Terrorised by a heat wave and a violent street gang, Gotham City is as bad a place is it ever was. Ten years after Batman's forced retirement, Bruce Wayne is pushing sixty. But despite of his age and his best intentions (and his efforts to drown his dark side in alcohol), despite butler Alfred's complaints and Commissioner Gordon's warnings, the Dark Knight breaks free again. Unfortunately, he is not welcome anymore. Police and politicians refuse to put up with his brand of vigilante justice, and the violence gets worse, especially after his comeback stirs The Joker out of catatonia. To make things worse, he is not twenty-nine anymore, and only gets out of some fights by luck, and badly bruised, too. Nevertheless, he continues to slug it out. Eventually Superman is brought in to put Batman away for good.