Batman #418 – “Ten Nights of the Beast Part II” – Jim Starlin/Jim Aparo/Mike DeCarlo
This one starts with Batman summing things up from last issue: a super-powered assassin called KGBeast has come to the United States (unsanctioned) to kill people associated with the Strategic Defense Initiative. He’s already eliminated four key targets, leaving another six whose deaths could cripple SDI permanently. Five of them are already in protective custody, but one (Sylvia Burrows) hasn’t been notified because she’s staying with her boyfriend. For help, Batman has Commissioner Gordon, CIA agent Bundy (who Batman considers an asset, FBI agent Parker (a pain in the ass), and KGB
agent Yevtushenko, who says he wants to stop KGBeast, but who Batman suspects of having a hidden agenda. KGBeast is one step ahead of them, finding Burrows and killing her (and her boyfriend) with poison gas in their orange juice carton. Batman worries about the presidential advisor on SDI, who insists on appearing at a public fundraiser. The location is changed at the last minute and the place is crawling with cops and government agents, but Batman attends as Bruce Wayne just in case. But KGBeast has a confederate (Iranian assassin Nabih Salari), who disguises himself as a chef sent by the State 
Department to “supervise” the menu. He poisons the food, killing the advisor as well as the other forty couples at the banquet. Batman goes after Salari, trying to grab him in the alley. But KGBeast is there in a van and starts shooting, giving Salari time to get behind the wheel and take off. Batman hitches a ride, but Salari aims the van at a school bus full of kids and bails out with KGBeast. Batman is forced to let them go while stopping the van, but he realizes KGBeast must have an inside to have known where the banquet was being held. Batman tells Gordon not to trust the feds and to keep the other targets hidden. The FBI aren’t happy, but Bundy and Yevtushenko are too busy arguing over SDI to care (which sounds like a bit of authorial voice coming
through). KGBeast gets false info on the whereabouts of one of the targets, while Batman uses his persuasive skills to scare real info from some gunrunners about what weapon KGBeast might be using for the hit. KGBeast uses a rocket launcher to blow up a hotel suite, but the “target” turns out to be a dummy. Batman tries to grab KGBeast, but his super-strength makes him a tough opponent. KGBeast takes off on a pre-planned escape route and Batman follows, but misses a jump and has to scramble to save himself. KGBeast gets away and Batman realizes the Beast actually more skilled than him.
Detective #585 – “The Ratcatcher” – Alan Grant, John Wagner/Norm Breyfogle/Ricardo Villagran
This one starts with Batman staking out a deserted spot where an illegal arms deal is about to go down. Not far away, a bunch of guys are caged up in the sewers (apparently for quite a while), but one of them manages to get free. The escapee (who’s a judge), makes his way through the sewers, but his captor (a nut named Ratcatcher) comes back and finds him,
sending his pack of trained rats after the judge. As the judge fights off the rats and finds a manhole to the surface, Batman is pounding the arms dealers. When the judge gets above ground, Ratcatcher sends the whole swarm of rats to kill him and he stumbles into the street covered in rats. That distracts Batman, giving the last weapons dealer a momentary advantage. But Batman pounds him and goes to help the rats’ victim. He’s surprised when he hears a whistle and the rats retreat. He follows (leaving the arms dealers and the rats’ 
victim for the cops) and sees Ratcatcher and his menagerie heading into the sewers, so naturally he follows. One of the cops recognizes the dead guy as Judge Hogan, who’s been missing for a while. Batman tracks Ratcatcher into the sewers and finds out he’s been holding people against their will. After Batman scares his rats with a flare, Ratcatcher opens a pipe and floods the sewer tunnel with water. Batman is knocked out and ends up unconscious under the water.
Green Arrow #3 – “The Champions” – Mike Grell/Ed Hannigan/Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin
This one starts with some punks boarding a bus to rob the passengers, but Dinah (Black Canary) lance just happens to be on this particular bus and turns the tables, confronting the thieves and kicking their asses. Meanwhile up in space, a satellite explodes, sending debris hurtling towards Earth. When Dinah returns home, bruised from her fight, Oliver (Green Arrow) Queen is worried, but Dinah is happy because she didn’t freeze during the fight. She’d been worried about whether she could function as a crimefighter after her recent traumatic experience (in the Longbow Hunters
mini-series), but now she knows she’s back to her old self … in more ways than one. Yup, she’s ready for sex again, so she and Oliver spend some time sweating up the sheets. In-between romps, they see some of the satellite debris come down nearby and assume it’s a meteorite. Later, Green Arrow goes out on patrol and finds a guy being mugged. But when he intervenes, the “victim” knocks him out and he wakes up in some dude’s office. His captor (who calls himself Mr. Joshua) tells Green Arrow about the satellite explosion and about the debris that landed on San Juan Island, just off the coast. Apparently, Joshua’s people 
and the Chinese were working on a biological weapon (strictly for noble purposes, of course) that can code itself to specific DNA, so it could be used to wipe out the common cold … or the entire population of Earth. The Chinese want the weapon and are willing to fight for it, so to avoid a war (and bad publicity) Joshua wants Green Arrow to go to the island and recover the pod containing the weapon before the Chinese agent does. Arrow wonders why the government doesn’t just send troops in to get the pod and Joshua reveals that he doesn’t actually work for the American government, although we’re not told who he does represent (presumably it’s the Russians). Joshua says there’s an
archaeological dig on the island that might accidentally release the virus, and mentions that the Chinese have hired an American agent named Eddie Fyers (who looks like a wimp, but apparently is some kind of James Bond-type) to recover the pod. Green Arrow can’t see much choice, so he agrees to go to the island. As he heads to the island as Oliver Queen, we see the archaeological dig getting close to the pod, and Eddie Fyers drawing a bead on Oliver with a sniper rifle.