After Batman revealed to the vagrants and other downtrodden that they had been manipulated into joining Blackfire's cause through torture, drugging, and other manipulations, the men turned on Blackfire, challenging him to show them his righteous power.
When he challenged his followers to show how wrong Batman's beliefs were by beating him to death, Batman challenged Blackfire to face him alone first. Leading his followers into Batman's prison, Blackfire preached that the vigilante craved the existence of Gotham's criminal element, wishing to see the city crippled by it only so he could save it. He had captured the Batman and kept him drugged and sleep-deprived for days in his basement, forcing him to drink drugged water in the hope of converting him to his cult. After each of his sermons, Blackfire would select members of his audience to be chained below his ministry.
