A Bat History Lesson

During the time of the Crusades there was forged a suit of armor known as the Suit of Sorrows. This suit was given to Geoffrey de Cantonna, a knight supposedly "Pure of Heart."

He was not.

Geoffrey de Cantonna was driven insane by the Suit of Sorrows. He slaughtered three hundred people. To hide this shameful secret the massacre was blamed on Moors. After Geoffrey de Cantonna's death, the Suit of Sorrows was retrieved by those who created it: The Order of Purity, a splinter sect of The Order of St. Dumas.

But The Order of Purity did not hold it long. The Suit of Sorrows was seized by Ra's al Ghul. He possessed the suit for centuries. It would next appear when given by Talia Head to Batman as chronicled in Detective Comics #842.

Batman wore the Suit of Sorrows and found that he was stronger and faster than normal. But he also felt a great rage. Batman sought the origins of the Suit of Sorrows, and discovered the shameful secret of Geoffrey de Cantonna.

Batman decided not to wear the Suit of Sorrows. But he found that he could not destroy it. He placed it in the trophy room of the Batcave where it might serve as a warning and remind him of the need for vigilance.

It did not stay there long.

The next appearance -- or rather disappearance -- of the Suit of Sorrows is chronicled in the pages of Batman and the Outsiders #11. Batman is dead, and all seems lost. The Batcave has been ransacked and destroyed. The trophy case of the Suit of Sorrows is found empty.

The Suit of Sorrows does not stay hidden for long, however. The pages of Batman and the Outsiders #14 tell the story of its reappearance. The Suit of Sorrows is worn by an unknown man -- an "Angel of Death" -- who serves St. Dumas

He is Azrael, Death's Dark Knight. His story is yet untold.