The following article contains spoilers from Detective Comics 2022 Annual, available now from DC Comics.

As the story of the Orghams continues to unfold, new information has come to light about the true nature of Gotham. Detective Comics 2022 Annual (by Ram V, Christopher Mitten, Rafael Albuquerque, Hayden Sherman, Lee Loughridge, and Deron Bennett) reveals that, far from just being the progenitors of the Arkham family, the Orghams are responsible for the state Gotham City is in, even to its present day. Their machinations not only trapped Gotham in a state of perpetual violence but also inadvertently caused the creation of Batman.

They have waited centuries to try and undo their mistake, not because they wish to make amends, but because they want Gotham to be theirs. To undo the damage they cause would mean breaking the loop of events Gotham is trapped in. This would mean pulling Gotham out of its own darkness but also potentially removing Batman from the soul of the city.

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The Orghams' Plans

As they have demonstrated, the Orghams have vast magical abilities. When they first came to Gotham, or Gathome, as it was known in the colonial era, they intended to stoke up fear and paranoia within the townspeople. They caused the deaths of the Wainwright family in front of their son's eyes, then began to enrage the people against a local healer, branding her as a witch. All of this was just to manipulate a mob frenzy that would go to them for peace and security. This decision would then be looped throughout the intervening years with a device known as a reality engine. Left in Gotham's foundations, the device would be responsible for causing a repeat of events in different time periods.

Two prominent people would be murdered, Gotham would fall to corruption, and the Orghams would remain in control. Unfortunately for them, they did not count on a little resistance entering the careful steps of their plans. The Wainwright boy's protector ended up becoming a proto-Batman, having been inspired by a time-displaced Bruce Wayne to take up his own cape and cowl. This act of defiance was thus embedded into the reality engine's loop, resulting in a Batman showing up in every era of Gotham and disrupting the Orghams' plans. They have now returned to Gotham to try and recreate their original scheme, but this time without Batman interfering.

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The Orghams Might Destroy Batman Forever

Gotham Is Trapped in a Cycle

The Orghams have recognized that their error meant accepting every loop of Gotham's history would invariably bring Batman into the picture. This forever denied them the foothold they want in Gotham. To change this, they would need to break the cycle, essentially preventing Gotham from falling into the same cesspit it has been stumbling into for centuries. Ironically, this would mean the Orghams are doing Gotham a favor and letting its people chart their own course. However, they are not content to leave the city to the people and wish to dominate it.

They clearly intend to kill Batman at some point to ensure that he won't come back to haunt them. Taking a step back though, just breaking Gotham from its own darkness might be enough to get rid of Batman. As shown by their initial attempt to conquer the city, Batman was only born as an act of defiance, even though he didn't know exactly what he was battling against. If the Orghams take away Gotham's darkness, then Batman would have nothing to defy, thus eliminating the point of his existence. If they'd truly stop and look at the cause, they could understand that they could destroy Batman by doing nothing.