Batman 154: What’s making people crazy in Gotham City

The newest run of Chip Zdarsky’s newest arc "The Dying City" (Batman No. 153) started with a lot of villains for Batman to face. Among them are The Riddler, Vandal Savage, and, the newest threat, Commander Star. As if that wasn’t enough, Mayor Christopher Nakano was shot by an unknown person and Bruce Wayne is told he has a brother looking for shares of Wayne Enterprises. The only positive thing about this is that we know a lot of this is being caused by The Court of Owls.

During Batman No. 154, the Dark Knight begins investigating the death of Christopher Nakano. His mind immediately goes to Riddler and his newest partner and boss (and possibly the head of the Court of Owls), Leonid Kull. Both of them deny killing Nakano, but it makes sense. Riddler would make a big scene about the death and leave a bunch of dumb clues. Meanwhile, the Court of Owls does everything quietly. The body may not have been found or the death would have looked accidental. This puts the investigation back to square one.

Jim Gordon and Batman go back to the scene of Nakano's murder. While there, Batman notices two things. First, the shooter's accuracy shows that the perp knows how to kill. Second, the killer put something back, but not properly. This leaves Batman to think the person panicked because they didn't mean to kill Nakano.

As Batman is relaying information to Harvey Bullock, Jim Gordon is shaking, stuttering, and pointing a gun at Batman saying, “I was defending myself.” and “I didn’t mean to.” The Dark Knight is furious and says, “You’d point a gun at me?!” and punches Gordon in the face. Stunned at what just happened, Batman and Jim Gordon sit on the floor regretting what just occurred.

Something isn’t right with this crime. Jim Gordon wouldn’t point a gun at Batman and the Dark Knight wouldn’t have overreacted. That means something infected them. It didn't happen until Jim opened one of the doors in Nakano's house. Maybe that was the trigger. Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, and other Gotham City villains use mind-altering gasses and technology. They could easily pull this off.

Mind-controlling abilities wouldn’t just explain what happened to Jim Gordon, Batman, and why the person panicked after killing Nakano. It would lead to why people in Gotham are acting crazier than normal. Gotham City is the best it’s been in years and the citizens are acting racist and xenophobic.

Sure, people in Gotham can be nuts, but they’ve never been like this. Whoever’s behind this is responsible for a lot going on. They're looking for chaos and, as Batman put it, they want it known that they're untouchable. I’d bet it leads back to Commander Star and it's probably a Gotham City villain who got an upgrade in power or tech. Stay tuned to Caped Crusades to see who's behind the craziness in Gotham.

Who do you think is behind this? Have you been reading Chip Zdarsky's Batman? Let us know on the Bam Smack Pow Instagram and Twitter.