Batman Incorporated: Demon Star

{{DC Database:Storyline Template
 * Title                  = Demon Star
 * Image                  = Batman Incorporated Demon Star.jpg
 * OfficialName           = Demon Star
 * Aliases                =


 * Universe               = Prime Earth
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 * Heroes                 = Batman Incorporated
 * Villains               =
 * Others                 =


 * Titles                 = Batman Incorporated
 * Collected              = Batman Incorporated: Demon Star
 * Creators               = Grant Morrison; Chris Burnham
 * First                  = Batman Incorporated Vol 2 #1
 * Last                   = Batman Incorporated Vol 2 #6


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 * HistoryText            = Demon Star is a Batman storyline written by Grant Morrison with illustrations by Chris Burnham, Frazer Irving, and Andres Guinaldo. It is part of the multi-year Morrison's Batman saga. The story of Batman Incorporated was split into two volumes because of the Flashpoint event. The first volume takes place in Pre-Flashpoint continuity, and the second volume continues in Post-Flashpoint continuity with minor changes. This is the debut arc of the second volume. It follows the story Leviathan Strikes, and is followed by the conclusion in Gotham's Most Wanted.

Synopsis
Bruce Wayne and Damian Wayne work together as Batman and Robin, chasing killers through a slaughterhouse. This experience is so disgusting that Damian decides to become a vegetarian, and he adopts one of the cows as Bat-Cow. Leviathan begins taking over Gotham City, starting with the Grimm Brothers Syndicate. Their territory is marked by upside-down demon stars, a reference to the star (which translates to "al Ghul" in Arabic). Talia al Ghul places a $500,000,000 bounty on her son Damian to keep Batman distracted from those actions. The other members of Batman Inc. cannot help, because they are believed to be dead after their encounter with Doctor Dedalus. Batwing, El Gaucho, The Hood, and the Outsiders have, however, actually been hiding out in Batcave West. Batman and Robin are targeted by a low-rent assassin named Goatboy, who takes his name from Gotham's literal meaning "Home of Goats." Batman and Robin take down the Mutants gang, and Goatboy arrives to shoot Robin. Batman convinces Goatboy to lie to Leviathan, and Goatboy presents Leviathan with a staged picture of Robin's corpse.

Talia al Ghul has a meeting with her father Ra's al Ghul to discuss Batman, explaining that Dedalus had advised her to evoke the imagery of terrifying female archetypes, such as, Medusa, and. Ra's praises her work, but demands that she end her war with Batman. Talia recalls her childhood, when Ra's was a negligent father and had told her that her mother died in childbirth. Despite this, Talia had later met her mother Melisande. The woman had posed as a fortune teller, and told her future with the demon star Algol. Algol is a binary star seen as the eye of the Gorgon in the constellation. It represents Medusa, a once-beautiful woman scorned and turned into a monster whose gaze could destroy men. Before Melisande was dragged away, she counselled her daughter to hide strength by appearing helpless. The fortune made Talia recall her early loving relationship with Batman. They had met and fallen in love when she was kidnapped by Doctor Darrk. Batman broke up with her after she secretly drugged him to conceive a child. Years later she introduced him to his son and tried to reconcile with him, but Batman refused to have anything to do with her, robbing her of the family they could have built before conquering the world. With that in mind, Talia explains to Ra's that she offered Batman love and Batman chose war. Defying Ra's, Talia's loyalists take control of the League of Assassins, and her monster the Heretic kills Ubu. Ra's remarks that this is the first time he has been afraid for Batman.

Leviathan continues to slowly take over Gotham City by infiltrating the courts and the schools, having children taken from their parents to use as soldiers. Batman looks for clues using his Matches Malone identity. He questions Small Fry and Bully at a nightclub, but when he tries to protect a singer named Lumina Lux, he angers two Leviathan enforcers called the Turnip Twins. Coming to his defence, Batwing, El Gaucho, and the Hood pose as Malone's cronies Bulldog, El Bastarde, and Ogo. Back in the Batcave, Bruce puts together a map showing how everything they've dealt with in the last several years is linked. Alfred runs tests on Bat-Cow and finds that Leviathan is contaminating Gotham's meat with a mind control drug. Damian is furious that he has to stay grounded, but Batman insists it is for his own good. Goatboy tells Matches that Leviathan to Kali, and he is worried that he will be their next goat. Lumina calls Matches for help at the Grimm Brothers funeral, and he is ambushed by the Turnip Twins. Goatboy had sold Matches out so that he could join the League of Assassins. Matches is taken to a mock court so he can be executed by a figure called the Hangman. Damian rushes to help Batman using a new identity, Redbird.

