"The Deadliest Shadow"
"My name is Bruce Wayne, and I am The Batman". A short montage of Batman and Robin defending the city of Gotham is shown, "After one ward grew apart from me, and another died on my watch, I found myself allied by another brave young man". They bust up a gang fight, "I don't fear this ally will leave on bad terms, because he's smart enough to know how to act alone". One criminal runs off, "Not much scares me these days, but once and while a new player is thrown into the mix and changes things". The new Batgirl lands before the criminal and attacks him, "change can be scary". Batman holds Batgirl's arm back before she does anymore damage. "Her name is Cassandra, she's a mute martial artist Barbara found on the streets. For a complete stranger, I trust her. Maybe it's because she trusts me. I know I can help her, but first, I have to help my city".
Bruce Wayne attends a meeting at City Hall with the rest of The Gotham Restoration Comity, a group of socialites who want to help rebuild Gotham City after the events of "Justice League: Godfall". Among them, there is Mayor Adam West (yes, that Adam West), Kathy Kane, Rupert Thorne, Lincoln March, Jim Gordon and Sandra Wu-San. The problem the comity faces is that the crime and riot outbreaks in Gotham have the GCPD working around the clock, further more The U.S. government has deemed Gotham a "No Man's Land" and have refused to help fund repairs. This is partly due to the government blaming the destruction on The League, but also because Gotham's regular crime rate has made the city a notorious waste of populous. These men and women disagree and talk about repairs, with Kane and Wu-San proposing that inmates at Blackgate Prison should be obligated to help in repairs to decrease their sentence. Bruce agrees, but puts his foot down when they suggest the same for Arkham Asylum inmates. After the meeting, Bruce and Kathy Kane talk and we-the viewers-discover they have had relations for quite some time know, behind the scenes. Kathy wants to continue this relationship, but won't budge on her ideals that even maniacs can aid the city.
In the Batcave, Tim and Cassandra are training in martial arts, with Tim being defeated in each sparring match. Oracle watches on, but Tim gets a phone call from his father Jack Drake, Jack asks Tim to join him and Tim's mother at Kathy Kale's upcoming charity dinner. Kathy is at her mansion going through mail when she finds a death threat, which she tosses on a stack of other death threats. Her sister Kaitlin is present and commenting on how many people really don't like Kate's "criminals are people too" opinions. The latest threat seems to be planned on the day of the dinner, but Kathy refuses to cancel.
From outside, Batman watches in the Batmobile. He gets word from Robin, who has been sneaking around Sandra Wu-San's estate looking for answers on this mysterious benefactor. The call is interrupted by a familiar voice.
Batman shows up at the estate to find Robin tied to a pillar, he is then ambushed by Bane. Batman refers to Bane as an old enemy, one he never caught. Before Bane can attack again, he is stopped by his superior, Sandra Wu-San. Wu-San rips off her old woman disguise and is actually Lady Shiva of The League of Assassins, another old enemy. Bane beats Batman in hand-to-hand combat and the villains disappear from the building. On the drive home, Batman explains to Robin-and Batgirl and Oracle over the mic-that Lady Shiva is a member of an assassination group he trained with during his travels. If Lady Shiva wants the legal release of Arkham inmates, she'll try to gain favoritism at Kathy's dinner.
Bruce, Tim and Cass try to train around the clock for the eventual fight at the dinner, but Tim keeps getting distracted by his parent's calls and Cass seems to tense up at the mention of Lady Shiva. The night of Kathy's dinner banquet, Bruce and his assistant Tim attend with Tim's "shy date" Cass tagging along. Bruce tries to find Sandra, but she is nowhere to be seen. He does find Kathy though and becomes distracted when she lures him into the study. Bruce is trying to convince Kathy that she's in danger, but she assures her sister hired the best of guards, why-as a matter of fact-these guards are employees of Sandra Wu-San. Upon that, Bane bursts into the study and tries to capture Kathy while downstairs Lady Shiva orders her disguised guards to kidnap the wealthiest guests. Tim and Cass sneak away to change while The Drake's run for the exit. As Tim changes he hears Shiva say if anyone leaves, their outside help will stop them, he then spots his parents running out. Robin and Batgirl hurry through the crowd and into the alleyway out back just in time to find Tim's parents both assassinated by a sniper. Robin pinpoints where the bullets were shot and orders Batgirl to follow the gunman, she does while Robin calls for help.
Bruce fights Bane, but he isn't strong enough. Kate Kane enters the room and threatens Bane with a shotgun, but Bane uses some kind of drug to maximize his strength. He bends the gun's barrel and kicks Kate into a bookcase. Bane takes Kathy and Kate and heads up towards the roof. Batgirl fights the masked sniper, but when she has the chance to finish him he removes his mask and reveals himself to be David, Cass' father. Bruce gets to the roof just as Bane, Lady Shiva, Kate, and Kathy board a helicopter. Bruce uses an emergency grappling gun to hook onto the helicopter and flies up with it. Shiva remarks that they only need one Kane, and Bane tosses Kate Kane out of the copter. Bruce lets go and free falls to catch Kate. Batgirl is unable to fight her father and he knocks her to the floor and runs away. Bruce uses his grappling gun to swing onto a lower roof, dislocating his arm in the process. Bruce and Kate roll to ground, with Kate gasping and in tears. Robin watches as the medics take away his murdered parents. Batgirl holds her head in her hands on the roof her father vanished from.
