Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City, 18 years after the death of his parents. Lt. James Gordon transfers to the police department in Gotham, trying to put his troubles in Chicago behind him. Commissioner Loeb partners Gordon with the corrupt Detective Flass, who is uneasy with Gordon's refusal to break rules. Bruce returns to his butler Alfred at Wayne Manor, and continues his physical training with no clear goal. Flass has Gordon beaten with baseball bats by other cops, enough to send a message without putting him in the hospital. Gordon later runs Flass off the road in his car, then tosses him a baseball bat and beats him up the same way. Bruce begins his career as a vigilante by posing as a drifter in the East End. He meets the underage prostitute Holly Robinson, and fights her pimp Stan. The prostitute Selina Kyle attacks him to protect Holly, and this conflict gets him arrested. Bruce breaks out of his handcuffs and totals the cop car to escape, then drags both the officers to safety. Bruce crawls to his father's study, knowing he'll bleed out and die if he doesn't ring a bell for Alfred to come save him. He remembers the night his parents were killed, and asks his father for inspiration, as he'd rather die than wait another hour. Without warning, a bat comes crashing through the window, and he decides that he will become a bat.
