Now fighting crime on the streets of New York City, DC's new Dark Knight may have just met his personal version of the Joker in I Am Batman #7.

Having recently made the move from Gotham to New York, I Am Batman #7 sees Jace Fox searching for a sadistic murderer running rampant. The issue ends with him coming face-to-face with a serial killer villain whose name appears to be 'Manray,' but could easily prove to be this series' version of the Joker.

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When told about the latest grisly murder in a series of related incidents, Batman is uneager to look further into the case due to the high number of unsolved crimes in New York that he's already dealing with. He's talked into it only after Whitaker, who reluctantly followed the Dark Knight to New York, informs him of the severity of the case. "His body was separated digit by digit, limb by limb, then put to death with a blunt-force object and left on display for the world to see," she tells him about the latest victim. "That's bat-craziness. That's the insanity you all attract."

Batman starts investigating the case and, after breaking into a run-down apartment building, finds a room full of twisted artwork featuring dismembered limbs and other horrifying imagery. Before he has time to properly react, Fox is greeted by the red-masked and iron-wielding Manray villain.

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I Am Batman writer John Ridley previously teased that Fox's Batman would soon meet his own version of the Joker to fight when moving to New York. "We're taking Jace and we're moving him to a real space," he said. "We're setting a new and very specific tone for Jace in New York [to] have conversations about policing -- not just sociopolitical conversations, but, okay, a mask shows up in New York. What do we do? It's Batman, it's the DC Universe, but it's a little more real. Expect his own rogues, expect his own partners, expect his own dilemmas. Who is his Joker going to be?"

I Am Batman sees Fox, the son of Lucious Fox, as a reimagined version of the Caped Crusader for DC's Future State. Up until I Am Batman #7, Fox has primarily gone toe-to-toe with unmasked threats, such as trigger-happy police officers or aggressive rioters. The character has also been grappling with whether or not he truly feels worthy to wear the Batsuit and what kind of legacy he's trying to leave.

I Am Batman #7 comes from writer John Ridley, artist Christian Duce, colorist Rex Lokus, letterer ALW's Troy Peteri and cover artists Ken Lashley and Juan Fernandez, with variant covers from Francesco Mattina and Dike Ruan. The issue is on sale now from DC Comics.

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Source: DC Comics