Gotham Central

The whole of the Gotham City Major Crimes Unit is called in when Detective Charlie Fields is killed by Mister Freeze while investigating a kidnapping with his partner Marcus Driver .

Montoya and Allen visit the crime scene of the dead Danny and Marcus confirms he is the one who was with Freeze. At the morgue, Nora, Charlie's wife, comes to see him one last time. Marcus tries to convince her not to because of his bad condition but she claims to be ready for it since she works at the morgue, too. But seeing him still brings her to tears. Back at the police station, Montoya tells her colleagues all the information they have to capture Freeze. They want to solve the case before Batman intrudes at night. Josh and Trey go to prison to talk to "known associates" of Freeze, but without any luck. The other cops talk to a diamond dealer, while Nate and Holmes get some information about a diamond deal from a street thug. There is also information at a cryogenics company and sold freezers. Montoya and Allen discuss involving Batman. At another meeting all the information is gathered. While the detectives try to connect the dots, Marcus has a revelation about what Freeze said before he killed Charlie. Everyone is mobilized as it becomes clear that Freeze is trying to the big ceremony that is going down in Gotham that night. Marcus even wants Batman to become involved. So he and the commissioner activate the Bat Signal and talk to Batman. During the ceremony, Freeze is freezing some cops and plans his big coup when Batman arrives. At the same time, James Gordon is giving a speech on education and graduation at the ceremony. Batman tells Montoya that Freeze is done so they can pick him up. Marcus drives home, learning that Freeze's plans to freeze everyone at the ceremony have been stopped by Batman who then appears at his car. Marcus tells him to go to hell.

A new storyline begins in this gritty look at the non-costumed heroes of Gotham City. With the effects of the GCPD's first adventure still hanging heavy over the squad of Gotham's Major Crimes Unit, Firebug returns to rain terror and flame across the city! Meanwhile, the investigation into the child kidnapping continues. Josh and Davies discuss whether evil people know they are evil. Marcus is assigned a new partner to work on his case. They also discuss the continuing appearance of the Firebug case. The Commissioner thinks Marcus should take some time off instead. He continues working on his kidnapping case with Romy Chandler, his new partner for a couple of days. Her regular partner Nate makes some thoughtless joke before they leave. The kidnapped girl, Bonnie, had been found dead and Driver and Chandler go to the crime scene again where he tells her all he knows. At the morgue they are told that someone hit her on the head. They realize that she was already dead when the kidnapper's note appeared, so there never was a kidnapping. They discuss the case with the commissioner. They talk to Bonnie's parents and learn that she has been popular in school, except for two kids who bullied her. They get her diary and school yearbook. Everyone is surprised about her death because it's a rich and therefore supposedly safe neighborhood. They also talk to the parents of the boy she babysitted before her death but they aren't really interested in helping. While discussing their progress, the radio calls of a new Firebug incident. They race there, a burning building. Sarge is trying to take hold off Firebug but misses him. Before they can rescue more tenants, Batman gets the last of them. While the building is saved by firefighters, Marcus comes back to Bonnie and can't stop thinking about who did this to her.

Investigations into the arson attacks and the murder of Bonnie Lewis continue in the Gotham City Police Department. Driver and Chandler interview two boys thought to have been bullying Bonnie at school (Brian and Mike) and discover that they are innocent, though they did steal a batarang from Bonnie. Later, Joseph Rigger (formerly Firebug) is located by the police - he tries to make an escape through a window, but lands awkwardly on a police car.

The dramatic finale of not one but two cases! Detectives Marcus Driver and Romy Chandler have a suspect. But is he the man who murdered little Bonnie Lewis? Meanwhile, the detectives' case against Firebug and his string of arsons in Gotham City hits a surprising bump. The clock is ticking on both cases and this issue's got a twist of an ending. And wait'll you see Driver's confrontation with Batman!

