Batman: Year Two - Batman: Full Circle

The story was followed up in 1991 in a one-shot sequel, Batman: Full Circle, also written by Barr, and illustrated by Alan Davis. It was set many years later, and centered on the son of Joe Chill assuming the mantle of The Reaper. The story reunited most of the cast of Year Two and incorporated Robin (the Dick Grayson version) into the story.

Emulating the Reaper's mission of zero tolerance towards criminals and using his original costume and weapons, Chill Jr., in collaboration with his sister Marcia, attempts to lure Batman into a confrontation where they would finally dispose of the Dark Knight with a very different kind of weapon. Chill's schemes are hampered by the arrival of his own son, Joey, whom Chill attempts to bond more with like his father did with him. It is revealed that Chill Jr. witnessed his father's death at the original Reaper's hands, though he could not make out Bruce Wayne's unmasked face. Overcome with grief, Chill seeks to gain revenge on Batman, hence the reason he has taken the Reaper identity. Batman in the meantime faces some personal issues with Rachel Caspian, who has returned to Gotham convinced The Reaper is her father reborn. Chill and his sister use this to their advantage, plaguing Rachel with encounters as a way to cast doubt in her and Batman's minds that he is the returned Judson Caspian. (It is also revealed in this story that Joe Chill Sr.'s body was stolen before it could be taken into custody at the end of Year Two). Reaper also uses an explosive to destroy the cornerstone of the Wayne Foundation building, freeing his father's old gun, which was used to murder Batman's parents.

Batman is eventually captured by Chill, who unmasks the unconscious crimefighter, but does not recognize him, because Batman applied elaborate makeup and hair dye to alter his physiognomy. Chill subjects Batman to a video reel and a hallucinogenic drug that reduces Batman to a quivering wreck suffering from survivor's guilt. Chill has Batman posed at the top of a tall pedestal overlooking a pool of acid, forcing him to watch a video where a young boy's parents are killed in front of him and then the boy subsequently thanks God he did not die himself, hoping that Batman will kill himself from the resulting guilt. When Marcia, who saw her father as nothing more than a thug who abused her mother, and cared nothing for the revenge plot, attempts to double cross Chill in order to deliver Batman to mob boss Morgan Jones, Chill slashes Marcia, apparently killing her. Robin arrives on the scene and coaxes Batman out of his hallucinogenic haze, spurring him to break free of his bonds. Batman and the Reaper fight, and Batman emerges victorious. As Batman holds the unmasked Chill over the acid pool, urged by Robin to drop him in, Chill's son Joey reveals himself and his father's identity. Deciding to act on the indecision that he faced when he had Joe Chill at his mercy years earlier, Bruce spares Chill Jr.'s life, reflecting that what began with Joe Chill and Thomas Wayne should end with their 'grandsons' of Joey and Dick. After the police arrive and Chill is taken away in an ambulance, Batman goes to a bridge and discards Joe Chill's firearm into the ocean.

Read more about this topic:  Batman: Year Two

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