I know crime better than almost any man in this city. Criminalize people, and they'll act like criminals. Tell them they're killers, they'll become killers. When people are sick, they need treatment, and help, and understanding. 
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #53 is an issue of the series Batman: Shadow of the Bat (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 1996.
Synopsis for "Legacy, Prelude: Hobson's Choice"
Huntress is working on some criminal activity while Batman tells Robin about the death of Armand Krol as a result of the Ebola Gulf-A virus. Batman contacts Azrael to know more about the plague and it's origins. Azrael tells him to go the Sudan desert to find some ruins that may hold the answer he is looking for. Oracle contacts the people in the batcave and tells them that the virus isn't completely eliminated but instead it stays in a dormant state in the body and that it could remain in that state for days or years. Batman decides to go with Nightwing to Sudan and find a real cure for the virus. Robin decides that he wants to go too.
At Gotham City Hall the news about Krol's dead spreads like the virus itself. There is a meeting in which a man suggests quarantining all the people that have been infected by the virus. Mayor Grange and Commissioner Gordon refuse to do such a thing and then the members at the meeting vote to not proceed in that way. Bruce Wayne pays a visit to Lucius Fox to give him full authority over the WayneTech decisions because of Bruce's future absence.
Batman tells Commissioner Gordon about his plans of traveling to Africa to find a real cure. Gordon doesn't like to have to deal with Gotham City alone in that precise moment. Batman assures Gordon that he will leave a capable vigilante to help Gordon.
Huntress finds the place she has been looking for and takes down several crooks. One of them is about to shoot her when Robin appears and saves her. Robin then tells her about the "traveling plans" and asks her to be the official Gotham vigilante in their abscence. She agrees on the condition that when they come back, Batman will thank her personally.
Appearing in "Legacy, Prelude: Hobson's Choice"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Azrael
- Commissioner Gordon
- Huntress
- Lucius Fox
- Mayor Grange
- Nightwing
- Oracle
- Robin
Antagonists:
- "The Immortal" (Mentioned only)
- The Penguin
Other Characters:
- Ariana Dzerchenko (In a vision)
- Councilman Sperling (Single appearance)
- D.A. Seth Voder (voice only)
- Eritrius (Flashback only)
- Joe Public (Mentioned only)
- Lecky (small-time crook)
- Order of St. Dumas (Flashback only)
- Pagan (Mentioned only)
- Toro (small-time crook)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Sudan (Flashback only)
Items:
- Apocalypse Virus
- Bat-Signal
- Batcomputer
- Robin's Battle Staff
- Jason Todd's Costume
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Batman: Legacy and Batman: Legacy Vol. 1.
- This issue is to be considered a Prelude to the Batman: Legacy storyline.
- The story continues in Batman #533.
Trivia
- Armand Krol is mentioned to have died.[1]
- There is a reference to Ptolemy XII.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
  The events from this issue are related to the Legacy crossover that went through the Batman Family Titles in 1996. The events of Legacy lead into Batman: Cataclysm, and ultimately No Man's Land. Crossovers
Shadow of the Bat #53 • Batman #533 • Detective Comics #700 • Catwoman #36 • Robin #32 • Shadow of the Bat #54 • Batman #534 • Detective Comics #701 • Robin #33 • Detective Comics #702 |