Batman: Family #8 is an issue of the series Batman: Family (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 2003. It was published on December 18, 2002.
Synopsis for "Blackout"
Batman and his team prepare to face off against the Network. Bruce traces the lease of Technician's latest warehouse to a Tennessee bank which also issued rent checks for insurance office at the Zephyr Building. Batman goes to the Zephyr Building and finds the place has been completely cleaned out except for Bugg's surveillance system. Batman tries to take a closer look but he trips a detonation sequence. Batman leaps out of the nearest window and grapples to an adjacent building. The top floors of the Zephyr Building have been destroyed along with any clues to the Network's whereabouts.
Batman knows that the Network's method of attack is to engineer a corporation's collapse in order to loot their assets. Batman tries to figure how Celia plans to sabotage Wayne Enterprises. Celia has increased revenue by aggressively expanding the company and has begun the buyout of Trans-Global Com. Celia had called Brendan Glover at the Gotham Bank to find out how the buyout of Trans-Global Com was progressing. Brendan informs Celia that the SECs have cleared the purchase and the funds are in escrow. The papers will be available to sign on Monday.
Batman calls in all of his operatives at the construction site of the Fairchild Community Center. He gives each othem a specific task. Bruce then calls Santos and tells him to have the ATF raid the Rossetti estate tonight. Santos ignores Batman's order because he has failed to keep other vigilantes out of Rossetti's affairs. Suicide King and Gabriel Rossetti were listening to Santos' conversation. Suicide King wounds Santos with his energy discharging spear. Santos plays off that he dies as Gabriel and Suicide King walk away.
Batman contacts the detective in Greece who worked on the Lorenzo Rossetti assassination. The detective says that Lorenzo and Celia were living under the assumed names of Laurence Rose and Lia Kazan along with their son Nicholas Rose. Batman deduces that Celia's vendetta against the Rossettis is based on Lorenzo's assassination. Oracle interrupts Batman's call and informs him that an unauthorized user with complete access to the executive level of Wayne Enterprises is downloading information from the computer system. Bruce tells Oracle to act on this fast before they are able to take what they need while he meets Celia for dinner.
During her dinner with Bruce, Celia recalls her last encounter with Martha Wayne. Martha confronts Celia about the Copper Street Orphanage fire. Martha did some digging around and reached the conclusion that Celia had set the orphanage ablaze and not Sandhurst. Martha followed a paper trail which proved that Celia was embezzling money from the orphanage when it was meant to go to the children. Celia brushes off Martha's anger as spite for dating Denholm Sinclair behind Martha's back. Celia tells Martha that this so called discovery is simply some falsification cooked up by Denholm because he is afraid that Celia will tell Cesare Rossetti about Denholm skimming from the Chat Noir's profits. Martha tells Celia to leave Gotham or she will expose her for the criminal that Celia is. Celia leaves by cab and tells Martha that she doesn't want Celia as an enemy.
After parting ways, Bruce tells Black Canary to tail Celia while Celia gives Freeway the go ahead to shut of the city's power grid. The phones flood Mayor Dickerson's office as well as Gotham PD. Gotham is in total chaos because of the city wide blackout. Batman calls Oracle to get an update. Oracle says that the hacker at Wayne Enterprises is accessing the Gotham Bank escrow accounts. The hacker is setting up transferring protocols with the right passwords and authorization codes. Oracle estimates that there is over two billion dollars in escrow assets because of the Trans-Global Com buyout. If that money disappears, Wayne Enterprises will be bankrupt and Gotham's economy will fall.
Meanwhile, Black Canary notices that Celia was dropped off nearby the Rossetti estate where she met with Freeway. Black Canary decides to let Huntress deal with Celia and the Rossetti while she tails Celia's driver who turns out to be Mr. Fun. Nightwing and Cassandra Cain deliver the Technician's body to Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen when they get the call from Black Canary. Canary also informs Tim Drake and Spoiler to start heading toward the East End Docks because Mr. Fun is pulling up to a garage near the piers. Tim Drake and Spoiler ambush a few men who were loading duplicates of the Tracker's body armor onto a truck. Mr. Fun hears the commotion and outside and goes to check out with his power drill but Nightwing gets the drop on him. Nightwing's combat skills weaken Mr. Fun but the psychopath is relentless. The Black Canary delivers the final blow by using her Canary Cry which sends Mr. Fun flying into a wall thereby knocking him out.
