Batman: The Cult

The sewers beneath Gotham City are now the domain of Deacon Joseph Blackfire and his growing congregation. Batman, captured and held in their subterranean stronghold, is subjected to a systematic campaign of sensory deprivation and psychological torment. Blackfire’s goal is not execution, but conversion—to shatter the vigilante’s resolve and recruit him as a weapon for his holy war. As the cult’s influence spreads upward, flooding the streets with brainwashed followers, the city’s usual criminal element is displaced by a new, fanatical order. The struggle is internal, a battle fought in darkness against hunger, thirst, and a charismatic voice promising purpose.