Batman: The Ultimate Evil (1995)

Batman: The Ultimate Evil is a novel written by Andrew Vachss and published in 1995 by the Warner Aspect imprint of Warner Books. Vachss was an attorney specializing in child abuse cases, as well as a crime novelist best known for his series of books featuring the character Burke, a private investigator who fights against sexual predators. A representative from DC Comics approached Vachss about the possibility of writing a novel featuring Batman. Viewing this as an opportunity to reach a completely different audience, Vachss agreed and wrote a draft. He continued with his themes concerning child sexual abuse and explored the topic of child sex tourism. The publisher required Vachss to follow certain rules, like making a clear distinction between fiction and reality and prohibiting the Batman character from killing, cursing, or having sex.

In the story, billionaire Bruce Wayne, who as a child witnessed the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne, encounters the social worker Debra Kane, who takes Wayne to check up on her clients: he sees clear cases of child abuse and brave but futile resistance to it. Wayne's loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth, gives him the secret files from his mother's investigation of a child sex ring, which led to her and her husband's murder, illuminating the darkest mystery of Wayne's childhood. As Batman, Wayne reopens his mother's investigation and, through a series of informants, is led to a child sex tourism syndicate using the southeast-Asian country of Udon Khai. Batman travels to Udon Khai and, with the help of a local rebel force of guerrilla fighters, topples the kingpin who controls the industry. In the process, he avenges the murder of his parents. The book ends with a non-fiction essay, by journalist David Hechler, entitled "Child Sex Tourism".

Background

At the time of publication, Vachss worked as an attorney, in New York City, specializing in child abuse cases; he also had a career as a novelist. The duality of Vachss' work as a lawyer prosecuting and defending real cases and as a crime fiction author writing about fictional criminals resulted in Vachss being compared to the Bruce Wayne/Batman character. Vachss' eighth novel, Footsteps of the Hawk, in the Burke series featuring a vigilante private investigator of child abuse cases, was released just two months before the publication of Batman: The Ultimate Evil. He had wanted to approach the topic of sex tourism in southeast Asia, but had been unable to find a way for the Burke character to go there; the Batman character offered the chance for him to write about the topic.

Vachss had previously worked with Dark Horse Comics to produce a ten-issue series (1992–1993) titled Hard Looks. Steve Korte of DC Comics' book division approached Vacchs with the possibility of a partnership. Vachss was hesitant about using creative property that belonged to someone else but recognized the opportunity to reach a new audience. He started writing the novel, on speculation, and DC Comics eventually agreed to the project, allowing Vachss to take some creative liberties.

Plot summary

At a party, Bruce Wayne meets Debra Kane, a caseworker with Child Protective Services. Intrigued with Debra's view of crimes against children in Gotham City, he asks to join her while she visits clients. She agrees and shows him the varying degrees of child abuse she encounters in the course of her job. Wanting to understand the factors behind child abuse, Bruce, as Batman, breaks into Hellgate Prison and talks with an informant who points him to a child pornography and prostitution ring. Bruce's butler Alfred Pennyworth reveals that Bruce's mother, Martha Wayne, had been secretly investigating a similar child sex ring, and that the sex traffickers ordered the murders of Bruce's parents in order to silence her.

Using his mother's case files, Bruce finds a connection to a Southeast Asian country named Udon Khai. Using the assumed name Big Jack Hollister, Batman travels to San Francisco to meet a contact who explains how the sex tours to Udon Khai operate. As Hollister, Batman travels to Udon Khai, where he meets Rhama, a local translator hired by Alfred. Rhama shows him life in Udon Khai and how the child sex tourism has affected its population. As Batman, Bruce introduces himself to Rhama, saying that Hollister sent him. Batman and Rhama confront a man who buys and sells children and they rescue a girl who had been sold by her family. They return the child to her village and find that her father had sold her so that the rest of the poverty-stricken family could survive. The population mistakes Batman for a warrior of legend who would break the barriers that confine the population. Believing this to be their chance for a revolution to overthrow the military dictatorship, a rebel group joins Batman in storming the headquarters of the kingpin who controls the sex tourism industry. Though Batman returns to Gotham, the rebels continue to dismantle the sex tour industry and overthrow the dictator of Udon Khai.

The novel ends with Bruce Wayne maintaining his friendship with Debra Kane as well as recruiting her as one of his informants as Batman, and also deciding to include child molesters as part of his quarry in his war on crime.