Detective Comics Vol 2 9

"Night of the Owls: The Owls Take Arkham"

Part of the "Night of the Owls" event.

Cover
Combo Pack Variant
Pencils & Inks Wraparound
Textless
Variant by Fabok & Stiegerwald
Textless Variant

Night of the Owls: The Owls Take Arkham

50/50

Editors

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Detective Comics Vol 2 # 8	Detective Comics Vol 2 # 10

I know the asylum has several hidden points of escape, Doctor. Choose one and get there! Now!

— Batman

Detective Comics (Volume 2) #9 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 2) with a cover date of July, 2012.

Synopsis for "Night of the Owls: The Owls Take Arkham"

Commissioner Gordon has ordered that the liftlocks at Arkham Island be raised, and the island closed off. Some GCPD officers on their way to the island find themselves with nothing to do, on account of the lockdown, so they take to drinking in their car. Suddenly, something heavy bounces off of the hood of the vehicle, but there is no sign of the cause.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jeremiah Arkham thinks highly of his facility and its place as a more humane alternative to Blackgate Penitentiary. He thinks of Arkham Asylum as the safest place in Gotham City, but head of security Aaron Cash warns that Arkham's name has appeared on some kind of hit-list, along with several other prominent Gotham residents, and the commissioner has ordered a group of men to come and take the doctor into protective custody. However, given the lockdown, Cash suggests that they secure themselves inside a safe room in the mean time.

Arkham wants to do his rounds and look in on the various inmates at his asylum, but Cash interrupts him again, reporting that Roman Sionis has announced that he is ready to end his hunger strike, and wants to talk to the doctor. Sionis was thought dead two years ago, but he since turned himself in, begging to be cured of his affliction - his split personality with the Black Mask. Sionis is now being force-fed via feeding tube, given his hunger strike. Sionis professes his desire to reform, but Black Mask's shadow hangs over him still.

Suddenly, the lights black out, and Arkham has just seconds to see by the flicker in Roman's eye that someone is behind him. Deftly, the doctor turns and unloads a high-voltage shock into a Talon of the Court of Owls. The assassin has not come alone, and his companions begin their warning that the Court of Owls has sentenced him - Jeremiah Arkham - to die. Seconds later, the Batman bursts into the room and begins fighting the Talons. With some effort, he warns Arkham to escape through any of the secret passages in the asylum, or he will be caught and killed.

Closing off the door behind him, Arkham leaves Batman and Aaron Cash to face the Talons while he turns to Roman Sionis as his only hope. He turns to the mentally damaged man and waves the black mask he once wore in front of him. He fears that if the Talons are not stopped, they will destroy all that Roman has come to rely on for his safety. Now, they will both have to trust the evil they know more than the evil they don't. Arkham hopes that by allowing Sionis to become the Black Mask again, the man will have an opportunity to do some good.

One of the Talons manages to wrap his hands around Batman's throat, beginning to crush his vocal cords. Fortunately - or perhaps not - the inmates' cells all begin to open at once. By a stroke of unexpected luck, they aim their violence at the Talons, and not Batman. Using the distraction to his advantage, Batman closes off the cell block until Gordon can afford the manpower to regain control. Down the hall, Batman encounters Black Mask, who attempts to implant the desire for death into Batman's mind. The Dark Knight counters this by launching a Batarang into Sionis' frontal lobe.

From the security control room, Arkham watches the inmates fighting with the Talons, who appear to be stronger than the entirety of the cell-block. A booming on the door indicates that one of the Talons has somehow managed to follow him. Arkham waits tensely until the door is battered down. Fortunately, the man on the other side is Batman, who grabs the doctor and drags him to his car.

As they drive away, Batman receives a message from Nightwing, who offers to take Arkham off Batman's hands while he seeks out the Birds of Prey.

Appearing in "Night of the Owls: The Owls Take Arkham"

Featured Characters:

Batman

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Nightwing (On a TV or computer screen)

Locations:

Gotham City
- Arkham Asylum

Items:

Vehicles:

Batmobile

Synopsis for "50/50"

Rumour has it that Dominic Sterano can help Harvey Dent get his job as district attorney back - of course, the prospects are somewhat dimmer, given that Dent is now the disfigured criminal known as Two-Face. Two-Face is skeptical of Sterano's claims, given that Sterano's department has tried to pin on him a number of crimes - even ones he didn't commit.

Two-Face meets clandestinely with Sterano, who claims that new evidence has come to light that may show that Judge Albright was on the take - with the sole duty of bringing Dent down. In exchange for his help, Sterano asks that Two-Face help him catch whoever is blackmailing him with photographic evidence of his infidelity. On the other hand, if Two-Face refuses to help, Sterano has evidence that could put him away for good. The girl has been kidnapped, by someone named Freakshow - a man whom Two-Face knows well.

Despite not being welcome in the Sand Tavern, Two-Face forces his way in to talk to a slimy thug named Maurice. While he works Maurice over for information, though, everyone inside the tavern is murdered - cut to pieces by someone unseen. When Two-Face realizes that something's going on in the next room, he turns his back just long enough for Maurice to make a run for it.

Two-Face gives chase, but all he can find is Maurice's severed arm. Looking up, he encounters three ninjas armed with katanas, who inform him that he has been chosen by their master. They will not say more about it.

Appearing in "50/50"