Cover: Jorge Jiménez

Batman #116

Jan 2022 · DC · 4.99 USD

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★ 1st appearance — Grace O'Halloran

About this Issue

Batman #116 (cover date January 2022, on-sale November 2, 2021) is the penultimate chapter of James Tynion IV's 'Fear State' crossover event — the concluding arc of his celebrated run on Batman (Volume 3) — and it marks the narrative moment when Scarecrow's long-building 'Fear State Theory' finally reaches critical mass, with a toxin-conditioned Peacekeeper-01 turning on his own master and seizing control of Gotham's fate. The issue also carries structural significance as the second installment of the three-part 'Set It Off' backup story by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, which served as the direct launch vehicle for the Batgirls ongoing series, cementing Stephanie Brown (Spoiler) and Cassandra Cain as co-leads under Barbara Gordon's Oracle guidance while simultaneously introducing the hacker antagonist Seer (Kira Kosov) who would drive that book's first arc. Alongside the first full and first standard appearances of several secondary Peacekeeper-class characters, the issue is the rare single comic that functioned as both an event climax and a franchise incubator for an entirely new ongoing title.

In "Fear State Part 5," Gotham teeters on the edge as Ghost-Maker fights to defend the Unsanity Collective from a violent Peacekeeper assault in Queen Ivy’s hidden garden, where Ivy’s escalating powers threaten to turn the sanctuary into a ruin. Meanwhile, Batman and Miracle Molly close in on Scarecrow’s lair, setting the stage for a tense showdown with the enigmatic Peacekeeper-01. Written by James Tynion IV and brought to life by Jorge Jiménez’s striking art and Tomeu Morey’s vivid colors, this pivotal issue deepens the crisis with relentless momentum. The cover, by Jorge Jiménez, captures the chaos in stark, dramatic detail.

Contains 2 stories

Fear State Part 5

22 pp · Superhero

Queen Ivythe Unsanity Collective [Miracle MollyMaster WyzeSqueak]

In "Fear State Part 5," Ghost-Maker fights to defend the Unsanity Collective as Peacekeepers storm Queen Ivy’s hidden garden, forcing Ivy to consider unleashing her amplified powers against Gotham. Meanwhile, Batman and Miracle Molly close in on Scarecrow, leading to a tense showdown with the enigmatic Peacekeeper-01.

Batgirls Part 2 of 3 Set It Off

8 pp · Superhero

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $2

CGC 9.8 · 50 in census $32

CGC 9.6 · 5 in census $20*

CGC 9.4 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

NM $2.49 VF+ $2.99 MINT · Variant $3.52 VF/NM $3.98 NM+ · Variant $4.79 NM $4.99 NM+ $4.99 MINT · Variant $4.99

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History

Batman #116 was written by James Tynion IV (main story) and by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad (backup), with Jorge Jiménez providing art and Tomeu Morey colors on the lead feature, and Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern on the backup; Clayton Cowles lettered throughout under editor Ben Abernathy and editor-in-chief Marie Javins. The issue arrived near the tail end of Tynion's run — a tenure that had already introduced Ghost-Maker in Batman #100 and Miracle Molly (first full appearance Batman #108) as part of a deliberate effort to build a new generation of Gotham characters alongside the existing Bat-family. The Cloonan/Conrad backup strips running through Batman #115–117 were expressly designed to bridge the Fear State event into the launch of the Batgirls standalone series, which debuted the following month in December 2021.

Trivia · 8 facts

Cover date January 2022; published on-sale November 2, 2021 by DC Comics (Batman Volume 3, #116).
Main story: 'Fear State, Part 5' — written by James Tynion IV, art by Jorge Jiménez, colors by Tomeu Morey; the penultimate chapter of the Fear State crossover event.
Backup story: 'Set It Off, Part 2 of 3' — written by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, art by Jorge Corona, colors by Sarah Stern; the second of three backup installments that launched the Batgirls ongoing series, featuring Stephanie Brown (Batgirl/Spoiler) and Cassandra Cain (Batgirl) as co-leads under Oracle/Barbara Gordon, with Seer (Kira Kosov) as antagonist.
The DC Database records first appearances of Peacekeeper-78 and Peacekeeper-91 in this issue, along with the first full appearance of Peacekeeper-15, as Scarecrow's conditioning of Sean Mahoney (Peacekeeper-01) reaches completion and Mahoney turns on Scarecrow.
Key story beat: Scarecrow uses the Unsanity Collective's Mind Machine — built on technology derived from Mad Hatter's tech — on Peacekeeper-01 to complete his 'Fear State' programming; Peacekeeper-01 then shoots Scarecrow, seizing autonomous control and setting up the final confrontation in #117.
Ghost-Maker, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy's storyline converges here: Ivy's underground Eden is attacked by Magistrate forces, and Harley Quinn arrives with a second 'fragment' of Ivy, setting up Ivy's arc resolution.
Collected in Batman Vol. 5: Fear State (ISBN 978-1779514301), which represents the fifth and final trade paperback of Tynion's Batman run, and also in the expanded Batman: Fear State Saga (ISBN 978-1779520036), which adds Fear State Alpha, Omega, and the Miracle Molly, Gardener, and Peacekeeper-01 Secret Files one-shots.
The Batgirls backup's continuity note: the 'Set It Off' story takes place directly after the epilogue of Nightwing (Volume 4) #85, threading the backup tightly into the broader Infinite Frontier line-wide narrative.