Batman serves as an inspiration and mentor to many young crimefighters, but he also has his own heroes that he looks up to. As a child, Bruce Wayne was an avid fan of earlier pulp hero Zorro, but his relationship with the character became twisted by the role Zorro played in the death of his parents. In the anthology series Legends of the Dark Knight, Batman became involved in a case involving a Zorro look-alike that brought his conflicted feelings about his childhood to the forefront.
Bruce Wayne's childhood love of Zorro is a common element of his history maintained across many interpretations of the character Most versions of Bruce's backstory depict him and his parents as having seen a Zorro film immediately before Thomas and Martha are killed in Crime Alley. Because of this, the adult Bruce is often shown as having very conflicted feelings about Zorro media. In The Dark Knight Returns, while watching television, he stumbles upon a showing of the same Zorro film he saw that fateful night, and watching even just a few seconds of it leads him to have flashbacks to the murders and influences his decision to become Batman once more.
"Blades" was a three-issue story arc by James Robinson, Tim Sale, Steve Oliff, and Willie Schubert featured in Legends of the Dark Knight #32-34. In it, Bruce has become obsessed with stopping a serial killer called Mr. Lime, who is targeting elderly Gotham citizens and he goes so far as to neglect his other duties as Batman. Meanwhile, a new vigilante called the Cavalier begins operating in the city and earns more of the public's favor. Batman himself is even impressed by the Cavalier, whose appearance stirs fond memories. Cavalier uses a sword and hides his face with a bandanna, and Bruce is reminded of his love for Zorro as a child, before deciding to allow Cavalier to continue operating.
But the Cavalier is not what he appears to be. His real name is Hudson Pyle, and he is a stuntman looking for fame. He created his costumed persona as an elaborate publicity stunt, planning to reveal his identity after earning sufficient public support, in the hopes that his newfound popularity would result in opportunities to move from stunt work to movie stardom. However, he became increasingly enthralled with the excitement of crimefighting. One night, he stops a woman named Ellen from committing suicide and immediately falls in love with her. Around the same time, several members of Gotham's upper class are robbed.
After Jim Gordon forces Batman to put his hunt for Lime (who winds up being a simple man motivated by greed) on hold to investigate the robberies, it is discovered that the Cavalier is the thief. Pyle is committing the crimes to pay off Randolph Salt, a crime boss who has been blackmailing Ellen because he knows that she killed her abusive husband, although he also begins to enjoy the rush of thievery. When Salt states that he intends to continue to hold his knowledge over Ellen, Pyle kills him and his guard. Only aware of the thefts, Batman offers to let the Cavalier get away but then he tells him that he has killed, and that despite knowing it was wrong, he enjoyed it. Knowing that Batman will not let him get away with this, Pyle challenges him to a sword duel to "let fate decide what's to become of me. And let's see if I'm as good as I think I am."
As swordsmen, the two men seem evenly matched, but when they wind up on a flimsy roof they both fall through. Batman, who was already ill, is injured and rendered defenseless by the fall but Pyle lands on his feet. Ellen arrives and begs Pyle not to kill Batman. He wasn't planning on doing so anyway and prepares to march outside to face the police with an unloaded gun drawn, even though Ellen tells him she loves him. Before being killed by the police, Pyle tells Batman to remember that "the potential for evil is in every man. In every man..."
It may be a stand-alone tale but "Blades" is thematically important to the overall legend of Batman. Bruce constantly struggles against his own dark impulses and various stories have seen him question whether he truly is a hero or a monster. "Blades," which takes place early in his career, shows that this struggle is something he has been dealing with for a long time.