SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read DETECTIVE COMICS #23.3: THE SCARECROW yet and do not wish to know what happens, stop reading this post now (major spoilers ahead!).

Following the events of “Trinity War,” Gotham City has lost the protection of the Dark Knight. As the numerous members of Batman’s Rogues Gallery begin to come out of the shadows, each villain realizes that they’re not willing to give up the city they feel rightfully belongs to them now.

Setting the stage for the miniseries, FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR (which we gave you a sneak peek at last week), DETECTIVE COMICS #23.3: SCARECROW finds the Scarecrow putting all of the players on the board. And of course he thinks he’s the mastermind to come out on top! He’s been measuring up his rivals at every step. Each villain he corners has another piece of the puzzle, and when the war between Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison breaks out, the end result won’t be pretty for Gotham.

“Gotham is the prize, and there's nothing else on their radar. They just want Gotham and each one has their own reasons for wanting it,” writer Peter J. Tomasi explained to COMIC BOOK RESOURCES earlier this week about the upcoming miniseries. “Bane knows that some order is necessary -- the way I'm approaching it in FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR is, they actually carve out sections for their own. Mister Freeze has his own section and Man-Bat has his own section, Two-Face has his own section, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, etc. That represents the schizophrenic feel right away. Bane wants to take over as one entity, while Arkham is schizophrenic and they're already taking it over as separate entities that play into their psyche.”

“Scarecrow is, believe it or not, the one person who believes there should be a plan, so he's the one person who tries to bind them together, at least, to realize they should all be working together because at some point in FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR #1, Scarecrow realizes that Bane is coming and he has his eye on the prize -- Gotham -- and he knows he can't fight with a schizophrenic army. He needs to have the psychos all on the same page, if only for a little while,” Tomasi continued.

Above, take a look at the final page of DETECTIVE COMICS #23.3: THE SCARECROW, and sound off in the comments section below about what fate you think is in store for Gotham City!

Written by Peter J. Tomasi and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski, DETECTIVE COMICS #23.3: THE SCARECROW is available in stores now. And don’t forget to pick up FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR #1 from the creative team of Peter J. Tomasi, Scott Eaton, and Jaime Mendoza, when it storms into stores on October 9th.