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: The Widening Gyre heat caused Batman to experience a bladder spasm. Baphomet immediately interprets this to mean that Batman wet his pants. The series was collected into a trade paperback: Batman: The Widening Gyre Batman: The Widening Gyre is the title of a 6-issue comic book limited series starring Batman, released August 2009 through July 2010. The series is written by Kevin Smith and illustrated by Walt Flanagan. The title is a reference to the William Butler Yeats poem "The Second Coming". The series was initially planned as 12 issues, with a long break planned between issues six and seven. After issue six