- "...I just don't understand... he was a good man. Who looks at this -- this world -- and thinks it needs one less good man?"
- ―Sandy Tilford
| "The Dying City: Part Two" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Batman | |
| Title: | "The Dying City: Part Two" |
| Volume: | 3 |
| Number: | 154 |
| Cover price: | $4.99 |
| Cover date: | January, 2025 |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Credits | |
| Ex. Ed: | Marie Javins |
| Writers: | Chip Zdarsky |
| Pencilers: | Carmine Di Giandomenico |
| Inkers: | Carmine Di Giandomenico |
| Cover artists: | Jorge Jiménez; Tony Harris; Kevin Maguire |
| Cover inker: | Jorge Jiménez; Tony Harris; Kevin Maguire |
| Cover colorist: | Tomeu Morey; Jeremy Clark; Kevin Maguire |
| Colorists: | Tomeu Morey |
| Letterers: | Clayton Cowles |
| Associates: | Jessica Berbey |
| Editors: | Rob Levin |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | Batman #153 |
| Next: | Batman #155 |
"The Dying City: Part Two" is the title to the 154th issue of third Batman ongoing comic book series published by DC Comics. The story was written by Chip Zdarsky with artwork and inks by Carmine Di Giandomenico. It was colored by Tomeu Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles. The story was edited by Rob Levin with Jessica Berbey as associate editor. This issue shipped with a January, 2025 cover date and carries a cover price of $4.99 per copy (US).
"The Dying City: Part Two"[]
The Gotham City Police Department are on the scene of the recent murder of Mayor Christopher Nakano. Batman and James Gordon arrive and Harvey Bullock gives them the details on the shooting. Gordon immediately suspects Vandal Savage at having a hand in this, but Batman wants to pursue alternate options as well. He visits Nakano's secretary, who tells him that Nakano made enemies of Edward Nygma and Leonid Kull. Batman goes to the Le rustelle di Carmine Italian Restaurant where he finds Nygma having dinner with Kull as well as Deputy Mayor Jacob Horgan. Both men deflect any sense of accusation, but Batman insists that they are rising up on his list of suspects. GCPD officers enter the restroom and accuse Batman of trespassing as this was a private engagement. Batman fights against the officers and pulls an Owl coin off of one of them, which implicates the officer as a member of the Court of Owls. With no further evidence to available, he warns Kull that he's in his crosshairs now.
Batman goes to the county morgue, where he convinces the morgue attendant, Louis, to allow him a few minutes to personally inspect Mayor Nakano's corpse. Louis agrees provided that Batman shares whatever information he might divine with him.
Later, Bruce Wayne goes to Wayne Tower where he has a discussion with Rowan Birkemoe. Birkemoe tells him that a man named William Pureford, who claims to be his half-brother, is laying claim to a percentage of the Wayne fortune and its business assets. She tells him that Pureford has the backing of the Mintz & Topping law firm. Information provided asserts that Pureford's mother worked as a nurse at Gotham General Hospital at the time that his father, Thomas Wayne, worked there. Bruce has difficulty accepting the possibility that his father could have sired a child out of wedlock.
Bruce leaves Wayne Tower and goes to the Thompkins Clinic to speak with Leslie Thompkins, who worked at Gotham General during this time. Leslie tells Bruce that Thomas had an affair with a nurse named Tara. It was brief and he reconciled with his wife over the matter, but Leslie insists that there was no offspring produced from their dalliance.
Suddenly, a mob of protesters outside the clinic turns violent and begins smashing in the windows. Bruce races outside and the protesters point their fingers at him, accusing him in aiding in the so-called destruction of Gotham. One of them accuses Bruce and his efforts for giving hand-outs to illegal immigrants. Another grabs a young girl named Larysa, suspecting that she might be an illegal Russian immigrant, and Bruce flies into a rage, attacking the man and threatening to hospitalize him. Another protester produces a gun and points it at Bruce's head when suddenly Commander Star appears on the scene and apprehends the gunman. Bruce scowls at Commander Star, but says nothing.
That evening, Bruce returns to the mayor's mansion as Batman. He meets with Jim Gordon and they go over the crime scene, deriving evidence that suggests that the killer may not have intended on murdering Nakano when they broke in. There is evidence of a physical altercation between the mayor and his assailant prior to the fatal gunshot. Batman contacts Harvey Bullock, who informs him that the GCPD cracked the cell phone belonging to the mayor's widow, Koyuki Nakano, and learned that she was having an affair, which now places her on the suspect list.
Suddenly, James Gordon begins acting erratically. He stammers out some words about defending himself and levels his revolver at Batman. This prompts Batman into a burst of anger, and he shouts "You'd point a gun at me? At me?! At me?!" before punching Gordon in the face. Both men then slump to the floor.
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
- Christopher Nakano (As a corpse only)
- Jacob Horgan
- Koyuki Nakano
- Larysa
- Louis
- O'Hallihan
- Sandy Tilford
- Thomas Wayne (Referenced only)
- William Pureford (Referenced only)
Organizations
Races & Animals
Locations
Items
Vehicles
Powers
Miscellaneous
Notes & Trivia[]
- Batman was created by comic book writer Bill Finger and graphic artist Bob Kane. He first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May, 1939. He received his first ongoing series, Batman, in the Spring, 1940 beginning with Batman #1.
- This issue is UPC barcode number 761941341828 15411.
- This issue shipped to retailers on November 6th, 2024.
- This issue carries the "All In" publisher's trade dress.
- This issue is Legacy number 919. Batman 919 redirects to this page.
- This issue shipped with a variant cover illustrated by Tony Harris and Jeremy Clark. This cover features Catwoman, who does not otherwise appear in this issue.
- This issue shipped with a Creature Commandos spotlight variant cover illustrated by Kevin Maguire. The illustration is an homage to Maguire's Justice League #1 from October, 1987.
- The Le Rustelle di Carmine Italian Restaurant was likely named after artist Carmine Di Giandomenico.