A year has gone by and Bruce is on missions after a mob boss named Tony Zucco. Based on a tip he beat out of a member of his gang, Bruce got ticket to attend the Haly’s Circus that was in town. Dick Grayson was a fifteen-year-old acrobat, the youngest of a family act referred to as The Flying Graysons of The Haly’s Circus. Dick joined the act at an awfully young age, having been trained in acrobatics from birth. Before arriving in Gotham, during which The Flying Graysons were the top performers, they were asked to pose for a photograph with Jack Drake and his family, together with their young son, Tim Drake. From that point on Tim's one and only hero in the world was Dick.
While on the site in Gotham city, he overheard Tony Zucco, a known crime-lord, tells the circus owner that his performers might have an accident if he didn't pay him for protection. The owner refused, that night Dick and Bruce watched in horror as Dick’s parent’s tightrope snapped, causing his folks to fall to their deaths, all while several of Gotham's elite watched on. Young Dick felt accountable because he did not warn his folks in time.
Dick was placed in uncaring detention system, on the grounds that the orphanages were full. He got picked on by some of the boys, and he was later sent to a Catholic orphanage. Bruce Wayne claimed Dick by adopting him as his son, but the boy didn't to want this rich man to replace his deceased father.
Frustrated by the absents of attention from his new guardian and the clouded mystery of his parents' death, Dick snuck out of Wayne Manor one evening to unravel the crime on his own. Batman was conducting an investigation of his own on the murders. Dick went to the circus and he was confronted by one of Zucco's gang members, Eddie Skeevers, who almost killed Grayson but knocks him out, however Dick was saved by Batman's intervention. When Dick opens his eyes he was in the Batcave, he's amazed to see that Bruce is admittedly the Batman. They achieve their goal of revealing Zucco's guilt however he dies of a heart attack before his arrest.
Seeing a mirrored image of himself in Dick; that he might temper compassion with a thirst for justice, Batman give the young boy the choice of a lifetime; the possibility to become his crime-fighting partner. Dick took the name Robin, and their partnership began.
A few weeks later, a woman named Barbara Gordon found a chance that would change her life for the better. Bruce Wayne was set to host a masquerade ball at Wayne Manor to celebrate a successful year for Wayne Enterprises. Many of Gotham City's elite and Wayne Ent. Employees, as well as the likes of James Gordon, Dr. Thomas Elliot and Lucius Fox, were expected to attend. Barbara stitched a female version of Batman's costume primarily based upon ideas she had when she was younger. For the most part, she thought of slipping in the party as this "Batgirl" just to spite her father.
When she arrived she found that someone else had crashed the party before her. A criminal named Jack and his cronies raided the ball, grabbing Bruce Wayne as a hostage. It had been their intent to rob the charity and many of Gotham’s wealthiest patrons.
Barbara currently found herself acting as a Batgirl. She tackled Jack with the hopes of rescuing Bruce Wayne from his clutches. What she did not know was that Bruce Wayne was truly Batman. He allowed Barbara to rescue him in order to put his real costume on. Returning to the scene with his sidekick, Robin, Batman discovered that Jack had gotten the better of Batgirl. In order to free her from Jack's gun, they were forced to let the criminals go. Batman scolded Batgirl for her foolish antics, and warned her against interfering in such a reckless way. Hearing such criticism from a person she worshipped for so long was a shock for Barbara, however it didn't deter her from her dream. Despite Batman disapproval, Barbara was able to help them solve the case, and was later allowed to join them in the hopes of cleaning up the city.
Several months later a criminal gang kidnaps Edward Lamont IV, heir to the Lamont Chemical fortune. They are holding him for a ten million dollar ransom. Batman tracks the boy down and rescues him and gets into a fight with the gang. Batman defeats them by using a hyper-sonic device that brings them to their knees. During the fight however, a woman in a cat suit arrives and sneaks off with the ransom money.
