Warning! Contains spoilers from Batman/Spawn #1!One location in Gotham may finally provide answers to why Batman’s beloved city is so inundated with evil. Batman/Spawn #1 reveals an iconic area in Gotham has a dark secret that helps explain the terrifying curse Gotham seems to suffer from.
Even before Bruce Wayne took on the mantle of the Dark Knight, Gotham was gripped by forces that allowed evil and crime to prosper. All the way back to the city’s founding, Gotham was beset by organized crime, random violence and even devil worship. Though things got a little better for the city with the debut of Batman, the evil that plagues Gotham has never left. Instead, it’s transformed to an army of twisted villains intent on either controlling the city or bringing it down altogether. Bruce continues the good fight, but it seems that the malignant forces hiding in the shadows only grow stronger as time goes on.
But there may be a good reason for why Gotham is so entrenched in evil, and one location may hold the key. In Batman/Spawn #1 by Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo, the shadowy organization the Court of Owls has manipulated Spawn into going after their most hated enemy, Batman. Unfortunately for them, the two vigilantes realize that the Court is after something much larger and team up to stop them. The Court unleashes a Talon to track down and kill both men. But Batman and Spawn are ahead of the game and plan an attack at Arkham Asylum. The Talon is baited, and the duo begins their coordinated attack. However, it’s revealed via narration that Arkham Asylum has a dark secret: the facility is actually built on a Dead Zone, something Spawn has frequently encountered before.
What Dead Zones Mean For Gotham and Batman
Fans may recall that Dead Zones are a staple of the Spawn comics and essentially act as gateways between Heaven, Hell and Earth. This allows all manner of demons and other supernatural monsters easy passage through the realms, though Spawn has taken it upon himself to seal the Dead Zones. Still, such a thing in Gotham puts its evil nature in quite a new light, knowing that at one time it actually contained a portal to Hell itself.
Gotham has been described as ‘cursed’ in the past, largely owning to his pervasive criminal element and it’s association with the dark god Barbatos. But the idea that Gotham is home to a Dead Zone really does explain why Gotham has struggled to become anything close to resembling a normal city. For all the good that Batman does, Gotham has likely been infected by demons for centuries, likely to the point where the evils of Hell make up the fabric of Gotham completely. Fans can judge for themselves on what a Dead Zone means for Gotham by reading Batman/Spawn #1 on sale now.
