Detective Comics #712 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 1997.
Synopsis for "Gears of Justice"
A woman named Gloria Osteen wakes up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare in which she relived a past experience involving Batman and a man called Nathan Finch. In the dream, she was kidnapped by Finch and later saved by Batman, but as Finch was trying to escape, he stepped on thin ice and fell into the freezeing water and apparently dying.
Inside General Robotics, the security personal noticed an intruder in the facility. The guards tried to stop the intruder without luck. One of the guards shot the man in the leg but no blood was spilled. When the whole security team surrounded the intruded and cornered him at the rooftop of the building, the intruder decided to jump off the building, an eighty-floor jump right to the street. The GCPD investigated the case and they couldn't find any trace of a body in the street. The only clues left were a pair of footprints smashed in the pavement.
Commissioner Gordon told Batman about the case and also noticed that General Robotics wouldn't cooperate in the investigations. Batman told Robin to investigate as much as he could about the company while he went to find more clues at the crime scene. Batman found a robotic leg dismembered and lying down nearby the crime scene. He decided to go to see Gloria Osteen as she was the CEO of the company. She was in a disturbed state when Batman arrived. She told him that Nathan Finch just called her and Batman told her that Nathan was dead. She wouldn't listen and Batman bugged her desk just in case something happenned.
Batman took the robotic leg to the Batcave, where Alfred and Robin tried to figure out what was it doing at the crime scene. Robin also found difficult to analyze the company's security tapes as there was just too many people out of place.
Gloria Osteen received a call from Finch telling her to met him at the former Babylon Towers place. Batman heard that with his hidden microphone in Osteen's desk.
When Gloria met Finch, he told her to give away a cybernetic program she had developed. She gave it but then she drew a gun and shot Finch five times. To her surprise, Finch was unharmed and he tried to attack her. Batman arrived in time to stop Finch. Both of them struggled and the fight continued near a grinder. Finch activated it unintentionally and he fell in the grinder. His feet was torn apart but it was robotic. Batman tried to help Finch but the latter choked Batman and told him that if he had to die, he must as well take Batman with him.
Appearing in "Gears of Justice"
Featured Characters:
- Batman (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
- Robin
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Gloria Osteen (First appearance) (Flashback and main story)
Antagonists:
- Gearhead (First appearance) (Flashback and main story)
Other Characters:
- Gotham City Police Department
- Novak (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- GCPD Headquarters
- Batcave
- General Robotics
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This is the first part of the storyline that depicts Gearhead's origin.
- The story continues in Detective Comics #713.