Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Thursday, 10 Sep 1992 09:18:11 CDT
From: <U16244@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics
Subject: Re: Batman: Neil Gaiman
 <1992Sep6.194532.20963@udel.edu> <Bu6C6p.Ktz@news.cso.uiuc.edu>

I don't know if this little daydream would come about, but there is one
particular creative team I'd like to have for a story-arc on the Batman, just
for old times sake.
Artist and Ink Team would be my personal favorite- Marshall Rogers and
Terry Austin (one of the best teams in the world, Rogers is even better than
Neil Adams).
Writer would be Dennis O'Neil (get back in there Denny!)

Major Characters: Batman (of course), Robin (Tim Drake), Joker, Ra's Al Ghul,
Talia

Plotline: Ra's decides to attempt to enlist the Batman's aid one more time,
this time working on stopping the Joker to prove to the Detective that together
they could accomplish anything.  However, the Joker isn't having any of this,
and responds rather... violently, of course.

After the Joker destroys an airplane coming in from the Middle East, just to
nail one of Ra's' advisors, the Batman is split between taking down the Joker,
or telling Ra's to go fuck himself. (It'll be a graphic novel/mature story
line stuff.) When Talia shows up, she tries to convince Batman to not be so
harsh on Ra's (Bats has pretty much anihilated Ra's operations in Gotham).
Batman tells her to take a flying leap, that her no account father was respon-
sible for over 200 deaths of innocent people because of his assinine quest to
acquire his services.  When Talia begs him, and lets slip that their child
(Son of the Demon graphic novel) is still alive, Robin barely manages to
hold an enraged Dark Knight back from turning her into ground round.

Meanwhile, the Joker has been keeping tabs on all of this.  Ra's is very
upset.  Between Batman and Joker, he's lost nearly fifty men.  This is now
a personal war, and he assembles a mercenary force within Gotham to sweep
the underworld.  The Joker follows Talia, kidnaps her, and with the help of
Doctor Moon (a common friend of both Ra's and Talia), manages to discern
where Batman and Talia's baby is.  Joker sends off Moon on an errand to pick
up the kid while he engages Batman and Ra's on a merry chase.  However, Moon
screws up big time.  The mercenary unit easily follows him, and in a crossfire
between the two forces, the family and the child are all killed.  Batman hears
this and throws down his cowl in defeat.  It's been too much, and if he ever
lifts a finger again, he'll start using tactics he's dreaded since the
beginning.  Robin manages to rescue Talia, who in turn beheads Moon in an
elevator shaft.

Talia herself confronts her father about the mercenaries as Bruce Wayne is
having an open air conference with him about a temporary truce.  Unfortunately,
the Joker shows up one last time, and in the free for all, Talia's spine is
broken.  Robin manages to apprehend the Joker after he's been injured in hand
to hand combat with Ra's and Ra's is reduced to a pulp by an enraged Wayne.

"Both of you.  I want you out of this city now.  If I ever catch word of
either of you bastards coming into Gotham again, you will die.  My life has
been fucked over enough by the both of you, and the only reason you two are
still breathing is because of my oath not to kill.  But if we ever meet again,
be prepared to take a ride to hell, because that's where I'm sending you."

Wayne shoves Ra's into the trunk of the limo he arrived in and uses one of
Robin's belt gadgets to melt the lock shut. (He knows the bastard will escape
eventually.)  He also handcuffs the Joker's ankles to the axles of the
limousene (knowing he'll be long gone soon enough as well).  Both men leave the
United States.

Talia returns home (before her father), crushed and defeated, knowing she has
betrayed every single trust with Bruce that she ever felt.

And for Bruce, the war goes on, but he grows much closer again to all his
remaining friends, realizing that his losing so much was a result of not
being in touch with his emotions (he never even knew his own son).  In private,
he's a little less cold, in public, he hasn't lost any of his toughness (or
compassion).

DPW.