- Created By mayjayann
i am the night
On the anniversary of the death of Bruce's parents, Batman sadly sits in the Batcave. Alfred asks if he's okay, and Batman claims that he's tired. Alfred points out that Batman hasn't eaten or slept for a while but Batman says the problem isn't his body, but his spirit. He checks the newspaper and discovers that Penguin's conviction was overturned due to a technicality. Seeing this only makes Batman wonder if he's really doing any good. Alfred assures him that he is, but Batman claims that in spite of what he's done, the war against crime continues. Alfred gives Batman a package and sadly watches as his boss leaves.
Meanwhile, a young boy asks a couple people for some bus fare which he receives. Taking the money, he happily walks away claiming, "It works every time." As he walks along he sees a child wearing a Batman costume and scoffs at it. To this boy, Batman is a joke.
Out in Crime Alley, Leslie Thompkins accompanies Batman to place roses on the spot where his parents were gunned down. Batman tells her that he keeps wondering if it should be the last time. Leslie tries to assure him he's doing the right thing but Batman still argues against it. Meanwhile, the boy, Wizard, is assaulted by a couple thugs that demand payment for allowing him to work the corner. Wizard claims that he doesn't have the money so the thugs prepare to kill him. Batman stops them with ease but Wizard is ungrateful and one of the thugs falls on the roses left in memory of Bruce's parents. Angered, Batman takes Jimmy and hands her over to Leslie to take him into the Mitchell Street Mission. Unfortunately, the fight makes Batman late for a police raid that turned out to be a setup and in the battle that takes place Gordon is severely wounded by mob-boss/gunman Jimmy "The Jazzman" Peake. Although Batman apprehends him, the damage has been done: Gordon's life hangs by a thread.
Gordon is taken to the hospital and Batman visits him feeling guilty over his failure to make it to the crime scene first. Barbara Gordon doesn't blame Batman for her father's condition, but Harvey Bullock does. Sadly, Batman decides that Bullock's words are the ones he should listen to.
Returning to the Batcave, Batman destroys his forensics equipment and screams in despair.
While Batman is wallowing in his self-pity, Jazzman is sentenced to Stonegate Penitentiary till his case can go to trial. Jazzman is not at all happy about this and knows that there's more than enough evidence against him to convict. A flunky of his tells him that there's a way out of prison and Gotham but Jazzman doesn't want out of Gotham until he takes his revenge on Commissioner Gordon: the man who caught him once before.
Worried about Bruce, who has been moping around for three days, Alfred calls Dick Grayson to try and comfort him. Dick tries to talk to Batman, but his despair is too great. Batman wonders about whom else he'll fail and when he'll die. As far as Batman's concerned, if he dies, there is no regret, but if someone else dies as a result of his failure to protect them, it's unforgivable. What's worse is that he's become little more than a marketing item for the tourist trade. Caught up in his despair, Batman decides that it may be time to quit.
Things take a turn for the worse when the Jazzman escapes from Stonegate through the sewers and heads for the hospital to finish Gordon. Learning that Jazzman has escaped, Dick goes to see Barbara and her father. Barbara is worried but Dick insists that only Batman can save Gordon. However, when he tells Bruce about it, Bruce refuses to even respond. Dick, fed up of his pleas falling on deaf ears, suits up as Robin to hunt the Jazzman down, but Batman comes to his senses at the last minute after realizing just how much danger his friend is in, and stops Robin, preferring to go after the Jazzman himself. The Jazzman arrives at the hospital (with a gun), and knocks a window cleaner out to steal his platform. He raises it until he is level with the window of Gordon's room, and prepares to finish the sleeping commissioner off with another gunshot. Fortunately, Batman arrives just in time and a violent fight ensues. Batman throws the Jazzman through the window and into the hospital room, where he pushes Barbara and the security guard aside and raises his gun once more. Barbara shields her father with her own body, but Batman throws a batarang directly into the gun just as the Jazzman fires, causing the bullet to backfire and destroy the gun, injuring the Jazzman's hand. Just before Batman and the Jazzman can resume their fight, Bullock bursts in with more guards, and the Jazzman is re-captured just as Gordon wakes up, much to Batman, Barbara and Bullock's relief.
Gordon tells Batman that they have to keep fighting and cannot give up. He tells Batman that he wanted to be like him, a hero. Batman tells him that he is a hero and leaves with a renewed spirit.
