Batman: Shadow of the Bat #43

Batman confronts a cloaked, looming figure — the Ratcatcher — amid grimy brick walls, with a corroded canister and ominous tubing visible at the villain's side, setting a suitably grim Gotham atmosphere. Brian Stelfreeze's cover work captures Batman mid-advance, cape spreading wide beneath the shadow of that billowing green cloak, with debris scattered at his feet hinting at a tense encounter already in motion. Writer Alan Grant and artist Barry Kitson kick off "The Secret of the Universe Part One" in this October 1995 issue, promising a story that puts one of Gotham's stranger rogues squarely back in the spotlight.