To stay one step ahead of crime, Batman has developed a new advanced tool only to have it quickly turned against him and Superman.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman/Superman #12, by Joshua Williamson, Max Raynor, Alejandro Sanchez and John J. Hill, on sale now.
As one of the keenest tactical minds on the Justice League, Batman prides himself in preparing for every eventuality as part of his ongoing war on crime. In the wake of recent setbacks and momentary defeats that have rocked the DC superhero community to its core, the Dark Knight has decided to become even more proactive in taking the fight to villains before the threat visibly surfaces, with a new weapon in tow. However, even the World’s Greatest Detective can’t foresee the issues his latest gadget poses as it directly endangers him and Superman from the usual safety of the Batcave.
The superhero community has been on the defensive lately, enduring attacks from the Batman Who Laughs during DC’s Year of the Villain, resulting in the corruption of several major superheroes, including Supergirl. Meanwhile, the various intelligence agencies and clandestine organizations operating from the shadows of the DCU had been systematically targeted and dismantled by the new threat Leviathan after one-time hero Mark Shaw broke bad and formed his supervillain persona. With threats coming so incredibly close to home and his usual network of intelligence agencies to draw support from defunct, the Caped Crusader decided to go on the offensive and take matters into his own hands.
Batman develops a database of all the DCU’s biggest supervillains, including all known information, modus operandi and current whereabouts. Taking a page from Minority Report, Batman programs this new computer system with an algorithm that calculates which supervillain is most likely to attack next. Using the new system, the World’s Finest successfully thwart an attack being planned by the Brotherhood of Brimstone as they create their own variation on the radioactive supervillain Chemo. However, as the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel return to the Batcave, they find their fight is far from over.
A mysterious rogue program has bypassed the Bat-Computer’s defenses to hijack the new database and algorithm that Batman had created. Turning the entire arsenal of the Batcave against Batman and Superman, the World’s Finest fend for their lives as vehicles and the cave’s defenses bear down upon them. In the aftermath, the heroes trace the root of the cyberattack to the dark side of the moon where they discover a hidden base developed by Brainiac. In addition to being able to turn Batman’s defenses against him, Brainiac has used the database to create his own army of robotic drones based off of the various supervillains stored in the Bat-Computer, with Brainiac versions of Bane and Doomsday seen among the drones that have ambushed and imprisoned the World’s Finest as they investigate the lunar base.
With his vast arsenal and constant preparation for future threats, the idea of Batman creating a program that would compile, track and predict his greatest enemies’ next moves is certainly expected for the Dark Knight. However, with Brainiac as perhaps the most technologically advanced being in the DCU, Batman’s latest weapon in his war on crime has just been horrifically turned against him. And with Batman and Superman effectively overwhelmed by Brainiac and the hijacked program, it’s now up to Steel and Batwoman to team up and save the day as they launch a daring rescue of their World’s Finest counterparts.
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