Contents 1 Appearing in "Batman & Son, Part 2: Man-Bats of London" 2 Synopsis for "Batman & Son, Part 2: Man-Bats of London" 3 Notes 4 Trivia 5 See Also 6 Recommended Reading 7 Links and References

Appearing in "Batman & Son, Part 2: Man-Bats of London"

Featured Characters:

•  Batman (Bruce Wayne) 

Supporting Characters:

• Alfred Pennyworth
• Francine Langstrom
• Jezebel Jet (First appearance)
• Kirk Langstrom

Villains:

• League of Assassins

• Damian al Ghul (First full appearance)
• Ninja Man-Bats
• Talia al Ghul

Other Characters:

• Aunt Agatha (flashback only)
• Cherie Blair (Prime Minister's wife)
• Darius Cage (Single appearance)
• Dick Grayson (flashback only)

Locations:

• London, England

Items:

• Man-Bat Serum
• Utility Belt

Vehicles:

• 
  
  
  

Synopsis for "Batman & Son, Part 2: Man-Bats of London"

Bruce Wayne attends the Action for Africa fundraiser in London, where he meets African princess Jezebel Jet. They admire the comic book art on display while he flirts with her. Bruce shows his cynical side discussing the problem of poverty, and she agrees to meet with him again.

Alfred is waiting outside when he sees Kirk Langstrom and his wife Francine kicked out of a moving van. Langstrom explains that the League of Assassins forced him to give over the Man-Bat Serum, and everyone is in terrible danger.

Alfred rushes inside to throw Bruce a suitcase containing the Batsuit. Man-Bat Commandos burst in through the windows to attack the fundraiser.

They begin slaughtering the guards, and Bruce leaps in as Batman. The Man-Bats attempt to kidnap the Prime Minister's wife, but Batman takes down all six of them. Many more arrive, and Alfred evacuates the building with Jezebel. Batman uses super-sonics and takes out 30 of them, but they overwhelm him and knock him out.

Batman wakes up in an underground lair, somewhere in the London sewer, next to the tied-up Prime Minister's wife. Man-Bats hold him as Talia al Ghul approaches. She explains that with her father dead, she has taken over the family business. Talia reminds Bruce of a night "under the desert moon above the tropic of cancer" when they made love. Batman replies that he remembers being drugged and raped as part of a "depraved eugenics experiment." It's revealed they have a ten-year-old child Talia hasn't told him about, raised by the League of Assassins his entire life. Talia leaves Batman to get acquainted with his son, and promises to "hold the whole world hostage to a new kind of terror." Damian Wayne approaches his father with a sword at his throat, and says he imagined him taller.

Notes

• This issue is reprinted in the Batman and Son collected edition.
• This issue is part of the Morrison's Batman saga.
• Bruce has a flashback to spending Thanksgiving with Dick Grayson and "Aunt Agatha." This is a reference to an obscure Golden Age story about Bruce's seldom-referenced aunt.^[1]
• Talia mentions that Ra's al Ghul is dead. This happened during Death and the Maidens.^[2] He is eventually resurrected during the aptly named The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul.^[3] She also mentions her father choosing Bruce to produce his heir, which happened in one of their earliest adventures during Tales of the Demon.^[4]
• This issue heavily Retcons the conception of Ibn al Xu'ffasch, son of Bruce and Talia. Morrison establishes that Talia drugged Bruce to conceive a child as part of a eugenics experiment. In the original story, they were married and had a child through consensual intercourse.^[5] Morrison responded to this in Wizard magazine, admitting that he simply got some of the details wrong.^[6] This change is explained in continuity as one of the many after-effects of Superboy-Prime punching reality.^[7] It's the same event that resurrected Jason Todd.^[8]

Trivia

• The title "Man-Bats of London" is a reference to the Warren Zevon song Werewolves of London.
• Alfred is reading The Eternity Code, an Artemis Fowl novel by Eoin Colfer. This is a humorous reference as the butler in that series is an action hero who protects his master.
• The pop-art paintings of comic book characters are largely unfamiliar, but one notable image is a portrait of Wonder Woman in the style of Andy Warhol's Marilyn Diptych.
• The woman Bruce tries to rescue is mentioned to be the Prime Minister of England's wife. Her name is not given in-story, however at the time it would have been Tony Blair's wife Cherie Blair.
• Talia mentions that she plans to hold the world hostage to a "new kind of terror." This is possibly foreshadowing her turn as the leader of a greater conspiracy.^[9]

