American Comics: The Strongest Villain

Bane is dead. Just like that?

The thought echoed in everyone's mind; disbelief evident in their wide-eyed stares. Bane, the man who had broken Batman's back, who had taken control of Gotham City, and who had forced the Ministry of Defense to stay at bay, had been defeated—killed, even—in the blink of an eye. Could anyone really believe it?

"I'm here to kill Bane. Do you believe it now?"

Su Sheng's words, once dismissed as a joke, suddenly took on a chilling truth. At the time, no one had taken him seriously. But now? Now, his words rang out in their memories with terrifying clarity.

In the silence that followed Bane's defeat, Su Sheng casually walked toward one of the thugs. The man, trembling as Su Sheng approached, tried to back away, but his legs refused to cooperate. Su Sheng stopped in front of him, a polite smile on his face. "I recall you saying that anyone who believed what I said was a fool, right?"

"Yes… right."

The thug's voice shook with fear, his eyes wide with terror as he stammered, "I'm sorry."

Su Sheng patted him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't be afraid. I just want to ask—do you believe me now?"

"I believe you! I believe everything you say! I'm sorry, I was a fool." The thug nodded frantically, his head bobbing like a chicken pecking at grain.

"Good," Su Sheng said, his voice deceptively gentle. "Then, if I told you I was going to punch your head off, would you believe that too?"

The thug froze, his mind struggling to process the question.

Not believing it might seem like defiance. But believing it? That would mean accepting his own death, just as Bane had been killed.

Cold sweat trickled down his face, and he was on the verge of tears. Should he believe it or not?

His legs began to tremble, and the pungent smell of fear wafted through the air.

Su Sheng sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I just asked a question, and you're already wetting yourself? Forget it. Since you're so scared, I'll just..."

"Let me go? Please?" The thug's voice was filled with desperate hope.

"Kill you!"

With the force of twenty times his natural strength—a force strong enough to break Bane's bones—Su Sheng's fist connected with the man's head. There was a sickening crack, and the thug was sent flying backward, his facial features twisted grotesquely from the impact.

"Sometimes, if you don't try hard, you won't even know what true despair is," Su Sheng remarked, pulling back his fist. He turned to the crowd on either side of him, his voice snapping them out of their stunned stupor. "What are you all standing around for? Get moving!"

His words jolted the onlookers into action. The thugs, once confident of their victory, turned and fled in panic. James Gordon, quick to react, barked orders to his fellow officers, leading them in taking down the fleeing criminals.

This was a true reversal—an unexpected twist that no one had seen coming.

In the midst of the chaos, Barbara Gordon managed to free herself from her restraints. Still shaken, she pulled Talia al Ghul along and rushed to Su Sheng. "So this was your plan all along? Pretending to betray us to lure Bane out? Why didn't you tell us in advance? I thought you were actually going to betray us! And how did you come up with this plan? I would never have thought of it."

Barbara's voice was filled with a mixture of excitement and admiration, her earlier anger at Su Sheng completely forgotten. She had even forgotten that she had punched him earlier. Su Sheng smiled, his tone mockingly serious. "You have to focus on the details and start with the small things, because... well, you can't handle the big things."

Barbara froze mid-thought.

She had been ready to listen carefully, expecting some insight into Su Sheng's strategy. But instead, he had ended with a jab at her abilities. It was clear he was mocking her, suggesting she was incapable of tackling the bigger challenges. The realization made her blood boil. This guy was impossible—infuriating in the way only he could be.

"It's not over yet, is it?" Su Sheng's voice cut through her thoughts. "Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?"

The reminder snapped Barbara out of her shock. "The nuclear reactor! We need to find it!"

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Barbara grabbed Talia's arm and began pulling her toward the city hall. Talia, however, hesitated. For a moment, she considered making a move, but Su Sheng's casual voice stopped her in her tracks. "Go ahead."

What does he mean by that? Is he not going to expose me?

Talia al Ghul stared at Su Sheng; her eyes wide with confusion. But Su Sheng simply turned and walked away with a smile.

What's the point in revealing her secret now? It would be far more entertaining to let her continue her plans to destroy Gotham, hiding in plain sight. After all, when Batman returned and found Bane dead, he would need an adversary to keep him on his toes, to ensure that the Dark Knight remained vigilant. Justice, after all, is born out of evil. A peaceful Gotham wouldn't truly be Gotham anymore.

As the chaos continued to swirl around the city hall, Su Sheng slipped away, unnoticed by the frantic crowd. A short while later, the distant roar of an engine echoed through the air as the Batmobile entered flight mode and soared into the sky.

Eventually, the chaos began to subside, and the once-noisy streets grew quiet.

On the road leading to the city hall, Su Sheng's car still stood where he had left it, parked alone in the middle of the street.

Suddenly, the car began to shake, accompanied by a series of thuds and bangs. With a loud clatter, the trunk lid burst open. Out of it stumbled Harley Quinn, her hair a mess and her clothes disheveled. She extended her long legs awkwardly, trying to climb out of the cramped space.

Looking around at the now-silent and debris-strewn streets, Harley Quinn's face contorted in confusion.

She had snuck into the trunk early in the morning, planning to slip away with Su Sheng when he left. But things hadn't gone according to plan. She had been left behind. As she stood there, she couldn't help but think to herself, I guess it's true—you really don't know what despair is until you try hard and still fail.

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