The End Of Batman Family

Batman Family ended with issue #20 (October-November, 1978) but, Robin, Batgirl and Man-Bat all migrated to Detective Comics (along with Batman) starting with Detective Comics #481 (December-January, 1978/1979), with both covers by Jim Starlin.

Detective Comics was the one that originally was scheduled to end due to low sales, but it was decided that the title the company was named after should still be published by the company!

Planet DC JLA And Batgirl

In 2000, DC had a loose theme tying together their annuals, that of having their established heroes meet new international heroes.

8 annuals in total, here are the first two, JLA Annual #4 and Batgirl Annual #1, which introduced the Janissary in Turkey and Aruna in India.

JLA Annual #4 (August, 2000)

First up is the Janissary in a story by Brian K. Vaughan, Steve Scott and Hector Collazo (the later two who provided the cover)...young Doctor Selma Tolon, who would become the Janissary, using the power of Sultan Suleiman's scimitar to magically defend Turkey, the Janissary was put to the test when General Kazim summoned the evil Jinn, Iblis, to gain power.  Iblis had planned to take the Janissary's body, and to enable that unleashed flaming Jinns with zombie soldiers across Turkey, involving the JLA (Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern) to battle them.  The Janissary eventually defeated Iblis, and was offered membership in the JLA by Aquaman, but she declined.

In the second story (by the same creative team), readers get the origin of Janissary: Selma Tolon found the scimitar in an ancient dungeon while working for the Red Crescent (a local version of the Red Cross), pulling it from the sand, and using the magic might of that scimitar (as well as unreliable access to the Eternity Book of Merlin, which would allow her to cast spells, with unreliable results), Selma came to fight crime and menaces, yet upheld her doctor's oath to not take lives.

The Janissary would later appear in Wonder Woman #174 and #175, as well as in the Day of Vengeance and Infinite Crisis, as well as in Birds of Prey #100.

Batgirl Annual #1 (August, 2000)

Next is Aruna, in a story by Scott Peterson, Mike Deodato and John Stanisci (with cover by Matt Haley and Kevin Nowlan), ...where Batman and Batgirl get distracted from their own case in India to find missing movie star Ashok Ramanan.  On the set, they get let to stuntman/actress Aruna Shende (who seems to produce incredible creatures that no one knows how she makes and performs them).  The duo track her down, finding out Aruna is a shape shifter, and changes into whatever she needs for the movie.  They also find she is one of India's untouchables class, which they also find Ashok was, and though a rich movie star, he was looked down upon by his neighbors, one of who killed him.

The second story of the Annual by Scott Peterson, Pablo Raimondi and Walden Wong, delves into the origin of Aruna, where she grew up in the wilds of India, poor, but loved by her parents who knew of her shapechanging abilities (though Aruna knew not what she even looked like).  Her parents were taken away by the government, and she used her powers to get food, eventually settling in stunt work and make up, but still trying to find herself and her parents.

Aruna only recently reappeared in the DC Book of Pride.

Detective Comics Stars Besides Batman Robin Batgirl and Man-Bat

Batman was the main feature in Detective Comics for so long, but every once and a while, the rest of some of Batman's family of crime fighters got to be a feature there as well.

Here, we look at the three main members of the "Batman family"; Robin, Batgirl and Man-Bat, and their runs as individual characters as back-ups in Detective Comics.

Robin

Young Dick Grayson premiered as Batman's Boy Wonder in Detective Comics #38 (April, 1940), but Batman really wasn't letting him stretch his legs on his own for a long time (at least in Detective, Robin did have a back-up in Star-Spangled Comics)...

....not until Detective Comics #386 (April, 1969)!  It must have worked, as the high school aged Robin returned again in Detective Comics #390 and #391, then moved to Hudson University as a freshman college student for #394, #395, #398-#403, then was a back-up in Batman for a bit, before returning for Detective Comics #445, #447, #450 and #451, then a brief stint with 20 issues of Batman Family, before that title merged with Detective Comics, picking up the Robin stories again with Detective Comics #481 to #495.

