TF Views

Onwards and upwards with Batman vol. 4.

Detective Comics #93
November 1944

One Night of Crime!
Another "put random people into a difficult situation, watch drama ensue" plot turns out to be pretty good, as these types of stories often are. Out of work actress Mary Dale, playwrite Victor Clement, "amateur detectives" Johnny and Eddie all board a sightseeing tour bus in Gotham, but so does bank robber Tiger Ragland, who alone escapes after Batman and Robin dive in and bust up his gang's armed robbery. He escapes with the money and hides on the tour bus, but other gangsters see him board, and take over the bus to get the money, killing Ragland. Deciding that they need to silence all witnesses, i.e. everyone on the bus, they put them in a back warehouse and start to flood it, intending to drown everyone. Johnny and Eddie get a message out a high window which Batman and Robin find, and the two of them rescue everyone and bust up the gangsters. Everyone gets a happy ending out of the deal, except for the crooks of course. I always enjoy the way these human interest stories inserted into a larger plot add to the overall story.

World's Finest Comics #15
Autumn 1944

The Men Who Died Twice!
Batman and Robin round up three notorious gangsters: Killer Halsey, Machine Gun Kale and Lynx Larsen. The men are imprisoned and convicted to die, though each believes their lucky item will save them. The execution makes the papers, so the fate of the three men seems final. But all three men are witnessed robbing a bank very soon afterward. Batman goes to see Gordon, who introduces Dr. McFloy, prison physician, who normally certifies that executed men are indeed dead. McFloy insists that he was kidnapped and never made that certification, but given that he has a criminal connection in his past, he doesn't think his story will be believed. Batman promises to help. A call comes in from a jewelry store that's being robbed by the three men, and Batman and Robin go to try and catch the crooks. They fail, but Batman has greasepaint on his glove from slugging one of the gangsters, indicating that they are impersonators.

With this information, Batman goes to visit expert makeup artist Mr. Mennekin to see who in town could pull off such an expert makeup job. Mennekin directs them to a makeup artist in a shady area of town, where Batman and Robin arrive in time to see Halsey, Kale and Larsen shot in a gunfight with police... and they're all the genuine article, not other men in disguise. Bruce and Dick go undercover in the shady neighborhood and notice several crooks sporting the "lucky" items that Halsey and the others used to wear. The whole plot turns out to have been a plan by Mennekin, who kidnapped McFloy, took his place, got the three killers out of prison while keeping them sedated, and then used hired thugs to impersonate the three men for a couple of high profile robberies, and then set up the three killers to be shot by police. The robberies would be blamed on Halsey, Kale and Larsen, while Mennekin and his thugs would be home free, with no one suspecting they pulled the robberies. This was a fun little mystery.

Batman #26
December 1944-January 1945

Twenty-Ton Robbery!
The Cavalier returns, and despite the fact that Batman discovered who he was and where he lived when he last appeared in Detective Comics #89, Mortimer Drake is determined to continue his "criminal career". He disguises himself, adopts a new identity as "Albert Foster" and gets new henchmen. An initial robbery attempt at a costume party is foiled because Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are there, and of course quickly assume their costumed identities and stop the robbery. Robin is kidnapped and used as bait to try and kill Batman, but Robin is able to warn him about the trap before Batman can set it off. The Cavalier is not deterred, and carries out a plan to steal a whale from a nearby aquarium. I'm not kidding. Batman tracks him down by finding out which local fish shop is selling more than normal, and the Cavalier is finally captured and turned over to the police.

Recipe for Revenge!
Another four page "Adventure of Alfred" sees the would-be detective go shopping because he thinks Bruce and Dick haven't been eating well lately. Alfred forgets his wallet, and when someone bumps into him and he can't find his wallet, Alfred assumes he's been pickpocketed. He follows the "crook", only to accidentally save his life from a real gangster. As usual with these Alfred stories where he plays detective, he solves the case through sheer dumb luck, though he does show a bit of bravery in confronting an armed man along the way. I'm still not a fan.