Overview Greg Rucka commanders this latest arc, which focuses on the life of fan-favorite Renee Montoya! That life is about to be shattered to smithereens, revealing to colleagues and readers alike a side of Montoya we never even guessed at! It begins with Montoya being served a summons and unravels so quickly that before she knows what's happening, her deepest secret has been exposed and her personal life has become inextricably entwined with her professional life. And this is just the beginning of her fall!

"Half a Life," Part 2. Renee Montoya's deepest secret has become public knowledge, plunging her personal and professional life into chaos. Her relationship with her fellow detectives is irrevocably altered, especially her partnership with Allen! Meanwhile, Montoya's brother attempts an intervention, and she commits a very dangerous error in confronting her stalker - one that has fatal consequences. After her colleagues continue to make fun of Renee Montoya after they see the photo of her kissing another woman, she tells her name is Daria. Afterwards, she feels under constant watch from everyone. Crispus takes interest in her case about Lipari even though she tells him to leave it alone. The captain calls her into her office and she assumes it's about her outing. But the captain wants to know about Esperanza from I.A.D. and worries that they might suspect her to be Selker's killer. She also asks if Lipari might have taken the photo of her while following her. She wants to give Renee advice on her outing from her own experience, but she rejects that, telling her that she is in a different position because of her family. Some policemen harrass her again, but she fires back, prompting an insult from one cop. Crispus sees this. At home, she is visited by her brother who shows her the picture. Her mother got it sent by someone and both parents were really upset about it. Her brother calmed them down by saying the picture is fake, but he wants her to deal with the situation. He wants her to deny it in front of them to protect them, but Renee is unsure about that. She meets with Daria and tells her everything. They talk some more and she walks Daria home. When she's gone, Lipari appears with a video camera. He provokes her until she beats him up and destroys the videotape. Daria is upset. Lipari stumbles home, vowing revenge but instead he is shot in his apartment.

As Half a Life continues, the issue picks up with Major Crimes Unit investigating the death of Marty Lipari, where Montoya's gun is found to be the murder weapon, leading to Montoya's arrest for murder.

As Bruce Wayne's attorney schedules her for a bail hearing, the bus carrying her and the other inmates is attacked with Montoya being captured by Two-Face's men. As Detective Allen searches for clues to find Montoya,finding more corruption in the Major Crimes Unit, giving him his first solid lead on Two-Face.

The conclusion to Half a Life, as Montoya deals with Two-Face's feelings for her. Batman, Cris and MacDonald mount a rescue attempt. They free her but the damage is done, ruining the bond Renee has with her parents. Renee wakes up in a cell where Harvey Dent greets her. He shows her around the house and nearly kills a guard who supposedly looked at Renee the wrong way. He invites her to dinner at his place and tells her that the coin decided to ruin her life. Allen is talking to Crowe about Two-Face. Conway was threatend by Two-Face so he made Renee look more guilty. Crispus tells Crowe the whole story when he suddenly disappears and he realizes that it was Batman imitating Crowe. As Batman seems to know where to find Renee now, Crispus takes Josie to follow him. Two-Face and Renee are having dinner. He explains his complete plan to her, how he hired Lipari, how we watched her beat him down, how he staged the breakout. Renee freaks out then, shouting at him. He tells her that he wanted to ruin her life, so that she can focus on him. Both are living half lives, according to him. She knocks him down and wants to escape, but realizes the apartment is underground. She then tells him that he will never get her. He gets mad and vows to kill either her or Daria. The coin decides for Daria. She fights for his gun, then Batman appears, knocks him down and tells her the guards are locked up too. She blames Batman for always allowing Two-Face to get free, while she might have killed him. He doesn't take the blame. Crispus, Renee and Josie discuss the fallout of the case. Two-Face is locked up in Arkham, the I.D.A. is dropping its charges and apologizes to Renee. The commissioner talks to Renee again and she accepts her advice now. Later that night, Daria drops her off at her parents. She goes in to tell them all about her private life, while Daria is waiting in the car. When Renee comes back, she is devastated because her family rejects her now. Daria tries to console her.

