"...take that... piece of garbage with you..."
The build up from Batman #582 finally comes to a boiling over point. Waiting for this point must of been killer with all the cross-overs in the middle, some good like the last issue that ties in Joker's Last Laugh and some that were okay, but really take away from the run like the Sanctuary arc that ties into Our Worlds at War. When read collected this story runs a lot smoother with the corresponding issues a lot closer together.
This issue is the climax of the Philo Zeiss character's interaction in this run on Batman. Not a fight to the death but a fight of honor. Zeiss felt Batman caused him to dishonor his name and he wants to take out Batman. With all the gadgets Zeiss has, Batman is always one step a head and it is a cleaver way who Batman wins this fight, but still looses a battle with crime at the end of the book.
This is a story where you should read it in the DC Comic Presents: Batman collection for it to make sense, it is far from a stand alone issue.
Cheers!
- Silkcuts