History Awesome / BatmanEternal

** And finally, one for the BigBad. After 50 issues, Batman still has no idea ''who'' the villain behind this is, and has exhausted every possibility, gone after every important mastermind villain in his galllery trying to find out who it is, but each time its proven to be a dead end. Finally, they invite him to the roof of GCPD to finally end this, and he finally comes face-to-face with who it is: ''Cluemaster'', who's [[BeneathSuspicion taken advantage]] of his CListFodder status to [[MagnificentBastard plan everything from behind the shadows]], knowing that Batman would never even ''consider'' him as a suspect. Tellingly, even readers, who had seen what he was doing throughout the entire plot, didn't believe he was the BigBad and expected him to be usurped in the following issue (51) after TheReveal due to him being CListFodder, only to be proven wrong. NotSoHarmlessVillain indeed.

** ''#32'': Steph's been caught by [[spoiler:Hush]], who's gotten incredibly frustrated at her ability to escape his forces so far in-spite of a very large hit placed on her head and her lack of real training. Her response to his attempt at a BreakingSpeech is to pepper spray him and punch him, though that backfires as she hurts her wrist doing so while not doing much damage. ''However'', when Batman shows up to save her, he succeeds in only providing a destraction as he's too fatigued to really take him on, but it gives Steph the time to ready her bike and just run the sucker down. While they manage to escape by tossing an explosive at them, [[StealthHiBye Steph is able to slip away before Batman can talk to her]] ''[[RunningGag -Again-]]'' so she can continue her work.

** In the finale, Steph delivers a mask-breaking punch to [[spoiler: Lincoln March]] while declaring that she is Batman.

* When [[spoiler:Blackfire succeeds at creating a portal to hell, which Batwing and Jim Corrigan working together were unable to stop. [[PhysicalGod The Spectre]] gets out of Jim, and then proceeds to destroy the portal, banish Blackfire back to hell, and contain the spirits released within a few minutes without even appearing to be [[SeenItAll all that impressed by what he had done]].]]

* Harper [[spoiler:managed to take the machine controlling the nanobots infecting everyone, leaving Mad Hatter powerless for Batman to grab.]]

** And finally, one for the BigBad. After 50 issues, Batman still has no idea ''who'' the villain behind this is, and has exhausted every possibility, gone after every important mastermind villain in his galllery trying to find out who it is, but each time its proven to be a dead end. Finally, they invite him to the roof of GCPD to finally end this, and he finally comes face-to-face with who it is: [[spoiler: ''Cluemaster'', who's [[BeneathSuspicion taken advantage]] of his CListFodder status to [[MagnificentBastard plan everything from behind the shadows]], knowing that Batman would never even ''consider'' him as a suspect. Tellingly, even readers, who had seen what he was doing throughout the entire plot, didn't believe he was the BigBad and expected him to be usurped in the following issue (51) after TheReveal due to him being CListFodder, only to be proven wrong. NotSoHarmlessVillain indeed.]]
** [[spoiler:While he did get usurped by Lincoln March, Lincoln does reveal that this was all Arthur Brown's idea and his only mistake was trying to become one of the greats instead of getting away with being a nobody.]]
* The big climax: [[spoiler: March]] beats a weakened Batman down, declaring that when he's done, Batman will be forgotten by Gotham. At that moment, Gordon gets on the broadcasting screens across Gotham to give a RousingSpeech to the people of Gotham to stand ready and "tonight, we all have to be Batman." He then has Bat-signals lit across the roofs to fill the skies as the people begin to fight back against the various crooks running around.

* [[spoiler: Lincoln]] is stunned, unable to accept the people of Gotham willing to fight back. He tries to kill Batman only to get knocked down and when he looks up, Gordon and every one of Batman's costumed allies are standing before him, ready to beat him down.

* Despite having been pumped full of hallucination toxin, Alfred teams up with Bane to escape into the sewers. He earns Bane's respect by showing off his old military skills, finds a hidden Batcave, and then proceeds to knock Bane out with sleeping gas. Then becomes a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming when he reaches out to Batman over the comm, and his daughter, who had been worriedly searching for him, finally hears his voice again.