In this issue, the GCPD's receptionist / temp Stacy explains in a letter to a friend about her job, which is really to turn on the bat signal when needed and how it has caused her to find herself randomly fantasizing about Batman. Stacy writes a letter to her best friend Meg about her job at Gotham Central. She dreams about being alone in the office, going up the roof, meeting Batman and kissing him. She works in the Major Crime Unit but isn't officially employed by the city. That is why she has to be the one who turns on the Bat Signal because cops aren't officially allowed to do that. So she sees Batman often, but always in hiding. She watches the cops' interactions. Detectives hiding Josie Mac's coffee cup every morning, which she always find after some seconds because of her talent. The detectives joking despite their tough job. Nate's jealousy for Romy and Marcus who have a secret relationship that only Stacy knows about. Allen and Josie Mac's job relationship which is good even though both don't admit that. Sarge is working on an peculiar case. Convict Tiny Maxwell was allowed to attend his mother's funeral. He used the chance to escape, killed a cop and fled with a stolen hearse from another funeral. He is found in a bar three hours later, but the corpse of Sven Petersen from the hearse is gone. Now Sarge has to find the corpse. Stacy enjoys working at GCPD because she feels like some people are trying to do good even if Gotham is full of bad people. At Freeze's hearing for killing Driver's partner, Driver tells the court that he is frustrated that "freaks" like Freeze always end up in Arkham where they always get free again to do more crime. It's not what the judge wants to hear but Driver can't keep his frustration to himself. The Petersen case is solved when they find the corpse at university event with a "haunted house" for Halloween. Two students stole the corpse to have a scary event. They are brought in and start crying when the Petersen family confronts them. Commissioner Gordon once told Stacy that criminals aren't necessarily bad people. But he still has no problem putting them in jail for their ignorance which to him is intolerable when living in a society. Stacy's boyfriend just broke up with her and it was ugly. She's been having daydreams about Batman since then and tells herself she needs to stop with it and find a new boyfriend.

Soft Targets kicks off, with political figures being assassinated by the Joker with a high powered sniper rifle. Following the mayor and superintendent's death, the M.C.U. call in Batman to stop the city from descending into madness. Commissioner Akins is meeting with the mayor to discuss the GCPD's budget. The mayor wants to cut overtime, but Akins claims this would cripple his department. They get into a heated argument with the mayor claiming that the department is corrupt and abusing overtime anyway, while Akins tells him that cops are not appreciated enough which leads to some of them taking bribes. Before the mayor can respond, he is shot by a sniper from another building. The cops arrive, investigate the crime scene and the sniper's nest and talk to the commissioner. Allen and Montoya are investigating, ironically, as Allen points out, after their shift has ended. Sawyer gets a call that the superintendent has been shot, too. Driver is at the scene, everyone is holding back for the danger of the sniper still there. After two hours they decide to go in, as not to lose any evidence because of the snow. Driver deals with the body and lets Sawyer and the Probson deal with the press. Probson is pissed by Sawyer's taking charge and she tells him to keep his personal problems to himself as long as there are more urgent matters. The superintendent was talking to a school principal when it happened, but she didn't notice anything. Sawyer talks to the press, being watched suspiciously by Probson. Allen and Montoya are back at Central where Montoya is angry about no one brewing new coffee. She actually doesn't like the case. They discuss if the both shootings are connected and suppose so, considering also that the mayor was involved in some dubious deals. Stacy is closing the blinds, just to be safe. Back at the school, Driver also sees that the mayor wasn't always "clean" with his business. They have a possible witness. Nora, the coroner, tells them to take away the corpse when suddenly there are shots. Several cops are shot, including Nora. Marcus is trying to help despite the danger. Josie sees something in a far away building and the cops immediately go there. In an apartment they find another body and a laptop with a webpage that looks like something by the Joker. At Central, Probson gets the call from Josie with the news. He immediately takes Stacy to the roof to active the Bat Signal. She doesn't want to be exposed and Sarge thinks it's a bad idea, too. They turn on the signal, but the moment Batman arrives, more shots are fired. Batman saves Stacy, knowing it's the Joker. Then the Bat Signal is destroyed by another shot.

