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"30 Seconds to Midnight": Nicholas Scratch sent all his minions to Gotham City to find and kill Bruce Wayne.

Quote1 The whole mansion has been plowed into the cave--It means the game has changed. Quote2
Nightwing

Detective Comics #729 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1999.

Synopsis for "30 Seconds to Midnight"

Nicholas Scratch sent all his minions to Gotham City to find and kill Bruce Wayne.

Nightwing and Robin patrol Gotham one last time before it is shut down for good and they both wonder where could Bruce be. Gearhead was observing both of them with a camera device and was also curious about the whereabouts of Batman.

Meanwhile at the GCPD Headquarters, James Gordon and Sarah were discussing about their future and James told her that he was staying even if he had to stand alone in the city. Sarah lead him to the main entrance where the Major Crimes Department and the Tactical Squad were waiting for him and told him that they were staying with him.

Nightwing and Robin were observing the Cadwallader Bridge as it was the last one to be destroyed in order to cut off the city from mainland, when Nightwing killed a mosquito that was bothering him, but when he saw the insect he noticed that it was made out of robotic parts. Nightwing was knocked unconscious by an electric shock that came from the bug and coming from behind, Gearhead took Nightwing and told Robin that in less than an hour he would kill Nightwing unless Batman showed up and faced him. At that moment, a horde of rebels and criminals were heading to the bridge to force their way out of the city.

Robin contacted Oracle and asked her to help him find Bruce. She didn't knew how to do that, but knowing that Nightwing was in danger, she helped Robin as best as she could. Gearhead tied Nightwing to the soon to be destroyed bridge and when he was about to lose his patience, Batman talked to him. Gearhead went straight to the source of the voice but then he realized that it was a voice modulator and a two-way radio that Robin was using to distract Gearhead until he untied Nightwing. The violent crowd was already on the bridge, just above the place where Nightwing and Robin were. Some of Scratch's minions attacked Nightwing and Robin and they decided to drop down to the river. That same moment, the leader of the violent crowd was knocked out and he fell into the river as well. Robin and Nightwing saved the man and took him to the nearest shore, realizing that it was Simpson Flanders, a former TV psychiatrist. Gearhead was still on the bridge and he was also attacked by Scratch's minions, so he started shooting at them but his bullets impacted the detonators of the bridge and as a result the bridge was destroyed much earlier than it was supposed to and none of the rebels were able to cross to the other side.

Elsewhere in Gotham, the rest of Scratch's minions were trying to contact him and tell him that they were unable to find Bruce Wayne, but their master didn't answer their calls. Out of nowhere came the Joker and killed all of them without apparent reason.

Robin and Nightwing decided to go and seek for Bruce at Wayne Manor, but upon arriving they discovered that the whole mansion had collapsed into the Batcave, leaving nothing but rubble and ashes. In that moment they realized that everything was going to be different in Gotham City.

Appearing in "30 Seconds to Midnight"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Villains:

  • Dante (Dies)

Other Characters:

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Notes

Trivia


See Also


Links and References

Batman No Man's Land 1
No Man's Land Crossover
DC Rebirth Logo

This issue is a part of the Batman: No Man's Land crossover that swept through all Batman Family Titles during 1999. Gotham City was declared by the President to be no longer a part of the United States after the combined disasters of Contagion, Legacy and Cataclysm.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "No Man's Land" crossover category.

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