A Batman Villain Is Gotham City’s New Police Commissioner

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Batman (Vol. 3) #146.] The Gotham War is over, but the aftershocks continue to shake up issues of Batman. First, the villain Vandal Savage bought Wayne Manor from Gotham National Bank after Bruce Wayne used his family home as collateral to finance his brownstone. With his purchase of Wayne Manor, the immortal caveman from the Stone Age had himself “the finest cave in the finest city in the world”: the Batcave. Then Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Scorched Earth revealed that the cave contained the largest piece of meteor fragment that Vandal needed to rejuvenate his powers so that Gotham could be “ruled by the immortal.”

Following issues saw Bruce’s backup persona — the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh — upload his consciousness into Failsafe, Batman’s contingency plan, and then declare martial law on Gotham City. In Batman #145, the rogue robo-Batman imprisoned Bruce in the lower levels of BlackgatePenitentiary with Vandal, who revealed that Zur-En-Arrh/Failsafe seized control of the mansion and the Batcave in his crusade to eradicate crime in Gotham City. 

Vandal ominously told Bruce that “the law” would help him retake what had become his, but before he could get answers, Failsafe’s robot guards subdued Bruce and brought him to the Warden: Dr. Daniel Captio, Bruce’s mentor who trained him to unlock his mind and unleash Zur-En-Arrh.

Meanwhile, Gotham City Mayor Chris Nakano confided in Commissioner Renee Montoya that he was under pressure from “outside forces” who want change in Gotham. Those forces started to converge in this week’s Batman #146. With the city under the control of Failsafe, who has been violently apprehending escaped criminals like the Riddler and Killer Croc as the new Batman, Bruce escaped Blackgate during a prison riot just as Mayor Nakano learned that another escaped inmate was on live television seeking asylum: Vandal Savage. “It’s happening,” the mayor said.

Meanwhile, Failsafe seemingly convinced Superman that he’s really Batman and warned that “people in the shadows” were about to anoint Vandal Savage as police commissioner. “Dark forces are always at play here, pulling the strings,” said Gotham’s new Dark Knight. “People are going to die… unless I’m at my best. No more crimes, Clark. No more suffering. Isn’t that the dream?”

When Superman asked what happens if Batman goes too far, Failsafe responded: “You’ll try and stop me. You’ll try. And you’ll fail… because Batman always wins.”

Batman #146 is on sale now from DC Comics.