A Dead Soviet Assassin Resurfaces to Hunt Batman in Harley Quinn #66

DC's Batman: Bad Seeds crossover just dug up one of the odder corners of Gotham villain lore. Harley Quinn #66, out this week, brings back NKVDemon, a Soviet-trained assassin who hasn't shown up in three and a half decades. The character debuted in Batman #445 back in 1990, courtesy of Marv Wolfman and Jim Aparo, and has technically been a legacy name shared by three different killers since then.

The catch: all three known NKVDemons are supposed to be dead. The original was killed in 1990, a second version died in 1992, and a third was taken out during 2005's War Games storyline. So which one just walked back into continuity — or is it someone new picking up the mantle — is left an open question for now.

The plot hook pulling the assassin to Gotham is pure Bad Seeds chaos: Police Commissioner Vandal Savage has put a million-dollar bounty on Batman's head, and the city is already dealing with prehistoric plants and poisonous pollen that point toward Poison Ivy's involvement. Elliott Kalan writes the issue with art from Carlos Olivares and a cover by Bailie Rosenlund.

Original reporting: Bleeding Cool.