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| 'Legends of the Dark Knight' #22 |
This week’s “Comic Book of the Week” is “Legends of the Dark
Knight” #22, which was published by DC Comics in September 1991. This issue was
the second installment in a three-part series titled “Faith.”
This issue’s creative team included Mike W. Barr, writer;
Bart Sears, penciller; Randy Elliott, letterer; Steve Oliff, colorist; and
Kevin Dooley, Margaret Clark and Andrew Helfer, editors. Sears was the cover
artist for this issue, which sold for $1.75 at newsstands.
This 32-page issue begins at night in the home of Dr. Leslie
Thompkins. Bruce Wayne has been paying Thompkins a
visit, and they’re both watching from an upstairs window as two groups of men
fight down in the street. The fight involves a street gang called the “Pushers”
and a group of vigilantes called the “Bat-Men.”
As they watch, bullets riddle the window that Wayne and
Thompkins are standing in front of, and Wayne pushes Thompkins out of the way
just in time to avoid being struck by gunfire. Shortly thereafter, the police,
dressed in full riot gear, arrive and begin rounding up the men on the street.
Surprisingly, a number of citizens take to the streets and begin to heckle the
police in defense of the “Bat-Men.”
Thompkins decides to head to the hospital to help with the
wounded men from the fight, and Wayne and his chauffeur, Alfred, give her a ride
in Wayne’s limo. Not long after Thompkins enters the hospital, Wayne changes
into his Batman costume and gives Alfred the rest of the night off.
Batman’s first stop is the home of Gotham City Police Capt.
Jim Gordon. They get into an argument of the “Bat-Men” after Gordon asks Batman
if he’s sponsoring the group. Gordon also informs Batman that the police will
be raiding the home of a crime boss named “Costas” later that night and tells
Batman that they don’t want any interference from him or the “Bat-Men.”
Batman then goes to the headquarters of the “Bat-Men,” where
their leader, John Ackers, is having a nightmare about Batman in his upstairs
apartment bedroom. Batman wakes the startled Ackers and tells him that he wants
them to stay away from the Costas police raid. Ackers agrees, but as soon as
Batman leaves, it becomes apparent that Ackers and his men will be visiting
Costas later, and Ackers will be carrying a gun.
In the next scene, Gordon and his men arrive as Costas’
huge, gated mansion. Gordon, standing in the driveway outside the front gate,
shouts that they are there to serve a search warrant and also have a warrant for
Costas’ arrest. Gordon can’t even finish the sentence before he takes a bullet to the chest. If not for his bulletproof vest, he would have been killed.
The police move in with guns blazing, as Batman slips in
through a large drain in Costas’ swimming pool. As if they were waiting on him,
Costas’ henchmen riddle the pool with bullets as soon as Batman pokes his head
up out of the water. Using smoke bombs, Batman takes out the five bad guys,
knocks them out, ties them up and throws their guns in the pool. In the
distance, the sun begins to rise in the east.
The police learn that Batman’s on the scene when he saves a
SWAT team member from getting shot by one of Costas’ men. Meanwhile, Costas’
men, realizing that they’re not the main target of the raid, turn on Costas, and one
of them, Pauly, shoots Costas in the right upper arm. As Pauly and his cohorts
begin to move Costas upstairs, they discover Batman lurking in the shadows, and a huge fight ensues.
Batman cuts the power, killing the lights, but while he’s
busy with Costas’ men, Costas jumps into an armored limo and begins to make his
escape. Costas drives through a garage door with Batman on top of the car.
Police riddle the car with bullets, with little effect, and Batman eventually
smashes through the windshield to get at Costas.
At that last moment, Batman and Costas roll out of the car
just before it crashes into a brick wall and explodes. Police fan out and find
Costas unconscious on the ground. A note from Batman’s been tacked to his chest
that reads, “You Can Take It From Here.”
In the next scene, we see Ackers loading his pistol while a
female member of the “Bat-Men” calls him from a payphone outside Gotham General
Hospital. She informs Ackers that Costas has just been brought into the
hospital, and Ackers begins to move that way with a sizeable group. Upstairs at
the hospital, Dr. Thompkins informs Gordon that Costas will eventually recover.
Outside, Batman arrives on the roof about the same time that
the “Bat-Men” enter the hospital through a delivery entrance in the back of the
building. The “Bat-Men” get the drop on the uniformed officer that’s been
posted outside Costas’ door. As they’re making their way to Costas’ room,
Batman enters through a window and comes face to face with Thompkins, who
doesn’t know it's Bruce Wayne beneath the mask.
Batman explains that he’s not there to kill Costas. Batman
only wants information about his drug distribution network. Just then, Ackers,
who has his gun out, and his men enter the room, and Batman tries to prevent
Ackers from shooting Costas, who is unconscious in the bed.
A free-for-all ensues, and Thompkins even holds her own as
she knocks out a female member of the “Bat-Men.” Batman appears to be getting
the better of the “Bat-Men,” but the tide turns when Ackers shoots Batman three
times in the back. With Batman out of action, Thompkins pleads for Costas’
life, and Ackers decides at the last minute not to kill him then and there.
Instead, they take him captive and depart, leaving Thompkins tied up on the
floor.
Thompkins frees one of her hands and manages to call for
help. Batman is barely conscious and tries to stop her from calling the police.
The issue ends when Thompkins gets the shock of her life when she removes
Batman’s mask to find that it’s been Bruce Wayne all along.
This comic (unless I’ve sold it) and others are available
for purchase through Peacock’s Books on Amazon.com. If you’re interested in
buying it, search for it there by title, issue number and date of publication.
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