Part two of Soft Targets continues with the bat signal being shattered by a shot from Joker's sniper rifle. As the M.C.U. deals with Jokers spree, Montoya learns where the weapon had been purchased. While Joker hacks into the officers computers leaving a timer for who dies next. During a press conference in which the new mayor David Hull and Akins give statements, the bat signal is turned on and then destroyed by shots. Batman saves Tracy and Probson. Down in the office, Sarge is angry at Probson for turning on the signal and risking Tracy's life. Akins asks him into his office. Sawyer starts a shouting match with him that Akins interrupts. He wants to know why Probson turned the signal on without asking him. Probson explains it's because of the Joker. Everyone is shocked by that news. Especially Hull, the new mayor, freaks out and has to run to the bathroom. Allen and Montoya arrive at Central, seeing the media circus. They go through without any comment. Simon Lippman, a reporter, waits for them and shows them an email he got from the Joker. They take him upstairs. Driver sits in the hospital waiting room where Nora has been operated. Romy calls him and wakes him from nightmares of the shooting. Nora has lost her hand and he regrets not spending more time with her after her husband, and his partner, died. Sawyer and Akins agree with Lippman accompanying Montoya and Allen for the time being. Everyone is working full time on the case, even if it takes a toll in their personal lives, like Officer Kasinsky. They traced the rifle. Driver is also informed about the Joker. In the dressing room, Nate is joking about Nora when Driver enters. They get in a fight but are stopped by the others, including Romy. Probson and Tracy talk in the stairway. He apologizes, but she's fine. The news are reporting about the Joker, speculating who will be killed next. Crowe is getting really angry about this. Renee is searching the databases for the gun when she suddenly finds in a database called 'Oracle'. They want to go and find the suspect but suddenly all the computers are taken over by the Joker. Every screen shows a webcam with live footage and a countdown that ticks down for the next shooting.

Part three of Soft Targets picks up with the M.C.U. trying to locate all of the eight locations Joker has set up, but can only find seven. In order to keep order in the city the Major Crimes unit is ordered to roust a gang of former Joker henchmen, but doing so causes the timer to reach zero, before it begins climbing back up. Meanwhile Joker has come to the police station and appears to be arrested. Angie Molina is reporting about the Joker's live countdown. Eight cameras in eight locations presumably show where the next victims are killed. She criticizes the police and the mayor as people panic and flee Gotham to be safe. The cops still hate her for her reports. They are trying to find the eight locations. They start looking at each location but only find laptops and camcorders. Mayor Hull is pressuring Akins and Sawyer to do something, so that the city doesn't look bad. He wants them to arrest the Killer Clowns, a group of Joker wannabes. Akins tells him that this would be a waste of time and energy but Hull insists. Montoya and Allen track down the gun salesman who sold the rifle to the Joker. He was already visited by Batman, but they take him to the station anyway. The Killer Clowns bust ensues and goes well. At the station, Tracy and Sawyer watch the countdown go down to zero and then restart by counting up again. The interrogation of the Killer Clowns leads to nothing. Everyone is working more than overtime, even though it's close to christmas, so everyone has to call off their relatives. Suddenly the computers show reporter Molina hanging upside down in a warehouse, supposedly waiting to be killed. Probson is outside talking to an officer when the Joker shows up. He beats him down and arrests him, but the Joker doesn't defend himself.

The conclusion to Soft Targets is here, as the M.C.U. combs Gotham City for the Joker's bomb. Batman lets Akins know the nature of Joker plan for turning himself in, to get shoppers back on the street. The M.C.U. and Batman rush to thwart the bomb and save a Gotham reporter, Joker frees himself from the interrogation room,begin a shooting spree in the squad room, only to be shot multiple times by Maggie Sawyer.

