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Batman: Nine Lives




It differs from the normal Batman Canon because it is set in a 1920s city under Prohibition , at a time when the criminal underworld was rife. Rather than it being a superhero's story as such, it is more like a detective comic book from this era, before the idea of superhero's were introduced. Though Batman still exists, members of his rogue gallery appear as normal cirminals rather than mutated, disfigured or eccentric characters. Part of the story's appeal is its clever use of creating more human identities for supervillains such as Penguin and Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent.

The story starts with a detective style narration, following The Batman down a sewer in search of a crocodile or allegator. Upon finding and wrestling the animal he is hit on the head by an unknown assailant and when he wakes up he is lying next to the body of a dead woman: Selina Kyle (real name of Catwoman in the normal canon.)

Once the body is discovered, Private Detective Dick Grayson (real name of Robin The Boy Wonder, while also being a play on the name Dick as a moniker for a detective) is accused by Commissioner Gordon of having something to do with the murder. As the story progresses we find out that Selina Kyle earned the nickname of Catwoman as she owned the Kit Kat Club (a place of ill repute), she used her sexual allure to keep the club from going financially under, but when that didn't work she used blackmail as her weapon of choice - apparently having a lot of secrets on Gotham's most wanted criminals.

The title Nine Lives, while being a reference to Catwoman and her death, doubles up as an allusion to the nine suspects involved. These are:
  • Mysterious billionaire Bruce Wayne, having an affair with her

  • Pretty boy Dick Grayson, an ex-cop who was hired as her bodyguard (and more) but fired the day before the killing

  • Two-bit card dealer named Jack, he runs an unsuccesful underground gambling racket, earning him the nickname Joker and he was planning a bank heist with her, needing as much money as he could get

  • The dapper racketeer Oswold Cobblepot, uses his matrimonial businesses as a front for dodgy dealings, as well as having sexual relations with Selina Kyle, he is employed to take back the money owed by the Joker. He wears a wedding suit to promote his business and is mocked with the name Penguin

  • The cold-hearted hit man with ice water in his veins, he is Cobblepot's hired help and, lacking a personality or a name, people call him Mr. Freeze

  • The disfigured gangster Matt Hagen, owed money by Joker and employing Cobblepot ,he is the state's most powerful mob boss is called Clayface behind his back due to his horrible appearance, nobody would say it to his face though

  • The guilt-riddled banker, Selina slept with Edward Nigma as he knew a way of riddling Gotham's municipal bank with holes before being found out, when he finally refused she blackmailed him into organising one last job, a bank raid, but perhaps Riddler's sudden attack of the backbone could have taken him too far

  • The two-faced lawyer Harvey Dent, a solicitor who would sell out his best friend or his worst enemy. Among other things, the Two-Face knows Bruce Wayne's secrets about being a bat by night

  • The ex-sideshow attraction, alias Croc who worked with Grayson when the two were young, shortly after the circus shut down he went into hiding in the sewers but apparently he never hid away completely