Batman takes off swinging after this woman. He's hot on her tail, but she leaps from rooftop to rooftop always two steps ahead of him. As Batman closes in for the capture, something cuts through his batline. He falls all the way to the street below and is knocked unconscious. The fall and his recent battle severely injure him. The woman in the cat suit meanwhile meets up with a shadowy figure and hands over the ten million. Something is definitely odd here, as the catwoman appears to be oddly submissive to the shadowy figures commands. As yet, no one knows who cut the batline. Robin screeches to a halt with his motorcycle in the middle of Park Row.
Deploying his battle staff, he launches into the thugs surrounding Batman’s body. While beating his opponents back, he maintains radio communication with Alfred, who in turn uses remote control to bring the Batmobile to their location. Robin loads Batman’s unconscious body into the empty vehicle, whereupon it returns to the Batcave.
At the Batcave, Alfred Pennyworth labors around the clock to save Bruce's life, but there is little even his impressive skills can accomplish. Bruce is suffering from a severe skull fracture. Though barely conscious, Bruce manages to tap out the name "Thomas Elliot" in Morse code. Thomas Elliot is a brilliant neurosurgeon and a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. Alfred takes Bruce to Gotham City Hospital and Dr. Elliot manages to save his life. During the operation, Bruce dreams of his childhood. He recalls playing games of strategy with young Tommy Elliot, and remarking at Tommy’s keen analytical mind. Alfred has Batgirl wreck one of Bruce’s sports cars, and stages the story that Bruce injured himself while racing throughout the neighborhood of Bristol. The operation proves successful, and Bruce is released.
Later, Bruce dons the guise of prison guard and visits one of gang members in Blackgate Prison. He wants to know what the gang wanted the ten million dollars for, but inmate refuses to cooperate. The inmate flies into a rage and smashes through the glass panels of his cell. The inmate is then taken to Arkham Asylum. Bruce then visits his cell again and tries to figure out who put the gang up to kidnapping the Lamont boy. More so, he needs to determine what happened to the ransom money.
That evening, Dr. Thomas Elliot visits Wayne Manor. Bruce is down in the Batcave and instructs Alfred to tell Thomas that he isn't home. Alfred hasn't seen Thomas since he was a child, and recalls the night that Thomas’ father died in an auto accident when he was very young. Thomas, angered by the memory, get frustrated and leaves. Batman scours the streets of Gotham in the Batmobile looking for signs of that cat burglar. A shot is fired, and the Batmobile blows a wheel sending the car into a crash. The Batmobile tires are specially treated and should not blow out under any circumstances. From across the street, the mysterious Hush watches Batman through his sniper lens.
Batman takes to the rooftops looking for clues. Finally, Batman catches a glimpse of the woman as she is about to commit suicide. Just before she leaps to her death Batman grabs her arm and throws her back on to the roof. Coming out of the trance, Catwoman thanks Batman for saving her introduces herself and tells him that she was manipulated. She plans on tracking down the person who did this to her. Catwoman then gives Batman a passionate kiss as Batman secretly takes a blood sample from her and places a tracker on her.
Bruce Wayne flies to Metropolis. He needs to find the origin of the substance in Catwoman’s blood. Bruce visits his newspaper the Daily Planet under the guise of checking in on his investment. He runs into their star reporter, Clark Kent also Bruce flirts with Lois Lane and chats with Perry White for a bit but his thoughts are actually on the kiss he shared with Catwoman the prior evening. Bruce's feelings toward her are based on the fact that she's sort of a female version of himself: Another dark, beautiful creature that prowls in the night.
Bruce then visits the Lexcorp offices as Batman and speaks with CEO of Labs Talia al Habba. He inquires about a dangerous chemical compound that Lexcorp dabbles in it is developed by Lamont Chemicals. Before Talia can speak at length however, Batman is called away as he discovers that Catwoman is in town as well and hot on the trail of the person responsible for controlling her. Catwoman is then captured again by the still unknown Hush. Tracking the signal he put on Catwoman, Batman finds nothing but his tracer left on the ground.
