Recap:
Otold Shivel, formerly known as Mr. Freeze, has been reformed for years and making a name for himself in Hollywood. His latest film tells his criminal history from his biased point of view, painting Gotham law enforcement as hooligans.
Jefferson Klintody, the Governor of the state that Gotham City is in, announces a tour of the region. He has a number of enemies (like mobster Lou Cranek) and his budget cuts have weakened his political support.
The Penguin shows up at the Gotham Library seeking a clerical job. He is without his trademark top hat and tuxedo and claims to be trading in the Penguin identity for his legal name, Oswald Cobblepot. Librarian Barbara Gordon reluctantly hires him.
Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson come to Gotham to cover Governor Klintody's appearance. Clark Kent had been scheduled to arrive with them, but a car accident and a lost dog have delayed his trip to Gotham. Lois spots Lou Cranek's sidekick and writes down his license plate number.
Cobblepot is handing out pro-Nimpah literature in front of the library. Two Nimpans who oppose the Maharaja's regime get into a fight with Cobblepot. Batgirl breaks it up and notices the former Penguin taking an umbrella-shaped package into the library. Reporter Vicki Vale follows the two Nimpans and overhears one making a phone call to a "Kent" that indicates the library fracas was planned. Vicki is spotted by the Nimpans and narrowly escapes.
Otold Shivel arrives in Gotham to promote his film. At the premiere, he denies that he is unfairly glorifying his sordid past as Mr. Freeze. Shivel's wife states that allegations that Shivel wants changes to the election laws to allow a run for Governor are a smear campaign by Clark Kent. The event is interrupted by the appearance of Cobblepot, who is fleeing the police. Governor Klintody has been shot and killed, and Oswald is the main suspect. Shivel subdues the former Penguin.
The Penguin states that he had come to rely on someone named "Raoul" since falling on hard times. He claims it was Raoul who steered him to the library job and pro-Nimpah organization, but denies being part of any plot to kill the Governor. An umbrella gun is discovered hidden in the library. That, plus reports of someone signaling with an umbrella during the assassination, undermine Cobblepot's claims. Disfigured D.A. Harvey Dent charges Cobblepot with murder.
Vicki Vale has photos of a trio of vagrants in a leafy thicket near the shooting. A search of police files identify two of the three vagrants as villainous henchmen Moe and Cordy Bleau (who formerly worked for the Penguin). Batgirl pays a visit to Moe's onetime employer, Martin, who is now a down-on-his luck drunk. He recalls having recently seen Oswald visiting his boss, Banister. Banister is an aging self-defense enthusiast scheduled to fight reporter Clark Kent in a publicity boxing match. Our heroes soon learn that Banister has met an untimely demise in an auto accident.
As Oswald is being transferred to a new jail cell, former hypnotist assistant Ruby Jones shoots him at point blank range. Only the quick intervention of Batgirl and Batman save Oswald from a premature death.
Lois is contacted by Ruby's former boyfriend Bill Chitt. Chitt reports that Ruby had Oswald and a mystery guest over to her apartment, where the hypothetical murder of Governor Klintody was discussed. Later, he overheard the mystery guest giving Ruby the keys to police headquarters and instructions on dealing with Oswald. Chitt's interview is cut short, but he reveals that he believes the mystery man to be Commissioner Gordon in a mustache and glasses disguise.
Collector Andrews tells Batman that someone named Kent purchased a pair of Penguin statues over the phone. He tells of a second phone call just after the Governor's murder, when the same voice called inquiring about the availability of Andrew's bi-plane. The only other name overhead during the conversation was 'Mercury'.
The name conjures up disturbing memories for Bruce Wayne. As a youth, he had demanded an audience with Lou Cranek, but the mob boss had mocked Wayne and had his bodyguard - Mercury - throw him out. Following the humiliation, Wayne vowed to conquer the same mountain peak that Cranek had climbed. Upon accomplishing the feat, young Wayne had decided to create a somber costume that would make villains show him more respect.
Bill Chitt calls Lois from a laundromat to schedule the final interview. No sooner does he hang up, than a mysterious malfunction causes the shuddering, shaking washing machines to surround and converge on him.
