In the first installment of this classic storyline that leads to the birth of a new Batman, the Dark Knight's greatest enemies have all simultaneously escaped from Arkham Asylum and are preying on Gotham City. With his city under siege, Batman pushes his body to its physical breaking point as he takes on the Joker, the Mad Hatter, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, the Riddler and the Scarecrow, one after another. But things get much worse, when Bane, the mad behind all of this madness, confronts an exhausted Batman and cripples him by breaking his back.