[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Batman_The_Cult_1_cover_3303.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"There's something ''very scary'' going on out there."]]

->''The Deacon broke me, Robin. He starved, drugged, and tortured me... ''brainwashed'' me. Blackfire convinced me his ''twisted outlook'' on life was ''right''. I just wasn't ''strong enough'' to resist him.''
-->--'''Batman'''

''{{Batman}}: The Cult'' is a 1988 four-issue mini-series written by Jim Starlin, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, colored by Bill Wray and edited by Denny O'Neil. The series tell how a man, Deacon Blackfire, has created a secret underground cult in order to take over Gotham. He also kidnaps, drugs, and converts Batman in order to use him against the very city he swore to protect. After being missing for over a week, Robin (Jason Todd) infiltrates Blackfire's cult, rescues Batman, and escapes Gotham. After regaining their strength and upgrading their arsenal, they assault the cult-controlled Gotham to put an end to Deacon Blackfire's reign of terror. Facing Blackfire in an arena, Batman beats him into submission, shortly after being murdered by his very own cult. With Blackfire dead, the cult quickly disbands, with Gotham returning to normal.

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!!This graphic novel provides examples of:
* BloodierAndGorier: '''Yep.'''
* BloodBath: [[spoiler:Blackfire claims bathing in blood is the secret to immortality.]]
* {{Brainwashed}}: Deacon Blackfire turns Batman by torturing and drugging him. It's implied this is how he got most of his followers, given how quickly the cult breaks up after he's dead, and how most former members had no idea what they'd been doing under his command.
* CrazyHomelessPeople: It's not their fault, though.
* {{Cult}}: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Duh]]. Essentially, Deacon Blackfire's cult believes him to be a messiah who was sent by God in order to help them change their ways and save them from destruction. In turn, they believe they're ''saving'' Gotham by destroying it, like a modern telling of Sodom and Gomorrah.
* DarkMessiah: Deacon Blackfire.
* DisposableVagrant: When it becomes apparent that the homeless of Gotham have seemingly disappeared, one cop comments that he doesn't care where they went, just that they're gone.
* GenreSavvy: At the end, Batman sets fire to Blackfire's totem to destroy it and make sure that it can't be used if it's indeed mystical.
* HeroicBSOD: Batman has one after escaping from Blackfire's cult.
* {{Horror}}: Part PsychologicalHorror, part SurvivalHorror. It makes {{Arkham Asylum|A Serious House On Serious Earth}} look like a children's movie at times.
* KilledOffForReal: Blackfire stayed dead after the story. The closest he ever got to coming back was as [[BlackestNight a Black Lantern]].
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Done to Batman when he escapes into the sewer. Fortunately, Robin knows better.
* RoguesGallery: Notably absent. None of Batman's Rogues Gallery make an appearance, the story focusing more on Deacon Blackfire and his cult.
* SanitySlippage: As Batman's sanity breaks down, his hallucinations become more and more deranged.
* SinisterMinister: Blackfire.
* {{Tranquilizer Dart}}s: Batman and Robin use ''hundreds'' of them during their return to Gotham. They even use them in ''rifles and turrets''. Of course they all cause InstantSedation.
* TheUnreveal: It's never made clear if Deacon Blackfire's just a con-man or something more. When records of a man named Blackfire show up from fifty years ago, it's hypothesized they could be for this Blackfire's father.