COVER TAGLINE:
Special
TITLE:
...The Player On The Other Side!
STORY ARC:
None
COVER DATE:
1984
WRITER:
Mike W. Barr
ARTIST:
Michael Golden
INKER:
Mike DeCarlo
COLORS:
Adrienne Roy
LETTERS:
Todd Klein
EDITORS:
Dick Giordano; Len Wein
COVER:
Mike DeCarlo; Michael Golden
PRICE: $1.25 U.S.
CHARACTERS:
Batman (Bruce Wayne); Commissioner James Gordon; Wrath; Alfred Pennyworth; Dr. Leslie Thompkins;
Joe Chill; Dr. Thomas Wayne; Martha Wayne
PLOT:
When Wrath was young, his parents (whom he adored) were burglers by trade. One night, while trying to skip out on paying their rent they were shot and killed
in cold blood by a rookie James Gordon who had mistakenly thought they had been robbing the place. Since then, Wrath had grown up fighting all forms of authority across the globe as a gun for hire. Adopting an outfit similar to Batman's, he returns to Gotham City to assassinate the man responsible for his parents' deaths.
Batman analyzes the bullet fired at Gordon and traces it back to all of the cop killings around the world. He begins to fear that this assassin may be his 'opposite.' Meanwhile, after deducing Bruce Wayne's secret identity, Wrath begins targeting the loved ones of Batman - attacking Alfred and kidnapping Dr. Thompkins.
After tracking down Wrath, Batman attempts to do a trade-off - Gordon in exchange for Dr. Thompkins. After handing Leslie over, Wrath fires two shots into Gordon's chest (luckily Gordon had been wearing a kevlar vest at the time). Gordon and Leslie escape while Batman and Wrath do battle. EventuallY Wrath falls off the side of the building to his death leaving no clues behind as to his personal motivations for wanting Gordon dead in the first place.
NOTE:
The title of this story was based on an essay by Aldous Huxley; but it is also a reference to the Ellery Queen novel of the same name, as the story's author, Mike W. Barr is a renowned Queen enthusiast.
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