Batman #26 continued

The Year 3000!
In 1776 the colonists fought for freedom! We too must fight!

In the year 3000, the world is a peaceful utopia, until Saturn attacks and conquers the peaceful planet, led by the Saturnian dictator Fura. This is old fashioned sci-fi storytelling, and from the moment future inhabitants of Earth Brane and his son Ricky appear, and find a time capsule from the 1939 world's fair, it's not hard to figure that they'll be inspired by the exploits of Batman and Robin to don costumes and inspire the inhabitants of Earth to fight back. There's a bit of the philosophy from Christian Bale's Batman here, with Batman being used as an inspirational symbol. And of course, given that we're not quite done with World War 2 here, the Saturnians are an obvious analogy for the Nazis, with Earth citizens held in concentration camps, curfews, and Nazi salutes among the Saturnian invaders.

In the end, while their tactics are effective, it takes Brane revealing that he's the Batman to really inspire humanity to take the fight to Saturn. The last twist in the story is that Fura had send an army of robots to conquer the Earth, while the real Saturnians want only peace. Fura tries to escape into space, but Brane pursues him, and Fura falls victim to his own flame gun as he accidentally punctures his space suit, causing him to freeze to death in deep space. Earth and Saturn are at peace, and Brane can at last marry his fiance. He reveals that his full name is really Bruce Wayne, and that he's the latest in a long line to have that name. Part retro sci-fi, part WW2 allegory, this was more enjoyable than I expected it to be.

Crime Comes to Lost Mesa!
A pair of escaped convicts, a hidden tribe of Indians, isolated from 20th century civilization and a power hungry tribesman all lead to trouble for Batman and Robin. Convincts Randy Roose and Monk Bardo break out of prison, commandeer a plane, and force the pilot to fly them to Lost Mesa, where they kill him and parachute to safety in this hidden valley. Bruce and Dick pursue them, and by chance save the life of Nachee, a young Indian from the hidden tribe who knows who they are. He leads them in to meet the tribe, and to his grandfather the Chief. The reception is hostile, and at first this looks like the old "wily con-men hoodwink the primitive tribe" story, but it turns out that Randy and Monk have gained influence thanks to Mordu, a power hungry Indian who wants to overthrow the chief. It looks like Batman and Robin are going to be burned alive, but thanks to some quick thinking by Nachee, Randy and Monk are exposed as thieves, and Mordu is accidentally shot as the thugs try to kill Batman and Robin. Order is restored to Lost Mesa, and the crooks are returned to prison.

Detective Comics #94
December 1944

No One Must Know!
In the small town of Meadowvale, life moves at a slower pace and the residents look out for each other more than they do in Gotham. George Barrows is happy that his his son Jimmy is engaged to Mary Watts, but Barrows is concerned that no one learn that he's an escaped convict, fearing that it will mean scandal and embarassment for his son and future daughter in law. Meanwhile, Lefty and his gang leave Gotham, looking to get away from the heat put on them by Batman and Robin, and they end up in Meadowvale. Recognizing Barrows, they blackmail him into helping them con and fleece visitors to the local carnival. Naturally Batman and Robin have followed the crooks, and they put an end to the con game. Barrows' secret is made public, that he once committed an act of theft, and while in prison, overheard Lefty planning to escape and was forced to go along. He's kept his secret ever since, fearing no one would believe his story. Rather than reject him, the people of Meadowvale continue to support their long-time friend. They sign a petition to the governor for a pardon for Barrows, which the governor grants.

Detective Comics #95
January 1945

The Blaze
A cargo of the greatest killers and crooks of crimedom aboard this train! What a prize to snatch from the hands of Batman! And I can do it -- I -- the Blaze!

