And Knowing Is Half The Battle The entire Death Of the Family run was a magnificent return to form for the Batman comic book franchise, and it established writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo as the new dynamic duo of the published comic book world. And this was none more apparent than with their revelation that The Joker not only knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but he also knows the secret identities of the entire, extended Bat-family. And this does not sit well with Nightwing and Company, after learning that The Joker knows who they are, and that he has in-turn abducted Afred. The Family can't believe how The Joker would know who they are, and after confronting Bruce, they realize Bruce has kept something from them all these years: The Joker has been in the Batcave. Bruce reveals that years ago during his very early days as The Caped Crusader, he had a run-in with The Joker, and after returning to the cave via the Bat-Boat, he found Joker's card inside The Batcave. The Joker was never seen in or heard from inside the cave after this incident, and Bruce assumed the case was closed...but he never told his family this had occurred. And so the endgame of the Death Of The Family was revealed - The Joker was seeking to sever the tie of trust that binds Batman and his family, the one element they all share and hold dear among each other.