Part 1 of Life Is Full of Disappointments picks up with the burial of shift commander Probson, and the appointment of a new commander,much to Sarge's disappointment. Meanwhile, Sarge is working a case where two girls have been poisoned by a rare poison not typically found in North America.

Life is Full of Disappointments continues as Tommy Burke and his partner Dag begin looking into the company which hires both victims. Also, Tommy tries to convince his partner to go to her son's first performance despite not being invited.

Life Is Full of Disappointments concludes as Huntress informs detective Vincent on the connection between the company and a major Gotham crime family. As Vincent questions the C.F.O his partner Joey searches the girl's desks for clues.

Unresolved kicks off with Romy still dealing with her partner Nate's death by the Joker, and cutting Marcus out of her life in the process. As Marcus and MacDonald deal with a hostage situation at a local fast food restaurant, the perp is revealed to be an acquaintance of Driver's from his youth, demanding to speak directly to him,revealing a secret of his past, involving the bombing of 96 Gotham Hawks baseball team,leading Marcus to reopen the case, as the two discover the Mad Hatter's involvement.

This issue brings some of Gotham's most twisted freaks into the world of the GCPD’s top detectives! A recent development has tied an old murder case to both the Mad Hatter and the Penguin, leading Detective Driver to a place no cop in Gotham wants to go for help: former Detective Harvey Bullock's doorstep!

An explosive story guest-starring the Penguin, the Mad Hatter and Harvey Bullock! Detective Driver and Josie Mac are desperately trying to crack an unsolved mass murder from 10 years ago, one that has uncertain ties to the Mad Hatter. But a delicate investigation is completely shaken up now that disgraced detective Harvey Bullock is on the case! But Bullock's not the man he used to be, and with the Penguin inexplicably in his sights, things are about to get messy!

At last, the truth about the infamous High School Baseball Massacre is revealed! Just what part did the Mad Hatter play in the murders years ago? And how will this come to a peaceful resolution when ex-Detective Bullock is involved?

Corrigan kicks off with detectives Montoya and Allen dealing with the backlash of the Gotham gang war, as the two attempt to apprehend a group of gang bangers, they are attack by Gotham assassin The Black Spider. During the struggle Chris is forced to shoot the Black Spider, killing him to save his partner.In the aftermath of the shooting Corrigan steals a bullet from the crime scene, selling it online.

As Corrigan comes to a close, Montoya sets out to exonerate Chris leading to a confrontation with Corrigan himself over the buyer of the bullet. Montoya manages to retrieve the bullet from a old woman who had bought it, and manages to clear Chris of the charges against him.

In this stand-alone issue, Commissioner Akins has the Bat Signal disassembled and has a confrontation with Batman himself.

Josie Mac and Driver investigate the murder of a famous televangelist. The evidence points to Catwoman--but can Josie find the truth when she must keep her powers a secret?

On the Freak Beat part 2 of 2

Keystone Kops kick off with two officers attempting to rescue a young boy from a man intent on killing them, only to stumble upon a basement filled with acid, which then ignites seriously burning one of the officers. Montoya, upon learning the officer begins working the case with Allen. Upon the detectives investigating the basement, they discover a periodic table belonging to Doctor Alchemy, as the cop who was burned raises from his hospital bed laughing.

Keystone Kops continues as Montoya attempts to speak to her father with little success,as the patrol of Gotham P.D. attempt to find the "freak" who hurt officer Kelly. Meanwhile Kelly continues to mutate,as a S.T.A.R. labs tech attempts to determine why. Meanwhile Sawyer books a flight to Keystone City for Montoya and Allen to cut a deal, as Batman enters Montoya's apartment to tell Desmond won't make a deal.The detectives soon arrive in Keystone, speaking to Alchemy.

