The following contains spoilers for Task Force Z #10, on sale now from DC Comics.
In Red Hood's world, everything is going wrong. A mission that he was assigned by Batman has turned into a questionable crusade that has the entire Bat-Family turned against him and a number of villains on his side. However, this toxic situation has just gotten worse -- as it will bring back the most powerful duo in Gotham's history.
The previous issue saw the reveal that the Bane that's been on Jason Todd's team this whole time was not, in fact, the real Bane at all. It was another poor soul, whose dead body was overwritten with false memories and pumped with Venom to make it seem like the villain, all to give Jason even more reason to join. The final pages of Task Force Z #10 (by Matthew Rosenberg, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas and Rob Leigh) revealed that this mystery zombie's true identity was the Superman-esque hero known as Gotham.
Gotham made a name for himself alongside Gotham Girl in Tom King and David Finch's Rebirth run of Batman. Hank Clover and his sister Claire always wanted to be heroes and found a way to do it with an experimental Venom formula. Although this gave them powers similar to the Man of Steel himself, it shortened their lifespan every time they used it. During a climatic battle that saw the Justice League called to Batman's city, Hank was killed by his own sister, as she attempted to stop his rampage.
This death heavily impacted his sister Claire. Although she worked with Batman for a time, she soon turned against him. Like her brother, she too fell victim to Psycho-Pirate's mental manipulations, and the villain tricked her into joining Bane's plot to break the Bat. For Claire, this still revolved around the death of her brother. Using a whole new kind of Venom, she resurrected Hank in a form that wasn't too dissimilar to his appearance in Task Force Z #10. Unfortunately, the Venom was too much for his body and he died again, leaving Claire to process her grief for a second time.
Although she kept assisting Bane right up until his final plans unfolded, even becoming a Robin to Flashpoint Batman, Claire was eventually released from Psycho-Pirate's hold. She may be back to being one of the heroes, but all of that mental manipulation has a heavy tole. The results of that were recently shown in the Detective Comics back-up story "Gotham Girl, Interrupted" (by Sina Grace, David Lapham, Trish Mulvihill and Rob Leigh). Claire was treated in Arkham Tower by Dr. Chase Meridian. Even though she was released, she's been living in the abandoned Wayne Manor and has only a gargoyle for a friend. A violent outburst recently almost had her kill Dr. Meridian too.
Considering how vulnerable Claire is right now, the events unfolding in Task Force Z do not look good for the hero. She's sure to be furious when she finds out what Mr. Bloom and everyone else involved in the whole Bane conspiracy have done with her brother. As well as that, she herself tried to resurrect him before. Seeing that happen again, combined with the possibility of losing him for a third time, it's certain to open a lot of old wounds and deepen her trauma.
Then there's the fact a zombie version of Gotham has been unleashed on the world. He was able to best the Justice League when he was alive, so what trouble could he cause as a zombie? If he finds his sister, the two could very well team up. Even if they tried to be the heroes they once were, history has proven that they'll only make things worse. Right now, the return of Gotham and Gotham Girl could be the worst thing imaginable for Gotham City.