On his way home, Batman bumps into Wizard again, only to learn that the crook has reformed and is now heading back home, mostly because of what Batman did for him, and thanks the Dark Knight warmly.
bane
After being crossed for the umpteenth time by Batman, Rupert Thorne decides to hire the chemically-powered superhuman Bane to assassinate the Dark Knight once and for all. Upon arriving in Gotham, Bane strikes up a friendship with Throne's "secretary" Candace, and meets with Thorne, who pays him a suitcase full of diamonds. Rather than rushing in, Bane, curious to know how Batman fights, he tells Thorne that he will get to Batman by using the recently escaped Killer Croc. Later that night Killer Croc and his gang attempt to rob a warehouse. Batman and Robin arrive to stop him. They deal with Croc's thugs, but Croc escapes down the sewer. Croc waits to jump Batman in the sewer, Bane confronts Croc in the sewer, and brutally beats him, knocking him out and Bane is nowhere to be found. Batman drags Croc out of the sewer and is shocked to see the Batmobile destroyed. From the wreckage, Batman can see that it was done with someone's bare hands. Sometime later, Batman visits Croc in the infirmary. After some encouragement Croc tells Batman what he knows about the man who attacked him saying that he had a South American accent; he had tubes wired into his head which pumped him up twice as big. Later in the Batcave Batman researches Croc's attacker and determines that it was Bane. Bane was created in a south american prison as part of a secret program called Project Gilgamesh. Project Gilgamesh was intended to create super-soldiers out of hardened prisoners. The Project was canceled after Bane, its 7 test subject, escaped. Since his escape Bane has been working as a high priced assassin. Batman figures out that Rupert Thorne is the man behind Bane's presence in Gotham City since he wants to kill Batman and can afford Bane's hefty fee. Meanwhile at one of Thorne's buildings Bane brags to Candice about how he is ready for Batman. He tells her that he will let her take the mask off of Batman when he is done with him. Candice tells him that if he can take out Batman the two of them can take over the entire city. She offers him a kiss.
Thorne shows up as Candice is about to leave. Robin watches the two of them from a neighboring building. He has been tape recording Bane. On the street Candice's car pulls away with the Batmobile following her from behind. As Robin watches, he is attacked by Bane. Bane grabs him and after a short fight knocks Robin unconscious. Bane walks off with Robin's unconscious body. Batman follows Candace to her apartment and starts questioning her about Bane. Candace says him that Bane is fascinated by him, knows everything about him, and Bane's biggest dream is to defeat him. Just as Candace mocks Batman for not realizing that Bane is spying on him too, Batman receives a call from Bane himself, saying that he has kidnapped Robin - for proof, leaving his costume shirt on a nearby satellite dish for Batman to see - and ordering Batman to the wharves. As Batman flies, Candace leaves for the same destination. On the ship The Rose's Thorn, Candice arrives and tries to rip off Robin's mask. Bane doesn't let her. He tells her to wait. Robin is hung by his arms and his feet are tied to a weight. Bane pulls a lever and water starts coming up under Robin's feet. Batman arrives and is greeted by Bane who immediately injects venom into himself. He attacks Batman and the two fight. Using a grappling gun, Batman knocks Bane into the water. He goes to rescue Robin who is almost under water. Batman unhooks the weights on Robin's legs and frees him. As the two are climbing up Bane returns. He grabs Batman and tosses Robin back into the water. As Bane and Batman fight, Candice jumps into the water and attacks Robin. Robin gets the best of Candice, but Batman has trouble with Bane. Bane holds Batman over his head to break his back on his knee. However, Batman jams a Batarang into the venom control on Bane's wrist, and the venom starts pumping into Bane's body non-stop, literally inflating him. Just as Bane seems to be on the point of exploding, Batman pulls the venom tube out of Bane's head, and Bane deflates, exhausted and without his strength. As Batman finishes, Meanwhile, Robin wins the fight against Candace, Candice makes it out of the pool and runs off. Batman tells Robin to let her go. Later at Thorne's office, Batman holds a barely conscious Bane and taunts Thorne that he has taken care of Bane. He takes the mask off of Bane and offers it to Candice. & tells Thorne for not giving him a better challenge. Batman also plays a recording of Candace's conversation with Bane, discussing their plans to murder Thorne next. Satisfied, Batman leaves the office, as Thorne turns angrily on his treacherous secretary. 
