Batman Vol 1 511
From DC Database
Is this some kind of -- joke? 
- -- The Joker
Appearing in "The Night Before Zero"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Robin
- Batgirl (Zero Hour) (First appearance)
- Oracle
Villains:
Other Characters:
- Robin (Dick Grayson) (Cameo)
- Superman
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Night Before Zero"
In Gotham City, while running away from Batman, the Joker is surprised to be apprehended by... Batgirl, who he had crippled and left in a wheel chair several years earlier. When Batman and Robin catch up to them, the Joker escapes while they are distracted by seeing Batgirl.
Apparently in an alternate timeline, Batgirl explains to them that instead of crippling her, the Joker had killed her father, Commissioner Gordon. In this timeline, the Police, rather than working friendly with the Batman Family, view them as dangerous vigilantes and are ordered to shoot on sight. The new police commissioner is... Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon are apparently also involved in a romantic relationship.
Confused about reality, Batman retreats to the Batcave to search for answers. He consults Oracle, who exists simultaneously as Batgirl, paradoxically. He decides to visit Harvey Dent to try and talk some sense into him.
At Gotham City Police Headquarters, the Joker knocks out the entire Police Department and kidnaps Dent, bringing the corpse of Jim Gordon with him. When Batman bursts in to stop the Joker, after incapacitating him he finds that Harvey Dent has reverted to becoming Two-Face again. And the corpse of Commissioner Gordon is now just the regular and very confused Commissioner Gordon.
Batman leaves, and briefly visits Oracle to talk about the Crisis, and her other self, who continues to act as Batgirl even in their timeline. Batman determines he needs to find help, and he goes to meet with Superman on the outskirts of Metropolis.
Notes
- This issue occurs simultaneously with Zero Hour #4.
- The Joker crippled Barbara Gordon, not knowing she was secretly Batgirl in Batman: The Killing Joke. Rather than continuing her street vigilantism, she adopted the new persona of Oracle in Suicide Squad #23.
- This alternate Batgirl will be erased from reality in Zero Hour #0.
- Harvey Dent was supposed to have become the criminal Two-Face when he was splashed with acid by crime boss Salvatore Maroni during a trial. In this timeline, the Joker killed Maroni.
Trivia
- The Joker references Batman as having had an impostor. He is talking about Azrael inheriting the mantle during Knightfall, which Batman only just took back in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #63.
- Oracle mentions that all communications to Metropolis are down. Metropolis was recently destroyed in both Fall of Metropolis and Worlds Collide.
- This issue makes several references to Bell's Theorem, a theory which basically posits that the predictions of Quantum Mechanics are counter-intuitive, and has ramifications toward the possibility of alternate timelines.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Batman at Wikipedia.org
- Batman Wikia Main Page
- Batman at dccomics.com
- Batman: Yesterday, Today and Beyond
- Batman at TV Tropes
- Zero Hour article at Wikipedia
- Zero Hour Frequently Asked Questions
- Zero Hour series index at the DCU Guide
- Zero Hour series index at Comicbookdb.com
- Zero Hour series index at the Grand Comics Database