Bruce Wayne goes to the Gotham City Opera House along with Tommy Elliot and Leslie Thompkins. During the opera, the main actor begins acting strangely until it is revealed to actually be Jack in disguise. Jack’s masked henchmen then take control of the orchestra pit and begin spraying the room with gunfire. Bruce and Tommy move to conduct crowd control. Bruce quickly ducks away to turn into Batman. Batman is surprised to see Jack acting in such a violent fashion a fashion that is quite uncharacteristic from his masquerade ball and now calling himself the Joker. Leslie runs across the stage trying to catch everyone’s attention, but ultimately a thug shoots her. Batman races to Leslie’s side as the Joker and his thugs make their escape.
Leslie's wound is superficial and she chastises Batman for letting thugs get away. Batman runs outside, but the villain is nowhere to be found. Suddenly he hears a gunshot coming from a nearby alley. Running towards the sound of the gun he finds the one of the Joker’s standing over the bleeding body of his friend Tommy Elliot. Batman flies into a rage and begins pummeling the thug. The Joker keeps muttering the word, "Stop", but Batman isn't listening to him. Batman continues to beat on Joker. Images of his mother and father flash through his mind victims of the same alley. Leslie, slowed by the bullet lodged in her shoulder, attempts to restrain Batman with her whip. She recognizes the look in the Dark Knight's eyes, and realizes that he plans on killing the Joker. Batman swings about punching Leslie in her wounded shoulder. The shock from the pain causes her to slump over.
As Batman continues to wail on the Joker, former police commissioner James Gordon shows up behind him. He draws his weapon and fires two warning shots. He coaxes Batman away from the Joker, reminding him that he is about to cross a line that can never be forgiven. Batman calms down, and the Joker is taken away. From a rooftop high above, Hush witnesses the event. Talking to himself, he admits that the Joker was actually innocent in the death of Tommy Elliot.
Funeral services are held for Doctor Thomas Elliot. Attending are Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, and Leslie Thompkins. Bruce Wayne speaks during the service, reciting one of his favorite poems. Later, Bruce is back in the Batcave, pouring over all of the evidence associated to Tommy's murder. He deduces that the Joker is actually innocent, and that someone went out of their way to make Batman believe him guilty. Robin drops by and shows concern over Bruce's wellbeing. He knows that Bruce wants to find Selina, and encourages him that they will find her.
Before long, Batgirl radios Batman and Robin, informing them that the Riddler has just hijacked an armored car. The two heroes set aside their investigation to quickly nab him. Racing through the streets of Gotham in the Batmobile, they use the vehicle's battering ram feature to force the armored car off the road. The Riddler tries to flee, but Batman easily nabs him. Investigating the scene for further evidence, Batman is surprised to find residue of the same substance in Selina’s blood near the wreckage of the armored car.
Hush seeks revenge on Wayne family, and targets Catwoman as a way to get to Bruce, he manages to capture and removes her heart from her body. He leaves her hooked to a cardiopulmonary machine. Robin is able to follow the clues leading to Hush's whereabouts, revealing how being discovered was another part of the plan, douses Robin with a muscle relaxant gas while showing him the complex machinery keeping Selina's heart alive and pumping. While Robin is paralyzed, Hush reveals to have given himself, by plastic surgery, an exact replica of Bruce Wayne's face. He plans to kill and disfigure Bruce, and using his resemblance to him to infiltrate the Batcave, kill Alfred and Barbara Gordon, and resign from the Wayne Enterprise and escape. Mustering up his remaining strength, Dick catches Hush in an unguarded moment and head butts him. Using the surrounding surgical equipment to free himself from the table he takes off after Hush. He loses him in the back alleys of Gotham.
Batman rappels down from the Batplane and boards the company jetliner, Lexcorp-One. Once inside, he kidnaps Talia al Habba and brings her back to Gotham. Batman tells Talia that he known what the substance is and where she got it, from her father. He leaves Talia in the care of Batgirl, and hopes that news of her abduction will send a message to her father, Ra's al Ghul. The message is quickly received as Batman soon finds a scimitar sticking out from a computer terminal in the Batcave. Deciphering the context of Ra's "message", he learns that he is being summoned to North Africa. Batman arrives in Africa and meets with Ra's. The two engage in a sword fight, and Batman surprises Ra’s by running him through. With Ra's incapacitated, Batman begins questioning him.
