Cover: Tony S. Daniel

Batman #85

Feb 2020 · DC · 4.99 USD

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About this Issue

Batman #85 marks the close of Tom King's four-year Rebirth-era run — a run originally conceived as a 100-issue arc that DC truncated at issue 85 — making it a genuine endpoint rather than a planned finale. As the conclusion to 'City of Bane,' it resolves the psychological assault Bane engineered against Bruce Wayne, culminating in Batman and Catwoman's defeat of the Flashpoint Thomas Wayne and Bruce's reckoning with Alfred Pennyworth's death in #77. The issue also functions as a hinge point for the entire series: it carries a two-page backup by incoming writer James Tynion IV that serves as a direct prelude to the 'Their Dark Designs' story arc, making it simultaneously the last chapter of one era and the opening breath of the next.

In "City of Bane Conclusion," Batman faces a climactic confrontation with a twisted version of his father, Thomas Wayne, as Gotham's fate hangs in the balance. With Gotham Girl weighing her path forward and Bruce and Selina confronting their own uncertain future, the city’s darkest hour brings both reckoning and quiet resolve. Mikel Janín and Hugo Petrus deliver striking visuals, with Jordie Bellaire’s colors deepening the emotional weight, all under Tom King’s masterful storytelling. Tony S. Daniel’s cover captures the tension in a single, haunting image.

Contains 2 stories

City of Bane Conclusion

38 pp · Superhero

Campbell (quarterback, image on screen)Phantom Pharaoh

In the climactic "City of Bane Conclusion," Bruce faces off against a haunting version of his father, Thomas Wayne, in a confrontation that tests the very core of his identity. As Gotham Girl weighs her path forward and Bruce and Selina confront their own uncertain future, Bane's long-simmering vengeance reaches its devastating peak.

Epilogue

3 pp · Superhero

Henry (Joker henchman)other unnamed Joker henchmen

In the quiet aftermath of a world turned inside out by Superman’s public revelation, the Joker finds a new kind of fuel for his chaos—his final war against Batman. With Gotham’s shadows deepening and the line between hero and man blurring, the two icons stand on the edge of something irreversible.

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $5

CGC 9.8 · 45 in census $6,071*

CGC 9.6 · 5 in census $3,169*

CGC 9.4 none in existence

CGC 9.2 none in existence

CGC 9.0 none in existence

CGC 8.5 $1,631

* 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 $2.75 NM+ · Variant $3.99 VF/NM $4.99 NM- $4.99 NM $5 Variant $5 Variant $5 NM · Variant $5.69

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History

Tom King began his Batman run at the start of DC Rebirth in 2016 with the expressed intention of telling a 100-issue story, but DC editorial shortened the run, ending it with this oversized issue published December 18, 2019. King finished the threads he could not resolve here in the separate 12-issue limited series Batman/Catwoman, drawn by Clay Mann. The main story in #85 was drawn by Mikel Janin and Hugo Petrus, with a cover by Tony S. Daniel; the Tynion/Guillem March backup was added to the issue to bridge directly into the new creative team's first arc beginning in #86.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published December 18, 2019; cover-dated February 2020 (Batman Vol. 3, #85); 48 oversized pages written by Tom King with art by Mikel Janin and Hugo Petrus, cover by Tony S. Daniel.
Serves as the conclusion to the 'City of Bane' arc (Batman #75–85), in which Bane seized Gotham City and used the Flashpoint Thomas Wayne as his enforcer while engineering the psychological and physical destruction of Bruce Wayne.
Tom King's final issue on the ongoing Batman title; his run was originally planned to run 100 issues but was cut to 85 by DC editorial.
Batman and Catwoman defeat the Flashpoint Thomas Wayne at Wayne Manor; Catwoman uses the Ventriloquist (Arnold Wesker) as part of a diversion, and Batman rejects Thomas Wayne's claim of paternity in a key confrontational speech.
Alfred Pennyworth's death (killed by Bane in issue #77) looms over the entire issue, with Bruce and Selina confronting its emotional aftermath in the story's flash-forward sequences.
Contains a 2-page backup story written by James Tynion IV with art by Guillem March, serving as a prelude to 'Their Dark Designs' (beginning in Batman #86); the sequence features the Joker and touches on the then-recent revelation of Superman's secret identity.
James Tynion IV's run officially began in #86, but his first contribution to the series appears here in #85 as the backup — making this the transition issue between two consecutive major runs on the flagship Batman title.
Collected in two separate trade paperback contexts: Batman: City of Bane — The Complete Collection (#75–85) and Batman Vol. 1: Their Dark Designs (#85–94, Batman Secret Files #3), as well as in the Batman by James Tynion IV Omnibus Vol. 1.