Now...


....more than a few of those tales of Robin were shared with the Batman family member who had the most back-up appearances in Detective Comics....


...Batgirl!

Batgirl

Barbara Gordon made her debut in Detective Comics #359 (January, 1967), facing off against Killer Moth (with the daughter of Com. James Gordon deciding to keep at the hero business after that tale with her successes therein after accidentally becoming a heroine).

Batgirl's first solo tale premiered in Detective Comics #384 (February, 1969), with Barbara alternating the back-up spot with Robin, having issues #385, #388, #389, #392, #393, #396 and  #397, then sharing #400 and #401 with Robin, and back on her own continuous run with #404 to #424. 

Batgirl disappeared for a bit, but after two guest appearances in the Superman title and a tale with Supergirl in Superman Family, returned for 20 issues of Batman Family (mostly teaming up with Robin, but a few solo tales), then back to Detective Comics with #481 to #499, then #501, #502, a full length tale with Batman and Robin in #503, then back to back-up for #505, #506, #508 to #510, #512 to #519, the end of her solo run before the Crisis On Infinite Earths and the Killing Joke, other than one Batgirl Special.

While Robin had also spent his time working with various incarnations of the Teen Titans, Batgirl really just worked with Robin, private investigator Jason Bard, Commissioner Gordon and the last of the features to be mentioned here....


....Man-Bat!

Man-Bat

Kirk Langstrom first appeared in Detective Comics #400 (June, 1970), as a scientist who was looking to develop a formula to allow one to see in the dark (but instead unleashed a transformation in himself into the half-man, half-bat creature).


After assorted tales where Batman helped cure Kirk, and even his wife, Francine (who became the She-Bat), and two issues of his own title, Man-Bat had a couple of issues of being a Detective Comics back-up in #458 and #459 in 1976.  

Returning for the last 10 issues of Batman Family as a solo feature (though adding Jason Bard to the mix in the last issue), Man-Bat moved over to Detective Comics with the rest, but only for issues #481, #485 and #492 (and much more on Man-Bat is available here!).

Still, these three filled up pages, having interesting stories, but also keeping alive the feeling of Batman in Detective Comics!

Love For Richard And Barbara

Dick and Babs had plenty of history together, but it took years for them to find time together alone, away from Batman....

...and in that time the two went from close, to closer.

Here's a quick look back at how things evolved, from the days of their first solo team-up, that started in the pages of Detective Comics #400.

Batman Family

Dick Grayson had gotten away from Batman, taking his Robin act as the Teen Wonder to Hudson University (which seemed to be a little closer to Washington, DC, where Barbara Gordon was still working as Batgirl).  The two started on and off pairings in the pages of Batman Family, with the Jim Aparo cover of Batman Family #11 (May-June, 1977 by Bob Rozakis, Curt Swan and Vince Colletta) showing a good place to show that Robin and Batgirl might be getting closer (and over the next few issues, Dick even tried telling Babs about his feeling for her...but, things didn't quite work out, and Robin and Batgirl only had a few more adventures together, then were having separate adventures by the time Batman Family moved over to Detective Comics). 

Robin eventually went to work with the Teen Titans as they came back as the New Teen Titans, with Cyborg, Starfire and Raven, and Batgirl mostly kept to herself, being in semi-retirement.

Dick eventually changed his identity to Nightwing, then parted from the Titans for a while, landing in Bludhaven, while Barbara had been shot by the Joker, being confined to a wheelchair, and helping the Suicide Squad, Batman, the new Robin (Tim Drake) and Azrael as Oracle (an online personality Barbara created to help heroes against the ever growing legions of villains).

Birds Of Prey

Barbara had also rescued the Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance) who had been suffering depression and a lack of direction since the apparent death of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen).  Oracle used her as her field agent, allowing Barbara the ability to have someone working directly to right wrongs (and giving Dinah a chance to do good and get on with her life). 

