Detective Comics 27

64 pages of ACTION! 6 of Batman!

I am Vengence I am the Night ... I am Batman! Well Sort off. Detective Comics issue number 27 unleashed the man who would become known as the caped crusader. Batman is the other side of the superhero coin compared to Superman. He is normal, having no superpowers, using only his wits, body, and will and winning against even gods. Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Bob Kane drew Batman for many years, and much of his work was influential in the 1960's batman show. Kane's Batman was influenced by The Phantom, who I have already discussed, Zorro and the Shadow. In fact Batman's not using guns has been partially credited to what is now DC wanting to distance him from the Shadow. And yes that does mean that Batman did use guns originally. Batman is in essence a detective and crime fighter, not an intergalactic defeater of villains. Much like Superman, many of his early cases dealt with local street crime and puzzles, rather than on super villains(Although Doctor Death was a recurring villain.) The early batman is very different from the modern idea we have of the Dark Knight.

I call it throw off roof fu!

Our comic opens without introducing us to any sort of origin other than that he is a mysterious figure without any idea of his real identity. The first page is a discussion between Bruce Wayne, millionare and socialite, who is being entertained by police commissioner Gordan. They are not mentioned to be in Gotham city which is weird on its own, as it is when Gordon gets a phone call and decides to take Bruce with him to a crime scene. They learn that a chemical magnate named Lambert was killed, seemingly by his son, but the son has has an explanation. Gordon gets a call at at the Lambert's from another chemical magnate, who feels threatened, and Bruce is left behind. A thief is holding that chemical magnate at gunpoint before shooting him. He then climbs to the roof where we first see the Batman. No I will not say it the way they do in the comic because it is silly. Early Batman is much like early Superman, beating the thugs and not caring about their safety, as he throws a criminal off the houses roof! Batman takes the paper and reads it, showing us the entirety of his awesome detective skills, and then speeds off.

 Batman throws a wrench in the villain's plan.

He finds the last two partners of the syndicate, with one of the Stryker deciding to kill the other one, Rogers using Jenning's his assistant. We learn that the gas chamber is used to kill guinea pigs, but not why that is important for a chemical factory, and then Jennings leaves, ignoring the evil overlord's list. Batman saves the remaining partner by stopping the pipe, and then breaking the glass bubble. Batman then takes Jennings out with a flying tackle!! Stryker comes and tries to kill Rogers with a knife. Batman stops him. Batman had figured out by reading the note earlier that Stryker had been paying money to get the company legitimately, but that killing the other owners would get him the company without needing to spend money. Then Batman proves he is not really a good guy yet. As Styker breaks free,

Sock! Or really punch! ... Or maybe kicka pow!

Thats right! Batman deliberately punches someone into a tank of acid. In most stories Batman would never let an enemy die, but apparently he doesn't do that yet. So we get this line as part of the end of our comic.

He then vanishes into the night. Gordon talks about his boring meeting with Bruce to himself, after

Bruce visits and is told of the Batman, which Bruce dismisses as a fairy tale. We then get a dramatic

panel of a door, followed by the door opening and revealing to the reader that Batman is Bruce Wayne! 

Not the best Batman story ever. Batman really isn't fully formed yet. Without the motivation of his parents death, we don't really see much about why he is Batman, or why we should really care about him. I do like that Commissioner Gordon is in this comic, establishing one of the most important dynamics for this character early, but I also don't get what we think of as classic Batman from this comic.  I would have to say while interesting there are better origin stories out there. I found this comic in Batman Chronicles Volume One. Next week I will review an important one Batman Year One, although to be honest I still don't really like it that much. 

P.S. Sorry about the short update and missed Tuesday. My computer broke and that but a kink in the schedule, as did not having my research materials until Wednesday.