DETECTIVE COMICS #523

"INFERNO"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Tony Dezuniga
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: In Gotham City, a fist punches its way out of a manhole. Three days later, Batman joins the police to investigate a department store robbery where the place has been utterly demolished. Batman leaves with a severed mannequin head, swinging past an asphalt plant. Inside, the men who committed the robbery watch Batman go. With them is the hulking Solomon Grundy, who has broken a mannequin he took from the store and wants "more toys."

In the Batcave, Batman has found mold on the mannequin head which he believes to be Grundy's genetic material. Then the Batcomputer alerts him to a robbery in progress at a toy store, and Batman heads into Gotham to find Solomon Grundy playing with dolls, and the men he was with lying dead at his hands. Grundy slaps Batman aside and leaves, but Batman follows the brute to a rug factory. Batman lures Grundy into an oven, where the creature burns to ash.

Continuity Notes: Batman indicates he learned of Solmon Grundy from Superman, who battled the creature in SUPERMAN #319.

The gangsters with Grundy are led by one "Doc" Heller, who, before his demise, chats with a mystery man in a trenchcoat named "Croc". Croc had interest in joining Heller's gang until Heller linked up with Grundy. Here, Croc tells Heller he's changed his mind, and leaves the gang.

BATMAN #356

"THE DOUBLE LIFE OF HUGO STRANGE"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Don Newton & Dick Giordano
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Inside Wayne Manor, Hugo Strange dons the costume of Batman as Alfred and Dick Grayson look on. Later, Bruce Wayne leaves a date with Vicki Vale and nearly passes out driving home. He regains his senses to find himself parked in front of Wayne Manor. Bruce goes inside, where Alfred greets him with tea -- but Bruce refuses to drink the tea when he realizes it's drugged. Alfred then tries to stab Bruce, and Bruce knocks him out. Then suddenly, Alfred appears behind Bruce to offer him tea, and when Bruce turns, he realizes the Alfred he just fought is gone.

Later, Vicki arrives at Wayne Manor, where she is greeted by Alfred and Dick, who are concerned that Bruce never came home after leaving their date. Dick changes to Robin and heads out to track Bruce's comlink. Meanwhile, Bruce takes a shower and is attacked in his bathroom by Robin. In the ensuing struggle, Robin is killed and Bruce stumbles out of the bathroom in shock, where he finds Dick in the hallway. Inside the bathroom, a hidden panel swivels around, concealing the "dead" Robin, which is disposed of in the Batcave by Alfred at Strange's order. Upstairs, Duck attacks Bruce, and Bruce throws him down the stairs, where his head deatches, revealing him to be a robot. Bruce descends to the Batcave, where Strange, in his Batman costume, is waiting. He hands Bruce a Batman costume and as soon as Batman is dressed, the two begin to fight.

As they struggle, Robin appears, confused at the sight of two Batmen.. Strange, believing him to be one of his robots, orders Robin to kill Batman -- so Robin punches Strange and then Batman unmasks him. Furious, Strange activates his ersatz Wayne Manor's self-destruct system, and the house explodes. Later, back at the real Wayne Manor, Batman and Robin save Alfred from being killed by a Bruce Wayne robot, then settle in for some tea.

THE NEW TEEN TITANS #28 & 29

"TERRA IN THE NIGHT" | "FIRST BLOOD!"
Co-Creators: Marv Wolfman & George Pérez | Embellisher: Romeo Tanghal
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

Note: These issues do not have credits in THE NEW TEEN TITANS OMNIBUS volume 2. I don't know if DC used the files from a trade paperback reprint that had previously omitted them or what, but this sort of thing is par for the course for the DC collected editions department. The above credits are pulled from the DC wiki.

The Plot: Changeling is on Terra's trail, having spent days chasing her. Meanwhile, in Zandia, the Brotherhood of Evil enters Brother Blood's Cathedral of Death to stage a coup. Back in New York, Starfire and Robin spend some time together while Wonder Girl goes to visit Terry Long, but meets his unfriendly ex-wife at his apartment. Elsewhere, Changeling finally captures Terra.

Back at Titans' Tower, Terra explains to Changeling, Kid Flash, Raven, and Cyborg that her father and stepmother, sovereigns of another nation, have been kidnapped by terrorists. She and her brother Brion set out to find the villains, but were separated. Terra eventually tracked them down but was blackmailed into committing crimes in order to keep them alive. The Titans agree to go with Terra to her meeting with the terrorists.

The group heads for a subway yard in Long Island, where they fight the terrorists. The villains' leader claims that Terra's parents have been killed, which sends her into a rage. Changeling attempts to comfort her, while Raven believes something is amiss about the girl.