Gotham City Is Batman's Worst Nightmare, But Its Suburbs Are Even Worse

WARNING! Spoilers for Batman: Dark Patterns #3

Batman has seen the worst that Gotham has to offer in his years as its protector. Now, he’s uncovered a section of the city that’s even more haunting, though it may not seem like it on the outside. The suburbs of Gotham are full of secrets that no one would expect, and they spawn villains far more deadly than the city’s rogues. After years of trying to fix Gotham City, Batman has found a place that’s even worse off.

In Batman: Dark Patterns #3 by Dan Watters, Hayden Sherman, Tríona Farrell, and Frank Cvetkovic, Batman searches for clues about the Wound Man’s identity in a part of Upstate Gotham called Green Fields. Unlike the city, this neighborhood appears idyllic at a glance, but Batman discovers that it has its own sinister underbelly.

Batman learns that the area suffers from a crioxin outbreak that’s chemically altered the townspeople in terrifying ways. Gotham City is an awful place, but the suburbs on the city’s outskirts are full of dangerous toxins at all times, making Batman’s home look like a paradise in comparison.

Upstate Gotham Holds Darker Secrets Than Batman’s Usual Haunt

Chemicals Transform the People of Gotham’s Suburb in Horrific Ways

According to the documents Batman unearths on his visit to Upstate Gotham, the town of Green Fields was originally owned by Ace Chemicals as a dumping ground for their waste. Namely, the land was infected with crioxin, which shuts down the nerve system’s functions. The people of Gotham’s suburbs are therefore incapable of experiencing pain, nor do they have any way of gauging the pain they inflict upon others. All of them are bruised and beaten, and one man has even cut off his own fingers without feeling it, which shows how dire the situation in Upstate Gotham truly is.

I Never Understood Batman’s Plan to Save Gotham, But Now I Get It

After decades of Batman trying and failing to save Gotham City, I was starting to doubt the Dark Knight, but I finally understand his plan.

The chemical spillage in Green Fields serves as the origin story for the Wound Man, the latest villain who’s been terrorizing Gotham. He walks around with hundreds of nails digging into his flesh, yet he isn’t in as much agony as he should be, which has mystified Batman up until now. His exposure to a substance that shuts down his pain receptors explains why he’s endured injuries that most would find unbearable. Moreover, the fact that the Wound Man has no nerve responses holding him back suggests that he hadn’t meant to commit his excessively brutal murders – yet he still did.

Gotham City’s Criminals Don’t Hold A Candle to The Suburbs’ Monster

Even Batman’s Worst Villains Have Limits, Unlike the Wound Man

Joker grins at the viewer while the Wound Man stands in the background covered in nails

Gotham City is crawling with the DC Universe’s most twisted villains, but the Wound Man of Green Fields puts them all to shame due to the chemicals in his system. Batman’s enemies can certainly be cruel, and the Joker in particular doesn’t shy away from torture, but they all possess active nervous systems that alert them of the damage they’re inflicting. That is to say, the harm they inflict is intentional. The Wound Man, on the other hand, murders people in gruesome ways without any awareness of what he’s doing. Batman has seen horrifying things in Gotham’s city, but the suburbs are on a different level entirely.

Batman: Dark Patterns #3 is available now from DC Comics!