BATMAN ANNUAL #20

In the future, set in a domed city ruled by a government that mind-controls its citizens on an unnamed planet, an old man spins tales for a group of children who are unwittingly being groomed for re-education. The fables revolve around the mythological "Bat-Man," who resided on the once-thriving planet Earth, each story coming with a special moral imparted by the old man to the children as a way of subtly warn them against their own government's sinister plans. The stories he tells, and the morals they impart, follow in this order: 1.) The Mad Jester, AKA the Majister, a techno-wizard cross between the Joker and the Mad Hatter who uses the populace's hologram entertainment to brainwash people into hysterical laughter, leaving them open to being robbed and murdered. The moral: the worst crimes may be the crimes against the mind, and don't let anyone force you to think their way. 2.) Cat-Fem (a cross between Man-Bat and Catwoman): after geneticist Selina Kane turns herself into a cat-woman, she goes on a spree of robberies and tempts Bat-Man into joining her on a life of sexy, sexy crime. The moral: evil comes in many appealing forms, but never be seduced. 3.) Split-Face: The city's original protector, Harvey Bent, decided that Bat-Man wasn't punishing criminals harshly enough and wanted to take matters into his own hands, but when he tried to burn out his darker desires with a torch to the face, the scarring unraveled his mind entirely, causing him to blame Bat-Man. After committing many crimes in the name of good and justice, he then tries and fails to kill the Bat-Man. The moral: a good deed never excuses an evil one, whereas one evil deed taints many a good deed. 4.) The Scarecrow, here a half-man half-bird creature, spends his days frightening away the birds who try to eat Gotham's entire food supply, but at night, he's secretly consumed by fear of flying creatures and of the Bat-Man in general. When the Bat-Man and Darkwing invade his fields to track down Ice Bird, the Scarecrow becomes infuriated and decides to face his fears by challenging Bat-Man in his domain. Assuming that he's a criminal, the Bat-Man and Darkwing terrorize the Scarecrow until he accidentally falls to his doom. The moral: the fear of fear itself is the worst fear of all, and never try to use your own weakness as a weapon. After the children are sent to the re-education center, the "old man" reveals himself as a Batman cyborg working with a resistance movement, and he saves the children. While the nature of this Batman is never explained, the message is clear: as long as people like the "old man" tell stories about the Bat-Man, then legends like the Bat-Man will never truly die.

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