Blades.
A new vigilante is in town - The Cavalier - and he is picking up the crimes that Batman is neglecting whilst he investigates a string of murders by the mysterious Mr Lime. These murders all have one thing in common - their victims are people over a certain age. In his investigations Batman has to deal with the mourning children of these victims, which obviously brings his own grief over the death of his parents to the forefront.
Meanwhile the Cavalier is fighting crime, his interior monologue suggesting a background in film as he refers to the spotlight of the street lights and the action of his 'fight scenes'. He seems to have a more violent approach, with scarlet gouts of blood spraying as he takes down various criminals. In a montage of crime fighting sequences, we also see him dealing with The Riddler. This in itself betrays how obsessed with Mr Lime Batman has become, that he is leaving his rogues to run riot in Gotham.
Answering the Bat signal, Batman hears from Gordon about a new thief in Gotham, who is targeting the rich. We even see some dark and shadowy scenes with this thief, talking about how Mercury is watching over him.
Batman becomes consumed by the serial killings, with both Gordon and Alfred commenting on how he seems to be letting everything else fall by the wayside. He is injured whilst thwarting an attempt on a senior citizens life, saving him from a bomb planted by Mr Lime.
Shortly after, we discover that The Cavalier is in fact the thief, and that he is stealing in order to protect a woman he saved as she was leaping from a bridge to her death. This revelation seems to shake Batman out of his stupor, his city has been under the protection of a criminal and a fraud, so he rushes into action and joins the chase of The Cavalier. Batman is also reminded of Zorro, who is as much a part of his origins as the gun and the pearl necklace.
After this second meeting ends in Batman lying injured, The Cavalier moves him away from a life threatening fire, showing that he isn't entirely a villain despite his actions. Whilst recovering from these injuries, Batman has various hallucinations, revisiting his origins and eventually giving him the breakthrough he needed in the Mr Lime case. The reveal of who the killer was is a twist I didn't see coming, and I liked the reasoning behind it. All too often the detective side of Batman is left forgotten, so I always welcome a story which shows us this side of him.
After finishing up the Mr Lime case, Batman resolves to solve the other crime spree which has gripped Gotham. This culminates in an epic fight between him and The Cavalier, lasting several pages and showing the fighting prowess of The Cavalier, as well as Bruce's youthful inexperience. At the brink of defeat, The Cavalier realises he can't rob Gotham of both of its protectors, having failed the city himself already. He leaves the warehouse and is gunned down by the police, leaving Batman with the knowledge that every man holds the potential for evil and that obsession can sometimes be the only catalyst a man needs to switch from hero to villain.
Legend of the Bat Mite.
A shorter tale, which focuses on the hallucination/5th dimension imp Bat Mite. We see obsession this time in the form of Bat Mite, who has been watching Batman from the 5th dimension and has decided to copy his clothing and actions. This was a slightly wacky tale, and not one I was really a fan of, despite Bat Mite being a part of a later Grant Morrison story.
Hothouse.
Poison Ivy makes her return in slightly more spectacular fashion than her debut in Four of a Kind. She is more than just a petty criminal this time. Instead she is a murderess and a manipulator, creating a new drug which instantly becomes a hit amongst the party elite of Gotham City.
Immediately we see the consequences of this drug, as the first few pages introduce us to Ian Spencer, before he falls to his death from a ledge near his office at Gotham University. Failing to save him from his fall, Batman is left hunched over the dead mans body. He looks up and spots a familiar face in the crowd - Ivy - which is all it takes for the fires of obsession to be stoked again.
This obsession continues as Batman visits Ivy and she claims to be reformed, and the victim of Dominique who is the mastermind behind the new drug Edenspring. Batman assists in the arrest of these villains - with a souped up Batmobile - only to find that Ivy is not as innocent as she seems.
During his investigations, we see Batman lose his focus as his mind becomes more clouded with Ivy. As Bruce Wayne he calls a random blonde date 'Pamela' and during a routine patrol he stops a criminal who takes on the appearance of Pamela before his eyes.
Batman confronts Ivy in her greenhouse, and is soon under the influence of her poisoned kiss. Poison. Ivy is just about to remove his mask and reveal who the Batman really is, when his obsessive crusade against crime wins out over his drug-induced obsession with Ivy. He kicks a sprinkler system and we see another obsession in the form of Ivy's love for all plant life. This is all he needs to stop her, and she is soon incarcerated in Arkham Asylum.
Overall this was an enjoyable collection of stories, perhaps with the exception of the middle tale of Bat Mite. This also marks the end of the first page of my Batman notebook (yes, I have a notebook) and also sees us drawing to the close of Year One.
Next up - Batman: Gothic
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