Keystone Kops continues, as Montoya and Allen question alchemy. Meanwhile at St. Lukes, Kelly's mutation has stabilized as the doctors continue to attempt to help him.As Akins and the D.A. make preparations to transfer Alchemy to Gotham to cure officer Kelly,meanwhile Montoya's dad shows up at Daria and her's apartment to speak to Renee,while at St.Lukes Alchemy escapes from his cuffs, as the Batman shows up to stop him.

Keystone Kops concludes as Kelly's mutation completes he attacks Doctor Alchemy, as Batman tries to capture the mutated Kelly while Montoya recaptures Doctor Alchemy. Meanwhile Renee gets the news from Daria that her father wants to come back into her life. As Kelly begins a rampage outside of Renee's fathers store, his partner attempts to confront him, while Montoya rushes to the scene. Before she can arrive, Kelly's partner is forced to shoot and kill him to end his rampage,while Renee and her father make up.

In this issue, Poison Ivy is looking for revenge on a pair of corrupt Gotham patrol men,who murdered one of the orphans which has spent all of No Man's Land in her care.

Dead Robin kicks off with the body of "Robin" being found, having fallen from a roof. The discovery of which leads Montoya and Allen to search, for the cause of the fall as well as identifying the boy under the mask. Batman quickly shows up to let them know Robin is in Bludhaven, and warns them to stay out of his way as he solves the case. As the Major Crime Unit hunt's down leads, Romy heads to the iceberg lounge to speak to Penguin. Once she arrives there, she encounters Batman promptly before shooting him

Dead Robin continues picking up with Romy having just shot Batman, who quickly recovers before punching Romy and taking her weapon. Meanwhile the M.C.U. deal with a leak from the C.S.U. as the Teen Titans arrive in the M.C.U. squad room to speak to captain Sawyer. As the M.C.U. deal with the parents of the boy who now claim their son was actually Robin, meanwhile the real Robin shows up to let Stacy know he's not dead as another boy in a Robin costume is found in the river.

Dead Robin continues as Driver talks to Romy about his growing feelings of dependence on Batman,meanwhile the M.C.U. investigates the new body in a Robin costume from the Sprang river.As the second victim is identified as an actor from a series of Mighty Mints commercials, which they track down as the link between the victims between their ad agency, seizing the records of all past jobs. Meanwhile Robin returns to the roof, returning Detective Chandler's weapon with a message for her to not shoot Batman again. As Driver finds a card for the Gotham Gazette in the second victims room, a third missing kid is revealed.

Dead Robin wraps up as the M.C.U. arrest Lippman for murder, in order to make him reveal his source for his picture of the body as the M.C.U. race to find the next victim. A shortly into Lippman interrogation, a second report shows up where he presents the third victims I.D. to the detectives and is then arrested. As the criminal reveals the victim is still alive, admitting he'll only tell Batman where he is, as it will be his entrance into his world. As the Gotham P.D. utilize the spare Bat signal to call upon Batman

Infinite Crisis / Day of Vengeance tie-in, as Gotham's streets are empty, Montoya's and Allen's unmarked car breaks down leaving them stranded, during which Allen confronts Montoya about her bar fight with Corrigan.As a call for back up comes in the two take a patrol units car to reach the action. Upon reaching they meet with Captain Marvel, who reveals the seven deadly sins escape before retreating to check on his family, leaving Montoya and Chris to get home to their families.

The story everyone's clamored for begins! Corrupt cop Jim Corrigan has crossed the line for the final time, and Allen and Montoya are going to bring him down. But is there any connection between Corrigan and the man who shared his name; the man once known as… the Spectre?

A hero has fallen in the line of duty, and the perpetrator wears blue! Corrupt cop Jim Corrigan has committed the ultimate crime to escape justice. Now an outraged GCPD is coming after him! Meanwhile, Montoya's world continues to unravel, Maggie Sawyer must make the call that every police captain fears, and Gotham grows just a little bit darker.

Gotham's police squad has been forever altered, and before all is said and done, another officer will be gone. The detectives of the MCU look to close perhaps their most important case, while Montoya's downward spiral reaches a dangerous conclusion that could shatter her life. Final issue.