There’s are a few fundamental differences between the way Batman solves crimes and the way the cops solve crimes, at least American cops, and though Rucka doesn’t really make the call about which one is superior to the other, it does mean that the two sides will occasionally come into conflict with each other. That’s been one of the driving forces of this first volume of Gotham Central (now available in handy, new paperback form, I think?), with the GCPD not wanting to call Batman in on the Mr. Freeze murder in the first arc because it was one of theirs who got killed and they wanted to prove they don’t need him, and then ultimately with the brief conversation Renee and Batman have near the end of this issue.

Cops follow the law, in theory, so what they do is, in theory, The Right Way To Do It. Batman, despite crusading to uphold the law, does not necessarily follow it. He’s a necessary evil in Gotham City — a guy who can get his hands dirty in a way that the cops can’t. Without quoting the whole ending of the Nolan movie, he’s the city’s “dark knight.” At the same time, cops can and do kill people, which is, of course, the one thing Batman will never do. Is one side more morally correct than the other? Gotham Central won’t say, or at least it won’t make the GCPD cops reckon with the fact that it might not be them. A rare kindness for these poor folks, if nothing else.

The issue begins with Renee in the clutches of Two-Face (or “Too-Face” if you’re reading the official police report), who is apparently obsessed with her and has been for quite some time. [Sam note: The two characters interact in the No Man’s Land crossover event, which happened a few years before Gotham Central.]

Harvey freely admits to being the one who has systematically tried to ruin Renee’s life, backing the guy who was trying to dig up dirt on her and got the photo of her kissing her girlfriend, distributing the photo to Renee’s coworkers and family, framing Renee for murder, and then breaking her out of the prison transport so she looks even more guilty. He suggests that she’s the only one who never pitied him, and he figures she’ll relate to his whole… “two-face” thing since she’s had to live two separate lives in order to keep her sexual orientation a secret. It’s a pretty dumb play, even for a Batman villain, but no one has ever accused Two-Face of being a rational person.

Meanwhile, Renee’s partner Crispus Allen has found out that one of the Internal Affairs cops who was hounding Renee was actually working for Two-Face, and in a suspiciously dark hallway, he tells one of the other GCPD detectives (who refuses to step out of the shadows…) that the guy only ever met with Two-Face once in a fancy hotel. It turns out that the man in the shadows is actually Batman, and he knows exactly what fancy hotel Two-Face hangs out at — one that happens to be buried underground after the recent earthquake (see again: No Man’s Land). Batman zips off, going just slow enough that Crispus and MacKenzie (MacDonald?) can keep up.

Back in Two-Face’s lair, Montoya tells Harvey how stupid his plan is, leading to a great moment where he screams “Harvey’s not here right now!” and hits her. The two of them fight over his gun, at which point Batman gets in, and Lark cleverly keeps him out of sight until Two-Face has been completely beaten. You just see Batman’s fists and boots beating up Two-Face, which makes it feel wild and hectic.

With Two-Face handcuffed, Batman tells Montoya that he “took care of it.” She throws back a “hey, screw you” and explains that Two-Face is just going to be back on the streets again at some point. Batman says he saw them fighting over the gun and counters that, if he hadn’t stepped in, one of them would’ve been shot. He then adds: “You’re welcome.” Great Batman moment. Batman rules.

The story ends, after some business at the police station to wrap up any other plot threads, with Renee finally deciding to come out to her parents. The “camera,” so to speak, stays on her girlfriend, Daria, who waits outside in her car while Renee goes to have the difficult conversation, which is a nice way to center the scene on their relationship rather than on the painful drama happening inside. Renee eventually comes out, with a lot of time having passed, and says it didn’t go well. The book ends with Renee crying while Daria holds her, which is a nice, sad moment.

Let’s talk Jessica Jones! This is a standalone issue of Alias that I really like, and one that I think does a good job summing up the character and how she relates to the larger Marvel universe around her.