House & Garden
A giant creature climbs his way up a building and enters an apartment through the window. It seems to know the territory well as it moves towards an abstract painting, tearing it away. A safe is revealed and the strange being wastes no time disposing of the door and gathering its contents. The creature is interrupted by the owner, but is quick to knock him out-cold and continue its way. The man loses consciousness while the creature's shadow recedes, exiting the apartment. At the Police Department, Commissioner Gordon and a police scientist analyze a strange green substance that turns out to be a poison. The same poison was used four different times during the past month. The scientist admits to not identifying it and manifests his worry that he might not be able to keep the victims of the poison alive for much longer. The doctor's statement determines Batman to reveal himself from behind the shadows. He proceeds in pointing out his suspicion of Poison Ivy in the matter, but the Commissioner insists that she is not a valid suspect and admits his belief that Poison Ivy has turned a new leaf. He reveals that she had been released from Arkham Asylum after apparently completing her therapy successfully. She also had married her psychiatrist, Steven Carlyle, becoming the step-mother of his two children, Chris and Kelly.
The next day, Batman and Commissioner Gordon pay a visit at the Carlyle residence and express their suspicion regarding the mysterious robberies and poisoning attacks. Ivy sustains her innocence and the veracity of her redemption, explaining her attachment to her new family and to her new life. She mentions her inability to have children of her own as a result of her hyper-immune system. She insists on convincing the men that she is happy with her husband and children accepting her for who she is, that she would never commit crimes after finding their affection, claiming that Poison Ivy "is dead".
At Gotham University's dorms, Dick Grayson is flirting with a girl named Cindy. He is interrupted by a call from Batman, requesting him to find information on Steven Carlyle. The girl leaves and Dick is left alone in the room. He notices a shadow near the door and moves towards it, hoping it would be Cindy, but instead he is greeted by the strange creature of the previous days. It smashes through the door, knocking off a nearby lamp. Unable to see his attacker, Dick receives a direct blow. Police investigate the crime scene; some searching for clues, others comforting Cindy, apparently the only witness. Bruce and Commissioner Gordon are also there questioning Cindy. The Commissioner tells Bruce about his theory that Dick had been kidnapped in order to blackmail him. Bruce considers and decides to leave the crime scene. He gets in his car and leaves the area. While driving, he is ambushed from behind by the strange clawed creature. Struggling to keep the car on the road, Bruce asks the creature what it is after. It demands 55 million dollars be sent to him at the docks, at midnight, in exchange for Dick's life. Bruce returns to his manor, prepares the money and decides to check on Poison Ivy. He follows her throughout the day, but does not find any incriminating evidence. Bruce shows up at the docks with the suitcase containing the 5 million dollar ransom and waits for a sign from the kidnapper. Shortly after, his name is called out by a voice hidden behind a row of crates. The creature demands for the suitcase, but Bruce remains unfazed and requests to see his ward. The creature extends his arm and shows a tied-up and blindfolded Dick struggling to release himself, then hides again, its voice growing angrier while asking again for the money. Bruce kicks the suitcase towards the crates and asks that the boy be sent out. Instead, the creature attacks him head on and we finally see its body — a giant green monster. Bruce only dodges the creature's blows, but in the end falls over, into the water. The monster turns and grabs a hold of Dick, preparing to throw him into the water as well. Before he can proceed, Batman rises from the water and cuts the monster's claws with his Batarang. The creature panics and Batman takes that opportunity to strike him frontally. The monster manages to escape by throwing Batman into a row of crates and running away, abandoning the docks. Afterwards, Batman and Robin check notes in the Batmobile. Bruce tells Robin that Ivy is no longer his suspect because "all she wants is to be left alone with her husband and sons". Robin shows his surprise when hearing about Steven Carlyle's 'sons' and tells Batman that in truth, Carlyle doesn't have custody of his kids and that Chris and Kelly are in fact girls. And with that, Batman and Robin return to investigate the Carlyle house. Robin checks the house and notices everyone is inside, asleep, except Ivy. Batman takes note and tinkers with the garden's pipelines before perusing it. The two look around and discover a hidden laboratory. After closer inspection, they find Dr. Carlyle in a testing tub. Shortly after freeing him, Batman notices a pack of plants moving. Closing in on them he is shocked to see babies emerging from the thicket. Caught off guard, Batman, Robin and Dr. Carlyle are captured by Poison Ivy's vines. While Ivy confesses her real intentions and explains her experiments, she feeds the babies a growth formula, turning them into monsters and demanding that they kill the three men.
Meanwhile, Batman manages to cut himself and Robin free and fight the creatures. Batman stuns them by plucking nearby cables and electrocuting them. They then take Carlyle and try to run away only to find more mutants waiting for them. Although outnumbered, the Dynamic Duo manages to come through it all. Slowly, Batman draws them into his trap. When the creatures were in appropriate position, he turned on the herbicide and finished off his attackers.
