Batman #448 – “Pawns” – Marv Wolfman, Alan Grant/Jim Aparo/Mike DeCarlo
This is the first chapter of “The Penguin Affair”, which crosses over into Detective before returning here to conclude next issue. The story starts three months ago, with an ugly hunchback being pounded by some punks. Penguin (and his sexy chauffeur, Lark) pick the hunchback up and Penguin says he’ll help him. Apparently, he feels a kinship with the guy since they’re both physically unattractive by the usual standards. In the present, Penguin sends a flock of birds to cause chaos at the Stock Exchange and attack Batman when he shows up. Apparently the hunchback
(Harold, who’s also mute) is pretty smart; he’s invented a way to control the birds, with the Stock Exchange attack just the first test. Penguin is also playing numerous computer chess matches with opponents all over the world. But one opponent (who he’s been playing for years) is driving him crazy because they’re so evenly matched. Penguin also takes time to check out Heartstrings, his favourite soap opera. He’s got the hots for a character named Heron (of course), who seems to be greedy, vain, and homicidal … sounds perfect for Penguin. He and Harold send out another flock of birds and Harold’s 
control is so precise that he gets them to break into a bank, blow open the vault, and rob the place. Penguin decides to have some fun and makes the birds go wild on the highway, causing multiple crashes. Harold is appalled, so Penguin pretends it was an accident and that he lost control of the birds. He tells Lark to give Harold a massage, but she’s disgusted by him so Penguin forces her to obey. Of course, he’s planning to get rid of Harold once he’s no longer useful. Penguin sends another flock to wreck a major power plant, cutting power to much of the city. He also sends a bird (with a ring and a love note) to Sherry West, the actress who plays Heron on TV. Batman figures Penguin is being
so open because he wants people to know he can control birds, probably to sell the technology to other criminals. (We see that Penguin’s frustrating computer chess opponent is none other than Batman himself, although I’m not sure if Batman knows who he’s been playing all these years.) Batman and the cops stake out Sherry West on location, but Penguin’s birds manage to grab her anyway. Batman tries to follow, but Penguin sends some birds to bust into a jewellery store as a diversion.
Detective #615 – “Bird of Ill Omen” – Alan Grant, Marv Wolfman/Norm Breyfogle/Steve Mitchell
This continues from the above story, with Batman chasing the birds away from the store and saving the owner. Back at Penguin’s aerie, he explains to Sherry West how he fell in love with her after seeing all the terrible things she does on TV. Sherry is about to explain that she’s just playing a character on the soap opera, but when she sees Penguin discipline one of his goons, she decides she’d better play along to save her own ass. Penguin sees Batman downtown and sends a flock of birds to attack him. Batman fights his way to the Batmobile, bringing a dead bird for analysis. He heads for the Batcave, followed by Penguin’s birds, but gets distracted
by a jet crash and drives into the water. He heads for the Batcave on foot, pursued relentlessly by the birds. He realizes one of the birds has a miniature camera on it and blasts it with a flare, cutting off Penguin’s view. Batman makes it into the Batcave, but some of the birds go wild and follow him in, even getting up into the mansion. Batman figures the microwaves from the entrance made the birds react and uses a microwave projector in the Batcave to calm them down. Elsewhere, we see a strange figure cloaked in white climb out of a hole in the ground. That’s setting up next issue’s story, but first we have to finish this one …
Batman #449 – “Winged Vengeance” – Marv Wolfman, Alan Grant/Mark Bright/Randy Emberlin
… which happens here. Batman finds the miniature transmitter in the dead bird’s head and figures out how it works. Tim thinks they can trace the signals back to Penguin, but the signals have stopped. Batman tells Alfred to check on increased criminal traffic to Gotham, reasoning that Penguin will try to sell his miracle device soon. Batman knows Penguin will have to demonstrate the device to potential buyers, which will give him
a chance to home in on the signal. Penguin is holding his auction at his favourite chalet, where he butters up Harold to insure he cooperates. But Harold overhears Penguin telling Lark that he’ll be getting rid of Harold as soon as he doesn’t need him. Meanwhile, Penguin is keeping Sherry West tied up so she can’t take off. He admits to her that he knows she’s just acting on TV, but he figures that kind of devious personality must come from within her somewhere … and that’s the part he wants. Alfred’s work pays off and finds numerous terrorists and other criminals coming to Gotham for Penguin’s 
auction. Batman disguises himself as a chauffeur and plants a bug on the helicopter sent to pick one guy up. At the chalet, Harold finds Sherry and although she’s freaked out at first, she quickly realizes he wants to help her. Penguin starts the auction, but naturally the bidders want a demonstration. Since he can’t find Harold, Penguin decides to use the controls himself, even though he’s not very adept at it. He manages to impress the buyers and even downs Batman’s helicopter when he shows up. The birds pursue Batman, but he knows how to disrupt their signals now. Penguin’s transmitter is much bigger than Batman’s , but Harold jumps him to try and shut it off. Penguin
decks Harold ad promises Sherry he’ll kill them both once he’s done with Batman. But Batman rewires the transmitter so Penguin disrupts his own signal, scattering the birds. Batman captures Penguin and rescues Sherry, who tells him Harold ran away. We see Harold is actually hiding in the chalet, but Sherry figures he’s an innocent dupe and deserves a break.
