First, we learn that the Squid originally hired Julian Day to conduct his deal with the Kings of the Sun and ordered him to take his younger brother, Jonny, under his wing. Meanwhile, a group calling themselves the Bastards of Blackgate has managed to get its hands on a stash of the Wrath's weapons and subsequently declared the Narrows to be its territory. Batman takes down some Bastards and demands that they tell him where the weapons are. Instead, Day's son, Aden, tells him, since he's overheard their plans; he and his father live above the alley where the Bastards were discussing them. Day abuses his son, so Bruce first pays him a visit as Matches Malone; he hands him his ass and tells him to get a calendar, since he forgot that it was Aden's birthday. (Notably, Day told Jonny earlier that it was important to have a brand in Gotham.) Jonny discovers the unconscious Day, and he puts together a gang to steal the Icarus that the Kings controlled, since he no longer had to deal for it with Day. Meanwhile, Elena's daughter, Annette, is dating the guy that the Kings put in charge of guarding the Icarus while they were in meetings (presumably with Day). He's apparently a former addict and got Elena hooked. Not surprisingly, he sees Icarus as a short-cut to the courage that he needs to guard the drugs, but he instead overdoses, setting himself on fire. Jonny and his guys successfully steal the Icarus, and the Kings later threaten the Squid, since he was the only one to know the location. Jonny pretends that Day ditched him, placing the blame on him, and the Squid announces that he hired some outside muscle, namely, the Bastards, to deal with Day. They kidnap Aden and leave a ransom note for Day. Day calls to Bastard to set up a meeting, but Batman arrives instead, after finding the ransom note in Day's apartment. (He was going there to make sure that Aden was OK.) Bruce makes short work of the Bastards thanks to his super-duper armor, and he places Aden into the Aguila Family Shelter for Women and Children. Fin.
Again, I thought that this issue cleared up a lot of background information, though I still have two groups of questions.
First, I assume that the Kings were selling the Squid the Icarus for him to distribute. If so, it raises the question why they were doing so, since they seem to be producing the product closer to Gotham now (meaning that they could presumably also distribute it a lot easier than they could when they were based in New Orleans). Were they just using the Squid as an entry point? However, we do get a better sense of why the Kings were after Jonny in the first issue of the "Icarus" arc. We're left to assume that they eventually put two and two together and realize that Day didn't steal the Icarus, though it would've been nice if Buccelatto showed us that connection.
Second, I'm not sure what we're supposed to believe about Day. We see him unconscious a little after 6:45 pm, but he allegedly calls Big Bastard somewhere after 10:11 pm to ask where Aden is. Bruce discovers the ransacked and abandoned apartment at 10:40 pm, and he notes that he doesn't think that Day took the bait. At 11:15 pm, Bruce charges the Bastards, in his armor. It seems like we're supposed to believe that it was Bruce that called Big Bastard at 10:11 pm to find where he was keeping Aden. It would make perfect sense...except for the fact that the call happens before Bruce finds the note at 10:40 pm. So, how did Bruce know where to go? Did he call Big Bastard later and just pretend that "Day" forgot where to meet? Also, if Day did call, why didn't he got meet Aden? We're supposed to believe, I think, that he bailed on town, but why call in the first place then?
Overall, it's a strong issue, and, as I said, it really helped fill in some gaps. I'll say that it feels a little weird to have the origin of Calendar Man shoehorned into this issue, particularly Day is portrayed rougher than he has previously been. But, it's helpful to confirm that Jonny did steal the Icarus from the Kings and that Elena was a drug addict, presumably part of the reason that her mother had them leave town. I'm really only wishing that I had a better sense of why the Kings were dealing with the Squid in the first place, but we may get that in the ongoing story.
*** (three of five stars)
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