Things are getting awfully grim in Gotham City. Okay, so that’s nothing new for the bleakest burg in the DC Universe, but we’re really starting to see just how brutal the events of Batman: Arkham Knight are going to be. The news that Batman: Arkham Knight would come with a M rating made waves across the video game industry. This is essentially as close as we were going to come to getting a R-rated Batman film, except it’s interactive. Although you’ll have to wait a little bit longer to play the highly anticipated game, DC Comics is rolling out a digital-first Batman: Arkham Knight comic series, written Peter Tomasi and illustrated by Victor Bogdanovic, that will serve as a prequel to the events of the game.

Here’s the official synopsis for issue #1:

“The Joker is dead. Arkham City is closed. As a new day begins, Bruce Wayne finds himself in devastating pain, recovering from his injuries and questioning whether his role as Batman is still necessary to the city’s survival. But as the sun rises in Gotham City, dangerous new threats emerge from the shadows…and the Arkham Knight is just beginning. Don’t miss this in-continuity prequel comic set prior to the events of the brand-new video game Batman: Arkham Knight!”

When we spoke with series writer Peter Tomasi, he said that we would be seeing a Batman who is very much in pain, and not just physically speaking. “The pain comes from the hell that Bruce and Gotham have suffered through and how he deals with it and goes about rebuilding the city,” said Tomasi. “Not just in the darkness as Batman, but as the very public Bruce Wayne.”

Judging by this exclusive preview of Batman: Arkham Knight #1, though, it seems like Batman will be doling out plenty of physical pain too. After dropping the lifeless body of the Joker on the hood of a GCPD cruiser, Batman deals with the Electrocutioner on a rooftop. However, as Batman leaves to dispense justice elsewhere in the city, the Arkham Knight makes a terrifying entrance. But don’t take my word for it–find out for yourself in our exclusive preview, featuring an early glimpse of Dan Panosian’s cover for issue #5.

Click to expand the thumbnails below.

Batman: Arkham Knight #1 is available on March 11, 2015.