A number of crimes are broken up and criminals arrested by the police thanks to evidence provided by Batman, for which he gets credit by the police and the newspapers. Someone has the obviously bad idea to put all these crooks on the same train to transport them to prison, and the train is hijacked by the Blaze, a gleeful ranting villain who loves fire and has a bright red beard and moustache. He's not a costumed villain, but in all other respects he'd sit comfortably with the Joker or the Penguin in terms of crazy over the top villainy. He enlists the help of all the crooks he's rescued to trap Batman. Batman falls for it and is trapped in a steel net, managing to cut his way out before the Blaze, in a pretty brutal way to kill someone, tries to burn him to death. Batman is knocked out during the fight and Robin is captured when he follows the crooks. The Blaze wants Batman to follow and leaves a bomb under the chair Robin is tied to, but Batman manages to render it harmless. The Blaze and his men are finally captured in a fight in a museum. The Blaze starts out so well, but in the end gets punched out like every other crook.

World's Finest Comics #16
Winter 1945

The Mountaineers of Crime!
Stereotypes abound in this story that freely rips off and runs with some Hatfield and McCoy stand ins as hick mountain folk feud with each other. Many of these mountaineers work at a lens-grinding facility that's crucial to the war effort, and the feud is affecting production. Stockholder Bruce Wayne is heading to see if he can help stop the fighting and get production back to normal. One side has mined the road and an explosion destroys Bruce's car, while Bruce and Dick survive. Then the other side attacks them. A lot of fist fights, bad accents and bad puns later, Bruce and Dick arrive at the plant to find one of the lens grinding machines has been stolen. There is a murder and fake ghosts and a fake hillbilly, in reality wanted gangster Nocky Johnson, behind all the crimes. This story is a jumble of genres and cliches, and just about works in spite of itself, but it's not one of my favorites.

Back to Superman Omnibus #1 for awhile. Volume 5 is scheduled for the end of January.

Action Comics #18
November 1939

Superman's Super-Campaign
Senator Hastings finishes a re-election speech and heads home, only to see a woman in an evening dress in the road. She claims her car went through the guardrail and she barely got out in time. The Senator buys the story and offers to take her back to town. She releases a capsule of gas in the car, renders him unconcious, and takes him to a "notorious roadhouse" where her associates are waiting and greet her with a "hey, Trixie." It's not hard to figure out that this is a plot to put the Senator in a compromising situation to end his re-election bid (are we sure this is 1939 and not 2017? Some things never change!)

Through a series of events, Clark learns that unscrupulous fellow reporter Powers, who works for the Morning Herald, is blackmailing Hastings, and he determines to put a stop to it. He threatens Powers, who calls his boss Hamilton. Superman follows him and learns of the publisher's involvement, but before he can bust them, Powers is sent to kill Trixie and the photographer who obtained the "compromising" pictures of Hastings. Superman stops Powers, and then heads to the offices of the Morning Herald, where the pictures are being put in the paper, since Hastings refused to pay the blackmail. Superman stops all the delivery trucks, wrecking the paper's fleet, and then trashes the presses, with Hamilton protesting that Superman is ruining him. Superman runs him out of town, and Hastings is reelected. Again, if this was topical in 1939, it's doubly topical now. A fine example of early social justice Superman at work.

Action Comics #19
December 1939

Superman and the Purple Plague
A plague has begun in Metropolis that kills people very quickly. The symptoms are purple blotches on the victim's skin, unconciousness and then death. People panic and lock themselves in their homes. Horse drawn wagons collect the dead from the streets. The picture painted here is pretty horrific, and it's clear this is meant to be something like the black plague of the middle ages. Clark Kent, who is of course highly resistant to disease, not only covers the story but also works with Dr. Henry Travers who claims to have found a cure. The first trial fails, and Travers is scorned by the other scientists and doctors in Metropolis. Travers is going to give up, but Superman won't allow it. Travers protests that he can no longer obtain the chemicals he needs for his experiments, so Superman goes and steals them. Seriously. Travers works out what his mistake was, just in time to cure the son of one of Metropolis's prominent doctors and save his reputation as well as the boy's life.