Back in Gotham City, Lady Shiva (under orders from Ra's) tries to rescue Talia. She gets into a fight with Batgirl, and easily takes her out. To her surprise however, Talia turns the tables on her, smashing a chair across the back of Shiva's head. At that moment, Batman returns to find Batgirl and Lady Shiva lying on the floor unconscious. Talia kisses Batman and warns him that his mysterious opponent knows about his affection towards Catwoman and will use it against him.
Batman enters the Batcave going through all of the computer equipment. Batman realizes that there was a double meaning behind Ra's placement of a sword in the computers, and he needs to determine what message Ra's was trying to send him. Robin drops in and informs Batman of Selina’s condition. More frustrated than ever, Batman goes to Batgirl's Clock Tower in the hopes of finally solving the answer to all of the mysteries that had been plaguing him of late. Batman shows her the electronic relay device that Batman had discovered in the cave. This device was used to learn all of Batman's secrets. Batman learns that the person responsible for installing the device was his old friend, Harold Allnut.
Batman drives out to the Gotham City Bridge where he secretly meets with Harold. Harold is now standing upright and can speak. He confesses to planting the monitoring device, and explains that the man who hired him healed his physical deformities and even enabled him to speak. Harold is remorseful for betraying Bruce, and apologizes. Just as he is ready to reveal the name of the man who hired him, a shot rings out and Harold falls over, dead. Batman spins around to find Hush standing before him.
Batman cradles the dead body of Harold, his former aide. Hush is standing over them, his guns still smoldering. Batman still has no idea who Hush truly is. He launches into him with a flurry of blows, but Hush keeps a safe distance from him. Hush finally reveals himself to be Tommy Elliot. Batman had believed that the thug had previously killed Tommy, but that turned out to merely be a work of Tommy Plastic Surgery. As Hush, Tommy wants revenge on the Wayne family. Dr. Thomas Wayne had saved the life of his mother after a staged car accident. Elliot wanted his parents to die so that he could collect the inheritance. Batgirl arrives to give Batman back-up. Batgirl throws a batarang hitting Hush in the face, and Hush falls backwards into the bay.
Although Hush seems to be gone, Batman still has to figure out who the true mastermind of this entire affair is. Who told Hush that Batman was secretly Bruce Wayne? The trail leads Batman to Arkham Asylum. He finds that it has been the Riddler pulling the strings the whole time. The Riddler had been dying of terminal cancer and had used the Minos Scroll to find one of Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus Pits to save his life. Healed from the illness, he decided that he wanted to make it big in Gotham. He was tired of being just another crook with a gimmick. So he hooked up with Thomas Eliot (whom he met while researching his illness) and the two decided to play the ultimate Riddle against Batman using all of Gotham's gangs as pawns. They then use the stolen mind control compound from Lexcorp labs to manage an elaborate plot to destroy Batman. Batman knows that the Riddler is aware of his true identity and threaten to tell all the gangs in the city, So Batman gives him a conundrum of his own. What the worth of a riddle that everyone knows the answer to? These drives the Riddler mad as he knows this is the truth.
After conferring with the Riddler, Bruce going to the hospital where Selina is being held and gives her an antidote for the mind control compound. She awakens from her coma to find Bruce by her side and the two begin a whirlwind romance. Selina decides to take some much needed R&R. It's then that she concocts a plan to enact revenge on Hush. Returning to her roots, she uses her connections on both sides of the law to siphon Tommy Elliot's family fortune away. She uses the money to treat herself. Knowing that Hush more than likely survived, she leaves a message telling him that it would be in his best interest to leave Gotham forever. Selina knows that it is impossible for her to continue a romance with Batman. He simply won't allow himself to fall in love. Although the affair doesn't last, Selina is comforted in the fact that she at least gave it a try.
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