Issue 1000 has come and gone, and now a new threat rises to challenge the Dark Knight. Who is this mysterious new threat? None other than the Arkham Knight. However, this is not the Arkham Knight we know from the video game. Whoever is under the helmet sees themselves as Gotham’s true savior. A means of defeating the real villain in Gotham City: Batman. It’s a new era in Detective Comics, and the Arkham Knight plans on bringing a new era to Gotham City.
(Spoilers Incoming)
Somewhere, buried deep in secret, a new group is rising and preparing to make their move. According to their leader, they represent a ray of hope for Gotham, and their symbol will be the light that guides them. This leader is the Arkham Knight, and as he tells his followers, “You are now Knights of the Sun. burn bright…The eclipse is upon us.” Elsewhere, Jim Gordon is met by an officer asking what they should do. Gordon tells the officer to bag each one of them before making a call to Batman. What Gordon is looking at is a playground filled with dead bats. As Jim speaks to Batman, it is revealed that all the bats inside the Batcave have died as well. Batman begins dissecting the bats to determine the cause of death, but even after fifty-six dissections, there is still no clue as to why this happened. As he leaves to seek help, the scene switches back to the Arkham Knight. We never see his face, but he is in the process of welding something together when he tells his followers that, “The first device is done. Time to shake Gotham from its slumber. Secure the device’s location because…here comes the sun.”
On the other side of the city, Batman reaches the one person who knows enough about bats to help him: Francine Langstrom. Since her husband is working with Justice League Dark, she is the only one Batman can turn to. She is also curious about what caused so many different types of bats to suddenly die across the city. Unfortunately, instead of doing lab work to determine a cause, she feels she needs to understand them, so she injects herself with the Man-Bat formula. She crashes through the lab window, and Batman immediately jumps on her back to try to mitigate the damage she does. As she flies through buildings, Batman notices that she’s flying towards a specific point, as if she’s locked on to something. They end up crashing into the bat exhibit at the zoo. Francine immediately begins crying out in pain, as she can feel the bats around the city dying. Luckily, before any serious damage can be done, Batman uses the antidote on her, reverting her back to human. Batman carries her out but is forced to immediately refocus. A massive flash of light overtakes the city. As Alfred checks for a blast site and damage, he tells Batman that there is no damage because there was no explosion. The flash of light was just that. “…an intense powerful light was ignited and at this moment it seems to be self-generating in the lower atmosphere after a concussive wave.” Batman replies, “Someone just created a small sun over Gotham.”
As he leaves Francine for an ambulance to pick up, he attempts to grapple away, but his line is cut, an almost impossible feat. Before he knows it, he is being surrounded by these Knights of the Sun. Unfortunately, Batman’s equipment is doing no damage to their armor, but their weapons are tearing through the armor layers of the Batsuit. As Batman attempts to get away, we see the broken pieces of arrows poking out of his armor and his body. He puts a little bit of distance between himself and his attackers and throws a smoke pellet. However, the smoke pellet is blocked by a shield and hit back at Batman. By the time the smoke clears, Batman is on the ground. “A new day dawns in Gotham, Batman. It’s time for the shadows to start running from themselves.” There stands the Arkham Knight with a sword and shield, and his boot on the back of Batman’s head.
The Arkham Knight has arrived, and with his arrival, he’s made a huge statement. He’s killed almost all the bats in Gotham, literally created a sun to block out the darkness, and put Batman on the ground. This may not be the same guy from the video game, but he’s definitely just as effective. He took away the one thing Batman has always been able to rely on: the shadows. Whoever this new Arkham Knight is, he immediately asserted himself as a massive threat. Not only did he put the Dark Knight on the ground, but his army knows how to tear apart the Batsuit. Batman is sorely outmatched and overpowered based on this first encounter. But who is the Arkham Knight? He seems driven by true belief that he’s the hero Gotham needs, and Batman is the problem. In ways, he reminds me of the second Azrael, Michael Lane. Could the Knights of the Sun be an offshoot of the Order of St. Dumas? Or is this something else entirely? Regardless, Detective Comics is in a new era now. The era of the Arkham Knight.