Over the course of the story, it turns out that the plague was started by the Ultra-Humanite. He manages to knock Superman out at one point and attempts to hypnotize him, but Superman fakes it and destroys a dirigible used to spread the plague. When Superman goes to confront the Humanite at the end of the story, the Humanite is seemingly killed when the weapon he fires at Superman explodes.

Superman #3
Winter 1940

This issue contains stories reprinted and colored from the daily newspaper strip, so they're longer than the typical 12 pager and formatted differently. I think the original issue also had some Action Comics reprints, but the omnibus included them earlier, so there is no reason to duplicate them here.

Superman and the Runaway
Young Frankie Dennis escapes from the state-run orphanage with his dog. Walking along the railroad tracks in the hot sun, he faints from heat and hunger and collapses, just as the train is coming. Thankfully, Clark Kent is walking to work and spots him, and is able to outrun the train and pull him to safety. Clark feeds the boy breakfast and learns that he and the other children at the orphanage are being badly mistreated by Mr. Lyman. They're forced to work hard, they're abused, and they don't get enough to eat. Clark convinces him to go back and be his "inside man" (which seems a bit cruel to me), and forms a poor first impression of Lyman. Clark later returns with Lois and two other reporters who follow them, thinking they'll get a story. Lyman has the kids put up a front, making it looks like all is well, but Lois notices a little girl with a bruise on her arm, and Frankie tries to tell Clark what's going on, only to stop in fear of Lyman. Lyman locks him in the attic when the reporters have gone.

Superman returns that night to investigate, and so does Lois. While Superman is able to obtain records proving that Lyman is stealing from the food budget, Lois is caught when she hears Frankie yelling because Lyman is about to whip him. Seriously, this orphanage is every kid's nightmare. Lyman locks Lois in the attic and sets fire to the orphanage to cover his escape. The kids get out, but Superman has to rescue Lois and Frankie from the attic. Lyman is arrested, and he is replaced by a supervisor who cares about the kids and does a much better job.

Superman and the Jewel Smugglers
Lois is angry because she's been demoted back to the Lovelorn column, and Clark is promoted for covering the comeback of boxer Larry Trent (back in Superman #2, also a newspaper reprint). Rather unwisely, Clark chooses this moment to ask Lois out on a date and is frostily turned down. Seriously Clark, what did you expect? Lois is at her desk when Mrs. Frawley asks to see the Lovelorn writer and tells Lois that she thinks her husband has joined a gang of smugglers. He's gone every night and when he's home he beats her. I think I'd have gone to the police if it was me, not the advice columnist. In any case, Lois promises to help, and she's thinking that this is a great story to get her job as a reporter back. She goes to Clark and tells him she's changed her mind, and the two of them end up in "Joe's Joint", a shady place on the waterfront. Clark, still a bit dense, doesn't seem to put two and two together and figure out that Lois is using him to get at Frawley, whom Lois flirts with. He brushes Clark off and dances with Lois, who picks his pocket and learns the smugglers plans.

Of course, Frawley's associates notice what she did, so the smugglers kidnap Clark and Lois and take them out to sea, pushing Clark overboard in the process. He pretends to struggle as the boat leaves him in the bay, but of course changes to Superman and follows the smugglers, racing a bullet to stop Lois from being shot and capturing them all. When Lois tries to submit the story to George Taylor the next day, Clark has beaten her to the punch and his story is already in print.

Lois Lane: she continues to be amazingly reckless, willing to tangle with killers to "get her story". Modern Lois engages in this type of undercover reporting, but she's more sensible in her methods, and of course, being married to Superman, can count on him for support when needed. 1939 Lois Lane has no qualms about lying to and using Clark Kent, who gullibly plays right along. Past stories indicate that this is all a game to him, which makes both of these characters manipulative jerks at times. Hey, if nothing else, it's entertaining to read. And their relationship does improve over time. But Lois would have been dead long ago if not for Superman.

Action Comics #20
January 1940

Superman and the Screen Siren
And now you vixen, I'll give you a lesson you'll never forget!

