In the sprawling 1990s Bat crossover No Man's Land, Gotham City stands apart from the nation ravaged and destroyed by a massive earthquake. Buildings and city bridges collapsed, and the Batcave lays buried beneath the rubble. The Dark Knight's beloved city is in crisis and Batman, along with Robin, Night Wing, and the Oracle, must piece it back together again. Unfortunately, as tragedy strikes Gotham, what's left of the city becomes the new playground for Batman's villains. Classic rogues such as Scarecrow, Joker, Two-Face, Penguin and Bane terrorize the poor remaining Gothamites as they struggle to survive the aftermath of the disaster. Batman: No Man's Land #1 (by Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Dave Rucka, Greg Land, and Drew Geraciis) sets the stage for an epic crossover event that spanned over 80 issues. Eventually, half of the storyline eventually appeared in a five-volume collection. Now, DC has released a new colection including uncollected issues of the iconic series.
Set in the aftermath of the Batman: Cataclysm earthquake, Gotham's wasteland and its trapped civilians suffer without access to food and essentials. Nothing goes in and nothing comes out; that is the law the U.S. government has set forth for Gotham's struggling survivors. Abandoned by the nation and fighting over what little food is left, the last few citizens and criminals of Gotham auction a rare piece of fruit to the highest bidder. Cell phones and gold watches bid in favor of obtaining this forbidden fruit. However, they serve no purpose in this wasteland. Items like food, batteries, weapons, and water serve as the highest currency in No Man's Land.
Aside from the notorious criminals and gangs the citizens in Gotham include the poor, the destitute, and illegal immigrants. After Batman goes missing for three months, Oracle and the Bat-family speculate about his whereabouts while the Gotham City Police Department and Jim Gordon try to govern the lawless. Creating new territories of their own, the GCPD takes down criminals one by one without the caped crusader's aid. After all, Gordon decides he doesn't need him and smashes the Bat signal to pieces.
Batman: No Man's Land #1 concludes with Batman emerging from the shadows and tagging his signal on a wall in Gotham's alleyways. Not even Bruce Wayne could save Gotham from self-destruction following the earthquake's aftermath. The United States government declared Gotham the point of no return. No Man's Land. The unfortunate survivors have become outcasts from the rest of the world. These are the dark ages of Gotham.
Fans can rest easy in the second volume of Batman: No Man's Land as Batman returns to Gotham in full force. The darkness may have been reborn in the quake's aftermath, but he is the night. Steadfast and ready, Batman springs into action, defending what's left of Gotham city. Meanwhile, back in the Batcave, the Oracle trades information for supplies as Gotham's new "chronicler." She makes detailed maps of the city, labeling gangs, and GCPD territories. Possessing the only signal to the outside world, the Oracle uses this commodity to her advantage to receive batteries.
Word of mouth and information gathered from Barbara's team of miscreants replace the super Bat computer in the Batcave. Alfred and Batman piece together parts of the cave, forming a makeshift cave, all while Batman fights off Scarface and the Ventriloquist gangs. Batman and the team of heroes need all the help they can get as the Batcave, and Gotham lay in ruins. In a separate comic book issue, the Justice League assists Batman and his allies in protecting Gotham from other villains claiming new territories. Unfortunately, the makeshift Batcave can only help the team so much.
Batman prefers to work alone and not risk the lives of those he cares for most. However, with Gotham pulverized and cut off from the rest of the world and the Batcave in ruins, he has no choice. Oracle, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin are essential to maintaining order and repairing the city. Without question, Gotham and what was left of the city would have suffered more if the Oracle chose not to save the day. Batman is the night as the all-knowing Oracle was the brains behind the makeshift Batcave in Batman: No Man's Land.