The Batman of DC’s Dark Age can’t count on the Justice League to help him save Gotham City.

After a harrowing encounter with none other than R’as al Ghul, the titular hero of Batman: Dark Age #5 finds himself desperate for whatever help he can find ahead of the battles to come. Unfortunately, none of his fellow members of the Justice League are available to offer him any aid. As it turns out, they are busy preparing themselves for the impending arrival of Brainiac, and even Batman knows that there is no point in saving Gotham when the entire world is already at stake.

Written by MARK RUSSELL Art by MICHAEL ALLRED Colors by LAURA ALLRED Letters by DAVE SHARPE Main cover art by MICHAEL & LAURA ALLRED Variant covers by CHRIS BURNHAM & BRIAN REBER and ROBERTO MELI & ARIF PRIANTO

Batman: Dark Age reunites the creative team of Superman: Space Age for a retelling of the origin story of the Dark Knight. The series reintroduces Batman as not just the protector of Gotham City, but as a figure with a place in American history set amidst the backdrop of actual real-world events from the different eras touched upon throughout Batman: Dark Age. This was the same premise behind Superman: Space Age, which combined its titular hero’s story with real-life events and political climates of the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s.

Batman: Dark Age is just the latest story to hone in on the classic rivalry between the Dark Knight and R’as al Ghul, the latter of whom made his comic book debut in 1971’s Batman #232 by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neil Adams. The centuries-old leader of the League of Assassins maintained his supernatural lifespan through various Lazarus Pits which have rejuvenated his body at the expense of his mind and spirit. R’as al Ghul has become one of the most iconic Batman villains of all time, with his introduction eventually giving rise to characters such as Talia al Ghul and Damian Wayne.

A similarly iconic character, the Brainiac of Batman: Dark Age is the latest in a long line of takes on the infamous Superman villain. DC’s original, Pre-Crisis Brainiac, also known as Vril Dox, made his first appearance in Otto Binder and Al Plastino’s story “Superman: The Super-Duel in Space,” from the pages of 1958’s Action Comics #242. As a member of the Colu race, Brainiac was innately imbued with superhuman intelligence. Unfortunately for Brainiac, his intelligence eventually gave way to a dangerous obsession with amassing knowledge and information, which kicked off what has become one of the most retold campaigns of villainy in DC Comics history.

Batman: Dark Age #5 is on sale now from DC Comics.

Source: DC Comics