Batman: The Ultimate Evil 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, 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
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight popularity of these led to the limited series "". The short-lived series "Legends of the DC Universe" was based on the concept of "Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight". But instead of Batman, it featured a rotating roster of other DC superheroes. The "Batman: Mitefall" special used the modern version of Bat-Mite, who first appeared in "Legends of the Dark Knight" #38, to parody the Batman storyline. "Batman: Four of a Kind" chronicles Batman's four first meetings with the Batman villains Poison Ivy, the Riddler, the Scarecrow and the Man-Bat. Those stories were printed in the "Annual"s of the four