Batman #419 – “Ten Nights of the Beast III” – Jim Starlin/Jim Aparo/Mike DeCarlo
In the last couple of issues, a Russian super-agent called KGBeast has (with help from his Iranian associate, Salari) been eliminating people crucial to the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative. He’s already killed six of the ten people most important to the SDI and this issue opens with him taking out number seven, a general named Ridwell. KGBeast uses a Stinger missile to blow up a plane that Ridwell and Agent Bundy of the CIA are travelling on. Nobody was supposed to know about the flight, which confirms that someone on the inside is feeding info to KGBeast. Robin thinks it might be
FBI Agent Parker, since he was a member of the SDS in the 60s, but Batman wonders if KGB Agent Yevtushenko might be working against them, even though his government supposedly sent him to help stop KGBeast and avoid an international incident. Two of the last three targets (a Senator and a Congressman) are holed up in a hotel downtown, surrounded by cops and FBI. Batman disguises himself as a cop to keep an eye on things and notices that the Congressman’s doorknob is different from the others on that floor, having been replaced by a shaped explosive charge. He warns the others, but it’s too late … the 
explosive goes off, killing the Congressman and his aide. They check on the Senator and Parker insists on taking him out of the hotel by elevator, despite Batman’s objections. (Parker doesn’t trust Batman for some reason.) When they get on the elevator, KGBeast starts dropping cinderblocks down the shaft, trying to crush everyone in the elevator one by one. As the others try to dodge the heavy projectiles, Batman climbs up the shaft to confront KGBeast, who starts shooting at him. Batman gets a slight bullet wound in the arm before disarming KGBeast, but while Batman’s still climbing, the cops bust in. KGBeast slaughters them with a fire axe and takes off, with Batman right behind. KGBeast has a rope set up so he can slide to the opposite building and when Batman follows, KGBeast uses the axe to cut the rope. Batman
anticipates him, severing the rope in the middle with plastique and wrapping the end around KGBeast’s arm. Batman is basically dangling from KGBeast’s arm and his weight keeps KGBeast from getting away. Batman figures he’s got KGBeast now, but underestimates how far his opponent is willing to go. KGBeast uses the axe to cut off his own hand and takes off. Later, we find out that the plane KGBeast blew up was remotely piloted, so Agent Bundy and General Ridwell are safe. That leaves one last target for KGBeast and this one’s the biggest … President Reagan himself. We see KGBeast and Salari at the shop of a guy who makes custom weapons for criminals. Apparently, KGBeast is in the market for a new hand …
Detective #586 – “Rat Trap” – John Wagner, Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle
Last issue, Batman witnessed a pack of rats killing someone and trailed them back to their master, a weirdo who lives in the sewers named Ratcatcher. Before Batman could grab him, Ratcatcher opened a water valve and Batman was swept away in the torrent. As this issue begins, Ratcatcher decides he’d better go check on his other prisoners. At the morgue, Commissioner Gordon finds out the guy who was killed by rats was actually Judge Hogan, who’s been missing for five years. The judge looks like a homeless vagrant and it’s obvious he’s been
living in the sewers for a while, so Gordon organizes a search party led by a sanitation worker who knows his way around. Gordon also activates the Bat-Signal, but Batman is already in the sewers, still unconscious from the battering caused by the flood. As the search party descends into the sewer tunnels, Batman wakes up and starts puking from all the crap he swallowed during the flood. He remembers that Ratcatcher has other prisoners and starts exploring the tunnels, finding some gasoline (with some repair supplies) that he uses to make a torch. Ratcatcher is feeding his prisoners 
and we learn that he blames them for getting him put in prison for killing a man in a fight. (Ratcatcher admits he killed the guy, he just thinks it was justifiable because the guy insulted him.) The rats warn him about the search party and he sends a swarm of rats to deal with them. The rats attack the sanitation worker and the cops are forced to flee. Up top, Gordon wonders why rats would attack the judge like they did and the sanitation supervisor recalls an employee named Flannegan who claimed he could control rats. The supervisor also remembers that Judge Hogan sent Flannegan to prison fifteen years ago, which seems like too much of a coincidence for Gordon. In the sewers, Ratcatcher knows he’s been found out and decides to execute his prisoners before taking off. Batman finds the dead sanitation worker
and kills the rat swarm by dousing them with gasoline and setting them on fire. Batman hears the shot as Ratcatcher kills his first prisoner and heads towards the sound. Gordon finds out that not only Judge Hogan, but thee arresting officer, the main witness, and a prison guard all disappeared shortly after Flannegan got out of prison. Batman finds Ratcatcher and stops him from killing the last two prisoners. Ratcatcher tries to summon his rats, but they’ve been barbecued and Batman ends up decking him. Batman brings Ratcatcher and the surviving prisoners back to the surface and takes off, probably to air out his costume.
