Headquarters for Batman. As Batman waits outside the UN building, Superman appears and tries to convince Batman to leave. The Joker is Iran's representative to the UN and will be giving a speech on the floor of the General Assembly, and any confrontation between Batman and him could start a diplomatic incident. During his speech, the Joker attempts to poison the entire chamber with Joker venom, but Superman intercepts the gas. Batman pursues the Joker onto a helicopter sent by his sponsors. During the resulting struggle, one of the Joker's henchmen opens fire with a machine gun and shoots the pilot, crashing the helicopter into the sea. Superman saves Batman, but the Joker's body is not found. Batman laments that everything between him and the Joker ends unresolved. Reception Initial The first three chapters of "A Death in the Family" sold out quickly, and according to Starlin, the storyline was DC's bestselling comic of 1988. The storyline drew coverage in news outlets including USA Today, Reuters, and the Deseret News. Many reports did not mention that Jason was not the original Robin. As an editor at Marvel Comics, O'Neil had received angry mail from fans when characters such as Phoenix and Elektra were killed, so he was prepared for reader backlash to Jason's death. However, "A Death in the Family" created much more controversy, as Robin was one of DC's most iconic characters and the Marvel deaths had occurred during a period of recession in comics. O'Neil spent the days following Batman #428's publication "doing nothing but talking on the radio. I thought it would get us some ink here and there and maybe a couple of radio interviews. I had no idea—nor did anyone else—it would have the effect it did." After three days, Peggy May, DC's publicity manager, ordered O'Neil to stop talking to the media. She also barred anyone from discussing the story on television. Though initially confused, O'Neil came to appreciate May's order because he did not want the public to see him as "the guy who killed Robin". Assistant editor Dan Raspler was chastised by DC's then-executive vice president Paul Levitz for referring to "A Death in the Family" as a "stunt" in an interview. Jason's death divided fans at the time. Many readers celebrated, some hoping it meant that Dick could become Robin again. Others lamented how bloodthirsty comic book readers were. O'Neil and