Knightfall" is the title given to a major Batman story arc published by DC Comics that dominated Batman-related serial comic books in the spring and summer of 1993. "Knightfall" is also an umbrella title for the trilogy of storylines that ran from 1993 to 1994, consisting of "Knightfall", "Knightquest", and "KnightsEnd".[note 1] Collectively, they are unofficially known as the KnightSaga.

The story takes place over approximately six months. Bruce Wayne (Batman) suffers burnout and is systematically assaulted and crippled by a "super steroid"-enhanced genius named Bane. Wayne is replaced as Batman by an apprentice named Jean-Paul Valley, who becomes increasingly violent and unstable, tarnishing Batman's reputation. Eventually, Wayne is healed through paranormal means, and reclaims his role as Batman.

"Knightfall" resulted in long-term ramifications for the Batman mythos, as Batman's trust from the police, the public, and fellow superheroes had to be rebuilt. Additionally, Wayne realizes the peril and burden of attempting to work in solitude, leading to the eventual creation of the modern incarnation of the Batman family. The events of Knightfall also led to the resignation of Wayne's loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

The entire "Knightfall" storyline took over a year to complete in the comic book serials, and in later years, the comics were compressed into a series of trade paperbacks, although these paperbacks do not include the "Knightquest: The Search" portion of the story.

Contents [hide] 1 Publication
2 Storyline 2.1 Prelude
2.2 "Knightfall"
2.3 "Knightquest" 2.3.1 "The Crusade"
2.3.2 "The Search"

2.4 "KnightsEnd"
2.5 Aftermath
2.6 "Prodigal"
2.7 "Troika"
2.8 Nightwing: Alfred's Return
2.9 Azrael
2.10 "Batman: Legacy"
2.11 "Bough Breaks"
2.12 "Angel and the Bane"

3 Reading order and release dates
4 Influence and legacy
5 Reception
6 Continuity
7 Adaptations 7.1 Novels
7.2 Animation
7.3 Film
7.4 Video Games
7.5 Radio
7.6 Action figures

8 Collected editions 8.1 2012 new editions

9 Notes
10 References

Publication[edit]

The initial idea for the character of Azrael stemmed from a two-part story idea pitched by Detective Comics writer Peter Milligan circa 1991, as he was leaving that position.[1][2] After line editor Dennis O'Neil decided to expand it into a larger epic, he and the Batman line writers Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench and Alan Grant convened an authors' summit over a long weekend to flesh out the details and story points. At the same time, the Superman team was planning for a similar character-altering storyline, and neither they nor the Batman group initially had any knowledge of each other's plans.[2] Dennis O'Neil denies the Knightfall storyline was in any way inspired by the Death of Superman and states that it was already in development by as much as three years, saying that if the Batman staff had known, the storyline would likely have been pushed down a year.[3]

The serial stories of the monthly Batman comics titles began slowly building toward the "Knightfall" arc several months prior, in conjunction with the publication of the Sword of Azrael miniseries and Vengeance of Bane one-shot which also laid foundation for the larger story.

"Knightfall" ran from April to October 1993, Batman issues 492 through 500 and Detective Comics issues 659 through 666, with the two titles sharing a single narrative during this time. The massive story was quickly collected into two volumes of trade paperbacks. Volume one was subtitled Broken Bat and the second Who Rules the Night. Knightfall was the first time that multiple Batman titles had shared a single narrative for an extended period since the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

"Knightfall" was immediately followed by "Knightquest" in the monthly serials. "Knightquest" is divided into two storylines, one following Bruce Wayne ("Knightquest: The Search") and the other on the new Batman ("Knightquest: The Crusade"). The