Nightwing also used the services of Oracle, but, on one particular day, Dick decided to help his friend, Babs, relax, taking her up in the air for a special time (helped with a harness) allowing Babs to swing through the air (all in the pages of Birds of Prey #8 of August, 1999 by Chuck Dixon, Greg Land and Drew Geraci, under a cover by Land and Brian Stelfreeze). 

This led to a relationship between Dick and Babs that continued for some time....but, for Valentine's Day, the focus will just remain on the happy times of their relationship!

April Showers Bring May Flowers and More

May brings new plant life and rebirth...and this little gem from the 1978 DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters, wherein the Dynamite Duo of Batgirl and Robin face off against floral foes Poison Ivy and the Floronic Man.

Art by Dick Dillin!

Teen Titans Tease

As the original Teen Titans series came to an end, the idea of a second group of Teen Titans came about, the Titans West in Teen Titans #50 to #52 (1978) by Bob Rozakis and Don Heck, with the two teams facing Captain Calamity and Mr. ESPer.  

The Titans West group was brought together by Lilith, and included the original Hawk & Dove....as well as two characters with previous histories (though not directly with the Teen Titans....).

Bat-Girl

Betty Kane first appeared in Batman #139 (April, 1961) by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, as the athletically inclined niece of Kathy Kane (who was the original Batwoman), who found out her identity and wanted to be like her aunt, and be the Robin to Kathy's Batman.


Kathy stalled for time, promising the girl she would train her, but Bat-Girl got into action as Batman, Robin and Batwoman were trapped by King Cobra and his gang...

...and this story was reprinted in Batman Annual #7 of 1964 as well as in the 1972 volume of Batman From the '30s to the 1970s.

Bat-Girl returned in Batman #141 (August, 1961) as "Batwoman's Junior Partner" by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, where Robin and Bat-Girl beat the Moth (no relation to the Killer Moth), returned again, with "Bat-Mite Meets Bat-Girl" in Batman #144 (December, 1961) by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, with Bat-Girl and Robin alone in Gotham, and Bat-Girl professing her love for Robin, and Bat-Mite getting in the middle of the problem (this story being reprinted in Batman From the '30s to the 1970s and the Batman in the Sixties tradepaperback of 1999.

Bat-Girl gets in her first full length story with the "Prisoners of Three Worlds" in Batman #153 (February, 1963, by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff), where Robin and Bat-Girl face aliens, and are sent to the aliens' home dimension, and they have to save Batman and Batwoman (who are sent to another dimension as well, with this story making it into the  Batman From the '30s to the 1970s as well as into the Batman: Greatest Stories Ever Told Volume #2 of 2007.  Bat-Girl finally gets to face some major Batman foes in "The Great Clayface-Joker Feud" in Batman #159 (November, 1963, by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff), helping to catch the Joker, and while getting the shape-changing Clayface, not getting his stash of transmutation chemicals.  This story made it into the Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told of 1989.

Bat-Girl made it into her only appearance in Detective Comics, Detective Comics #322 (December, 1963) with "The Bizarre Batman Genie" by Dave Wood and Sheldon Moldoff (an odd tale, to be sure, and one not reprinted).  Bat-Girl made an "imaginary appearance" as a grown up Batwoman in Batman #163 (May, 1964, by Bill Finger and Chic Stone) where Dick Grayson was Batman in stories written by Alfred (and these can be found in DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories Volume #2: Batman and Robin of 2010).  Batman comics had started to grow up, abandoning things like aliens, Bat-Mite, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Batwoman and Bat-Girl (though a new Batgirl, Barbara Gordon showed up in Detective Comics #359 of January, 1967, related to Com. Gordon instead of Batwoman), and Betty had faded away, popping up as a tennis player during Wonder Woman's trials in Wonder Woman #219 (August-September, 1975 by Martin Pasko and Curt Swan).

