The Cataclysm

### Characters

Bat Family: Batman, Dick Grayson (as Batman & Nightwing), Red Robin, Cassandra Cain, Batwoman (Kate Kane & Julia Pennyworth)

Birds of Prey: Oracle, Black Canary, Helena Bertinelli (as Huntress & Batgirl)

GCPD: James Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Renee Montoya, Maggie Sawyer, Jason Bard, Dana Hanrahan

Prisoners of Arkham Asylum, League of Shadows, Rogue Gallery, Outlaws

## History

### Overview

On April 19, 2008, Gotham is hit with a massive 7.6 earthquake orchestrated by Ra's al Ghul himself. The earthquake & the carefully placed bombs led to then destruction of the bridges leading into the city. With hopes for rehabilitating the broken city, the United States government declared it a No Man's Land.

With the bridges destroyed & any other means of entering or leaving guarded by the U.S. Army, Gotham essentially cut off from the world. The Justice League offered their help but Batman refused for ethical reasons & the situation inside was left to him & his allies. Instead, the League became occupied keeping outside forces from conquering the city.

As Bruce Wayne, Batman left the city to try & solve the problem politically, using his name & money to convince the government to delay closing off Gotham. So the city did not believe that Batman had abandoned Gotham, he left his former protégé Dick Grayson to take the mantle of Batman with Tim continuing as his Robin. Inside the city, the inmates of Arkham Asylum were freed due to the earthquake damage & battled for control. Fighting to reduce the chaos were the members of Gotham City Police Department, as well as members of the Bat Family like Oracle & Huntress, who was also operating as Batgirl in Batman's absence. Unfortunately, Bruce's efforts failed as they did not take an air-headed billionaire with little concern for serious issues seriously. Bruce returned weeks later, taking back the mantle of Batman.

While his return was met with much relief from the heroes, he was walking straight into a system of anarchy on a grand scale. Since there was no longer anywhere to spend it, money had became worthless & people began to barter anything for daily necessities. Without the benefit of advanced technology, the heroes had to use paper to document events; operatives & emergency phones to gather intel; and maps colored by pencils to keep track of who controlled which portions of the city at a particular time.

Helena was eventually ordered by Batman to give up the Batgirl mantle after she let Two Face gain territory in the area controlled by Batman & GCPD. The mantle was given to Cassandra Cain, one of Oracle's agents during the Cataclysm. Working to prove herself, Helena went against Joker herself & was nearly killed. This event impressed Oracle & she brought Huntress along as one of her agents. The two of them, along with Black Canary, formed the Birds of Prey to send the message that crimefighting wasn't just a boys game.

After nearly a year since the earthquake hit, the United States government reversed the No Man's Land order & allowed Gotham to rejoin the United States. It took some time but after a year, they were able to get the city rebuilt thanks in no small part to financial support of Bruce Wayne.

### Aftermath

The Cataclysm affected many people:

* Blackgate Penitentiary is destroyed & its inmates are sent to Arkham Asylum.
* Artemis Crock gets back into crimefighting & takes on the mantle of Tigress.
* The earthquake causes an oxygen explosion at the Gotham General Hospital. Beth Chapel is blinded & her brother is killed.
* Rose Wilson is recruited to the Suicide Squad.
* Jay Thomas, the brother of Duke Thomas, is killed by an unknown assailant.
* After her father abandoned them, Harper Row files for emancipation.
* Crystal & Stephanie Brown get a new apartment after Stephanie's father Arthur Brown ruined the former while using it at his criminal headquarters.
* Inspired by the orphans she cared for, Tamara Fox got a job at the Wayne Foundation.
* Oswald Cobblepot was able to buy more property as people gave him their last bit of money left to buy simple things like an apple.
* While Kate Kane recuperates, Julia Pennyworth operates as Batwoman.
* With little outside communication, Carlton Duquesne became the primary weapons smuggler of the city, eventually leading to his partnerships with the Penguin & Rupert Thorne.
* Justin Ballantine fakes his death & is declared legally deceased.
* Crows Security is founded by Jacob Kane to protect the citizens of Gotham, even trying to do it far better than Batman could.
* Jason Todd returns to Gotham as Red X & became the leader of a biker gang called the Outlaws. He eventually went solo towards the end of the Cataclysm & did not personally cross paths with the Bat Family until after the government rejoined Gotham to the United States.
* Bette Kane, as Flamebird, was badly beaten & gutted by League assassin Hook. She remained in a coma for some months, waking up shortly after the government reversed the order.
* Because Randy Hanrahan stayed behind with the Penguin during the Cataclysm, he had been given the title of "repossessor of defaulted loans," though it was clear that he was the Penguin's personal enforcer.
* The parents of Allison Burns lose their jobs. They begin working for the Bowery Town Massive as their personal chemists.
* Josie Mac decides to enter the police force.
* Lois Lane writes an article on the event & wins a Pulitizer Prize.
* Evelyn Crawford comes out of retirement & hits the streets again as Starling.

## Trivia

* Superman still assisted the citizens of Gotham but realized that things would deteriorate no matter what he did & finally accepted to stay out of the city.
* During the event, Poison Ivy took over Robinson Park & cared for numerous orphans. In a deal with Batman, she was left alone in exchange for her providing fresh produce twice a week to the remaining citizens.
* When Gotham was declared No Man's Land, Laura's mother almost sold her for money but changed her mind. Though she did it for her own selfish reasons, she never stopped reminding Laura that she was the reason she was still around.
* The Morelli family remained in the city to help the Maroni's keep their footing on the East End. After sneaking out by the bay, Jack had to hide into an abandoned studio after being spotted by some minions of the Joker. Using the equipment, she was able to build her own radio & send out a signal that was picked up by none other than Oracle. After dispatching Huntress to fetch the teenager, Oracle had her returned to her family despite Huntress' protests due to their mob ties. After getting Jack back, Huntress ran into the Joker, which is when she was injured.
* Zatanna used her magic to shield her family home from any miscreants until the government lifted No Man's Land.
* During The Cataclysm, Two Face formed a "friendship" with Detective Renee Montoya by reaching the kinder Harvey Dent persona. Unfortunately, he fell in love with her. His mental instability led him to believe that the only way to have her was by taking everything else away from her so he began targeting other officers before specifically targeting Sgt. Bullock then had her framed for murder. He eventually kidnapped her but she was saved by Bullock & Batman.
* Shortly after The Cataclysm ended, Red X started a war against Black Mask. He eventually had the crimelord where he wanted but before he could take the shot, Batman intervened.
* Brant al Ghul played a large role in the planning of The Cataclysm.

## Notes

* The Cataclysm is a composite of *No Man's Land* from the comics & the *Cataclysm* from the television show, *Gotham*.