Batman #508 is an issue of the series Batman (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1994.
Synopsis for "Mortal Remains"
Batman was racing through the streets of Gotham in the batmobile deciding whether to follow Gunhawk or start looking for Abattoir. He decided Abattoir was more important and Gunhawk can wait.
Meanwhile, Abattoir is at his hideout, an abandoned warehouse where he held his cousin Graham Etchinson as he is slowly suffered in the torture/killing machine of Abattoir's own devising.
In the batcave, Robin used the batcomputer to discover some information on Abattoir's whereabouts. He hacked into the municipal tax records and found a list of real estate properties of Henry Etchinson. The same information was given to Batman by Etchinson's lawyer and he was already headed to the most probable hideout.
Batman was about to enter the warehouse to check on it, when Abattoir stepped outside and both faced each other as they engaged in combat. Overwhelmed by Batman's strength and gadgets, Abattoir run towards a nearby foundry and Batman followed with no hurry. Robin arrived at the place just in time to see both of them entering the foundry. Abattoir entered the foundry and threatened to kill everyone inside. The foundry workers escaped as fast as they could and they blocked the entrance for Robin to enter and help Batman.
Abattoir was about to kill a man when Batman stopped him. They retook their fight as Abattoir looked for higher ground with Batman following him. The killer threw a spanner at Batman but he dodged it and tackled Abattoir. Batman used his batline to reach a catwalk but Abattoir was left hanging from a chain over an arc furnace that contained hot melted metal. Batman started to have hallucinations with St. Dumas and Azrael and couldn't decide what to do with the killer so he just left the place. Robin entered the foundry just to watch Abattoir falling to his death into the arc furnace.
Two hours later in the Batcave, Jean-Paul Valley was tormented by some pain coming from inside his head marking the breaking of the man's sanity as he passed out; while in the abandoned warehouse, Graham Etchinson dies as a result of the automatic mechanism of the machine.
Appearing in "Mortal Remains"
Featured Characters:
- Batman (Jean-Paul Valley) (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Abattoir (Flashback and main story) (Dies)
Other Characters:
- Graham Etchison (Flashback and main story) (Final appearance; dies)
- Gunhawk (Behind the scenes)
- Ludovic Valley (In a vision)
- Saint Dumas (In a vision)
- Bats
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Batman (Jean-Paul Valley) appeared last in Outsiders (Volume 2) #9. He appears next in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #28.
- Abattoir appeared last in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #27.
- Robin appeared last in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #61. He appears next in Robin (Volume 2) #7.
- Graham Etchison appeared last in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #27.
- This issue is part of the Knightquest: The Crusade crossover event. Knightquest: The Crusade continues in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #28.
- This issue is reprinted in Batman: Knightfall Volume Two - Knightquest and Batman: Knightquest - The Crusade Vol. 2.
Trivia
- Brief references to Mussolini and Hitler were made by Robin to compare Jean-Paul Valley's mindset.
- The foundry was named Nolan Steel after current Batman artist Graham Nolan.
