We continue in the wake of Jack Drake and Chandra Kinsolving being kidnapped.
Batman #499
Written by Doug Moench
Pencils by Jim Aparo
Inks by Scott Hanna
Colors by Adrienne Roy
Lettering by Ken Bruzenack
Edited by Jordan B. Gorfinkel (as “Vaccine Creator”) and Denny O’Neil
Batman II beats the crap out of Tony Bressi to get him to funnel info to him through a dead drop. Robin is aghast, but doesn’t want to blow Jean-Paul’s cover.
In the Batcave, Bruce analyzes a bloodstained piece of mask from a guy he clobbered in the face, and finds elements of Malaria vaccine in the blood.
At Bane’s base, between the news coverage and word on the street, Bane is becoming agitated by the stories of Batman’s return.
Bruce contacts Oracle about the sample, while Robin returns home and collapses exhausted, not realizing his dad isn’t home.
Oracle calls Bruce back, letting him know the goon was from Santa Prisca. She also knows he’s in a wheelchair. It’s not made clear if Bruce knows Oracle is Barbara Gordon or not.
Jean-Paul shows up, and Bruce and his erstwhile successor talk, and it’s clear that Bruce hasn’t heard from Robin about Tim’s concerns. Bruce tells Jean-Paul that he’ll be leaving town for a while. After Bruce leaves, Jean-Paul engages in some automatic writing, and draws a design. He goes to take the design to Harold, but Harold has cleared out. So, Jean-Paul decides to build the design – a pair of gauntlets – himself.
We cut to the next day, where Batman, in the new gauntlets, picks up the note from Bressy. He’s ready to go for Bane, and heads off on his own.
At the Gotham Airport, Selena Kyle tries to hitch a ride on Bruce’s flight to Santa Prisca, seemingly with no success.
At the hand-off, Batman II jumps the gun, and while Robin helps Tony & his kids get out okay, the Caped Crusader’s focus is on Bane’s followers, and he very quickly takes down Bird, Bird’s falcon (injuring their wing in the process), Zombie, and Trogg.
After the fight, when the police shows up, Batman II berates Robin for calling them. However, back at the Batcave, when they talk again, he’s a totally different person.
On Bruce’s plane, Alfred discovers Selena stowed away in a lavatory, and back home, Tim finds Alfred’s note.
The letters column has a few singing the praises of Dr. Kinsolving and hoping she’ll be a recurring character, finding her superior to Silver St. Cloud and Vicki Vale.
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