See Also

• Write your own review of this comic!
• Discuss Batman Vol 1 656 on the forums
• Cover gallery for the Batman series
• Images from Batman Vol 1 656

Recommended Reading

• Batman Recommended Reading

• Batman (Volume 1)
• Batman (Volume 2)
• Batman and Robin (Volume 1)
• Batman and Robin (Volume 2)
• Batman Confidential
• Batman: Gotham Knights
• Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
• Batman: Shadow of the Bat
• Batman: Streets of Gotham
• Batman Incorporated
• Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 1)
• Batman: The Dark Knight (Volume 2)
• Detective Comics (Volume 1)
• Detective Comics (Volume 2)
• Superman/Batman
• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Volume )

Links and References

• Batman at Wikipedia.org
• Batman at DC Comics
• Batman at DCU Guide
• Batman at IGN Comics
• Batman at Newsarama
• Batman at Dark Knight
• Batman at DC Indexes
• Batman at Comic Book Resources
• Batman Yesterday Today and Beyond
• Batman at TV Tropes

1. ↑ Batman #89
2. ↑ Batman: Death and the Maidens #9
3. ↑ Batman Annual #26
4. ↑ Batman #232
5. ↑ Batman: Son of the Demon
6. ↑ Wizard magazine #182
7. ↑ Infinite Crisis Secret Files and Origins #1
8. ↑ Batman Annual #25
9. ↑ Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! #1

Grant Morrison's Batman

Original Characters Aitch-Eyes • Alfred • Amadeus Arkham • Bat-Bane • Bat-Cop • Bat-Devil • Batman Incorporated • Batwing • Big Top • Black Glove • Le Bossu • Bruce Wayne Clone • Candyman • Charles Cavendish • Charlie Caligula • Circus of Strange • Club of Villains • Constance Arkham • Damian Wayne • Dark Ranger • Doctor Dedalus • Doctor Hurt • Dollotrons • Fidget • El Flamingo • Gabriel Santo • Gentleman-G Merriwether • Green Vulture • Harriet Arkham • High-Rise Romero • Honor Jackson • Jackanapes • Jezebel Jet • King Coal • King Kraken • Kushti • Lightning Bug • Lone-Eye Lincoln • Mad Dog • Max Roboto • Metaleks • Mister Toad • Mister Unknown • Mister Whisper • Morris Men • Ninja Man-Bats • Oberon Sexton • Pearly King of Crime • Pearly Prince • Penitente Cartel • Phosphorus Rex • Pierrot Lunaire • Professor Pyg • Ruth Adams • Scarlet • Scorpiana • Seven Men of Death • El Sombrero • Swagman • Three Ghosts of Batman • Tony Li • Weasel Themes Dominoes • Zur En Arrh Storylines Arkham Asylum • Gothic • Batman and Son • The Clown at Midnight • Three Ghosts of Batman • Batman in Bethlehem • The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul • The Black Glove • Batman R.I.P. • Final Crisis • Last Rites • Batman Reborn • Revenge of the Red Hood • Blackest Knight • Batman vs. Robin • Batman and Robin Must Die • Time and the Batman • The Return of Bruce Wayne • Black Mass • The Return • Batman Incorporated • Leviathan Strikes! • Demon Star Creators Grant Morrison • Dave McKean • Klaus Janson • Andy Kubert • John Van Fleet • Tony S. Daniel • J.H. Williams III • Ryan Benjamin • Lee Garbett • Frank Quitely • Philip Tan • Cameron Stewart • Andy Clarke • Frazer Irving • Chris Sprouse • Yanick Paquette • Georges Jeanty • Ryan Sook • David Finch • Chris Burnham This box: view • talk • edit

Start a Discussion Discussions about Batman Vol 1 656

You can find discussions about everything related to this wiki on DC Database Forum!