Seeing her plan fail, Ivy shows herself and questions Batman about where her plan had flawed. Batman answers while closing in on her; Ivy maintains her position and reveals her escape plan before collapsing and decaying. She was only an artificial copy, just like her experiments. The police arrive soon after to wrap up the case and use the laboratory's contents to form an antidote for Ivy's poison.
Soon afterwards, the real Poison Ivy flies away from Gotham. Inside the plane, she skims through her photo album, fixating her gaze over her wedding photo, shedding tears upon it.
Eternal Youth
In the dead of night, a woman runs, panting with fear, through a remote forest, being pursued by a mysterious figure in a jumpsuit. When the woman stops, out of breath, the figure catches up and starts threatening her. The woman calls the figure "evil," and the figure shoots back, "Evil, Mrs. Thomas? I don't control a company that leveled a thousand year-old-forest for a strip mine!" Then the figure sprays Mrs. Thomas with some kind of chemical. There is a creaking sound, and Mrs. Thomas becomes completely petrified.
The next day, at Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne has an angry phone conversation with a Wayne Enterprises director who made an unauthorized deal with a slash-and-burn operation in the Amazon Rain Forest. ("Shut it down, or you're gone!')
Alfred answers the door to his sometime-girlfriend, artist Maggie Page, whose morning jog has taken her past the Manor. Though pleased to see her, he is a little embarrassed by her open flirting in front of Bruce. While sorting through the mail, Alfred finds a promotional DVD from something called the "Eternal Youth Spa." On it, two pretty young women, Lily and Violet extend Bruce a personalized invitation to a free weekend at the spa. Bruce says he's too busy, but suggests that Alfred and Maggie go in his stead. Alfred stiffly declines, but Maggie is delighted and drags Alfred along with her. ("I've been Shanghaied" he grumbles).
When they arrive at the spa and announce they are there to take Bruce's place, Lily and Violet confer with their boss, hidden in the shadows. The boss tells the girls to let them in – someone has to pay for Wayne's crimes.
The new guests at the spa are treated to a welcome lecture from the spa's founder, Dr. Daphne Demeter. She has invented a new compound, "Demetrite," which has been imbued into the spa's food, drink, water, and air, and has miraculous restorative properties. Alfred does not hide his skepticism, but is pleasantly surprised by the tastiness of the water and fruit samples they are offered.
Bruce is informed that several prominent industrialists, including Mrs. Thomas, have disappeared mysteriously. In her apartment, Batman finds another promotional DVD for the spa. He calls Alfred at the spa, who duly inquires about Mrs. Thomas and is told she left unexpectedly a few weeks earlier. Alfred adds that he is having a wonderful time, and will return to the Manor a new man.
Indeed, when Maggie drops Alfred off after their weekend, he bids her a fond goodbye, complete with a kiss on the cheek. Later that day, Batman pulls the Batmobile into the Batcave and is taken aback to see Alfred decorating the cave with potted plants. Now a firm believer in Demetrite, Alfred takes a dose in a glass of water, and suggests that Bruce do the same. However, he suddenly sways, feeling faint, and Bruce has to help him upstairs into bed. Suspicious, he takes a sample of the Demetrite for analysis.
The next morning, Alfred rises from his bed, takes in the morning sunshine, and instantly feels better. He sees Maggie outside his window, and they agree that they are sharing the same thought – they want to return to the spa. They do so, telling Dr. Demeter about what a difference she has made to them. With a sinister smile, Demeter motions Lily and Violet forward, who spray Alfred and Maggie with chemicals, petrifying them.
In the cave, Batman tests the demitrite by mixing it with the plasma found in the human bloodstream. It causes a violent chemical reaction, and an immense vine immediately grows out of the test tube. Batman runs upstairs and finds Alfred gone, and takes off for the spa.
Entering the spa's cathedral-size greenhouse at night, Batman is surprised and taken prisoner by Violet and Lily. Then "Demeter" reveals herself as Poison Ivy. The Demetrite, she reveals, is a special growth enzyme extracted from a rare South American tree she has cultivated. With it, she has produced her "collection" – her victims, all of whom own companies that have committed some environmental crime, and all of whom have now been transformed into humanoid trees. After several more sprayings, the transformations will be permanent. She claims to be after Bruce Wayne for his part in the slash-and-burn operation (not knowing it was actually one of Bruce's directors), but for now is content with his friends. She shows him Alfred and Maggie among the trees, enraging him.