** Gordon, still in prison, is targeted during a second riot. At first it seems he's going to get beaten to death by Penguin and some muscle, but instead he, once more, takes care of himself by basically evoking Rorscache; he beats Penguin and a few others so hard that all he has to do is give a BadassBoast every time someone else comes close, and he can sit the riot out, peacefully reading until GCPD come to pick him up.

** [[spoiler:While he did get usurped by the BiggerBad, Lincoln March, Lincoln does reveal that this was all Arthur Brown's idea and his only mistake was trying to become one of the greats instead of getting away with being a nobody.]]

** [[spoiler:While he did get usurped by the BiggerBad, Lincoln March, Lincoln does reveal that this was all Arthur Brown's idea and his only mistake was trying to become one of the greats instead of getting away with being a nobody.]]

* Bard tries a massive trap on Batman, forcing Lucius Fox to send the Batmobile out of control and crashing through buildings. Bard celebrates only to find every cop on the roof with him glaring with utter disgust.

* Brad then calls his lover Vicki Vale, only for her to berate him, having uncovered Brad is being drive by his loss of his former partner/lover because of a vigilante and this is all just a twisted sense of revenge. When Brad says he "just took down Batman," Vicki snorts that "I'm going to hang up just before he shows up to give you the punch in the face you damn well deserve." She does and Brad turns in time to see a gloved fist coming at him.

-->'''Brad''': You're just trying to scare me. I had you.

* When Batman turns up alive, Bard tries to give him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech only to have it turned on him.

** ''#32'': Steph's been caught by [[spoiler:Hush]], who's gotten incredibly frustrated at her ability to escape his forces so far in-spite of a very large hit placed on her head and her lack of real training. Her response to his attempt at a HannibalLecture is to pepper spray him and punch him, though that backfires as she hurts her wrist doing so while not doing much damage. ''However'', when Batman shows up to save her, he succeeds in only providing a destraction as he's too fatigued to really take him on, but it gives Steph the time to ready her bike and just run the sucker down. While they manage to escape by tossing an explosive at them, [[StealthHiBye Steph is able to slip away before Batman can talk to her]] ''[[RunningGag -Again-]]'' so she can continue her work.

** And finally, one for the BigBad. After 50 issues, Batman still has no idea ''who'' the villain behind this is, and has exhausted every possibility, gone after every important mastermind villain in his galllery trying to find out who it is, but each time its proven to be a dead end. Finally, they invite him to the roof of GCPD to finally end this, and he finally comes face-to-face with who it is: [[spoiler: ''Cluemaster'', who's [[BeneathSuspicion taken advantage]] of his CListFodder status to [[MagnificentBastard plan everything from behind the shadows]], knowing that Batman would never even ''consider'' him as a suspect. Tellingly, even readers, who had seen what he was doing throughout the entire plot, didn't believe he was the BigBad and expected him to be usurped in the following issue (51) after TheReveal due to him being CListFodder, only to be proven wrong. NotSoHarmlessVillain indeed.]]

** And finally, one for the BigBad. After 50 issues, Batman still has no idea ''who'' the villain behind this is, and has exhausted every possibility, gone after every important mastermind villain in his galllery trying to find out who it is, but each time its proven to be a dead end. Finally, they invite him to the roof of GCPD to finally end this, and he finally comes face-to-face with who it is: [[spoiler: ''Cluemaster'', who's taken advantage of his CListFodder status to [[MagnificentBastard plan everything from behind the shadows]], knowing that Batman would never even ''consider'' him as a suspect. NotSoHarmlessVillain indeed.]]

