Batman: Cataclysm

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

"Batman: Cataclysm"
Cover of Batman: Cataclysm trade paperback. Art by Matt Hollingsworth.
Publisher	DC Comics
Publication date	January – March 1998
Genre	Superhero Crossover
Title(s) Azrael #40 Batman #553-559 The Batman Chronicles #12, 14 Batman: Arkham Asylum - Tales of Madness #1 Batman: Blackgate - Isle of Men #1 Batman/Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma #1 Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73-79 Catwoman (vol. 2) #56-57 Detective Comics #719-722, 724-726 Nightwing (vol. 2) #19-20 Robin (vol. 2) #52-54
Main character(s)	Batman Oracle Nightwing Robin Catwoman Huntress

Cataclysm is an 18-chapter DC Comics crossover story arc that ran through the various Batman family comics from March to May 1998. The plot of the storyline centers on Gotham City being hit by a massive earthquake, the epicenter of which is less than a mile from Wayne Manor. In the wake of the destruction, Batman and his allies join the frantic rescue efforts around the devastated city, which soon spirals into chaos. This story arc would act as a catalyst for the Batman comics and its spin-off titles, signaling the beginning of nearly two years of storylines that would spring forth in the earthquake's aftermath, culminating in the year-long Batman: No Man's Land saga. Cataclysm itself takes place a short time after the events of Batman: Contagion and Batman: Legacy, two previous crises which also nearly resulted in Gotham City's destruction.