In the early days of Batman Incorporated, Bruce Wayne began to put his team together. The executives of Wayne Enterprises were hesitant about funding a vigilante, so Bruce phrased it as "Wayne security personnel working alongside the police." When Batman and Robin arrested one of the board members for fraud, the others applauded, building confidence in the plan. With the go-ahead Lucius Fox built an army of Batman Robots. The Knight was then sent to Australia, where he tested Dark Ranger's old sidekick the Scout. Scout became the new Dark Ranger, and developed a relationship with the Squire. In Russia, Bruce and Damian recruited the Batman of Moscow. Then Bruce offered the Musketeer a position, who refused on the grounds that he wanted to remain retired. He stated, however, that Paris was safe with Nightrunner. Man-of-Bats and Raven Red were successful in South Dakota. Batman Japan ended his probationary period and became a full-time member after defeating Veiniac. El Gaucho refused membership, but Bruce insisted that he would be part of Batman Inc. whether he liked it or not. Gaucho softened when he met the beautiful women of the Outsiders. Back in the Batcave, Bruce thanked Alfred for his years of loyal service. Alfred repeated a phrase that Bruce had said to him earlier; "it all comes around in the end."

Presently, Matches Malone is getting strangled to death by the Hangman, and he has to blow up the side of the building to escape. The League of Assassins enters the building to hunt Batman. El Gaucho and the Hood are the first to arrive of Batman Incorporated and they start battling villains, followed by Redbird and Wingman. Batman declares that it is Batman Incorporated versus thirty of the world's greatest assassins, and nobody will leave the building until they are finished. Freight Train, The Knight, Nightwing, Red Robin, and Squire then join the fight. Batwing disables the Man-Bat Commandos using a sonic device, and somehow Goatboy is the last one standing, taking Lumina Lux hostage. He reveals that he betrayed Batman because Leviathan was paying more. They promised him membership in the League of Assassins if he killed three high-profile targets. The first was Robin, the second was Small Fry to lure Batman there, and the third will be Lux. Lux stabs Goatboy in the neck with a fork, accidentally killing him in a way that resembles animal sacrifice. Batman knows Talia is listening, and he asks her to talk to him. Talia replies "now you want to talk?" incredulously, and refuses. Afterwards, Wingman reveals himself to be Jason Todd and Batman warns Damian that he will have to end his career as a crime fighter and return to his mother. If he does not, Batman believes there will be terrible consequences.

Batman explains that back when he was in the cave, he had a vision of the future. If Damian is allowed to follow in his footsteps and become Batman, something terrible will happen. In this vision of the future Batman in Bethlehem apocalypse, Damian Wayne is Batman and Barbara Gordon is the police commissioner. The Joker is dead and has released a laughing virus, making the entire population of Gotham insane. The city is in flames. Barbara and Damian use Arkham Asylum as their last stronghold. Damian rescues a baby that he believes is immune to the virus, but biochemist Jackanapes reveals that the baby is actually a carrier. This turns Barbara Gordon insane, and she kills the baby and then shoots Damian in the stomach, opening the gates to the hordes outside. Batman releases the Arkham inmates and they make a final stand together. The President is persuaded by Simon Hurt to nuke Gotham, so they can contain the contagion. Damian watches the bomb drop and realizes that this whole thing was orchestrated by his mother. Hearing the details of the vision, Damian pleads to Bruce that nobody knows the future and he wants to stay with his dad. Batwing, Knight, Squire, and the Outsiders report to Batman, having discovered a homeless shelter that Leviathan was using as a base. Batman demands to know who gave them this information, just as the homeless shelter blows up with them inside.

Batman rushes to the destroyed building, where members of Batman Incorporated are recovering. Talia sets up a series of challenges leading to the top floor, with images referencing the. This is a series of ten paintings that represent the path to enlightenment. Back in the Batcave, Alfred tells Nightwing, Red Robin, and Wingman that Batman insisted on doing this alone. Damian is again furious that he's stuck in the Batcave, so Alfred brings Damian an adopted cat, which he instantly loves and also names Alfred. There is a massive battle between the Batman Robots and the Man-Bat Commandos. All the while, Batman tells Talia that this is not like her, and she replies that he never truly knew her. Talia claims that she is starting a new world order, and it will begin with Gotham City committing suicide. Batman will be forced to decide between saving his city or saving his son. Finally Batman arrives at the top floor, where the Heretic is executing innocent civilians. Freight Train has been impaled, and the Knight is desperately trying to resuscitate Squire. Just as he succeeds, the Heretic grabs him and kills him by snapping his neck. Squire is horrified and uses her slingshot to take out one of the Heretic's eyes. Batman catches up and tries to fight the Heretic, but he is unable to stop it. Talia reveals that it is the Heretic who destroys Gotham in Batman's vision of the future, not Damian. Wingman decides that this is enough, and those stuck in the cave are going to help. The Heretic throws Batman off the building, through a window marked with the last image in the goatherd parable. The GCPD stands watching below, but they are suddenly attacked by Leviathan's child soldiers.


 * Issues                 =
 * -- Demon Star
 * -- Eye of the Gorgon
 * -- The Hanged Man
 * -- Brand Building
 * -- Kill Box
 * -- Asylum
 * -- Garland of Skulls


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