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"Book Two: Give and Take": Michael Lane's memories from his tragic past come to his mind after he was stabbed with the Sword of Salvation by Talia al Ghul. These memories include his childhood, the tragedy of his son and wife and als

Quote1 I was given this suit by the descendants of the people who forged it. And that's only reason number two for why I get dibs. Reason number one is: it's heavy and you'll be in no condition to carry it... after I kick your ass! Quote2
Michael Lane

Azrael: Death's Dark Knight #2 is an issue of the series Azrael: Death's Dark Knight (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 2009. It was published on April 22, 2009.

Synopsis for "Book Two: Give and Take"

Michael Lane's memories from his tragic past come to his mind after he was stabbed with the Sword of Salvation by Talia al Ghul. These memories include his childhood, the tragedy of his son and wife and also the events during which he became Bat-Devil. As his mind wanders in the past, Talia and the Seven Men of Death watch Lane on the ground as he starts reciting Psalm 7:11-12. Talia explains that the Sword of Salvation triggers a neurological reaction that causes anybody who was stabbed with it to recall the tragedies of life and seek for redemption. Merlyn wants to kill Lane, but Talia wants to keep him alive.

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Azrael fights back

She tells the Seven to bring his body with them, but when they try to carry him, Lane wakes up, grabs the Sword of Sin and fights them all. Using the sword, Lane destroy their weapons and then he drops a big stone crucifix on top of Whip and Razorburn. Talia stands against him and they start a sword duel with the two special blades. As they fight, Talia tries to convince Lane to surrender the Suit of Sorrows to save himself, but Lane doesn't think Talia is capable of killing him. Talia then explains that she was talking about the curse of the suit and at that moment, Lane stops fighting and goes to Talia's place.

Talia tells Lane the story of the Suit of Sorrows and how the first man to wear it ended up insane and how every man since has met the same fate. Lane is curious as to why Talia wants the Suit if it's cursed and she tells him that she plans to give it to her son. At that moment, Lane decides to leave and Talia allows him to go with the Suit.

At that moment, Oracle's surveillance system finds Azrael moving across Gotham and she informs Nightwing about the situation, who in turn decides to go back to the Batcave.

Meanwhile, the Gotham City Police Department are investigating the events at the Church of the Holy Redeemer and Harvey Bullock finds some evidence that points to the same killer from his previous cases. Noticing an arrow in the front door, Bullock tells Peter Farelli to retrieve the video from a nearby traffic camera that is constantly recording the church's front door at the DMV.

In the meantime, the Order of Purity have taken the body of Leland McCauley, who was killed on the attack of the Seven, to the Gotham Central Hospital. They want to keep the events in secret and the use their influences to do so. However, Azrael finds them and asks them to reveal the truth about the Suit. The Order take Lane to a Mental Hospital, where they show him the current state of Abraham Arlington, the previous Azrael, who is now locked in a padded cell and held with a straightjacket.

Hours later, Michael goes to visit his mother Barbara and tells her about the hard decision he is making, but she doesn't answer or show any emotion.

At that moment, at Gotham's DMV, Farelli and another security guard are checking the security video Farelli recognizes Michael Lane when he stepped outside of the Church and was immediately attacked with an arrow.

Nightwing 0092

Nightwing confronts Azrael

Farelli takes the footage with him and he also also asks a favor from the other guard.

Later, Michael Lane, wearing the Suit of Sorrows goes to Wayne Manor and into the Batcave, where he finds the empty display case of the Suit of Sorrows. As Lane walks in the cave, Nightwing appears and confronts him, armed with a sword and tells him to give back the suit. Azrael draws the Sword of Sin and prepares to fight back, as it is the only way to atone for his sins.

Appearing in "Book Two: Give and Take"

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Notes

Trivia

  • This issue contains a flashback of Batman tied to a chair with his emblem ripped off. These events were originally depicted in Batman #674.


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