hostage. It is revealed that Cavendish orchestrated the riots, and has Batman read the diary of the asylum's founder, Amadeus Arkham, when questioned why. In flashbacks, it is shown that Arkham's mentally ill mother, Elizabeth, suffered delusions of being tormented by a supernatural entity. After believing to have seen the creature himself (a bat), Arkham killed her to end her suffering. He blocked out the memory, only to have it return after an inmate, Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins, raped and murdered Arkham's wife and daughter. Traumatized, Arkham vowed to bind the evil spirit of "The Bat" with sorcery. He killed Hawkins during a shock therapy session and continued his mission even after he was incarcerated in his own asylum, up until his death. Cavendish came to believe that he was destined to continue Arkham's work. On April Fools' Day (the date Arkham's family was murdered), Cavendish released the patients and lured Batman to the asylum, believing him to be the bat Arkham spoke of. He accuses Batman of feeding the evil of the asylum by bringing it more insane souls and they fight, which ends when Adams slashes Cavendish's throat to save Batman. Batman breaks down the front door of the asylum, proclaiming that the inmates are now free. He returns Two-Face's coin to him, stating that it should be up to him to decide his fate at the hands of the inmates. Two-Face declares that they will kill Batman if the coin lands scratched side up and let him go if the unscarred side lands. He flips the coin and declares Batman free. As the Joker bids Batman goodbye and the police arrives to retake the asylum, Two-Face looks at the coin and it is revealed that it actually landed scratched side up, implying he decided to ignore it. He turns to the stack of tarot cards and knocks them over, reciting a passage from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: "Who cares for you? You're nothing but a pack of cards". Conception and influences The graphic novel was Grant Morrison's first work on Batman, and they would later note that the story was intended to be the start of their own version in the Batman saga. The subtitle A Serious House on Serious Earth is taken from the last stanza of Philip Larkin's poem Line 55, "Church Going", which reads: "A serious house on serious earth it is, In whose