WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Detective Comics #999 by Peter J. Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Jaime Mendoza, Mark Irwin, David Baron and Rob Leigh, on sale now.

The latest arc of Detective Comics has pushed Batman to his mental and physical limits, pitting Bruce Wayne against some of his most nefarious foes. He came up against threats from Clayface and the Joker, all while the closest people in his life were put in the crosshairs -- Alfred was stabbed and Henri Ducard, Bruce's former mentor, bit the dust.

Luckily, it turns out all of this was part of a simulation program Bruce endures every year as part of some bizarre birthday ritual, and none of these incidents were actually real. And while we're all breathing a sigh of relief, perhaps the biggest one is reserved for one of Bruce's dearest friends, Leslie Thompkins.

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In Detective Comics #995, Leslie was seemingly infected with the Joker's laughing gas in a scene that mirrored Katie Holmes' Rachel Dawes from Batman Begins. In the latter, Rachel fell victim to Scarecrow's toxin and Christian Bale's Dark Knight had to rush to the Batcave to administer a cure.

The same thing happened here, but as Batman rushes Leslie home for him and Alfred to help, it's too little, too late. She dies, leaving Bruce heartbroken. He kisses her on her forehead, biding her goodbye. It's one of the rare moments of vulnerability we've ever seen from the Caped Crusader, and a poetically haunting moment, as Leslie represents some of the best parts of Bruce's tragedy-stricken childhood.

Thankfully, the joy of their youth is preserved because she's alive and well, as Bruce confirms to the Bat-family that everything was a simulation. It's honestly a disturbing way of spending one's birthday, but it's truly Batman's style to torture himself like this every year, all so he evolves and learns never to become stagnant when it comes to planning how to save his loved ones. Heck, even Damian Wayne admits it's a bit too much, but, ultimately, we're just grateful Bruce hasn't endured another loss in his life.

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The failed wedding with Catwoman has already left him barely clinging to his sanity, and Leslie isn't just a confidant; she's someone who morally checks Bruce when need be, as they know each other so well. She's like the sister he never had. It also helps she has Gotham's best interests in heart, wanting philanthropy and social work to be the remedy when it comes to cleaning the city up.

Her fate's revealed in Issue #999's epilogue, as we see her in the Park Row Community Clinic where she's doing work to help the poverty-stricken of Gotham. Bruce, after the simulation reminded him he isn't spending as much time with her as he should be, intervenes and rushes her out to dinner with him and Alfred.

He makes it clear how much he cherishes her, and even indicates he wants to expand and build new clinics for her. It may be a knee-jerk reaction, but it's genuine. We can't blame him, because the simulation did remind Bruce he has to spend time with his loved ones while they're alive and not take them for granted.

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It's a warm moment, as Bruce doesn't even get a vote for dinner, although he did say he wanted to eat at Mazzucchelli's (a nod to Batman: Year One artist David Mazzucchelli). But we all know he's comfortable sitting back and letting Leslie have this one because, as a support system, Bruce recognizes she's one of a kind and all the Bat-fans out there are surely glad to see she's still present as a source of light in his angst-filled life.