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127,497
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in: Whitney Ellsworth/Executive Editor, Bob Kane/Cover Artist, Bill Finger/Writer,
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Batman Vol 1 1

Revision as of 13:46, 4 June 2015 by Stoop Davy Dave (Message Wall | contribs)
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"The Legend of the Batman - Who He is, and How he Came to Be": Fifteen years ago, a mugger named Joe Chill accosts Thomas and Martha Wayne and their young son Bruce. He shoots Thomas a

Quote1 If they're going to play with the Joker, they'd better be prepared to deal from the bottom of the deck! Quote2
— The Joker

Batman #1 is an issue of the series Batman (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1940. It was published on April 25, 1940.

Synopsis for "The Legend of the Batman - Who He is, and How he Came to Be"

Fifteen years ago, a mugger named Joe Chill accosts Thomas and Martha Wayne and their young son Bruce. He shoots Thomas and Martha and leaves Bruce to survive. Bruce vows to avenge his parents and spends the following years developing his mind and body. One evening, while sitting in his father's study, a huge bat flies into the window. Believing it to be an omen, Bruce decides to drape himself in the trappings of a bat, and thus the Batman is born.

Appearing in "The Legend of the Batman - Who He is, and How he Came to Be"

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Other Characters:

  • None

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  • None

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  • None


Synopsis for "The Joker"

The Joker announces on the radio that he will kill Henry Claridge and steal the Claridge diamond at midnight. A cordon of cops guard Claridge's home, but he dies anyway, at midnight with a grotesque smile on his face. (He's been dosed, much earlier, with a delayed-action treatment of Joker Venom.) The police then discover that the diamond was already stolen, and that it was replaced with a glass one, and the Joker has left behind his calling card, a Joker.

Later the Joker goes on radio and announces that he will kill Jay Wilde and steal the Ronkers Ruby. Once again a cordon of police fails to safeguard the victim, who is killed at exactly midnight, with a poison dart, by the Joker, hiding in a suit of armor. The Joker deploys a paralyzing gas against the police, and departs with his loot.

But a mobster named Brute Nelson, who is enraged that the Joker is pulling off all these jobs that he had planned to do, sends word out that he thinks that the Joker is a coward. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson hear about this and suspect a trap. Batman goes to the mobster's house. The Joker is also there, and he shoots and kills Nelson, but he is pursued by Batman. However the Joker gets the upper hand by knocking Batman off a bridge.

Luckily Batman survives. The Joker then resumes his work by announcing that he will kill Judge Drake. The Joker impersonates the police chief, and kills the judge with Joker Venom, and leaves. Robin has been stationed outside, to follow whoever comes out, and he trails the killer to an abandoned house, where the Joker turns the tables on him and captures Robin.

The soles of Robin's shoes have been painted with an special chemical, and Batman used infra-red goggles to follow his trail, arriving just in time to save him from an injection of Joker Venom, and there's a big fight. The Joker sprays Batman with the same paralyzing gas that had taken out a whole squad of cops, but Batman just shakes it off, grabs Robin, and escapes. The Joker also manages to escape. Robin then tells Batman that the Joker was saying that he was going after the Cleopatra Necklace, owned by Otto Drexel. Batman and Robin arrive while the robbery is still in progress; the Joker uses all his ammunition shooting Batman in the chest; Batman has on a bullet-proof vest; Joker loses and is sent to the State Penitentiary.

Appearing in "The Joker"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Villains:

  • Template:Apn (First appearance)
  • Brute Nelson (Single appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

Locations:

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Vehicles:

  • None

Synopsis for "The Giants of Hugo Strange"

Professor Hugo Strange returns with a growth formula that changes asylum inmates into 10-foot tall "man-monsters" that wreak havoc on Gotham City. Batman is captured and injected with the serum, but manages to escape and create an antidote. Batman then punches Strange out the window into the murky waters below. Batman then pilots the Batplane and kills many of Strange's henchman and some of the monsters with machine-gun fire. He also manages to hang one of the monsters with his Batrope. He finally kills the last monster by throwing tear gas pellets while it is atop a skyscraper, causing it to fall to its death.

Appearing in "The Giants of Hugo Strange"

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Synopsis for "The Cat"

