Batman #443

THE COMING OF CRIMESMITH

A family consisting of a father, mother and son go out during the evening for a quick run, but they are cornered into a dark alley by a trio of thugs who intend to mug them. The situation turns violent and the criminals would've killed the father if Batman had not appeared. The situation reminds the Dark Knight his own childhood failure and he strikes the thugs with vengeance. After disarming two of them and rounding them up, Batman follows the third felon out on the streets and the thug tries to escape. His efforts are futile and the thug desperately tries to get inside a white vehicle parked in one of the alleys. The criminal pleads for help from the people inside, but they remain in the vehicle, witnessing the situation until Batman finally catches up with the crook and captures him.  Moments later in Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne briefly explains his methods to Tim Drake, who was the person inside the white car along with Alfred. Tim is eager to join Batman as Robin, but Bruce tells him he is not taking any chances and that first, Tim has to train with Alfred before he could even consider start training with him. Tim agrees and Alfred takes the young man back to the school's dormitory. Afte the two of them are gone, Bruce makes a phone call to Lucius Fox in order to set up a meeting with Dr. Jeffrey Fraser, a security consultant, in order to have him help them with recent issues in WayneTech. Lucius is surprised to receive such a late phone call, but more shocked is his wife, who can't understand how can a man of Bruce's reputation be up to date with his company's affairs. Lucius then remarks that Bruce is indeed a fascinating man and as they talk about it, Batman goes out to the streets again.  At the warehouse area of Gotham, the Gotham City Police Department have found the charred corpse of a man, hanging from a rooftop and Police Commissioner Gordon is just as baffled as he is disgusted with the nature of the crime. However, the forensic doctor explains that the mystery behind the crime is the fact that the body was seemingly burned from inside. Batman watches as the police takes the body and evacuates the area, but once the place is empty, Batman spots a flashing light from one of the warehouses. Going down to the area, Batman finds a security guard murdered and notices that one of the warehouses's security doors has been electronically bypassed. Walking inside, Batman finds three thugs trying to steal valuable furs from the place. Batman confronts the criminals, who don't stand a chance against the frightening figure of the Dark Knight. However, Batman notices that the thugs are indeed afraid, but not of him.  The next day, Bruce tells Alfred about the previous night and he deduces that the thugs are afraid of a criminal mastermind that they are working for. As they talk about it, they arrive at WayneTech to meet Dr. Fraser. Bruce and Lucius have a meeting with the security consultant and his assistant, Raya, in order to make a partnership between his security firm and Wayne Enterprises. Fraser assigns his assistant to review the terms of the contract and he'd return once he has made a decision. However, once they are out of the meeting, Fraser asks Raya to do background research on Bruce Wayne as they have noticed he knows more than meets the eye.  Later that night, James Gordon is having troubles sleeping as a nightmare about his wife keeps haunting him. When he wakes up, Gordon spots Batman, perched on his window sill. The Dark Knight asks Gordon if there have been crimes related with security breaches and Gordon tells Batman the information about four events in the last month. With Gordon's information, Batman decides to interrogate one of the thugs he captured the last night and ask him about their leader.  At that precise moment, a criminal called Montgomery Marr finds himself in a dark chamber filled with cameras and recording devices. The place is designed to get all available information form the criminal and once his identity is verified, a voice talks to him through speakers. Marr knows this is the hideout of the Crimesmith, an unknown person who provides plans for criminals and the means to break into high security places. Marr wants to strike a deal with the Crimesmith and after agreeing on a 60-40 percent split of the loot, the thug is injected with a small needle in his neck. The Crimesmith, who is operating a secret panel on an undisclosed location, tells the thug that the needle is "insurance" in case their plan fails.  Batman has learned about some connections of the thugs he interrogated and among them was Montgomery Marr. Batman remains undercover at Marr's hideout until the thug gathers his gang in order to follow the pre-arranged plan. Batman follows the thugs to a private warehouse, where they break inside thanks to the technology provided by Crimesmith. Marr and his thugs intend to steal several auto haulers, with many and very expensive vehicles. However, Batman makes an appearance and startles the thugs before he starts taking them down, one at a time. In the end, Marr is the only criminal remaining and Batman interrogates him about the mastermind behind the crimes. Paralyzed in fear, Marr decides to tell Batman about Crimesmith, but as soon as he speaks the word, his neck starts burning and seconds later, his whole body is consumed by flames, leaving Batman with only the name of "Crimesmith" as his only clue.