Clark has been promised a vacation, but editor Taylor says he's going to have to make it a working vacation, and sends him to Hollywood. Clark ends up saving movie star Dolores Winters from a killer, and in gratitude she promises him an interview. However when he goes to see her the next day, he's refused entry, and Dolores insists she never promised him anything. Clark chalks this up to women being fickle. Like his treatment of Lois, there's some definite dated attitudes towards women in these stories.

Dolores Winters is on a yacht the next evening, holding a party with a bunch of screen stars. She pulls a gun, has some hirelings come out, and kidnaps the whole boat, demanding a ransom. Rather suprised, Superman gets involved and follows the ransom money, left in a watertight container and picked up by a sub. The sub goes to an underwater base with Superman clinging to it. Dolores delights at getting the money, and tells the hostages she was never going to release them, and is about to shoot them when Superman confronts her.

If you're thinking this is odd behavior for a screen siren, you'd be right. Dolores is, in fact.... dun dun dun: the Ultra Humanite!! In the story that no doubt established that villain's predilection for transferring his brain from one body to another, that's exactly what he's done here. He really was killed last story, but his men were able to briefly revive him, giving them time to transfer his brain. Why they chose Dolores Winters is not stated, other than that she was young and strong, criteria that would surely apply to many. Why the Ultra Humanite picked a woman is also not stated. She escapes by diving into the water, and Superman is not able to find her. The hostages are rescued, and when Clark returns from vacation, Taylor compliments him for finding such a fine story while on vacation.

Action Comics #21
February 1940

The Atomic Disintegrator
An explosion in Metropolis topples a building, burying Clark Kent. He survives of course, and chalks it up to being lucky. A man dressed like a doctor insists on giving him first aid, and while the two talk, the man, whose name is Terry Curtis, confesses that the explosion was his fault. He's been experimenting with harnessing atomic energy. Clark writes up the story for the Daily Star, and who should happen to read it but the Ultra Humanite, still in the body of Dolores Winters. Naturally such a weapon would help her with her plans for world conquest. She feigns interest in Curtis, and when Clark goes to follow up his interview, Curtis mentions that he has a date with a woman "who looks like that movie star, Dolores Winters". When Ultra kidnaps Curtis after having lured him in, Clark puts two and two together. He tracks down the Ultra Humanite, but only after Ultra's men have used the atomic ray to destroy a Metropolis skyscraper and demand a ransom. Ultra has built a base in (where else?) a dormant volcano. Awesome. In the ensuing fight, the atomic weapon is destroyed by Superman, Curtis is rescued, and Ultra jumps to her seeming death, after which Superman is able to make the volcano erupt, destroying the base. Superman advises Curtis to give up on his atomic research.

I believe this is the final appearance of the Ultra Humanite for decades. I wonder if it just struck the editors as a weird thing to have the former male villain become a female and then hit on a man as a means of stealing his invention? For sci-fi fans like Seigel and Shuster, such a concept wouldn't be all that strange, but that might well have been a bridge too far for the readers in 1940. It is nice to have a female villain in these old comics, but this is the second and final appearance of "Dolores Winters". This is the end of the Ultra Humanite as Superman's arch enemy, but it won't be long before he's replaced.

Action Comics #22
March 1940

Europe at War part 1
The war in question is a proxy for the real war going on in Europe, and the story concerns fictional nations of Toran and Galonia rather than genuine European nations. "Europe at War!!" is the headline of the Daily Star. The editor sends Clark and Lois to Europe to cover this story. While on the ship crossing the Atlantic, forgetting the trouble that happened the last time he saved an actress from being killed, Clark saves the life of foreign actress Lita Laverne. The two get along better after this, but Clark spots Lita going through papers in the captain's office. Lita turns out to be a spy, but just as the spy storyline starts to go somewhere once the ship docks in Europe, the story turns to all out war and action as the city is bombed. Superman goes into action, leaping from plane to plane, tossing them around and thwarting the bombing run.