So, when Bob Rozakis needed new teens for a west coast expansion of the Teen Titans, Bette was there (playing tennis no less), getting a chance to reconnect with Robin (fighting for his affections with the Harlequin) in Teen Titans #50 to #52 of 1978, and even continuing that in Batman Family #16 (February-March, 1978, by Bob Rozakis and Don Heck, where Barbara Gordon was also around), before heading to limbo again (only briefly stopping by for Donna Troy's wedding in Tales of the Teen Titans #50 of February, 1985 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez), and her later change into Flamebird (as we'll detail in a later column....). 

Golden Eagle

Charley Parker was a slacker, and became the Golden Eagle by accident, as "The Kid Who Won Hawkman's Wings" in Justice League of America #116 (March-April, 1975, by Cary Bates and Dick Dillin), getting wings due to Hawkman foe, Matter Master, and his subconscious desire to defeat Hawkman (but being unable to, because, at the time, Hawkman was back on Thanagar with Hawkgirl due to a plague).


Charley was pretty much left to back to his regular life in Justice League of America #117 (April, 1975, by Elliot S! Maggin and Dick Dillin), as Hawkman returned....(and Charley didn't make either cover, the kid gets no respect!).

But it appears Hawkman took pity on the kid, giving him a pair of wings so he could continue to fight crime (while being chronically unemployed on the west coast), meeting up with the Teen Titans in Teen Titans #50 to #52 (1978) to briefly be a part of the Titans West, and even popping up for Donna Troy's wedding in Tales of the Teen Titans #50 (February, 1985 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez), before being forgotten in the Crisis On Infinite Earths (and later to get a few different histories, first in Secret Origins Annual #3, along with Bat-Girl/Flamebird, and then later, thanks to the Hawkworld history rewrite).

Joker's Daughter

Duela Dent appeared first in Batman Family #6 (July-August, 1976) in a tale by Bob Rozaiks and Irv Novick, wherein the mysterious Joker's Daughter appears, using Joker-like gimmicks to terrorize Robin (but causing no real harm...unlike the real Joker would have done), but her real identity remained a mystery...



....and it would even after the mystery was solved; but let's not get a head of our selves.



The Joker's Daughter would return again, but in a slightly different form....

...facing Robin again in Batman Family #8 (November-December, 1976, by Bob Rozaiks and Irv Novick), but this time as Catgirl (potentially a younger Catwoman), and then in Batman Family #9 (January-February, 1977 by Bob Rozaiks and Irv Novick), wherein Robin gets help, facing Scarecrone (the Scarecrow's daughter), the Riddler's Daughter, and the Penguin's Daughter, where Robin thinks he's solved the "Startling Secret of The Devilish Daughters",  all of whom Robin thinks is Duela Dent (who claims to really be Two-Face's daughter), and she wants to fight crime instead of heroes! 

(The Batman Family #9 story was reprinted in the Batgirl: Greatest Stories Ever Told tradepaperback of 2011).

Duela pops up next in Teen Titans #46 (February, 1977 by Bob Rozaiks and Irv Novick), where she joins the Teen Titans and helps fight Golden Age Flash foe, the Fiddler (as the Titans work on some conflicts of their own),  continues with the team and faces the Flamesplasher, Darklight and Sizematic twins in Teen Titans #47 (April, 1977, by Bob Rozaiks and Bob Brown), and finds out where there are twins, there is usually Two-Face...who attacks "Daddy's Little Crimefighter", and leads Duela to take on the new identity of the Harlequin in Teen Titans #48 (June, 1977, by Bob Rozakis and Jose Delbo).  As the Harlequin, Duela is there when the team faces the Rocket Rollers in Teen Titans #49 (August, 1977, by Bob Rozakis and Jose Delbo), and then the big meet of Teen Titans #50 to #52 of 1978 (though she only makes the cover in a vignette as the Harlequin).