In the Batcave, Bruce is being tended to by Alfred while he vigorously searches for Kathy via tracking device. Robin stomps in demanding the identity of the shooter, he becomes angrier when he finds out Batgirl won't tell him and she let him get away. Bruce gets in contact with Oracle who fills them in on who Cassandra really is. Cassandra is the daughter of Lady Shiva and David Cain, after she was conceived David left the Assassins for many years until she turned ten. Cass trained with her mother and took part on assassination missions with her father, but after killing the father of two children she fought back and got her vocal cords sliced. She escaped her parents and the Assassins to flee to
Gotham, hearing tales of it's protector Batman, however her communication with Oracle was sign-based as Cass lost the ability to speak. Bruce understands why Oracle kept this a secret, but Robin is emotionally tortured. He confronts Cass, but is unable to strike her. Cass-unaware of how to react-hugs Tim, but is pushed away. Alfred pops Bruce's arm back into its socket and Bruce tells Oracle to call her "birds" to watch Gotham. Batman is needed elsewhere. Batman quickly visits Kate Kale in the hospital and promises to bring her sister back.
Bruce, Tim and Cass travel to Tebet, making their way up a dangerous mountain, ignoring personal gripes to help each other up the terrain. As they travel, we are treated to a flashback of a younger Bruce Wayne trudging up the snow and finding an ancient temple. This temple was once filled with monks and weary travelers, in the flashback we see a man with elastic limbs and an ghostlike man among the monks. Master Shao-Zu agreed to help Bruce when he saw his despair, and left Bruce and another recent visitor named Ben Turner to train with Master Richard Dragon. Ben and Bruce became fast friends and rivals while training. In the present, we see the temple is empty and that Cass has found one last monk. This monk is old and unable to speak, but Bruce remembers him. Another flashback shows us the day Bruce and Ben graduated under Richard's year of teachings. This is interrupted by Ra's al Ghul. Ra's was an "immortal" who ran his own legion of assassins and used their skills to "persuade" the buildings and destructions of certain societies. His assassins killed all the monks and tossed Shao-Zu over the mountain. Ra's minions-Talia al Ghul, David Cain, and Elder Snake-destroyed the temple and offered Bruce, Ben, and Richard a place among them. Bruce refused, but was knocked out by Ben.
This old monk is Shao-Zu, who survived the attack and decided to live out the rest of his life in silent remembrance. Shao-Zu does however, speak the location of Ra's temple. Kathy wakes up in The League of Assassins lair, tied up by David Cain. Kathy recognizes him, but can't place it. In walks Talia al Ghul, the leader of The League of Assassins. Lady Shiva and Bane follow her in. Talia explains to Kathy that Gotham has become a lost cause and by convincing the desperate men running the city that the insane can help rebuild, the city will be further tossed into turmoil. Gotham will eat itself whole and leave the base for a new city, a city Talia plans on running. If Kathy's death doesn't pressure the comity into going through with the plans-Shiva unveils the billionaire hostages-they will use the other billionaires as leverage.
Bruce, Tim and Cass lay on the cliffside surrounding the mountain in the middle of a large lake, the League of Assassin's base sits on this mountain. The trio suit up and prepare to swim towards the base, Batman taking a minute to establish nobody kills. No matter how badly they want to. Another flashback establishes Bruce's time in The League of Assassins. He was trained in combat by Elder Snake, but was continuously tortured for refusing to kill his sparing partners. Bruce watched in horror as Ben Turner killed Richard Dragon in combat, taking his mantle as "Master". Ra's became pleased with Ben, giving him the title "Bronze Tiger". Ra's sends Bruce to sleep in the dungeon, but he was visited by Ra's daughter Talia al Ghul. In the present, Bane sits outside Kathy's cell, carving a plank of wood into a bear. Kathy is confused as to why Bane is involved, why another costumed criminal with a drug-gimmick would take such a turn of career. Bane claims after Batman defeated him, he escaped to be taken by Talia. Though he never knew him, Bane's father was Elder Snake of The Assassins, this influenced Talia into recruited Bane and helping him overcome his addiction to the drug Venom. The trio break into the cell room and fight Bane seemingly overwhelming him, but a gas fills the room. The trio have mouth guards, and Batman opens the cell and gives Kathy a mouth guard. The four attempt to escape, but they are outnumbered by assassins. Batman and Batgirl fight the assassins while Robin tries to get Kathy out. Batman and Batgirl's fight is stopped by The Bronze Tiger, one of the assassin elites. Batman fights one-on-one with Tiger, but is defeated.