After the run is over, we return to the spy storyline, with Superman following Lita to a meeting with a sinister military type in a monocle, where the two plot to sink one of their own cruise liners to gain the sympathy of the western democracies. Superman puts a stop to that and destroys the attacking sub. He's killed some pilots and the submarine crew this issue, something the modern Superman would not deliberately do. The story ends in three panels with Superman exposing the plot of Lita and the Toran general to the Toran government, with the result being a shakeup in the Toran army.

The story ends with Clark and Lois still on assignment covering the war. "Another scoop for Clark Kent, the Daily Star and Superman!" To be continued....

Action Comics #23
April 1940

Europe at War part 2
Part 2 opens with Clark and Lois caught in another bombing attack while on the way to an interview. Clark goes into Superman mode, destroying the attacking battery and protecting the unconcious Lois. The interview takes place with Galonian general Lupo, who tells them a party of Toran officials will be arriving to discuss terms of peace. Clark goes to watch the meeting as Superman, with his camera (staying out of sight) so he can get some "swell photos". A car bomb kills the arriving officials, and the war goes on with renewed intensity. General Lupo assures Clark that he didn't sabotage the meeting, but Clark's sensitive hearing allows him to overhear the General say otherwise over the phone after Clark has left his office. Superman watches the General and follows him to a mountain cave, where the General communicates with an unseen individual. Superman confronts him, threatening to "dash his brains against the wall" if he doesn't talk. The general is terrified and spills the beans. It's all Luthor's plan to engulf the entire continent in war.

Yep, this is the first appearance of Luthor (no first name), scientific genius and would-be world conqueror. It's almost like a do-over of the Ultra Humanite concept, only instead of cab protection leagues, Luthor sets his sights a bit higher with his evil plans. Superman stops the bombing run of a neutral nation that would have spread the war and then as Clark tries to warn the two countries that they are being manipulated, to no avail. The red-headed (not bald) Luthor sends his men to kidnap the "reporter who knows too much", but they find Lois instead. Lois manages to smuggle a note out to Clark by blackmailing a non-hypnotized guard (since Luthor exercies mental control over his men) which brings Superman to Luthor's dirigible base. The two have a face to face meeting and Luthor tries to destroy Superman with his green disintegrator rays. The rays are actually working to weaken Superman, but he destroys them and the dirigble, seemingly killing everyone on board. "That's the end of Luthor" Superman tells Lois. Sorry, Superman, you've never been more wrong.

The story wraps up quickly. The evidence convinces the two nations to stop fighting, an armistice is declared, and Clark sends the story back to the Daily Planet. Yep, in a second debut, the name of the newspaper has now changed to the one Clark and Lois have worked for ever since. No explanation is given for the newspaper's change of name.

Superman #4
Spring 1940

The Challenge of Luthor
An earthquake hits Metropolis. Clark is sent to cover the aftermath, and of course switches to Superman and helps as many people as he can. He later tells the editor that he's learned (we are not shown how) that the earthquake was caused artificially by a machine, and he's going to interview the inventor, Professor Robinson. While there, Robinson attacks him and Clark pretends to be dead, because he can "temporarily stop his heart". Has Superman ever used this power before or since? The false professor tosses Clark out the window, but he switches to Superman and spies. The man, to no one's surprise, works for Luthor, who has kidnapped the real Robinson and wants his machine. Superman stops an attempt, and Luthor challenges him to a contest, with the winner to clear the loser's way.

The challenge is Luthor's science versus Superman's physical abilities. Superman accepts, and naturally wins in every challege: a race against jets, an ascent to see who can fly higher (in which two of Luthor's hirelings go too high and drift off into space, with Superman making no effort to rescue them), and Superman's abillity to withstand grenades, bombs and poison gas. Luthor admits defeat and returns Robinson, but it's all been a distraction so that Luthor's men can steal the earthquake machine. However, Robinson knows where he was held prisoner, and Superman goes there, fights off Luthor's traps, and destroys the earthquake machine. Luthor escapes, and Professor Robinson commits suicide out of guilt, his secret dying with him.