** And finally, one for the BigBad. After 50 issues, Batman still has no idea ''who'' the villain behind this is, and has exhausted every possibility, gone after every important mastermind villain in his galllery trying to find out who it is, but each time its proven to be a dead end. Finally, they invite him to the roof of GCPD to finally end this, and he finally comes face-to-face with who it is: [[spoiler: ''Cluemaster'', who's taken advantage of his CListFodder status to plan everything from behind the shadows, knowing that Batman would never even ''consider'' him a possible suspect.]] NotSoHarmlessVillain indeed.

* Harper [[spoiler:managed to take the machine controlling the nanobots infecting everyone, leaving Mad Hatter powerless for Batman to grab.]]

** ''#32'': Steph's been caught by the BigBad, who's gotten incredibly frustrated at her ability to escape his forces so far in-spite of a very large hit he's placed on her head and her lack of real training. Her response to his attempt at a HannibalLecture is to pepper spray him and punch him, though that backfires as she hurts her wrist doing so while not doing much damage. ''However'', when Batman shows up to save her, he succeeds in only providing a destraction as he's too fatigued to really take him on, but it gives Steph the time to ready her bike and just run the sucker down. While they manage to escape by tossing an explosive at them, [[StealthHiBye Steph is able to slip away before Batman can talk to her]] ''[[RunningGag -Again-]]'' so she can continue her work.

* Despite having been pumped full of hallucination toxin, Alfred teams up with Bane to escape into the sewers. He earns Bane's respect by showing off his old military skills, finds a hidden Batcave, and then proceeds to knock Bane out with sleeping gas. Then becomes a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming when he reaches out to Batman over the comm, and his daughter, who had been worriedly searching for him, finally hears his voice again.

*** The kicker on this is that when Batman goes to find Bane, he's trussed up, hands tied above his head and hanging from a sewage pipe, with [[GratuitousFrench "Vive Le Roi"]] (Live the King) written in his blood on the wall, proving that a) Croc wanted Batman to get him and b) he wasn't kidding about reading French literature, as he said during the fight.

--->'''Bane:''' (injured and barely able to stand) K--Kill me.
--->'''Croc:''' Oh this ain't '''about''' beating you. And it ain't about '''killing''' you. It's all about making an '''example''' of you.

* Jason Bard's massive BatmanGambit in order to take down Forbes, Falcone, and Penguin, all by using the war-on-masks against them.
** Penguin's attack on Falcone is a pretty badass move on his part. Falcone doesn't take him seriously, since he always cowered behind his personal muscle and never fought anyone himself. But, after finding all of his men killed brutally, he finds that Penguin ''left his boys at home'', and is here by himself. With only a bladed umbrella, Oswald took down several armed thugs, ''by himself''. And now we know ''why'' he ran crime in Gotham for the last few years.

* When [[spoiler:Blackfire succeeds at creating a portal to hell, which Batwing and Jim Corrigan working together were unable to stop. [[PhysicalGod The Spectre]] gets out of Jim, and then proceeds to destroy the portal, banish Blackfire back to hell, and contain the spirits released within a few minutes.]]

* When [[spoiler:Blackfire succeeds at creating a portal to hell, which Batwing and Jim Corrigan working together were unable to stop. [[PhysicalGod The Spectre]] gets out of Jim, and then proceeds to destroy the portal, banish Blackfire back to hell, and contain the spirits released within a few minutes.]]

* Gordon going ''[[DieHardOnAnX Die Hard]]'' in Blackgate prison, trying to take down both sides of the gang war that erupted and are holding hostages. He doesn't do it all himself, but he certainly helps calm things down, at least until his cellmate, Leo, arrives, who's arrival is also a moment of awesome when it reveals him as ''[[RetiredBadass The Lion]]'', the man who ran Gotham's crime syndicates before Falcone. Suffice to say, the remaining rioting inmates don't last long.

* Killer Croc's team-up with Batman. The two make a surprisingly good team.

-->'''Steph:''' And the Bad Guys expect me to just dissapear down the memory hole? SPOILER ALERT: No Damn Way.

* Jason Bard's massive BatmanGambit in order to take down Forbes, Falcone, and Penguin, all by using the war-on-masks against them.