The Best of DC (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 1984.
Synopsis for "Daughter of the Demon"
This story is reprinted from Batman #232.
As Robin returns home from a night of adventuring, he finds himself the target of two gunmen armed with tranquilizer darts. They shoot the Boy Wonder and take him prisoner.
Hours later, Bruce Wayne receives a photograph of his kidnapped partner along with a challenge to find him. He returns to the Batcave to investigate further, but when he arrives he finds a man named Ra's al Ghul and his servant Ubu waiting for him. Ra's' contacts have deduced that Bruce Wayne and the Batman are one in the same, and he has called upon the world's greatest detective to help him find his daughter Talia, who has likewise been kidnapped. Suspecting that Talia's kidnapping and Robin's are related, Batman agrees to aid Ra's al Ghul.
Their journey leads them first to Calcutta where they find clues linking the kidnappers to a cult known as the Brotherhood of the Demon. Batman interrogates a local thug about the Brotherhood's whereabouts and the man points them towards a building in the Alley of Widows. As Batman enters the building, a poised leopard leaps out and attacks him. Batman catches the animal's jaw with his elbow and is forced to snap its neck. With the danger past, Batman finds a map that points them towards the Himalayan Mountains.
Ra's al Ghul finances a mountain-climbing expedition and the three begin scaling the frozen mountainsides. A sniper begins firing at them, and it appears that one of the bullets strikes Ra's. Ubu pulls him inside of a crevice, while Batman deftly evades repeat gunfire. Ascending the peak, he finds a temple belonging to the Brotherhood. He enters the temple where he finds Robin bound with rope under armed guard. Batman frees Robin, and the gunmen begin to advance on him. Turning around, Batman reveals that he is not fooled by this elaborate ruse. The masked "leader" of the Brotherhood approaches him, but Batman tears the mask off of him revealing the face of Ra's manservant Ubu. He knew all along that Ra's was the true perpetrator of this crime. Ubu and Batman fight, but Batman's speed and skill prove more than a match for him. Ra's finally enters the chamber along with his daughter Talia. He confesses to staging the entire episode to see if Batman could prove to be a worthy successor to Ra's role of leader of the Brotherhood. He also reveals that Talia is in love with Batman, and Ra's wants assurances that the Dark Knight would be a worthy son-in-law.
Appearing in "Daughter of the Demon"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Brotherhood of the Demon
- Ra's al Ghul (First appearance)
- Ubu (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Joe Chill (Flashback only)
- Martha Wayne (Dies in flashback)
- Thomas Wayne (Dies in flashback)
- John Grayson (Dies in flashback)
- Mary Grayson (Dies in flashback)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Crime Alley (Flashback only)
- Haly's Circus (Flashback only)
- Wayne Foundation
- Wayne Manor
- Batcave
- Hudson University
- Himalayas
- India
Items:
Synopsis for "Surprise! Surprise!"
This story is reprinted from Batman Family #11.
Commissioner Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth go to Wayne Manor to get it ready for a surprise birthday party for Bruce Wayne. When Gordon threatens to accidentally trigger the entrance to the Batcave, Alfred masquerades as a robber to throw him off the scent. However, Gordon's detective skills come into place and after a series of weird events and circumstances, he realizes that there is something odd at Wayne Manor.
When the guests have finally arrived and Bruce gets home, Commissioner Gordon makes an interesting remark, which hints at the possibility that he might have discovered Bruce's secret identity as Batman.
Appearing in "Surprise! Surprise!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Other Characters:
- Vicki Vale Powers
- Tom Powers (Single appearance)(Cameo)
- Lois Lane (Cameo)
- Jimmy Olsen (Cameo)
Locations:
Synopsis for "Dread Night of the Jaguar"
This story is reprinted from Batman Family #12.
Kirk Langstrom and his wife Francine enjoy an evening at Central Park, when a sudden attack of a jaguar alerts the people at the Park and Langstrom is forced to morph into the Man-Bat to restrain the wild animal. Leaving the jaguar unconscious, Man-Bat takes Francine and drops her on a nearby hotel, while he follows the signal of a nearby robbery.
Upon arriving at the crime scene, Man-Bat battles the Sunset Gang, who are costumed criminals under the instructions of Mr. O. During the struggle, Man-Bat is bitten by the jaguar and the Sunset Gang use a special light weapon that turns Man-Bat into a were-jaguar. The criminals escape and Langstrom is forced to fight against the police, as they believe he is the monster that attacked in Central Park. At Dawn, Langstrom is finally able to reach outside and once he is struck by sunlight, his transformation is reverted and he goes back to normal.
Later, Francine and Kirk are reunited, but they both known that whoever Mr. O is, he is bound to return and attack them again.
Appearing in "Dread Night of the Jaguar"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Sunset Gang (First appearance)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Man Who Melted Manhattan"
This story is reprinted from Batman Family #13.
Robin and Batgirl are trapped on the Batcycle and Robin's Motorcycle, respectively and both of them are heading towards New York City. Once they reach their destinations, they are forced to avoid each other, as the vehicles sought to crash against each other. After avoiding a series of possible crashes, Batgirl and Robin are able to break free from the vehicles using Robin's Utility Belt and just in time to avoid the last crash. After the vehicles are destroyed, Batgirl and Robin are able to catch their breaths and they both realize that they have spotted Alfred Pennyworth during the whole affair. Knowing that there's more to the whole mystery, Robin and Batgirl decide to continue the investigation together.
