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127,497
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in: Joe Orlando/Executive Editor, Ross Andru/Cover Artist, Dick Giordano/Cover Artist,
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Detective Comics Vol 1 491

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"The Riddle of the Golden Fleece": One night at the Wayne Foundation, Bruce Wayne examines a golden cloth experiment with the creator until a group of masked criminals break into the building and steal the object. When they leave, Bruce gives chase and on his way

Quote1 The trick to avoiding bullets-- is not to be where they're going! Quote2
— Batman

Detective Comics #491 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1980.

Synopsis for "The Riddle of the Golden Fleece"

One night at the Wayne Foundation, Bruce Wayne examines a golden cloth experiment with the creator until a group of masked criminals break into the building and steal the object. When they leave, Bruce gives chase and on his way down, he switches into Batman and confronts the criminals at ground floor. Batman defeats the thugs and he recognizes one of them as a member of Maxie Zeus's gang. When he tries to interrogate the thug, he is shot and murdered by someone who doesn't reveal himself.

In order to learn the reason why Zeus wants the cloth, Batman disguises himself as the deceased thug and pays a visit to Maxie Zeus at Arkham Asylum. Batman pretends to be the thug, but Zeus realizes the trick and attacks Batman before escaping Arkham. When Batman recovers, he picks up the trail of Zeus and follows the madman to his house. After avoiding a couple of thugs, Batman finds Zeus as he is about to give a present to his daughter, Medea. Zeus seems hopeless and Batman arrives in time to give Medea a doll as his father's present.

After the deed is done, Zeus walks out of the home with Batman and he thanks the Dark Knight for his kind gesture. Batman had deduced that Zeus wanted the "golden fleece" to give it to his daughter and when his henchmen failed to deliver, he would have to face his daughter's disappointment. Batman spared Zeus the shame and for that reason alone, Zeus is willing to return to Arkham without giving trouble.

However, there is still the mystery of the man who murdered Zeus' henchman and after doing some investigation, Batman finds that the killer is the very same police officer that was assigned to protect the golden cloth. The man wanted to steal it from Zeus' henchmen and make it seem like the criminals got away, but when Batman stopped them, he tried to shoot Batman and killed the thug instead. When Batman confronts the officer, the man tries to escape, but Batman captures him without much effort.

Appearing in "The Riddle of the Golden Fleece"

Featured Characters:

  • Template:Apn

Antagonists:

  • Template:Apn
    • Fred Britt (Single appearance; dies)
  • Bernard O'Hara (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Professor Price (Single appearance)
  • Medea (First appearance)

Locations:

Items:


Synopsis for "Fragrance of Death!"

When a cemetery caretaker asks why Jason Bard is putting a bouquet of roses on a "nobody's" grave, Bard tells him the story of his life. As a kid, Jason Bard was raised by a kind mother and an abusive father. Eventually, Bard and his mother left home and they lived happy for a few years until his father found them and he killed Bard's mother while looking for money.

Bard grew up with a thirst for revenge against his father and after the Vietnam War, he got a degree in criminology, which he used to become a private detective. His first mission was to locate his father and make him pay for killing his mother.

Using underworld connections, Bard found a thug called Scratch, who is the man buried in the cemetery, and he helped Bard locate his elder criminal father. Bard created an elaborate trap for his father, which included several hints to the murder he had committed, including a bouquet of roses. Bard's father realized the truth and attacked his own son, taking advantage of the injured leg. Scratch appeared and restrained Bard's father long enough for Bard to recover, but he payed the intrusion with his life. After Scratch's body collapsed, Bard's father also dropped as he had touched the bouquet during the struggle and his allergy affected him with lethal results. Watching the man who caused him so much pain in his life die, Bard couldn't help but cry when he heard the man's last word: rose.

When Bard ends the story, the caretaker is curious about why such a feeble remark would break a tough man as Bard and the private detective responds that Rose was his mother's name.

Appearing in "Fragrance of Death!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Rose Bard (Dies in flashback)

Antagonists:

  • Jason's Father (Dies in flashback)
  • Mark Kelson (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Cemetery Caretaker (Single appearance)
  • Scratch (Dies in flashback)

Locations:

Synopsis for "The Target of the Death-Dealer"

Robin learns that a Hudson basketball star is being forced by a gambler to throw a game or see his sister hurt, and goes after the blackmailer.

Appearing in "The Target of the Death-Dealer"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Jennifer Ann

Antagonists:

  • Unnamed Gambler (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Doris Dexter (First appearance)
  • Kenny
  • Ben Dexter (First appearance)
  • Mr. Washington (Single appearance)
  • "Man in Black"

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Short-Circuit"


Appearing in "Short-Circuit"

Featured Characters:

  • Template:Apn

Supporting Characters:

  • Lincoln Trask

Antagonists:

  • random Haitians
    • Jacques Cravin (Final appearance)
    • Leon (Final appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Mama Mambu (Final appearance)

Locations:

Items:

  • None

Vehicles:

  • None

Synopsis for "The Assassination of Batgirl!"

General Scarr, a criminal with a military passion, prepares a trap to lure Batgirl and has Cormorant, an assassin ready to eliminate Batgirl for good.

On her civilian identity, Barbara Gordon finds a new job at the Humanities Research and Development Center as head of the Social Services Department, but her new co-workers are not too fond of a former politician making her way on their enterprise.

At night, Commissioner Gordon informs Batgirl about a Batgirl dummy which is said would explode if anyone other than Batgirl tries to remove it from the flagpole it is hung from. Batgirl climbs up the side of the building, but before she could reach the dummy, she is attacked by Cormorant, who shoots at her and watches as Batgirl falls down to the street.

Appearing in "The Assassination of Batgirl!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • James Stein (First appearance)
  • Richard Bender (First appearance)
  • Robert Barton (First appearance)
  • Tracy Dover (First appearance; unnamed)

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

Notes

  • "The Assassination of Batgirl!" is referenced on the Batgirl Special #1, which also includes a reference to the conclusion of this story in the next issue of Detective Comics.
  • This is the last issue written by Dennis O'Neil before his departure to work as an Editor at Marvel Comics. He would return six years later to Batman, but as Editor of the books.
  • This issue contains a special pin-up poster by Dick Dillin and Bob Smith.



See Also

Recommended Reading

  1. 491

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