At the Rossetti estate, Gabriel wanders around in the dark with a lit candlebra and finds all of his men have been killed. The Suicide King immobilizes Gabriel from behind while Dr. Excess enacts Celia's revenge on Cesare Rossetti. Excess injects Cesare with a high dosage of his Venom derivative. As Suicide King restrains Gabriel, Gabriel watches in horror as his grandfather mutates into a mindless behemoth and eventually dies from a cardiac arrest. Suicide King then knocks Gabriel out cold as Celia lights a match and sets the estate ablaze. Huntress comes crashing into the estate with her motorcycle. Celia, Freeway and Dr. Excess make their escape in Freeway's modified Corvette which the Technician made for him while Suicide King deals with Huntress. Huntress gets the upper hand by pushing Suicide King into the exact spot where a burning rafter comes falling down. Suicide King's costume is set ablaze and Justin writhes in pain. Huntress drop kicks Justin off a balcony and looks for survivors before the estate crumbles
Batman's fight against the chaos inspires Gotham PD and the citizens to take back their streets. Batman then makes a call to Blue Valley as Bruce Wayne and asks Councilwoman Devore to send an emergency power surplus to Gotham and as a form of gratitude Wayne Enterprises will underwrite a new hospital in her district. Batman gets a call from the others. Suicide King and Mr. Fun have been apprehended. Gabriel Rossetti sustained major injuries from the fire. He was sent to the ICU at the Brentwood General Hospital but doctors speculate that Gabriel would survive the night. Oracle informs Batman that Cassandra Cain was sent to Wayne Enterprises to apprehend the hacker. Oracle traced Bugg's transfer of the escrow funds to the Cayman Islands and put a halt on it while Cassandra knocks out Bugg from behind.
Oracle also informed Batman that the only part of the city which wasn't effected by the blackout was Traynor Airfield. Batman charges through the airfield with the Batmobile and stops Celia's private jet from taking off. Celia exits her jet and Batman informs her that her plan has fallen apart. Freeway surprises Batman from behind. As Freeway and Batman fight, Celia makes her escape by firing at a fuel truck. The truck explodes and both combatants are knocked to the pavement. Batman comes to and restrains Freeway but Celia has disappeared.
In the aftermath of everything that transpired, Gabriel Rossetti died from his injuries as well as eleven other people at the local hospitals. Santos divulged everything he knew about the Rossettis to his superiors at the ATF while he was recovering. Dr. Excess pays a visit to Justin and informs him that the Suicide King will rise once again. Dr. Excess prepares a syringe with his Venom derivative. Freeway escaped police custody and passes by Hector's cell. Freeway tells Bugg that he will be freed soon enough. As for Celia, Bruce received her letter of resignation and he becomes an interim CEO until Lucius recovers. In the Middle East, Celia barters what possessions she has on her for anonymity and security. Little does she know that a shadowy figure was lurking behind her thus leaving her fate unknown. Batman then commends his allies for a job well done. He also makes the comment that while Celia's Network of allies were expendable to her, Batman's are not. Bruce considers all who fight with him as his family forever and ever.
Appearing in "Blackout"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Network
- Athena (Flashback and main story)
- Bugg
- Doctor Excess
- Freeway
- Mister Fun
- Suicide King
- Technician (Appears only as a corpse)
- Joker (Cameo)
- Scarecrow (Cameo)
- Cesare Rossetti
- Gabriel Rossetti (Dies)
Other Characters:
- Gotham City Police Department
- Laurence (Single appearance)
- Leslie Thompkins (Cameo)
- Luke Santos
- Martha Wayne (Flashback only)
- Sheila (Single appearance)
- Simone (Single appearance)
- Thomas Wayne (In picture only)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Batcave
- Gotham Clock Tower
- Wayne Enterprises
- Zephyr Building
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also