Batman #456 – “Without Fear of Consequence” – Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle/Steve Mitchell
Last issue, an epidemic of so-called “Crimes of Whim” started, where seemingly ordinary, law-abiding people suddenly decided to become homicidal maniacs, all while wearing skull masks. Batman stops the latest one, a department store Santa who went on a killing spree. The cops tell him the perpetrators have nothing in common and don’t seem to be acting under the influence of drugs or hypnosis. When one of the cops mentions Vicki Vale’s investigation of a guy named Marcuse, he goes to check it out. That’s a good thing because Vicki was jumped by a masked guy with an axe at the end of last issue. Turns out this isn’t a “whim killer”, it’s just one of
Marcuse’s men being an asshole, but Marcuse is definitely up to something shady. He sends his men out to various locations and admits to Vicki that he went by the scene of the homeless massacre yesterday to “be sure it worked”. Marcuse takes Vicki to meet his boss and Batman follows. In the Batcave, Tim Drake tries to figure out a pattern in the “whim” crimes, hoping to prove his worth so Batman will let him become the new Robin. He can’t come up with anything and worries that he might not cut it as Batman’s partner. Marcuse takes Vicki to an abandoned factory where she gets away from his men … 
only to run right into the mastermind behind all this. (We don’t see who it is yet, but the clues make it pretty obvious.) After a weird dream about his two predecessors as Robin, Tim finally figures it out and calls Commissioner Gordon after getting no response from Batman, urging him to use the Bat-Signal. The Caped Crusader is silently taking out guards at the old factory, while Vicki is entertained by her host. Apparently he’s expecting Batman and has several booby traps set, one of which takes Batman down. At the Batcave, Tim worries Batman might be in trouble because he’s going into
the situation without knowing what to expect. Batman warned him not to become Robin without permission, but Tim decides to disobey, even knowing Batman might drop him as a partner. Meanwhile, Batman is subdued and taken to meet the guy behind everything … Scarecrow.
Detective #623 – “Death of Innocence” – John Ostrander/Mike McKone, Flint Henry/Jose Marzan Jr.
Last issue, someone dressed like Batman started killing people in a particularly gruesome fashion around Gotham, making the public wonder if the real Batman might be involved in the killings. His cause isn’t helped by a comic that’s being published about a violent Batman wasting people and stealing their souls. As Batman examines the scene of the latest killing (taking off when the crowd gets violent), a radio host named Jack Hemp is interviewing Tod Nathan Taylor, publisher of the
unauthorized Batman comic. We get a look at the latest issue, which features Joker capturing Batman who—in the context of the comic—is a guy named Simon Petrarch who’s possessed by Satan on a holy mission to save his soul by reconciling good and evil forever. Things look bleak for Simon/Batman, but he’s saved by Robin, who represents the spirit of hope and innocence (or something like that) and has taken over the body of a kid to let him fight Joker. Batman is saved, but Joker escapes and thinks he has the perfect way to defeat Batman … by using Robin. In the real world, the nutcase claiming to be the Batman killer calls 
Hemp’s radio show to claim responsibility for the latest killings, telling Hemp to read the latest issue of the comic if he wants to see why this is happening. In the comic, Joker destroys Robin’s innocence (and is eaten by the Bat-Hound) to get at Batman. Hemp calls Fred Lasker (the writer-artist of the comic) since he didn’t show up for the interview. When Fred says that his characters come from inside him, Hemp hints that maybe Fred is the crazed killer claiming to be Batman. After examining the latest victims at the morgue, Batman has a pretty good idea where to look for the killer.
Legends of the Dark Knight #12 – “Dark Sides” – Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy/Terry Austin
Last issue, Batman ran afoul of the cops while trying to take down a major drug dealer named Fish. One cop in particular (Max Cort, who’s been appointed to a task force to bring Batman in) seems to hate the Caped Crusader more than most. (This story takes place very early in Batman’s career, when the cops don’t trust him and he’s still working on the Batmobile.) Meanwhile, Dr. Hugo Strange has been called in to help the task force, but he’s become obsessed with Batman and the freedom that an alternate identity can bring … especially if that identity
puts one on the other side of the law. Unfortunately for him, Strange knows he’s in no shape to actually emulate Batman, no matter how much he’d like to. (He’s obviously nuts, since he has conversations with a mannequin dressed in lingerie.) Bruce Wayne attends a dinner party at Mayor Klass’s place where Hugo Strange is one of the guests. Strange has some interesting ideas about Batman’s psychological profile (like the fact that an act of extreme violence was the catalyst to turn him into a vigilante), but Bruce pretends not to care too much. The mayor’s daughter (Catherine) says Batman is a hero for trying to 
rid the city of crime and Strange says he’d like to discuss it with her further (which sounds like a come-on to me). The cops find the remains of Batman’s hang-glider and send it for analysis and Captain Gordon realizes he made a mistake bringing Cort onto the task force, since he’s become obsessed with stopping Batman. The task force gets a warrant to go after Fish, but they’re really hoping to bag Batman. Gordon warns them not to use guns, since Batman hasn’t committed any capital offences. After the other cops leave, Batman visits Gordon to tell him he planted a bug in Fish’s place and knows he’s not there. Gordon isn’t thrilled about Batman’s illegal activities, but he knows Batman is necessary.
They decide they need a signal that Gordon can use when he needs Batman’s help. Batman gets Fish’s location from a punk and kicks Fish’s ass after a rough fight. Meanwhile, the media has tried to link Catwoman with Batman, but she lets a reporter know that she works alone. Batman drops Fish off at the police station, but Cort and his men try to shoot Batman. That night, Gordon unveils the Bat-Signal and Cort notices, his paranoia ramping up when he realizes Gordon is working with Batman. Cort goes through Gordon’s office and finds the old crime files Strange requested (to help him research Batman’s true identity), 
which Gordon has refused to turn over. While Gordon warns Batman to be wary of Cort and Strange (and even Mayor Klass), Cort takes the files to Strange and tells him that Gordon and Batman are working together. Strange decides to use Cort as a proxy in his quest to become Batman.