Detective Comics Issue 661

City on Fire
While the Joker and Scarecrow terrorize Mayor Armand Krol into making various irresponsible phone calls, Batman and Robin are on the trail of the pyromaniac costumed villain Firefly, the Ventriloquist is on the trail of Scarface, and the Riddler plans his next caper. The Joker and the Scarecrow have Mayor Krol manacled to a wall in their hideout, forcing him to call the governor of the state and refuse assistance by the National Guard as Gotham City descends into chaos due to the rampaging Arkham Asylum inmates. They then also force Krol to contact the Gotham newspapers and blame Police Commissioner Gordon for the slow response to the Arkham breakout. Since much of Gotham City is going up in flames due to Firefly's arsons, the Joker decides to order the mayor to contact the Firefighters Union about cutting the rolls. Krol refuses, since he understands this will result in a Firefighters' strike. However, when the Scarecrow threatens to gas him with his fear toxin, and mayor reluctantly complies with Joker's insane demand.

Meanwhile, at the Elmo's Pier amusement park, Firefly stands atop the tracks of the roller coaster and sets fire to everything around him. Soon the Midway, Ferris Wheel, and Funhouse are consumed by flames. Caught up in his pyromania, the maddened Firefly praises his blaze and bids the fires to dance as the entire pier begins to burn down. Batman and Robin arrived in the Batmobile, and Batman explains about Firefly, Garfield Lynns. Since Lynns had been locked up for so many years to rot in Arkham Asylum, Batman had almost forgotten about their last encounter. Robin is skeptical that Firefly would still be in the blaze, but Batman is convinced that pyromaniac Lynns gets a thrill of watching it burn and will not be able to tear himself away from the flames. Batman leaves the Batmobile to take on Firefly alone, knowing that the overwhelmed Fire Department will be unable to arrived in time, if at all. Robin wishes to join him, but Batman refuses firmly, since the Boy Wonder had barely escaped harm at the hands of Bane and Killer Croc a short while earlier.

Leaping onto the roller coaster tracks, Batman confronts Firefly. The villain welcomes him to his inferno, and Batman urges him to surrender, since the Dark Knight is blocking the only possible rote to the ground. Firefly recalls their first encounter and promises Batman will not apprehend him as easily as before. He then fires his flamethrower at Batman, which the hero blocks with his flame-retardant cape. Firefly escapes his own fire on a set of gliding wings built into his costume, and Batman is almost trapped by the blaze. Fortunately, Robin throws Batman a line, and he escapes in time to save himself. Robin observes that his mentor is pushing himself to the limits, but Batman insists he does not need assistance. Tim wants Batman to allow the police to apprehend some of the inmates, but he still knows there are many villains only Batman understands. Robin finally convinces his partner that they will accomplish more working as a team, so Batman leaves him behind at Elmo's pier to try and follow Firefly's trail.

Across Gotham City, the Ventriloquist interrogates a lawyer on the whereabouts of his dummy, Scarface. He converses with the man through a hand-sock known as 'Socko' and a duck puppet known as 'Duckman'. Duckman represents Scarface's violent personality, although somewhat more restrained. Socko, on the other hand, represents the meeker personality of the Ventriloquist. After binding the lawyer hand and foot and tying him to a chair in his bedroom, the Ventriloquist uses his two puppets to continue trying to pry information out of the frightened man. The lawyer explains his reluctance is due to the fact that he will be considered an accomplice for helping the Ventriloquist. In response, Socko converses with him in a calm manner, while Duckman brandishes an automatic pistol. Duckman voices he wants to murder the lawyer, while Socko acts more reasonable, ordering the captive to tell them where Scarface is so they can leave and not bother him any more. Finally, the lawyer gives in, and voices his opinion that Scarface is probably in storage at the evidence room of the precinct where the Ventriloquist was last arrested. He then also reveals that a policeman and legitimate paperwork with signed documents are required to gain entry to the evidence room. The Ventriloquist uses Socko to convince the lawyer to get them the paperwork needed, but the prisoner observes that the villain still needs a police officer to go with the documents. In response, the Ventriloquist produces a puppet resembling Gotham's police chief Clancy O'Hara, claiming that "Chief O'Hara" will allow them to gain access to the evidence room.

