Batman #19

The entire comic is foreplay, set-up for Batman vs. Bane round 2. Hidden deep in the bowels of Arkham to give the Psycho Pirate time to fix the mind of Gotham Girl, Batman waits.

Meanwhile Bane crashes through the mental institution ripping through the obstacles the Dark Knight Detective has set in his path. Needing to buy as much time as possible, Batman has released several of his old foes to stand between himself and Bane. While they do slow the lumbering creature down, not stop Bane who eventually arrives at his destination and the comic comes to an end.

Batman #19 features cameos from quite a few Bat-villains. Some get multiple panels such as Two-Face, the Riddler, and Calender Man, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, (and for some reason Maxie Zeus) while others Bane dispatches in a single page (Black Spider, Solomon Grundy, Firefly, and others). The comic continues to build-up Bane as an unstoppable force which can be slowed but never stopped. Now, once again, he's Batman's problem. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]