Batman and Superman meet with Batman’s CIA contact, Ralph Bundy, who reiterates the importance of allowing the Joker to address the United Nations. Batman cynically suggests that the State Department is respecting the Joker’s diplomatic immunity so that they can conduct a new arms deal with Iran. Bundy dismisses this claim and urges Batman not to interfere with the Joker’s work. Batman refuses to relent, fearing that the Joker may try to kill the delegates at the General Assembly. Bundy reminds him that Superman will keep him in line.

Superman asks Batman about the death of his ward and learns that Jason was Robin. Batman tells Superman that the Joker killed Jason. Superman cautions Batman against putting his desire for revenge over stabilizing international relations. Batman asserts that he will do what he must, hoping that Superman will see things his way. Superman wonders if there is something more he should know. 

Bruce uses his network to gain access to the General Assembly as an unofficial observer. He’s committed to confronting the Joker at any cost but also conflicted over the possibility that he could die at the Joker’s hands. At the height of his reflection, he almost convinces himself not to do anything rash, but then he remembers that the Joker killed Jason.

At the Iranian Mission to the United Nations, the Joker prepares for his speech at the General Assembly, which will have restricted access. The Joker laments not having a large “dead” crowd for his speech. Batman infiltrates his room and gives him one more chance to surrender himself. The Joker taunts him with Robin’s death. When Batman sees that the Joker is unwilling to give himself up, he decides to leave. He explains that he just wanted verbal confirmation that the Joker murdered Robin. The Joker tries to shoot Batman, but he leaves before the Joker draws his gun.

The following evening, the General Assembly convenes to hear the Joker’s speech. Bruce sits among the observers. The Joker walks past him and exchanges glances with him, making him wonder if he knows that he’s Batman. Bruce reflects on the history of their rivalry and feels a sense of finality over their imminent encounter. The Joker begins his speech, during which he claims that neither he nor the Republic of Iran get any respect from their fellow nations. Angry over this poor treatment, the Joker declares that he won’t stand for it anymore and unveils a laughing-gas gun attached to his person. Just as he begins to spray the gas into the assembly chamber, a security guard steps forward and destroys the weapon. The guard reveals himself to be Superman in disguise. Superman sucks in the poison gas to prevent it from hurting anyone else. He flies off to dispose of the gas, leaving Batman to confront the Joker.

The Joker reveals that he has a contingency plan and detonates explosives planted in the assembly chamber. Amid the chaos, Batman springs into action and attacks the Joker, who shoots his gun at Batman and strikes one of the delegates. Batman registers his guilt over another innocent life lost, resolving to defeat the Joker once and for all. He pursues the Joker to the roof, where a helicopter is waiting. Batman jumps aboard and dispatches each of the Joker’s henchmen. One of them nearly fires his machine gun in the Joker’s path, but Batman jumps in his way, absorbing most of the gunfire with his body armor. The Joker, however, has been struck in the chest by a stray bullet. Another bullet kills the helicopter pilot, sending it out of control. Batman leaps out of the crashing helicopter, bidding his nemesis farewell. The helicopter crashes onto a warehouse rooftop and explodes.

Superman rescues Batman from the water, and Batman implores him to look for the Joker’s body to confirm that he’s dead. Privately, Batman knows that they won’t find him because his relationship with the Joker will always remain unresolved.

Chapter 6 Analysis

In the final two chapters, Starlin utilizes Superman as an obstacle to Batman, representing the ways that the law can function at cross purposes to Batman’s mission of vigilante justice. Batman visits the Joker on the eve of his United Nations address to obtain vital evidence that will convince Superman of the Joker’s ulterior motives, driving the text’s critique of institutionalized power. If the previous chapter asked the question of how Batman can affect change in a world where those in power create policies that increase the suffering of the disenfranchised, then the answer that Starlin provides in this chapter is that one must work to convince those who enforce the laws to strive for the spirit of true justice, not only the fulfillment of the law. Superman, who embodies law and order, chooses to join forces with Batman to foil the Joker’s scheme, symbolically reinforcing this message.

Batman and Superman’s cooperation functions as an antithesis to the impulsive isolation that has defined Batman’s interactions throughout this storyline. Without the kind of development that Batman has gone through in these chapters, he would have likely attacked the Joker before he gave his speech, turning the world against him. Starlin emphasizes his growth through a crucial moment of reflection on page 127, shifting the backdrop to red to signal Bruce’s reflection as he works out what to do with the Joker. The panels juxtapose the Batman costume with his civilian clothing, implying that he has gone out to confront the Joker but also that his choices during that confrontation will define who he is as a person: Batman is driven either by vindication and vengeance or by the higher ideals of justice and peace.

The storyline ends on an anticlimactic note, emphasizing the eternal nature of Batman’s struggle with the Joker. It is impossible to resolve the conflict because the presence of the Joker is an essential feature of Batman’s existence, reinforcing the tragedy of Jason’s death. Because Batman’s ongoing conflict with the Joker is inevitable, it will always threaten the survival of those who associate themselves with Batman. Nearly everyone who has aided them in their rivalry against each other has died. Though Bruce is grateful that Dick Grayson survived his tenure as Robin, he respects Dick’s autonomy and attempts to distance himself from the need for a partner: “No help from now on…That’s the way I want it” (114). Bruce’s attempts to prioritize the lives of those he cares about over his moral mission reinforce the danger of Seeing People as a Means Rather Than an End.