Oshi no Ko: The Dark Knight

Gossamu, a sprawling Japanese metropolis rotting under crime and corruption, is the birthplace of Bruce Wayne. When Bruce is only eight years old, his world shatters as he witnesses the brutal murder of his parents, Toshiro and Mariko Wayne, gunned down in a dark alley. Refusing to let the city's cruelty define him, Bruce vows to grow stronger and one day reshape Gossamu into a place where future generations can live without fear.

At nineteen, Bruce leaves Gossamu behind to study at the University of Tokyo, hoping distance and discipline will help him move beyond his trauma. Renting a small apartment, he lives quietly-until a chance encounter introduces him to his neighbor, Ai Hoshino, Japan's radiant pop idol and leader of B-Komachi. Beneath her public persona, Bruce discovers a dangerous secret: Ai is the hidden mother of twins, Aqua and Ruby. He promises to protect her secret, and over time, their mutual trust grows into love. For the first time since childhood, Bruce feels genuinely alive.

That fragile happiness is destroyed one morning when a deranged fan breaks into Ai's apartment and stabs her to death in front of Bruce and her children. The trauma plunges Bruce into despair and suicidal thoughts, echoing the loss of his parents years earlier. As Gossamu spirals further into violence and chaos, Bruce realizes that running from pain only allows evil to thrive.

Driven by grief and purpose, Bruce disappears from public life and subjects himself to years of relentless physical, mental, and strategic training. He returns to Gossamu, determined to become something more, determined to become Batman - a symbol meant to inspire fear in criminals and hope in the innocent.

(Oshi no Ko is by Aka Akasaka and Yokoyari Mengo)

(The character Bruce Wayne/Batman and other characters associated with him are the property of DC Comics, Inc.)