Robin gets to the roof with Kathy, but David Cain meets them up there. David remarks how Kathy was always and dad's favorite and we learn David Cain is actually David Kane, the thought-dead brother of Kathy and Kate. Robin goes to fight David-to avenge his parents-but David shoots past Robin and puts a bullet through Kathy's shoulder. Distracted, Robin is beaten by David. We see in a flashback that young Bruce slept with Talia while being held prisoner. When Ra's learned Talia would rather be with Bruce than Ben, he made the two men spar for her affections. Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Kathy wake up tied in chains over a vat of strange water. Talia calls this water "The Lazarus Drain", a scientifically altered pool of Lazarus Pit water that will drain the life force from the four of them. Bane, Lady Shiva, and Bronze Tiger stand present. Talia claims her second motive for luring Batman to this base was so that Batman could bare witness to her father's resurrection. The four of them are dipped into the pool and their energies are drained into a coffin above the pool. Ra's al Ghul rises from the coffin, slowly being rejuvenated. Lady Shiva shuts the pool off and Ra's slowly dies once again. Bronze Tiger holds Shiva down, but Shiva tosses a dagger at the chain lever, releasing the four of them. Bane disappears, Bronze Tiger chases the trio, and Batgirl looks back as assassins overwhelm Shiva.
As they run onto the courtyard, Bronze Tiger blocks the exit and challenges Batman. Batman orders Batgirl and Robin to get Kathy and the billionaire hostages to the JL Javelin aircraft, which he summoned on the run over. Batman tosses his utility belt off and fights Tiger. This time, the fight scene is spliced with the flashback of Bruce and Ben fighting. During the past fight, Bruce used his surroundings to defeat Ben and set fire to the temple. This time, Batman defeats Tiger purely with his own strength. Tiger remarks how he is glad Bruce hasn't resulted to cheating like all those years ago. Batman smirks as planted explosives blow up the base of the mountain. As they board the jet, Kathy is shot through the neck by David. Robin is then shot in the stomach as Batgirl uses a batarang to disarm her father. Batgirl fights David, but is still unable to finish him off. Lady Shiva appears and stabs David before he can kill Cass. Shiva claims she did what she did to protect Cass, to help get her away from this kind of life. However, she had failed as Cass went from living one hell to another. Shiva runs back as Batgirl tries to help Robin and Kathy.
The temple is falling apart and the assassins carry Ra's coffin to a helicopter. Bronze Tiger tries to escape, but Talia pushes him into the water below for his failure. As Talia prepares to escape, she meets eyes with Batman. A flashback shows the day Bruce burnt down Ra's old temple, he met eyes with Talia then as he fought Ra's al Ghul. Bruce used a sword to kill Ra's and he escaped into the hills below. In the present, Talia brings this murder up and Batman claims from the day forth he swore never to take another life. Batman then dives into the water below to save Bronze Tiger. He is helped by Lady Shiva. Once on shore, Batman takes Shiva and Tiger into the aircraft and they fly off as the temple explodes.
Batman, Batgirl, Robin and Kate Kane stand outside the hospital room. Batman tells Kate that Shiva and Tiger will be put in maximum security prison and questioned on the League of Assassins whereabouts. The doctor tells them that the damage was too severe, Kathy Kane has died. Batman tries to apologize to Kate, but she won't listen. Instead she gives the Kane fortune to her only good relative, Cassandra Cain/Kane. Kate says she needs to disappear, to find a life she can live for Kathy's sake. She says that she will survive because she has her family in Cass and Cass has her family in The Batman Family. A few days later, Batman's monologue tells the viewers that Tim has been legally adopted by Bruce Wayne, and while he is distraught over his parent's death he is on good terms with Cass. With Cass's new fortune donated towards the rebuilding on Gotham, the process should speed up considerably. Kathy Kane's death inspired many Gotham citizens to donate time and money to the repairs as well. While visiting Kathy Kane's grave, Batman is approached by Bane. They fight once more and Bane defeats Batman and breaks his back over his knee. Batman is left in excruciating pain as Bane claims, "Now Dark Knight, I have beaten you" he then removes Batman's cowl and says, "Let this dishonor be an eternal reminder to you that Bane is the strongest there is". Bane leaves as Batman calls for backup. Batman yells that this isn't over, that he will find Bane and when he does...he will break him.
The after-credits scene shows Ra's al Ghul fully healed in his garden. Talia brings a visitor named Vandal Savage, who complements Ra's on the new location. Ra's thanks his "very old friend" for providing The League of Assassins with technology in his absence and offers him a reward. Vandal wants one thing from Ra's: the loyalty of Bane. Ra's orders Talia to begin the search for Bane and asks what Vandal has planned. Vandal claims not only will he destroy Batman, but he'll destroy the Earth's greatest heroes too.
Thanks for reading!
The solo-flying adventures of Tim Drake are up next with "Robin: The Boy Wonder".
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