Although Batman is known for having a plan for everything, there is a question of how he could have anticipated the events of DC’s No Man’s Land.
The 1999 story “No Man’s Land” ran through the majority of the Batman titles released that year (including Detective Comics and Legends of the Dark Knight) and dealt with the anarchy and ruin of Gotham City after it was hit by a massive earthquake, and the federal government’s decision to abandon the city. Major corporations decided to leave as well, resulting in a massive increase in unemployment.
With no sense of law and order and no way for people to make a living, the Dark Knight was needed more than ever in Gotham City. However, the question still remains of exactly how Wayne Enterprises managed to survive not only the earthquake but also the chaos and destruction than ran rampant through the city.
The answer is because of dumb luck. It’s revealed in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73 (by Alan Grant and Mark Buckingham) that Bruce Wayne was laughed at years earlier for making all his properties earthquake-proof when quakes were unheard of in Gotham City. Although this makes it appear that Wayne has a habit of overpreparing in a way similar to his alter ego, in this case, his compulsion played a large part in the recovery of Gotham City.
It turns out that the Gotham Clock Tower was owned by Bruce and it was the only reason why Barbara Gordon was able to survive the quake. The tower also turned out to be an amazing resource for her. There, Barbara was able to stockpile tons of food, water, medicine, batteries and other supplies, which she used to develop a network of scouts who fed her information about the city. Through her operatives, she was able to keep track of the gangs and villains’ territorial shifts, conflicts, and other major events. She then relayed this information to Batman and the GCPD, who did their best to end the violence.
The Clock Tower also replaced one of the Batcave’s vital functions as a meeting place for the Bat-Family after Wayne Manor was destroyed in the quake (it was the only one of Wayne’s properties that was unable to be protected against earthquakes). When the manor fell, it collapsed on top of the Batcave, making it inaccessible. Although there were other smaller Batcaves throughout the city, the Clock Tower was able to serve as the impromptu headquarters where the Bat-Family could reunite.
The Clock Tower might have been the most important property for the Bat-Family to operate out of, but the preservation of Wayne Enterprises was essential in the rebuilding of Gotham City. Even before the city was abandoned, Bruce tried to convince other corporate heads to stay in Gotham, and when they left, he bet his entire fortune on the city making a comeback. He appealed to the humanity of the citizens and promised to fund at least ten thousand people’s business ideas. When Gotham was eventually reinstated, it was because of the public’s recognition of the suffering and character of the citizens.
While Batman has historically relied on his intense training and discipline to solve problems, there are some problems that just can’t be solved through pure will, as he discovered during the events of “No Man’s Land.” It is likely that Wayne would not have been able to do anything to help the city if not for his obsessive quake-proofing. This goes to show that sometimes even the greatest heroes in the world need a little bit of dumb luck.
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