You warriors want to talk treaty now? 
- — The Atom
Batman #238 is an issue of the series Batman (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1972.
Synopsis for "The Masterminds of Crime!"
This story is reprinted from Batman #70.
A new crime agency has appeared in Gotham City and the criminals have been training to become extremely efficient. Batman infiltrates the place and manages to give away the location to the Police and the whole organization is taken down.
Appearing in "The Masterminds of Crime!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mr. Tolan (Single appearance)
- Joe Webster (Single appearance)
- Dave Gregg
- Walls
Other Characters:
- Mrs. Marcy (Single appearance)
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Doom Patrol"
This story is reprinted from My Greatest Adventure #80.
An aging wheelchair bound scientist known only as the Chief gathers together three super-powered outcasts: Robotman, Elasti-Girl and Negative Man. As the heroes greet one another, they learn of the personal circumstances that brought them all together.
Robotman was once Cliff Steele, an international sportsman and daredevil whose body was burned to a cinder after a deadly racecar crash. The Chief's scientific genius transferred Steele's brain into a new robot body.
Larry Trainor was once a civilian test pilot – until the fateful day when he flew an experimental suborbital aircraft into a stratospheric belt of radiation. Now he exists as a living mummy, forced to wear special bandages to contain the radiation that has disfigured his body. As a side effect of the incident, Larry can now summon a dark energy being from his body, which he calls the Negative Man.
Rita Farr was a Hollywood starlet, and Olympic level swimmer. During filming of one of her movies, Rita was exposed to strange vapors that granted he the ability to alter her size at will. Her career in ruins, due to her mutation, she now fights alongside the Doom Patrol as Elasti-Girl.
The Chief discovers a strange alien spacecraft that has crash landed on Earth. He believes that mankind's testing of atomic weapons is what attracted the aliens attention, and the unidentified ship was designed to monitor the planet's technological advancements. The Chief sends the Doom Patrol to recover a secret weapon reputedly located inside the drone ship.
Another individual learns of the ship's existence and embarks upon a plan to recover the weapon. This is the immortal mastermind, General Immortus – an old foe of the Chief's. Immortus has spy cameras set up in the Doom Patrol headquarters and is privy to many of their secrets. Immortus attempts to retrieve the weapon and encounters the Doom Patrol. During the ensuing struggle, the alien drone ship explodes and Immortus seemingly dies in the explosion.
Appearing in "The Doom Patrol"
Featured Characters:
- Doom Patrol (First appearance)
- Chief (First appearance)
- Elasti-Girl (First appearance)
- Negative Man (First appearance)
- Robotman (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Dan Salem (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- General Immortus (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Doctor Hoskins (Single appearance)
- Doctor Leroy (Single appearance)
- Mitch (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- X-19 suborbital aircraft
Synopsis for "Oh Plastic Man!"
This story is reprinted from Police Comics #14.
The chief of police puts Plastic Man in a precarious position by demanding he arrest Eel O'Brian, not realizing he's looking right at the notorious gangster as he says it. Plas agrees to deliver Eel O'Brian if the chief will release Woozy Winks, who just walked out of his cell, into the hero's custody. Woozy helps himself to the wallet of a man walking past them, and notes with surprise it contains a picture of Eel O'Brian. Figuring something big's up, Plastic Man sends Woozy off to search elsewhere while he tails the man, who calls his boss and says the police are looking for Eel O'Brian too, not just them. After having the operator trace the call, Plas slips into his Eel identity which gets his pursuer to come after him. After getting him alone, it turns out the crook wants Eel's help moving their illicit goods.
Their operation's carried out in a sweatshop staffed by elderly men (where Woozy has managed to find himself trapped in the meantime). They have to use the elderly, because the members of their mob kept getting drafted! This group uses a submarine to follow around Allied ships and wait for them to be sunk by U-Boats, then sends out divers to collect salvage from the sunken boats. Fortunately, one of the crewman on this trap is Plastic Man in disguise. After wrestling a giant octopus, he manages to rescue the other captives. Meanwhile, the mastermind, who posed as one of his own slaves to keep an eye on them, surfaces too fast, gets the bends, and dies in the fires of a flaming oil slick he'd intended to finish off his enemies.
Appearing in "Oh Plastic Man!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mister Kindly (Dies)
- Hee-Hee
Other Characters:
- Officer Murphey
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Sargon the Sorcerer"
This story is reprinted from Sensation Comics #57.
Sargon and Max head to the circus for a night of fun, but the owner sees the hero buying tickets, and asks for his help with a strange occurrence. The other day a muscular, mute African had apparently been trying to buy the circus's lion, but when he got too close the roustabouts tried to defend the animal but were easily thrown away before the African made his escape. Though he's reluctant to miss the show, Sargon answers the call of duty and agrees to hang around and keep an eye on the lion.
Meanwhile, Max is unable to get into the circus, because of being pulled aside, Sargon never showed up and gave him his ticket. So he crawls under a flap to see the circus less legitimately, only to be caught in the act by the strongman. Fortunately the performer proves to be an old friend, unfortunately this means nobody's paying attention when the African sneaks back in and unlocks the lion's cage. It attacks Max, which the crowd thinks is just part of the show, so only Sargon intervenes. Fortunately his magic is more than a match for one lion and he distracts it easily. Then he intuits the African raised the lion from a cub, and just wants to be reunited with his old companion, and he gets hired on as the lion's minder.
Appearing in "Sargon the Sorcerer"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Items:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Ted
- Mike
- Husky Grzrykzi
- Unnamed African
Locations:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Danger in the Totem's Eye!"