Ivy says that she and Batman should be on the same side – they both punish evildoers. Batman tells her what he thinks of that, and she orders Violet and Lily to spray him with a triple-strength mixture that should transform him almost instantly. But it doesn't work, and Batman advances, explaining that he analyzed the Demetrite and coated his suit with a tailor-made herbicide. Violet and Lily back away, still spraying, but Batman subdues both of them. Ivy somersaults through the branches, firing her crossbow at Batman. One of her arrows misses and shatters a flask in her laboratory, spilling the enzyme onto the earth floor of the greenhouse. Instantly, an enormous tree grows out of the ground at an accelerated rate, scooping up Ivy and her henchwomen in its expanding branches and ramming a hole in the greenhouse ceiling.
Ivy's victims are treated, and Alfred and Maggie share some rest time at the hospital. Bruce enters with a flowerpot to brighten their room, and both Alfred and Maggie recoil.
baby-doll
Brian Daly, one of the stars of the play "Death of a Salesman," exits a theater with two co-stars after a performance. But Daly is distracted by the sound of a girl’s soft sobbing. Curious, Daly follows the sound and finds a blonde little girl leaning against the wall and crying. Daly kneels and asks if she is lost. The girl, shielding her face with her hands, claims that her brother has left her by herself. Daly offers her a handkerchief. The girl takes it and thanks Daly, finally revealing her face to him. A shocked expression crosses his face, but before he can react, he is knocked out-cold by a silhouette from behind. The girl tip-toes around him, apologizing for "playing rough."
The next day, Batman and Robin are browsing through photos of missing actors from a 10-year-old sitcom "Love That Baby." Daly is the latest to disappear. The blond girl, it turns out, is Mary Louise Dahl, the show's child star "Baby-Doll." According to Batman, Dahl suffered from a severe systemic hypolasia, a rare disease that prevented her body from aging. Though now in her mid or late 20's she still has the body of a small child. They are interrupted by a radio call from Detective Bullock, requesting immediate backup in stopping an attack at the same theatre where Brian Daily disappeared from. Batman and Robin arrive, but are unable to stop the attackers from kidnapping another ex-actor from the show, Tammy Vance who is also appearing in "Death of a Salesman". They try to give chase in the Batmobile but Baby throws herself in front of the car, forcing Batman to avoid her. The Batmobile crashes, and the attackers manage to escape.
Robin holds a crying Baby-Doll in his arms while the girl keeps asking for "her mommy." A red-haired woman emerges from the crowd and takes the girl into her arms, seemingly scolding her. Baby replies with her trademark line from the TV show, "I didn’t mean to," and Batman and Robin realize who she is. Baby-Doll throws a smoke (basketball) bomb and disappears in the smoke along with her "mommy."
Robin has reviewed the history of the show, including its end. In an attempt to boost falling ratings, the producers introduced a new character, "Cousin Spunky." Feeling that Spunky was stealing her spotlight, Dahl quit the show, forcing its cancellation, and attempted to launch a career as a serious actress. The attempt failed, since her condition made it impossible for people to take her seriously. She has not been heard from since.
Batman and Robin realize that the actor who played Spunky is the only one still at large, and form a plan to trap Baby.
Spunky, now in his early to late twenties, is forming a band in his garage, when he is kidnapped by Dahl's thugs. He is taken to her hideout, which has been decorated into a mock-up of the show's set. As the actors protest – pointing out that, after all, it was her fault that the show was canceled – she angrily retorts that her life after the show was a failure, so she's "going back" to the way things were before.
She plans to re-enact a birthday party episode, only with dynamite planted in the cake. But at the last second, "Spunky" grabs the dynamite in his mouth and flings it away, saving the party and revealing himself to be Robin in disguise.
Enraged, Baby-Doll points her doll, Mr. Happy-Head (a disguised machinegun), at "Spunky," when Batman makes his entrance, disarming both Baby and her guards. But then Baby's "mommy" who is revealed to be Baby's right hand woman named Miriam attacks Batman and Robin with her impressive martial arts skills, giving Baby the chance to run away. The duo is quick to dispose of the woman and Batman continues to pursue Dahl while Robin frees the actors and guides them to safety.
The pursuit takes the pair into the "Funland" amusement park, where Dahl ends up in the Mirror House. As she lies in wait for Batman, Dahl sees herself in the various trick mirrors. One of them elongates her reflection so as to make her appear a grown-up adult – but this, she realizes, is just as much an illusion as the recreation she was trying to make. Breaking down, she begins shooting mirrors at random, finally ending with her own reflection. Batman appears and takes the doll from her unresisting hand. She cries as she clutches tightly at Batman's leg, he placing an understanding hand on her head at her words: "I didn’t mean to." 