An elderly socialite, Mrs. Travers, is going on a yacht trip with several select friends and a $500,000 emerald necklace. Suspecting that some crook or other will try to steal it, Dick Grayson gets a job as a steward, as Batman has other business elsewhere. Soon, Dick has some suspects: Denny, Mrs. Travers' favourite nephew, who has borrowed lots of money from his aunt in the past (and brought an elderly guest, Miss Peggs, with him); Wallace, Mrs. Travers' doctor, who frequently borrows money to pay off gambling debts, and Mrs. Travers' brother Roger, who wants money to cover stock market losses. Denny throws a piece of paper over the side of the yacht, but the wind blows it back to Dick. The letter is from The Cat, asking Denny to keep Mrs. Travers away from her room. Suspecting the theft is about to take place, Dick hurries to the cabin, but Mrs. Travers has already discovered the theft. A boat claiming to be coast guards approaches, but it is actually full of mobsters after some loot- and the necklace. The mobsters content themselves with stealing everything else, but when they go to shoot someone for protecting his wife, Dick barrels into them and gets knocked into the sea. He takes the chance to turn into Robin. Meanwhile, the mobsters leave, satisfied with their takings. They race away, but Batman appears and knocks them around. Robin has surfaced and joins in, with a object lesson consisting of him versus four unarmed mobsters. The crooks quit(to stop Robin from hitting the any more), and Batman proves that, without their guns, crooks are cowards through and through. They return to the yacht and Batman crashes a fancy dress party, to be awarded with the first prize. He returns the stolen loot and Robin sets off the fire alarm.This is a trap to persuade the cat to reveal him/herself. Mrs. Peggs races off surprisingly well for someone with a bad ankle, But the dynamic duo still catch her. Batman pulls off her wig and removes her make-up to reveal a pretty girl. the necklace is hidden under her bandage. Denny tries to take the necklace, but Batman knocks him out. The Cat tries to persuade Batman to join her as King of Crime, but he refuses. Then, despite leaving Denny on the yacht, Batman takes the Cat to the police himself. However, the Cat jumps over the side and Batman lets her escape. He's clearly smitten, even though he still has a fiancée.

Appearing in "The Cat"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • None

Villains:

  • Template:Apn (First appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Martha Travers
  • Denny Travers
  • Doctor Wallace
  • Roger

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

  • Luxury cruise ship

Synopsis for "The Joker Returns"

Two days after the Joker is captured, he manages to escape using explosive chemicals hidden in some false teeth and begins to cause more trouble. At home, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson hear the news on the radio and Bruce speculates that Joker is probably after vengeance. The Joker enters his secret laboratory through a hidden entrance in the graveyard and starts plotting. He threatens Chief of Police Chalmers, and kills him dart released with a phone call. Next day, a painting is stolen, and the owner of a stolen gem is found dead, grinning. Then he threatens to steal the Cleopatra necklace.

Bruce, hearing it on the radio, promises to stop him. In the museum, the Joker emerges from a sarcophagus and uses his poison to incapacitate the guards. Batman appears and disarms him. The Joker seizes an axe and knocks out Batman. The Police arrives and finds the unconscious Batman and missing necklace. Before the cops can remove Batman's cowl, he comes to and escapes out the window. A reformer, Edgar Martin calls for the capture of the Joker, and is marked for death. That night, Martin is under guard and plays cards to calm down. But the pack is all jokers, and poison-laced, killing Martin. Next day Bruce Wayne suggests a trap for the Joker to his friend Commissioner Gordon. The press prints a series of articles on the Fire Ruby, and despite suspecting a trap, the Joker goes for it. When he arrives, the police surround him, and he shoots, making for the roof. Robin, waiting for him, follows. Joker knocks him off, but he grabs a flagpole to save himself. Running down to see if Robin died, Joker takes aim and is intercepted by Batman. Robin falls down and lands on the Joker. Batman and Joker fight, and Joker stabs himself in the chest. Batman and Robin flee, leaving the Police to find out that the Joker is still alive.

Appearing in "The Joker Returns"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Villains:

Other Characters:

  • Chalmers
  • Edgar Martin

Locations:

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  • None

Notes

  • The first five issues of this title were published quarterly on a seasonal basis.
  • This issue is the first appearance of Catwoman. She makes a chronologically earlier appearance in Batman #52 and Brave and the Bold #197. She appears next in Batman #2.
  • "The Giants of Hugo Strange" is also known as "Professor Hugo Strange and the Monsters".
  • The asylum featured in "The Giants of Hugo Strange" is never identified, however it is safe to assume that it exists as the Earth-Two counterpart to the famous Arkham Asylum.
  • The plot from "The Joker" is re-imagined in the 2005 graphic novel Batman: The Man Who Laughs. The plots from "The Joker" and "The Joker Returns" are also a major influence on the 2008 feature film The Dark Knight where the Joker does the same things as he did in that comic, such as publicly announcing his crimes before committing them, removing his make-up and disguising himself as a police officer to gain access to a person he threatened to kill, using a powerful bomb smuggled into jail to escape, stealing and killing not for personal gain but to simply create chaos and disorder, and infringing upon the city's old-fashioned mobsters.
  • The plot from "The Joker" can also be revisited at Crack Comics #4 Aug 1940 and Smash Comics #25 Aug 1941.

Reprints

Trivia

  • This issue includes a two-page humor strip by Ted Raye entitled "Ginger Snap". Ted Raye is a pen named occasionally used by Bob Kane.
  • This issue includes a one-page "Fast Facts" feature by George Papp.
  • The Catwoman is referred to only as the Cat in this issue.

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