Albert Pratt visits the American Indian Museum while doing research for a college theme. The security guard tells him that the museum wing is closed, but Pratt argues that their sign says it is open. The guard allows Pratt in, which Pratt finds suspicious. Inside, he marvels at the history of the Haida tribe. The culture of Indians on the North Pacific coast is very well preserved.
Suddenly, somebody throws a tomahawk at Al Pratt. Pratt ducks into a long house and returns as the Atom, pretending that he happened to be nearby. He sees two Indians standing on the shoulders of an Indian statue, like a totem pole. They are unable to defeat him with tomahawks, but the security guard knocks the Atom out from behind. It's revealed that the guard, Ridley, is the inside man for several crooks planning a robbery. They dressed as Indians to scare the college student Al Pratt away. Where did that guy go anyway? Whatever. It's not like they're gonna look under this super-hero's mask, that would be effort.
The criminals tie the Atom up by his feet, hanging over a pit filled with knives. It is unclear whether they created this makeshift pit of knives, or if the museum just happens to have a pit of knives lying in the middle of the floor with no fence around it. The criminals leave, very sure that everything they've done so far is a good idea. The Atom swings out of his trap just as his weight snaps the rope. The only clue left behind is a brass ring.
This leads him to the local carnival, where he finds a circus tent advertising acrobats. This group of performers are called the Amazing Farads, and they're being fired out of a cannon. The guy firing them out of the cannon also has a gun for some reason, and the Atom punches him in the face! Then he runs to where the cannon is pointing and intercepts the Amazing Farads before they can hit the ground. He catches all three of them with his bare hands, then begins juggling them exclusively by punches to the face. The cops arrive and arrest the Amazing Farads. The Atom explains to a police officer that the brass ring he found clearly belonged to a merry-go-round. That combined with the villains' acrobatics lead him to the carnival.
Appearing in "Danger in the Totem's Eye!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Calvin City Police
Antagonists:
- The Amazing Farads (Single appearance)
- Ridley (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Haida Tribe (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Calvin City
- American Indian Museum
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Aqua-Thief of the Seven Seas!"
This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #276.
In the kingdom of Timtu, King Tai is celebrating the second birthday to his son by awarding the boy his own weight in jewels. However, when unattended, the young boy ends up dropping the treasure over board while celebrating on the family yacht. Upset, the king tells his aids to summon Aquaman for help. With the help of Aqualad and his undersea friends, Aquaman recovers the sunken treasure chest, but finds it empty.
Figuring something is up, Aquaman returns to the surface with the empty chest and tells the king that he must have accidentally spilled the jewels on his way up to the surface, and dives back down to "get them", little knowing that the kings maid and the prime minister are really responsible for the jewels disappearance.
Chipping ice from an ice berg, Aquaman makes decoy jewels, and returns to the ship, he "accidentally" drops some of the fake jewels for the prime minister to find. And when he realizes they're fake, he attempts to double cross the maid and make his escape. Hiding the jewels in a life preserver, he jumps over-board little knowing that Aquaman and Aqualad are watching the whole time. The weight of the jewels end up working against the prime minister who has to be rescued by Aquaman. Aquaman then reveals the plot to the king.
Appearing in "The Aqua-Thief of the Seven Seas!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Vuda (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Tai (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Timtu
Synopsis for "The Legion of Super-Outlaws!"
This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #324.
Marden King -- brother of the deceased Jungle-King, a rejected Legion applicant -- is plotting revenge against the Legion over his brothers death. Locating the planet Lallor, he learns that a nuclear explosion on that world had granted five of it's young people super powers. However the leader of Lallor, fearing what the young people could do, has them exiled from the planet.
Seizing this opportunity, Marden contacts the space-bound Heroes of Lallor and convinces them to go after the Legion of Super-Heroes, whom he convinces the Heroes of Lallor that they are evil. This is all a plot to get a hold of the Legion's clubhouse and the scientific devices therein. While this initially succeeds, both groups of super-teens learn the truth.
When the Heroes of Lallor try to stop Marden, he threatens them with a device that will eliminate their powers. However, the timely intervention of Superboy foils this plot. With Marden defeated, the Legion take the Heroes of Lallor back to their home planet, and convince the people there to take the Heroes of Lallor back and make them their worlds champions.
Shrinking Violet and Duplicate Boy fell in love and were a couple for some years to come.
Appearing in "The Legion of Super-Outlaws!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Heroes of Lallor (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Prime Minister Vorr (Flashback only)
- Marden King (Single appearance)
- Jungle King (on a poster; also deceased)
Locations:
- Metropolis (30th Century)
- Lallor (First appearance)
- Mlain (First appearance)
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Mr. Roulette's Greatest Gamble"
This story is reprinted from Batman #75.
A mysterious man who calls himself Mr. Roulette contacts Vicki Vale and tells her to write a "scoop" about his constant gambles resulting in life or death. Batman and Robin learn of these dangerous feats and they attempt to stop the mad man before his actions cause an unwanted accident. Roulette doesn't like Batman's meddling and he tries to eliminate the Dynamic Duo using his deadly traps, but in the final confrontation, he ends up a victim of his own game.
Appearing in "Mr. Roulette's Greatest Gamble"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mister Roulette (Single appearance)
- "Soup" Dreas (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Charley Denver (Single appearance; dies)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- GCPD Headquarters
- Vue Magazine (Single appearance)
- Wayne Manor
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is also known as 100-Page Super Spectacular DC-8. DC-9 features Sgt. Rock reprints.
- "Danger in the Totem's Eye!" is an unpublished Golden Age story intended for Flash Comics issue #105 before that series was canceled. This makes it technically the only original story in this comic.