Batman has decided to employ an alias previously used in Metropolis - Gary Allen. He makes an appearance in disguise at the airport where Clark Kent is due in from Metropolis. However, it is not Kent who disembarks from the plane, but a woman claiming to be his new fiancée. Lois and Jimmy recognize the woman as a former magician's assistant who served time for larceny and attempted murder.
Giving up on locating Kent for the moment, "Gary Allen" visits Lou Cranek's old haunt. Pretending to be a mob enforcer, he chats up Mercury for information on Clark Kent. Unfortunately, Cranek sees through the ruse and orders Mercury to strangle the disguised Dark Knight detective!
"Ohhh, what time is it?" Lois muttered as she was awakened by the phone in her hotel room. 2:30 a.m., proclaimed the clock on the bedside table.
Clearing her throat so she'd sound coherent, she picked up the receiver. "This is Lois."
"Lois, this is Rosemarie Shivel. This is terrible! You know I had some differences of opinion with Clark, but I never wanted anything like this to happen!"
"Ms. Shivel, what are you talking about? Is this about Clark's interview?"
"You mean you haven't heard?"
"I know that Clark went to City Hall last night for an interview. I was planning to go over to his hotel right after breakfast to see how it went."
"I think you should go over there right now!"
"Why? What's happened?"
"I heard that he…he…" Rosemarie Shivel's words deteriorated into sobs as she broke down in mid-sentence.
"Rosemarie! Tell me what happened to Clark!"
A dog barked excitedly on Rosemarie's lap. "It's alright, Scruffy, calm down," she whispered, fighting back the tears. "It's so sad. I have to go."
Lois was abruptly left listening to a dead line. She lay there only a second before throwing off the covers and springing out of bed. She set the receiver down, but immediately lifted it again and began dialing Jimmy's room.
(Bat Spin)
The first thing Lois and Jimmy saw upon pulling up to the Gotham Hotel was a police squad car and an ambulance. They rushed to the elevator, then down the hall to Clark's room. A patrolman was standing at the entrance.
"Sorry, ma'am," the beat cop said to Lois. "No one allowed in. Who are you?"
"We're reporters for The Daily Planet and we're working with Clark on a story. Is he okay?"
Instead of answering, the policeman opened the door to the room slightly and whispered to another person inside. Within seconds, they were ushered into the suite's main room by Commissioner Gordon.
"Were either of you with Mr. Kent in the past twenty-four hours?" Gordon asked.
"Unh-unh," Jimmy said, shaking his head. "We tried to catch up to him last night because he was going to interview Ruby Jones, but we got there after he'd already arrived. The authorities wouldn't let us in to see him because Ms. Jones would only talk to one person."
"Did Mr. Kent say anything about what he learned from Ruby Jones?"
"No, sir," said Jimmy. "We waited around for him there a little bit, then gave up and went back to our hotel."
"Now could you tell us what's going on, Commissioner?" Lois asked.
Gordon was unable to meet her gaze as he considered how to reply.
The door to the bedroom opened and two men in white medical uniforms emerged bearing a figure on a stretcher. The figure was covered by a white sheet.
"Oh my…!" Lois put her hand to her mouth. "Is that…Clark?"
Gordon nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. He ingested some poison. We haven't ruled out foul play, but that's not the conclusion to which the evidence is pointing."
"You mean….suicide?!" Jimmy asked in disbelief. "That's…that's just nuts!"
"The poison wasn't mixed with his food and couldn't have been mistaken for an everyday beverage. He had the odd concoction sitting in a beaker beside his bed."
The Commissioner pointed behind him to a police lab technician, who appeared to be running a test on a vial she clutched in rubber-gloved hands. The fluid inside the vial was a strange green color that seemed to almost glow.
Lois glanced over to get another look at the figure on the stretcher, but the ambulance men had already departed.
"Wait a minute! How can you identify Clark Kent if you don't even know him?" She raced from the room. Jimmy followed hot on her heels.
They caught up with the stretcher-bearers just as they were about to board the elevator. Lois grabbed one by the shoulder to get them to stop and placed her other hand on the cold wrist protruding from the sheet. Without asking permission, she ripped the sheet from the head of the figure.
"Is it…?" Jimmy asked, looking over her shoulder.
The two journalists gazed down in shock.
"It's him, Jimmy. Clark's really dead."