Batman Vol 1 406
From DC Database
Sgt. Essen informed me that Wayne's parents were murdered by a mugger when he was eight years old. That's enough motive, I suppose, to make a man dress like Dracula and assault criminals... 
- -- Lt. Gordon
Appearing in "Year One (Part III of IV): Black Dawn"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Alfred Pennyworth (Behind the scenes)
- Holly Robinson
- James Gordon
- Sarah Essen
- Selina Kyle
Villains:
Other Characters:
- Barbara Eileen Gordon
- Art
- Branden
- Fenton
- Merkel
- Praeger
- Pratt
- Sussman
- Swanson
- Otto the Cat (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Year One (Part III of IV): Black Dawn"
Flaming piles of debris drop down on top of Batman as the Gotham City SWAT team firebombs the derelict apartment building. Flammable materials within his utility belt begin to explode. Batman finds an electrical cover and uses it to mask his presence. A ground crew enters the building and begins sifting through the rubble. Batman lures them into a lower section of the building and traps them.
Before preparing his escape, Batman uses a remote device to signal a massive flock of bats from the Batcave. The swarm of bats descends on the area giving Batman a chance to use them for cover to mask his escape. Several police squad cars attempt to follow the bat swarm, one of which even drives off Gotham Pier. Dozens of bystanders (including Selina Kyle) are forced to get rabies vaccinations.
Later, Jim Gordon consults with Sarah Essen over the Batman issue. Sarah suspects that the Batman may in fact be Bruce Wayne. Wayne has an alibi however, citing that he was skiing in Switzerland during the recent incident.
Gordon walks Essen home and the two share a romantic embrace. Jim instantly feels guilty knowing that his pregnant wife is home waiting for him.
In Gotham's East End, Selina Kyle decides to go into a different line of work. She punches out her pimp Stan and takes Holly with her. She fashions a costume for herself and becomes Catwoman for the first time.
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in the Batman: Year One trade paperback.
- The events from this issue take place in both Post-Crisis New Earth continuity as well as Earth-31 continuity.
- This issue is the earliest chronological appearance of Selina Kyle as Catwoman.
- Otto the cat appears next in Batman #407.
Trivia
- James Gordon has a coffee cup that says "World's Greatest Dad" even though his son hasn't been born yet.
- The tagline for this issue is:
- They've got him CORNERED.
- They've got him OUTNUMBERED
- They've got him TRAPPED
- They're in TROUBLE...
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Batgirl: Year One
- Batman: Year One
- Batman Annual #19
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #5
- Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual #3
- Catwoman (Volume 1)
- Catwoman (Volume 2) Annual #2
- Detective Comics Annual #8
- Robin: Year One
Links and References
- Batman: Year One article at Wikipedia
- Batman article at Wikipedia
- Batman article at Toonopedia
- Batman article at Supermanica
- Batman article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Batman page at DC Comics
- Batman: Yesterday, Today and Beyond
- Batman: The Dark Knight
- Alfred Pennyworth article at Wikipedia
- Alfred Pennyworth article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Catwoman article at Wikipedia
- Catwoman article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- James Gordon article at Wikipedia
- James Gordon article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Two-Face article at Wikipedia
- Two-Face article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
| The Batman Family's Early History | |
|---|---|
| Main Storylines | Batman: Year One | The Long Halloween | Dark Victory | The Man Who Laughs | Batman and the Monster Men | Batman and the Mad Monk | Untold Legend of the Batman |
| Supporting Cast | Robin: Year One | Batgirl: Year One | Nightwing: Year One | Huntress: Year One | Gordon of Gotham | Two-Face Year One |
| Titles | Legends of the Dark Knight | Batman Confidential |
| Others | Batman: Year Two | Batman: Year Three | Year One: Batman/Ra's al Ghul | Year One: Batman/Scarecrow | Batman Family Year One Annuals | Batman: Blind Justice |
| Other Media | Batman Begins |
| Characters | Thomas and Martha Wayne | Joe Chill | Carmine Falcone | Sal Maroni | Tony Zucco | Lew Moxon | Commissioner Loeb | Detective Flass | Kirigi | Henri Ducard |
| See Also | Batman (Golden Age) | Batman (Silver Age) | Batman (Modern Age) | Year One |
| This box: view • talk • edit | |
  After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 1985-1986 maxiseries which completely reset the continuity of the entire DC Universe, all of DC's major characters and franchises needed to be updated to reflect the changes in the events of their lives. Multiple story arcs were put out to explain these rebooted versions of popular characters. |
