Batman interrupts the Gentleman Ghost and his two-man gang in the process of stealing industrial diamonds inside a darkened factory. The theft is thwarted, but the villains escape and the Ghost tells his men they will try to steal the jewels another time. Batman resumes his Bruce Wayne identity, reopens Wayne Manor, and hosts a costume ball with the attendees dressed as famous persons from the past. (Selina Kyle comes dressed as Catherine of Aragon.) Alfred notifies Bruce that an alarm Batman had left at the factory has gone off. Bruce becomes Batman to investigate. At the factory, Batman is tricked and knocked out by the Ghost. He awakens to find himself manacled to a chain by his wrists and suspended by a winch-and-pulley system over a cauldron of sulfuric acid. The Ghost activates the w