to his own reality. To mark the milestone occasion, Zdarsky is not only joined by artists Mike Hawthorne, Jorge Jimenez, and Mikel Janin but also takes full advantage of the oversized issue to celebrate the entire history of the Dark Knight. Chip Zdarsky closes out the latest arc of his Batman run, “The Bat-Man of Gotham,” with Batman #135, which also carries the legacy numbering as Batman #900.

Spider-Man by Chip Zdarsky