Green Arrow 34 – “The Champions” – Mike Grell/Ed Hannigan/Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin
Last issue, Green Arrow reluctantly agreed to work for the Soviets to retrieve a biological weapon that crash-landed on San Juan Island. The bio-weapon can be set to eliminate specific DNA sequences, so it could be used to cure the common cold … or wipe out every member of a certain race. The Russians and Chinese developed the weapon together and now both want it, but don’ want the American authorities to know to avoid an international incident. The Chinese have hired Eddie Fyers (who Green Arrow met in the Longbow Hunters mini-series) to retrieve the virus and to
top things off, there’s an archaeological team on the island looking for artifacts, so if they stumble on the weapon canister and open it, they could wipe out all life on Earth. When Green Arrow arrives on the island, Fyers is there to meet him (since he observed Green Arrow through his sniper scope last issue). Fyers is surprisingly civil about the whole thing, reminding Arrow that he has no political agenda, he just works for whoever pays. Fyers says he’s not worried about the virus, since the people who developed it aren’t even sure if it’ll work. He points out that with two of them searching, it’ll be easier to find 
the virus and then they can fight to see who keeps it. After Fyers leaves, Green Arrow uses his Geiger counter to look for the virus (since its container is radioactive), but ends up following Fyers to see what he’s up to. Fyers sets a trap and Green Arrow’s leg is wounded. A storm blows in and Arrow stumbles through the woods, finding the cabin of an archaeology student named Kira. She patches him up and shows him some of her artifacts. When he activates the Geiger counter, it goes crazy and he realizes the canister containing the virus is in Kira’s cabin. He tells her what’s in it, but isn’t sure if he should give it back to the Russians or not. Someone outside starts shooting at them, so
Green Arrow turns off the lights and tells Kira to toss a bottle of kerosene outside. She does and he blows it up with an arrow to ruin the sniper’s night vision long enough for them to get away. Green Arrow assumes the sniper is Fyers, but it turns out to be a second agent (Haydn) that the Chinese hired. Fyers is pissed off that his employers didn’t trust him, so he kills Haydn and ties Kira to a tree. Fyers and Green Arrow beat the shit out of each other and Arrow is knocked over a cliff. Before Fyers can get away with the canister, another agent (Macabee) shows up to claim the prize. I’m not sure who Macabee works for, but he’s got a submarine coming in to retrieve the virus, so I assume the 
Russians hired him as insurance. He attaches a radio transmitter to the canister and tosses it towards the ocean, but Green Arrow is clinging to the cliffside and blows the canister up. Yeah, Arrow wired the canister with explosives back in the cabin. He pulls Macabee off the cliff and climbs up to confront Fyers. But now that the prize is blown to hell, Fyers sees no reason to fight anymore and leaves. Turns out Green Arrow actually removed the vial containing the virus from the canister and hid it in Kira’s cabin. She figures he’ll give it to the American government, since it has the potential to benefit mankind, but Arrow knows its potential for destruction outweighs that, so he dissolves the vial in the acid bath Kira uses to clean artifacts.