Detective #616 – “Stone Killer” – Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle/Steve Mitchell
This one starts with the white-robed weirdo we saw climbing out of the ground last issue killing a guy in the park. A caduceus symbol is scrawled on a rock with the guy’s blood, but the cops are overworked because of all the mayhem Penguin caused, so Batman starts investigating. While trailing a couple of muggers to their hideout, Batman just misses the killer, who wastes one of the punks in the same ritualistic manner. Batman was close enough to feel a sense of oppression and wonders if it has something to do with a recently- excavated archaeological site. At the site, Batman runs into the archaeologist who dug it up (Harv
Lichas), who tells him the site was probably an ancient burial mound, like the barrow mounds in Europe. Harv has a theory about “Dragon Lines” linking ancient sites like Stonehenge and Carnac, and tells Batman that some people believe there are electrical forces running through the lines. Harv also confirms that the caduceus represents male and female forces intertwining around the Dragon Lines. Harv shows Batman a Dragon Line on a map of Gotham and Batman sees that all the murders so far lie along the Line (as does Wayne Manor and Harv’s own house). After calling to tell Alfred and Tim to get out of 
Wayne Manor, Batman and Harv head to the next site along the Line, the War Veterans’ Hospital. Unfortunately, they’re too late to stop the sacrifice there. They bypass Wayne Manor (where the killer has sacrificed a deer in the woods) and head for the last place on the Dragon Line … Harv’s house. He calls ahead to warn his wife, but the killer shows up while she’s on the phone. The killer (whose name is C’th) pulls a black stone rod out of a plinth in Harv’s house. Batman shows up to challenge him, but C’th is stronger than he looks (and he looks like a lich straight out of D&D). He prepares to
consolidate his power by sacrificing Harv and his wife, but Batman throws the rod out the window. C’th jumps after it, but the rod shatters on the cliffside and C’th falls into the water. Harv and his wife thank Batman, but he’s feeling another portent of trouble that the fight with C’th only magnified. All through this issue there’s been mentions of a red-hooded man robbing various places and Batman is sure it’s the Joker.
Legends of the Dark Knight #8 – “The Burning Nun” – Grant Morrison/Klaus Janson
After his encounter with Mr. Whisper last issue, Batman is certain it’s the headmaster of his old school, Mr. Winchester. He goes to the school as Bruce Wayne to ask for some old tapes of poetry readings Winchester did and (after offering a hefty donation to the school) gets one. He listens to the recording and pegs Winchester’s accent as Austrian. He accidentally puts on a tape of his father talking about Lake Dess in Austria, with a famous “drowned monastery”. (As far as I can tell, no such place exists in the real world, so Morrison must’ve made it up for this
story.) Batman decides Winchester might be connected to Lake Dess and heads for Austria. Meanwhile, a mob boss named Morgenstern has decided to use Whisper’s attacks on his fellow mobsters to take over. (Morgenstern doesn’t seem to think Whisper is real.) Downtown, we see Whisper approach the young woman (who he confirms is a nun) we’ve seen in previous issues and drop a rose at her feet. In Austria, Batman finds a new monastery near the site of the original and meets the Abbott, who tells him a fascinating tale. Basically, during an outbreak of the Plague 300 years ago, a monk very pious (but also very proud) named 
Manfred was led into sin by a fellow monk called Conrad. They began worshipping Satan instead of God, convinced (at first anyway) that only by experiencing the full range of sins could they be blessed by God. Their debauchery grew worse and a group of nuns seeking shelter were pulled into it, with one of them (who looks exactly like the young nun wandering around Gotham right now) underwent horrible abuse and was burnt at the stake afterwards. Manfred supposedly made a deal with Satan to grant him 300 extra years of life, but his fellow monks were drowned when the nearby river flooded the monastery … which most people saw as Divine retribution. (The Abbott telling the story believes the monks all died of the Plague and the monastery was flooded to contain it.) Naturally, tales
of Manfred’s return sprang up and Batman figures Winchester/Whisper really is Manfred, whose extra 300 years are coming to an end. The Abbott tells Batman more stories about the “burning nun” haunting the corridors of the drowned monastery and when Batman goes to explore the ruins, he thinks he sees her (although it’s just his own reflection in a mirror … or is it?) He remembers his father’s words in his recurring dream (“Unlock the rose”) and manipulates a carved rose in the monastery to reveal a hidden chamber. Inside the chamber is a parchment with a drawing of a cathedral … which looks exactly like the cathedral currently being restored in Gotham.