Batman #426: A Death in the Family Chapter 1 and 2

Quick answer

Batman #426: A Death in the Family Chapter 1 and 2 stands out in Gotham Vault because the issue title, character tags, and 1988-12-31 cover date create a distinct entry point into Batman. Readers can use it to jump from this issue into Batman (Bruce Wayne), The Joker, Robin (Dick Grayson), Two-Face (Harvey Dent) and related Batman continuity.

Issue summary

Jason Todd's been getting out of control in his duties as Robin so Batman decides he needs to take a break for a while. While wondering around his old Crime Alley neighborhood he runs into an old friend of his family who provides him with some old papers that belonged to his parents. In the box he discovers a birth certificate that reveals that the woman he believed to be his mother, Catherine Todd, was actually his step-mother and that his biological mother's name started with the letter "S." He finds three likely candidates in his father's address book and takes it upon himself to track them down and discover if one of them might be his mother. Meanwhile, the Joker has broken out of Arkham Asylum yet again and has decided to get into the international arms business to replace the funds that have been seized by the government. He's got a nuclear weapon and he's decided to sell it to a buyer in Lebanon. So while Jason takes off to look for his mother... Bruce takes off to track down the Joker. Little do they realize they're both headed for the same place. Batman and Robin have both separately shown up in Lebanon but both are on different missions. Batman is trying to track down the Joker and the nuclear warhead he's peddling. Robin (Jason Todd) is trying to track down his biological mother and there are two possibilities who are currently in Lebanon. Sharmin Rosen, an Israeli…

Characters listed for this issue

Batman (Bruce Wayne)The Dark Knight of Gotham. Billionaire by day, vigilante by night. No superpowers, just iron…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

The JokerThe Clown Prince of Crime. Gotham's chaos agent. No one knows his real story, and that's the…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

R

Robin (Dick Grayson)Open this Gotham Vault character file to see linked appearances, story arcs, and related com…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

Two-Face (Harvey Dent)Harvey Dent was Gotham's white knight DA until acid and a bad day turned him into something …VIEW APPEARANCES ›