The story begins in the then-distant year of 2039. An aging Bruce Wayne, despite being in his 60s, continues to fight crime as Batman in a new high-tech Batsuit, although he has increased difficulty in handling criminals he could once subdue with finesse and they are no longer afraid of him as he has lost his mystique.
His rogues' gallery, consisting of Joker, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Man-Bat, Mad Hatter, Bane, Clayface, Catwoman, Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia, Phantasm, Ventriloquist, Firefly, Mr. Freeze, Hugo Strange, Rupert Thorne, Deadshot, Baby-Doll and Killer Croc are all either in prison, institutionalized, in exile, on the lam, reformed, have disappeared or are dead. He has also severed his ties with Superman and the Justice League.
