Batman: Year One
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Batman: Year One was the title of a comic book written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli and colored/painted by Richmond Lewis, released by DC Comics.
The story was first published in issues 404 to 407 of the ongoing Batman comic series in 1987. It was one of the first examples of the limited series within a series format that is now very popular in comic books. There have been several different reprints of the story: a hardcover, at least two trade paperback editions (one in standard comics paper with simpler coloring and one deluxe version with rich detailing in the colors - both were colored by Richmond Lewis) and it was included in The Complete Frank Miller Batman leather-bound hardcover.
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Synopsis
The story recounts the beginning of Bruce Wayne's career as Batman and Jim Gordon's with the Gotham City Police Department.
Bruce Wayne returns home from training abroad. In Gotham, he bides his time, waiting for the right moment, all the while preparing himself.
Gordon has moved to Gotham with his pregnant wife, Barbara, and pursues a career in law enforcement. His first time out patrolling reveals to him the disturbing nature of law enforcement in Gotham as a senior officer, Detective Flass, assaults a teenager for "staying out late".
Bruce makes preparations - giving himself a fake scar, registering at a hotel - before going out for his first street mission. He enters the Red Light District of Gotham. A young prostitute tries to proposition him. Her pimp, angry because he knows Bruce isn't the type to hire prostitutes, forcefully drags her away. Bruce confronts him and gets into a fight, and a few others join in. Selina Kyle, a dominatrix, jumps from her window and fights with Bruce.
Unfortunately, the police arrive on the scene and arrest Bruce. On their way to the station, he manages to escape. He pulls the officers out of the car and goes back home, bleeding severely. There he sits, looking for inspiration, something he feels will strike fear into the hearts of criminals. A bat crashes into the room through a window, to which Bruce immediately responds. He has found what he is looking for.
Gordon tries to clean up GCPD, but is attacked and threatened by fellow officers. After recovering, he visits the house of one of these officers, where they have gathered to play poker. He waits for Detective Flass, who he knows is responsible for organizing the attack. Flass is the last to leave, and Gordon tails him into the woods, where he proceeds to attack the drunken officer.
Bruce goes out for the first time and stops a trio of teenagers from stealing a television. A brief struggle ensues, resulting in Batman's first victory. The legend quickly grows. One night, when the corrupt city leaders, including the GCPD Commissioner, gather for a dinner party, While Commissioner Loeb explains why Batman is politically advantageous to themselves and assumes he would never bother them, Batman sneaks onto the grounds, puts the guards to sleep and sets up stage lights around the window that comprises one of the dining room walls. He cuts the electricity, throwing the room in darkness, then activates the lights. He gives the men and women a dire warning that he is just as determined to deliver them to justice as well, then leaves.
The police then try to capture Batman numerous times, but Bruce is quick to catch on. After a night of following useless leads, Gordon and his female partner, Detective Essen, see a truck barreling down the street. They give chase and Gordon hands the wheel over to Essen as he tries to get into the vehicle. An old, homeless person stands in the way of the truck and is about to be run over, when Batman jumps in and shoves her out of the way. The bus runs into a wall and Gordon briefly blacks out, only to awake moments later and find Essen holding Batman at gunpoint. She is momentarily distracted when she turns to ask if he is all right and Batman flees into an abandoned building.
When cops arrive on the scene, the commissioner is quick to call in the trigger-happy Brandon and his squad to take drop a bomb on the building, which the commissioner claims has already been scheduled for demolition. Batman escapes into the secure basement and survives the blast. A crowd gathers outside the building and Batman uses a small device to summon thousands of bats from his cave to the building. A battle occurs as the police storm into the building and hunt him down. He incapacitates some and even saves a cat, jumping out of the building (after throwing a police office forcefully into a wall) and speeds away on a motorcycle seconds after a cloud of bats swarm the area. Using the bats as cover, Batman escapes.
Gordon has a brief affair with Essen. During the affair, he is confronted by the commissioner, who threatens to inform his wife of the affair if he doesn't comply. Gordon, after bringing his wife to an interview with Bruce Wayne, who he and others suspect of being Batman, stops the car in the driveway on the way back and tells her. Essen later leaves for Chicago.
Months pass and Batman overhears a local mafia boss planning revenge against Gordon. However, Selina Kyle, frustrated because she feels her petty crimes aren't enough, interferes and attacks the group. Batman does not appear, but helps Selina from the shadows, throwing small bat-shaped blades laced with tranquilizers at some of the men. Bruce, while working out, figures out the plan for himself based on the part of the conversation he was able to record.
Gordon is called away by the police to investigate a robbery. On his way out, a mysterious motorist entering his garage raises Gordon's suspicions, as Gordon has never seen the motorist. He returns to the garage only to find his wife and baby being pulled into a car. He shoots and wounds the men trying to take his wife, who survives. The car leaves with Gordon's baby in it, and Gordon follows in the motorcycle. The motorist, Bruce, takes a bicycle from a passing stranger, but not before Barbara threatens to shoot him. She lets him go when he reveals who he is and promises not to hurt her baby.
Gordon punctures a wheel on the car and it crashes into the side of a bridge. The don's hired knife, his nephew, exits the car baby in hand. A struggle ensues and the baby is thrown off the bridge, followed by Gordon. However, Bruce has arrived and dives after the baby before Gordon even falls over the rail. Gordon, having lost his glasses in the struggle with the hitman, thanks Bruce(whom he does not recognize due to aforementioned missing glasses) and makes it clear that he won't turn him in.
The lives of these two disparate individuals become intertwined as they find themselves allies against the corrupt powers of Gotham City.
A side story of the origin of Catwoman was also re-envisioned, which reintroduced Selina Kyle as a cat-loving prostitute/dominatrix who was inspired to become a costumed cat burglar when she saw Batman in action.
The story ends with Gordon planning to meet with Batman about the Joker.
The story also includes the first appearance of Mafia don Carmine Falcone.
Batman Begins tie-in
A film version had been in development at Warner Bros. Studio for several years, and while a direct adaptation (written by Frank Miller himself, to be directed by Darren Aronofsky) was eventually abandoned, Batman: Dark Victory and Batman: The Long Halloween, continuations of the stories in Batman: Year One, are both cited as inspiration for the reboot of the Batman movie franchise with Batman Begins in 2005, starring Christian Bale as Batman and Gary Oldman as Gordon.
Trivia
An idea introduced in the story that later writers seemed to ignore is that Gordon is aware that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person. When Gordon sees an unmasked Bruce, who just saved Gordon's son, he replies, "I'm practically blind without my glasses. You better go." Many fans have interpreted that as Gordon not getting a good look at Batman's face, but Gordon's wife saw Bruce in action without his mask. The line might indicate Gordon coming up with plausible deniability.
Mazzucchelli and Miller based Bruce Wayne's facial appearance on actor Gregory Peck.