- The No Man's Land is an embarrassment, a betrayal of the fundamental precepts of this country! To deny citizenship, existence, even, to our own people is criminal. LexCorp says enough is enough! We have committed ourselves to rebuilding Gotham City! Starting today...starting now.
Batman #573 is an issue of the series Batman (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 2000.
Synopsis for "Shellgame, Part I: Gambits"
Lex Luthor announced at a press conference that he would rebuild Gotham City with help of LexCorp and the people of Gotham who wanted to join and work with. Elsewhere, Batman, Robin and Oracle all agreed that Luthor has a more devious plan. Batman told Robin to keep an eye on Pettit's territory and Oracle was told to keep an eye on the media. Batman himself was planning to pay Luthor a visit.
In their hideout, Harley Quinn and Joker were putting the fear of the clown into some thugs. Joker was concerned for the lack of attention Batman was paying him and Harley told him that she knew just where he can get more exposure. Meanwhile, Robin at Pettit's territory and watched as Huntress would stand alone in the tallest rooftop nearby.
That evening, Luthor and Mercy talked about the day's events. Mercy told Luthor that LexCorp stock jumped twenty points after the press conference. Batman arrived at night, knocked Mercy unconscious and woke Luthor up. Batman warned Luthor not to try anything with Gotham and Batman left before Mercy could attack him. After Batman left, Luthor told Mercy to get Bane.
The next day, Batman called Lucius Fox and asked him if Luthor has approached Wayne Enterprises and Lucius told him that he haven't yet. Bruce told Lucius to stay alert and to not sell their properties to anyone. Meanwhile, Robin listened to Pettit losing his temper with his men and Huntress because some of his people decided to leave him.
While all these things were happening, Joker decided it was time to step into the spotlight and he attacked the main camp where the rebuilding efforts had started.
Appearing in "Shellgame, Part I: Gambits"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Huntress
- Laila Illes (Single appearance)(On a TV or computer screen)
- James Gordon (In picture only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This is the first part of the storyline titled Shellgame. The events of this issue take place after Azrael: Agent of the Bat #60. No Man's Land and Shellgame continue in Detective Comics #740.
- This issue is reprinted in Batman: No Man's Land Vol 5 and Batman: No Man's Land (2011/2012 Edition) Vol 4.
Trivia
- Batman and Luthor's scene at night resembles a similar situation that happened in Superman: The Animated Series in the episode World's Finest Part II.
- There is a Batman doll and a mug with the Superman Symbol on Barbara's desk.
- Joker beheads a mannequin dressed as Batman from the Batman Serial. There are other figures dressed as Frankenstein, Richard Nixon, The Grim Reaper and The Mummy.
- There is a reference to Rodney Dangerfield.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Batman Recommended Reading
- Batman (Volume 1)
- Batman (Volume 2)
- Batman (Volume 3)
- Batman and Robin (Volume 1)
- Batman and Robin (Volume 2)
- Batman and Robin (Volume 3)
- Batman Confidential (Volume 1)
- Batman: Gotham Knights (Volume 1)
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (Volume 1)
- Batman: Shadow of the Bat (Volume 1)
- Batman: Streets of Gotham (Volume 1)
- Batman Incorporated (Volume 1)
- Batman Incorporated (Volume 2)
- Batman/Superman (Volume 1)
- Batman/Superman (Volume 2)
- Batman/Superman: World's Finest (Volume 1)
- Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 1)
- Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 2)
- The Brave and the Bold (Volume 1)
- Detective Comics (Volume 1)
- Detective Comics (Volume 2)
- Superman/Batman (Volume 1)
- World's Finest (Volume 1)