In the meantime, Kirk Langstrom goes out at night as Man-Bat and is confronted once again by the Sunset Gang. This time, Man-Bat successfully defeats them and he is subsequently challenged by their mysterious leader, who is none othen than The Outsider. The terrible villain summons the avatar of Uturuncu, the Were-Jaguar, which was released after Man-Bat's previous encounter with the Sunset Gang. In the ensuing battle for survival, Man-Bat goes to the American Museum of Natural History, where he is apparenly defeated by the were-jaguar.
At that moment, Robin has taken Batgirl to the Titans Headquarters, where they investigate the case further and deduce that the Outsider is behind the recent attacks. After a long day, Batgirl feels tired and wants to get some rest, but Robin takes the chance of them being alone to talk to her about his feelings for her, but as Robin is about to tell her the truth, he realizes that she had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, the peaceful moment is interrupted by the Outsider, who breaks into the Titans Lair through a portal and uses his supernatural abilities to turn the heroes' equipment against them. The Outsider finally reveals his plans to kill every member of the "Batman Family" and he summons the Uturuncu to eliminate the heroes.
The Outsider leaves the Titans Lair and continues his devastation of Manhattan as he uses his powers to melt the city away like candles. However, as he is on the top of his glorious moment, he is interrupted by the arrival of Batgirl, Robin and Man-Bat. The heroes reveal that Man-Bat was the winner in the confrontation between the Uturuncu and that he disguised himself as the were-jaguar to help Batgirl and Robin.
The heroes then use the special flashlight that the Sunset Gang used against Man-Bat on the Outsider, splitting Alfred and the Outsider as two separate beings. Alfred is still in shock, but he confronts the Outsider bravely. The villain on the other hand, had lost his powers as he was separated from Alfred and he is easily defeated by the trusted butler. The Outsider finally trips over a bridge and falls to his death and Alfred passes out.
Afterwards, Alfred was taken to a hotel room by Batgirl and Robin, who informed him that he was in New York and he had no idea of how he ended up there.
Later, Barbara Gordon returns to her apartment in Washington, D.C. and not long after this, someone knocks on her door. When Barbara goes to see who is it, she is shocked to see Batwoman melting away and leaving only her costume behind.
Appearing in "The Man Who Melted Manhattan"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Outsider (Final appearance)
- Sunset Gang (Final appearance)
- Uturuncu, the Were-Jaguar (Final appearance)
Other Characters:
- New York City Police Department
- Batwoman (Cameo)
- Batman (In a photograph only)
- Superman (In a photograph only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Batcycle (Destroyed)
- Robin's Motorcycle (Destroyed)
Synopsis for "Night of the Reaper!"
This story is reprinted from Batman #237.
On Halloween, the annual Rutland, Vermont Halloween parade is taking place and Dick Grayson has decided to attend with some of his college friends. While in the parade, Dick and his friends notice some crooks attacking a man dressed as Robin and they try to help the young man without success. When the crooks have dispersed, Dick decides to follow them as Robin and he follows their trail to a barren space where he finds a the corpse of a man in a Batman costume. At that moment, Robin is attacked by the dark figure of the Reaper and he is forced to flee until he falls down to a nearby river and and is knocked unconscious.
Batman, who has tracked fugitive Nazi war criminal Kurt Schloss to the Rutland Halloween parade, finds Robin and takes him to the house of parade organizer Tom Fagan. In Fagan's place, Robin is checked by Batman's friend, Doctor Benjamin Gruener, a Jewish German survivor of the Nazi holocaust.
Meanwhile, Dick's friends are looking for him when they come across the Reaper again and when Batman learns of this second attack, he starts investigating the case more closely. His clues lead him to find that other ex-Nazis have been searching for Kurt Schloss because he had claimed some hidden Nazi treasure that they believed belonged to all of them. Those Nazis had killed the man in the Batman costume and tried to kill the Robin, thinking they may be the real things. Batman stops them for good, but not before they are able to kill Schloss.
Afterwards, Robin believes that the case is solved, but Batman reminds him that the Reaper is still on the loose and Batman starts looking for the killer by himself. When they finally meet, Batman has deduced the Reaper's identity as Dr. Gruener, who sought revenge on Schloss. Unfortunately, Gruener has lost himself in his Reaper's personality and he attacks Batman before fleeing the scene. The Reaper tries to make his escape through a nearby dam, but he is stopped by the presence of Dick Grayson's friend Alan. When Reaper gets ready to strike and kill the youngster, he sees Alan's Star of David amulet and Gruener becomes horrified with his actions. Unaware that he was walking on the edge of the dam, Gruener stumbles with his robe and falls downwards to his ultimate death and Batman is unable to save the man.
Appearing in "Night of the Reaper!"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Nazis
- Hans (Single appearance)
- The Reaper (First appearance) (Apparent Death)
Other Characters:
- Tom Fagan (First appearance)
- Col. Kurt Schloss (Dies)
- Alan and two other friends of Dick Grayson (based on Alan Weiss, Gerry Conway and Bernie Wrightson)
- Dennis O'Neil [1]
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Vermont
- Rutland (First appearance)
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- ↑ For confirmation, see BATMAN #237: The Greatest Halloween Comic Book Ever