Batman and Robin: Blackest Knight

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 * Title                  = Blackest Knight
 * Image                  = Batman and Robin Vol 1 8.jpg
 * OfficialName           = Blackest Knight
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 * Universe               = New Earth
 * Locations              = Basement 101, Bat-Bunker, London, Gotham City


 * Heroes                 = Batman, Batwoman, Knight, Robin, Squire
 * Villains               = Bruce Wayne Clone, King Coal, Religion of Crime
 * Others                 = Alfred Pennyworth, Beefeater, Colonel Kane, Pearly King, Pearly Prince, Talia al Ghul


 * Titles                 = Batman and Robin
 * Collected              = Batman and Robin: Batman vs. Robin
 * Creators               = Grant Morrison; Cameron Stewart
 * First                  = Batman and Robin #7
 * Last                   = Batman and Robin #9


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 * HistoryText            = Blackest Knight is a Batman and Robin storyline written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Cameron Stewart. It's the third arc on their Batman and Robin series featuring Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin, part of the larger Morrison's Batman saga. This storyline is preceded by Revenge of the Red Hood and is followed by Batman vs. Robin. It's written as a counterpart to the Blackest Night zombie uprising crossover Who Burns Who and expands on plot threads from Final Crisis.

Pearly and the Pit
Robin recuperates from his recent injuries with Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins, who are replacing his spine. Batman visits London, teaming up with Knight and Squire to stop a villain named King Coal. They save para-criminal Eddie English which allows Batman to ask a favor of the boy's father, the Pearly King of Crime. Beefeater takes him through the prison facility Basement 101 to meet the Pearly King, and Batman asks about the war between him and King Coal over an abandoned coal mine. The Pearly King lays out dominoes to display a map and shows him the location of a lost Lazarus Pit they've been fighting over for years. Entering the mine, they meet the Knight and battle more of King Coal's men. It's revealed that Coal belongs to the Religion of Crime, and they also meet Batwoman who's been drugged and kidnapped by his agents. Grayson reveals that he's come here to resurrect Bruce Wayne, and Bruce's hand rises from the pit.

Batman vs. Batman
In flashback, Batwoman remembers being kidnapped by Coal alongside Smooth Eddie while he talked about the "hole in things" and the "black messiah" that will rise at the dawn of the age of crime. Bruce Wayne arises from the pit and begins fighting like a madman, as it's shown in flashback that he's really one of Darkseid's clones made in the Evil Factory during Final Crisis. They quickly realize that it's not really Bruce as he would never fight to kill, but King Coal traps them all in a cave-in. Knight and Squire rescue Batman, but Batwoman dies in his arms. Back at Wayne Tower, Damian returns confined to a wheelchair until his new spine heals completely. Alfred and Damian realize what Dick has done just as the evil Bruce arrives home.

Broken
Grayson explains that Batwoman committed suicide by morphine overdose, allowing them to revive her after diggin up what's left of the Lazarus Pit. They're rescued from the cave by her back-up Colonel Kane who gives Batman a military flight back to Gotham. In Wayne Tower, the Bruce Clone knocks out Alfred and attacks Damian who immediately recognizes that it's not his real father. Their fight takes them to the roof, where the undead clone babbles his false memories incoherently and throws the crippled Damian off a roof. Grayson arrives just in time to rescue him, and fights the clone alongside Batwoman until it deteriorates completely. Back in London, Knight and Squire take down King Coal and have him put in a cell across from the Pearly King. Once Damian has recovered, Dick explains that he now believes Tim Drake was right and the real Bruce Wayne is still alive somewhere.


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