Ernie Chubb

Batman vs. Wildcat

Ted Grant meets with a local snitch named Flea Fitzgerald because he has heard about an underground fight club called the "The Secret Ring" in Gotham and a Wildcat wannabee was reported dead nearby. On the other side of Gotham, Bruce is made aware of this fight club thanks to his golfing rival Devlin. Devlin is a spectator of the sport and has often recorded the fights through a special satellite downlink.

As Batman, Bruce visits Gordon at the precinct to find out what the police is aware of. Gordon escorts Batman to the precinct's morgue where they have kept the supposed Wildcat's corpse for the last 24 hours. The body was found near a harbor in the Tri-Corner Yards with bite marks similar to that of Killer Croc's. Gordon identifies the victim as Hector Ramierez, a high school graduate who joined the Navy and became a heavyweight boxer. Ramierez used Pugilism during his boxing matches which is a fighting style that Wildcat favors. Ramierez must have been a student of Ted's and adopted his mentor's mantle to keep the memory of Wildcat alive.

Bruce figures the only way to get in to the Secret Ring is to pose as Matches Malone. As Malone, Bruce pays Penguin a visit and inquires about the fight club but their conversation is interrupted by Wildcat. It turns out Flea has gone missing and Wildcat demands to where he is. Penguin agrees to assist Wildcat in order to prevent him from inflicting any more damage to the Iceberg Lounge.

Meanwhile, Ernie Chubb, the operator of the Secret Ring, organizes his next fight. In the second bout, KGBeast is scheduled to fight a Venom addict named Willis Danko. Ernie Chubb has been working with Lock-Up in order to detain all the heavy hitters for his fight club. Chubb gained Lock-Up's obedience by promising Bolton that he would fulfill his need to exact justice on the scum of Gotham by putting them through these death matches in the "Secret Ring". Chubb also guaranteed that he would share the revenues of the fights with Bolton in order to fund his latest incarceration venture. Lock-Up has designed a new prison within the bowels of Gotham which he has dubbed the Sewer of Life.

Chubb on other hand, wants to settle his own personal blood lust. Chubb was once a prized heavyweight boxer but his violent tendencies caused the deaths of numerous fighters. The promoters at first, warned Chubb to restrain his anger but when he refused to let up, they had him dismissed from the sport permanently. Chubb felt that the promoters and fighters were simply envious of his talents because their human frailty and lack of stamina was no match for Chubb's superior abilities, education and raw power. Chubb believes that the sport of boxing is his birthright and he intends to take it back with the "Secret Ring".

Wildcat catches up with Flea and decides to interrogate him at the Tri-Corner Landfill. Wildcat straps Flea to front of a motorcycle with his face facing the handle bars as well as Wildcat. After the grueling torture of heat and friction from the motorcycle, Flea finally divulges the actual location of the Secret Ring. The Secret Ring is located in the canal zone nearby the Union Railyard.

Oracle comes up with a homing device that tracks down pirated transmissions from satellites or transponders like the Secret Ring broadcast. Batman begins tracing the broadcast when the fight between KGBeast and Willis Danko initiates. KGBeast's automatic sniper rifle is removed from his severed left hand and replaced with a crudely fashioned sledge hammer. As for Willis Danko, Chubb feeds Danko's addiction by giving him a replica of Bane's Venom modular. On a side note: Willis Danko may have some connection to Danko Twag (the supposedly first Killer Moth) since Willis exclaims that he wrap KGBeast in his "cocoon of terror".

Batman races against time in the Batmobile as he heads east on Havelock then south on Bank Street near the canal zone's hundred block. Batman reaches the source of the broadcast and has Oracle cancel the transmission. Wildcat makes his own brash entrance into the Secret Ring but Chubb's men had masks and used knockout gas to sedate Wildcat. The fight between Danko and KGBeast ends bloody as KGBeast uses the sharp end of his sledgehammer hand to sever the connection between Danko and the Venom modular. Danko becomes fatigued from the Venom withdrawal and KGBeast ends Danko by slamming his head repeatedly into the ground with his sledgehammer hand.

Chubb orders Lock-Up to calm KGBeast down by using tranquilizer darts and then has him greet Batman with his electrical billy club. Batman is unconscious for a short while until he is thrown into the Secret Ring blindfolded. Chubb informs Batman that audience wants a little more excitement so Batman and his contender will not be able to see and will have to depend on their other senses to fight each other to the death. Both Batman and Wildcat have no idea that they are fighting each other nor do they realize that their boxing mitts have been spiked.

Chubb is pleased by the ferocity that Batman and Wildcat are exhibiting towards each other. Chubb figures he should increase the fees for the subscriptions since the audience turn out is escalating. However, Chubb's internet tech Charlie, informs him that the transmission has been cancelled wirelessly but the video feed remains undisturbed. Chubb is of course furious at Lock-Up for failing to anticipate this move of Batman's but he still maintains his composure as the fight ensues.

Wildcat and Batman finally realize that they are fighting each other after they had exchanged some familiar moves. Wildcat unmasks Batman and Batman makes a pass at the announcer. Batman grabs the remote control that unlocks the door to the arena and the heroes make their way to Chubb. As for Lock-Up, he is unable to track Oracle's signal since it piggy backs on decoy locations that appear in transit. Chubb decides to cut his losses by telling Lock-Up to release the convicts/ contenders. Lock-Up at first is hesitant but Chubb convinces him that the heroes will dispense their own justice on the criminals and the video feed is still rolling thus revenues will still flow when they sell copies of tonight's fights.

Wildcat and Batman reach the Sewer of Life where the criminals are being kept. Unfortunately, the locks on their cells are unlocked and the criminals escape. Now, the heroes are at the mercy of Steel Jacket, Monsoon, King Snake, Trog, Killer Croc, Panara, Cassidy and KGBeast. Panara's savage nature causes her to attack Cassidy and Trog while the other criminals are left to combat the masked heroes. King Snake tries to attack Batman but he is tossed across the room by Monsoon. Batman counters Monsoon by using his momentum to fling the behemoth over his shoulders and have him fall right on top of KGBeast.

As for Wildcat, he is momentarily immobilized by Steel Jacket until Killer Croc tries to sucker punch Ted but Ted dodges the punch and Steel Jacket is knocked out. Wildcat then goes to work on delivering a punishment that Croc will not soon forget. Ted wants Croc to suffer for what he did to Hector Ramierez. Croc gets a beating from Wildcat that was far worst than what he got from Bane. Fortunately, for him, Wildcat let Croc live with the shame of what he had done.

Wildcat then turns and sees Chubb stepping into the arena. Wildcat provokes Chubb on the mockery of boxing that he calls the Secret Ring and allows Chubb to vent his anger. Wildcat intends to tire out Chubb and let his frustration get the better of him then Wildcat goes to work. Wildcat lays down a brutal tidal wave of jabs and uppercuts on Chubb. In the end, Chubb is down for the count and Wildcat delivers the final mock to Chubb by saying "You're just another bum that didn't make it to the big time." Wildcat and Batman catch their breath after a night's work but they are interrupted by Lock-Up. Both heroes sucker punch Lock-Up for a total knockout.