Maximillian Zeus, a millionaire who is also a Greek history fanatic, takes control of Gotham from the sky after losing to Mayor Grange in a re-election.

Hugo Strange creates a AI database called DAVE (Digitally Advanced Villain Emulator), encoded with the minds of Gotham's greatest criminals, in order to better predict their crimes. However, DAVE breaks free and proclaims himself to be "Gotham's ultimate criminal mastermind".