Duela is there for the never before revealed origin of the Teen Titans in their last issue of Teen Titans #53 (February, 1978), follows Robin into Batman Family #16 (February-March, 1978), is one of the Titans present for the graduation of Wally West (Kid Flash) in DC Special Series #11 (1978), and helps Robin in Batman Family #19 (August-September, 1978), then keeps him busy as the Card Queen in Detective Comics #482 and #483 (1979) as the Card Queen, before disappearing for a time (and coming back for Donna Troy's wedding in Tales of the Teen Titans #50 (February, 1985 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez), wherein Dick Grayson confronts her with the fact that she's too old to be Two-Face's daughter!  Duela Dent's story doesn't continue again until well after the Crisis On Infinite Earths, and it is those multiple Earths that help her origin.... 

...and that covers the members of the original Teen Titans (Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Speedy, Hawk, Dove, Lilith, Mal, Gnarrk, Harlequin, Bumblebee, Golden Eagle and Bat-Girl), except for one, little Beast Boy (who met the Teen Titans early in his career with the Doom Patrol), and joined the Titans finally during the Titans West time at the urging of Lilith, but little Garfield Logan is more associated with the Teen Titans in his identity of Changeling, with other Titans like Raven, Starfire and Cyborg, so we'll cover him then!

Superman Meets Batgirl

Batgirl started working with Batman back in the day with Detective Comics #359 (January 1967, by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino), but there was another man in her life pretty soon. 

No, not Robin the Boy Wonder, but the Man of Steel…Superman!

Superman Meets Batgirl

True, they didn’t meet until World’s Finest #169 (September 1967) by Cary Bates and Curt Swan, and barely worked together, being only in Justice League of America #60 (February 1968, against Queen Bee Zazzala by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky) and in World’s Finest Comics #176 (June 1968, where they worked against Batman and Supergirl).

Batgirl then went to be pretty much a loner in the back of Detective Comics until she was wanted there no more, appearing last in Detective Comics #424 (June 1972).

Superman Saves Batgirl

But, she was of interest to the Superman Family…

….and revived with Superman #268 (October 1973) by writer Elliot S! Maggin and artist Curt Swan with a “Wild Week-End In Washington!” (and an astonishing cover by Nick Cardy).

The villainous organization, M.A.Z.E. began a plan against the United States and Clark Kent revealed knowledge of it…prompting his needing rescue from Superman and Batgirl (and yes, Clark Kent IS Superman…there’s quite a tale in those pages! 

Not only that, M.A.Z.E. would return…).

Not content with one appearance, Batgirl returned again with Superman #279 (September 1974, with the same team, and an even MORE stunning Nick Cardy cover!).

Batgirl and Superman worked together to stop a scheme to smuggle oil (boy, wouldn’t it be great if they could do something about oil prices today!).

Both these tales (as well as Batgirl’s earlier solo stories, as well as a few tales with Batman and Robin) are reprinted in the Showcase Presents: Batgirl black and white book.

 Superman Still Meets Batgirl

Batgirl stopped in to say hi to Supergirl and "Cleopatra, Queen Of America" in Superman Family #171 (June-July 1975) by Elliot S! Maggin and Curt Swan, before joining Robin in Batman Family (both teaming up with him and some solo tales) for twenty issues (along with Alfred Pennyworth, Man-Bat and Huntress tales along with way, and faced off against M.A.Z.E. again, as well as a few others), before the Batman Family took over Detective Comics (starting with #481, changing to dollar-sized), and only Batgirl survived when the book went back to normal with #497, and she stayed a back-up until #519, with Green Arrow taking over her spot with #521! Barbara Gordon’s alter-ego even met Superman again, in DC Comics Presents #19 (March 1980) by Denny O'Neil and Joe Staton before the Crisis on Infinite Earths (when pretty much everyone had to work together….).

Still, nothing beats the two issue fling Superman and Batgirl had!