Jack Dunning, dubbed the "The Robin Killer" by the press, was a reporter for the Gotham Gazette and a serial killer.
History
At a certain point, Dunning grew obsessed with costumed crimefighters, their world, and becoming part of it. While doing background for an article, he learned of a man called the Tailor, who made and repaired suits and equipment for Gotham City's heroes and villains. Upon knowing this, Dunning concocted a twisted scheme to achieve his long-yearned goal. He bought some spare Robin costumes from the Tailor [1], then approached a teenage actor named Roger Baumbach, made him wear the costume, and killed him by dropping him off of a building. Next, he took a picture of the body and forwarded it to the Gazette. The newspaper published the picture on its front page [2], and when the GCPD's Major Crimes Unit's captain Maggie Sawyer saw it, she immediately concluded a leak in the department had handed the picture over to Simon Lippman, a colleague and friend of Dunning who had earlier covered the MCU's activities.[3] Dunning approached Scott Benjamin, another teenage actor from the same talent agency as Baumbach, and gave him Simon Lippman's business card either to draw suspicions away from himself or involve Lippman in the investigation.
The day after the first murder, Benjamin was also made to wear a Robin costume, then suffocated and dropped in a stretch of the Sprang River where his body could be easily found. In order to maximize notoriety, Dunning tipped off the press about the body at approximately the same time of its discovery. Detectives Josephine MacDonald and Marcus Driver made the connection between the victims and their talent agency, Shining Eyes, but still had no leads to the killer. Eventually, detective Crispus Allen realized the picture published by the Gazette was not taken by crime scene technicians, but by the killer himself. Simultaneously, Driver and MacDonald found Lippman's business card inside Scott Benjamin's bedroom.[4] Thus, the MCU erroneously concluded Lippman was the killer and took him into custody. Meanwhile, Dunning abducted another one of Shining Eyes' young actors, Zack Weston, and locked him up into the boiler room of his apartment building. Next, he went to the GCPD Headquarters and turned himself in, showing Weston's school i.d. card as proof he was the kidnapper. Then, he asked to speak to Lippman, since he had intentions to give him the exclusive to his story as compensation for the troubles he had caused him. Dunning refused to reveal Weston's location to anyone other than Batman, who at the time was at loggerheads with the police. Nonetheless, the detectives accepted, and Batman beat the information out of him. Having finally achieved his goal of meeting a costumed crimefighter and becoming part of his world, Dunning was escorted away in handcuffs.[1]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Journalism: Dunning was a reporter for the Gotham Gazette.
Other Characteristics
- Mental Disorder: Dunning is a delusional individual, so obsessed with costumed crimefighters to the extent that he is willing to kidnap and kill as a means to become part of their world.
Related
- 4 Appearances of Jack Dunning (New Earth)
- 1 Images featuring Jack Dunning (New Earth)
- Quotations by or about Jack Dunning (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Jack Dunning (New Earth)
Footnotes