At Wayne Manor, Batman returns home, and is informed by Alfred Pennyworth that there were several missed calls from Dr. Sondra Kinsolving while he was out. Alfred notes Bruce's exhausted and battered condition, after he removes his costume, but Wayne claims that a hot breakfast and a shower is all he needs before going out as Batman again. Next door, Tim Drake is looking up old facts on Garfield Lynns, but finds that the man has been locked up in Arkham Asylum for so long there is hardly anything available about him, except his police file. Working feverishly on the computer, Tim traces Lynns' arrest record back to his youth in a juvenile detention center for multiple counts of arson, reckless endangerment, and even attempted homicide. His only listed place of residence is St. Evangelina's Home For Boys, an orphanage. Tim thus decides to visit the orphanage to see if anyone there remembers Garfield Lynns. After sneaking out of the house past his father, Jack Drake, Tim sets off as Robin.

Finally, he comes to St. Eveangelina's, now seemingly closed down, as judged by the somewhat grimy and dilapidated, having fallen into disrepair. However, there are still some lights, so Robin slips in through a broken window to investigate. He finds himself in a peaceful, moss covered courtyard, where he is greeted by a blind nun, seated on a nearby park bench. The Boy Wonder apologizes for bothering her, but she brushes it off, simply stating that she is not used to sharing the courtyard with anyone. She notes the youth in Robin's voice, and tells him that there haven't been any young people in the orphanage for twenty years, but she and a few of the other old nuns continue to maintain parts of it. Robin questions the nun about Garfield Lynns, and she does recall faint memories of the troubled boy, but even more about his younger sister, Amanda Lynns. The nun considers the possibility that Amanda may still be in Gotham City, and Robin leaves to locate her through voter registration.

In a seedy bar some distance away, the Riddler is plotting his next move while his henchmen amuse themselves by watching a talk show hosted by famous host Link Rambeau. Rambeau is interviewing Dr. Simpson Flanders, former Arkham psychiatrist and a firm believer in understanding the inner child of the criminally insane. Dr. Flanders advertises his new book 'I'm Sane and So Are You" and gives a lecture about how the fact that liberated mental patients are tearing Gotham apart is purely the fault of the citizens, since American culture is aberrant. Link is amused at the doctor's beliefs, which maintain that everyone must share the blame for Gotham City's current situation.

Since the Riddler's henchmen view the Link Rambeau Show as boring, they urge their boss to hurry and plan a criminal caper to provide them with some excitement. Meanwhile, the Cavalier is captured by Batman, and Robin is able to provide Batman with a list of potential Firefly targets from Amanda Lynns. When Batman catches up with the arsonist, though it seems as though his exhaustion and sleeplessness could cost both of them their lives...

Individuals

 * Batman
 * Robin
 * Alfred Pennyworth
 * Firefly
 * Armand Krol
 * Jack Drake
 * The Joker
 * The Scarecrow
 * Harvey Bullock
 * Stan Kitch
 * Renee Montoya
 * Sarah Essen
 * The Cavalier
 * Riddler
 * The Ventriloquist
 * Simpson Flanders
 * Amanda Kelso
 * Link Rambeau
 * Chief O'Hara (Cameo as a puppet only)

Vehicles

 * Batmobile

Locations

 * Gotham City
 * Wayne Manor
 * Elmo's Pier
 * Drake Manor
 * Majestic Theater
 * GCPD Headquarters
 * St. Evangelina's Home For Boys

Items

 * Batarang
 * Scarecrow's Fear Toxin
 * The Cavalier's Sword
 * Socko
 * Duckman
 * I'm Sane and So Are You (Book)

Behind the scenes

 * This issue is a part of the massive Knightfall crossover event in DC Comics. Knightfall consisted of three parts, Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd. The trilogy involved Batman's back being broken by Bane, the debut and subsequent descent into madness of Bruce Wayne's successor Batman Jean-Paul Valley, and Bruce Wayne's recovery and reclamation of his former title, combatting Valley himself.
 * This issue is reprinted in Batman: Knightfall, Volume 1.
 * This issue is Chapter Six of the "Knightfall" saga.
 * Firefly references he and Batman's first encounter, nearly forty years earlier in Detective Comics #184.