Batman: Gothic
| "Gothic" | |
|---|---|
Cover to trade paperback of Batman: Gothic.
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| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Publication date | April – August 1990 |
| Genre | |
| Title(s) | Legends of the Dark Knight #6-10 |
| Main character(s) | Batman |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Grant Morrison |
| Artist(s) | Klaus Janson |
| Letterer(s) | John Costanza |
| Colorist(s) | Steve Buccellato |
| Editor(s) | Andrew Helfer |
| Gothic | |
Gothic, also known as Gothic: A Romance, is a 1990 Batman comic book that ran through the Legends of the Dark Knight monthly series and was later compiled into trade paperback form. It was written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Klaus Janson.
When the senior leaders of Gotham City's mobs find themselves hunted down by a figure from their past they turn to Batman for assistance. Initially reluctant, Batman's investigation into the identity and motives of the murderer uncovers a sordid tale from Gotham's past, a bargain reminiscent of Don Giovanni, an ancient Faustian pact, Gotham City's Cathedral and a forgotten episode from Bruce Wayne's childhood.
Someone is murdering Gotham's mob bosses one by one. Realizing the connection between them, and that he might be next, Boss Ottavio gathers the remaining bosses and lieutenants and summons Batman using an inverted bat-symbol. The mobsters explain to Batman that the murderer is known as "Mr. Whisper" and was a child killer who killed seven children twenty years ago. Ottavio calls Whisper the "man with no shadow" and asserts that he and his colleagues killed him, but that he wouldn't stay dead. Batman refuses to help the mobsters and leaves, but investigates the murders on his own. The mention of a shadowless man brings to mind an incident from Bruce Wayne's school days when he saw evidence that his headmaster, Mr. Winchester, not only murdered his school friend, but also cast no shadow. Batman is disturbed as he had chalked this incident up to an overactive imagination. A young woman claiming to be a nun appears at Gotham cathedral and is taken in by Whisper.
Ottavio is killed after drinking poisoned wine, and Whisper is spotted on the scene. Batman confronts him, but Whisper displays superhuman strength and tosses Batman off the roof of a highrise. After his cape is caught on a gargoyle statue, Batman makes his way back up to the roof and again faces Whisper, who recognizes him as Bruce Wayne. Whisper then jumps off the building himself, walking away from a fall that should have been fatal. Batman decides to fly to Austria after procuring recordings of Mr. Winchester's lectures from his school and analyzing his Austrian accent, as well as accidentally hearing a recording of his father, who mentions the "Drowned Monastery" in Lake Dess. In Vienna, Batman speaks with the father of the local monastery who recounts the tale of Brother Manfred, a monk in the monastery of the Capuchins. Manfred was led astray by a novitiate named Conrad into debauchery and blasphemy, and the other monks of the order followed his lead, committing terrible sins including the rape and murder of a group of nuns seeking sanctuary, with the worst of it reserved for the youngest nun. According to the story Manfred then traded his soul to the devil for deliverance from the Black Plague and three-hundred years of life during which nothing could hurt or kill him. The monk's rampage was only stopped by the flooding of the monastery due to a dam break. According to legend, the spirit of the youngest nun still haunts the drowned monastery. Batman searches the remains of the drowned cathedral, witnesses a vision of the spirit of the nun and finds a blueprint of Gotham Cathedral. Batman realizes that Mr. Whisper, Mr. Winchester, and Brother Manfred are all one and the same.
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