Superman Inspires Batwoman

Batwoman only had two appearances before appearing in World's Finest Comics #90 (September-October, 1957) with a cover by Curt Swan and Ray Burnley.  

In those two previous appearances, Kathy Kane was a socialite that Batman felt was playing at heroine to try to figure out his identity, and, in those appearances, Batman tried as hard as he could to discourage Kathy from permanently taking up the mantle of Batwoman.

That changed after she helped the World's Finest Team.

The Super-Batwoman

With writer Edmond Hamilton (her co-creator), and artists Dick Sprang and Stan Kaye,  Batwoman shows up to help track down criminal Elton Craig (who had faced Superman, Batman and Robin before with pills that gave him super powers).  Escaping prison, Elton tried to track down the last of his pills, but Batwoman found it just before him, and to prevent him from taking it, she did!

Trying to prevent her from continuing, Batman tells Batwoman to go home.  Batwoman vows to spend her 24 super powered hours to discover Batman, Robin and Superman's identities. 

The trio keeps ahead of Batwoman (barely, including a visit to the Daily Planet by Batwoman, to see Perry White, Lois Lane and Clark Kent; as well as a Bat Cave). 

The boys do manage to hide their identities from her, but Batman backs down on his objections to Kathy being Batwoman.

Better still, this tale has been reprinted many times, including in the Giant World's Finest Comics #161, the second World's Finest Comics Archives, and in the first Batman and Superman in World's Finest Comics Omnibus and tradepaperback.

Batwoman then had many future appearances, usually with another member of the Bat-family (like Bat-Mite, Ace the Bat-Hound, or her niece, the Teen Titans' Bat-Girl) or even with Superman fighting Luthor in World's Finest Comics!

Lois Lane Tries Out Being Batwoman

Lois Lane has assumed some pretty interesting jobs over the years as an ace reporter for the Daily Planet, but she really tried something different with a new look in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #14 (January, 1960, under a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye).....


....as she tried out Batwoman's look in a ploy to hook Batman?

Lois Lane's Secret Romance

To be fair, this story by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger doesn't really feature Batwoman (or even Batman), but it does feature her costume, and it's Supergirl's fault! 

Supergirl tried to help out her cousin, who wasn't getting any closer to Lois Lane, and figured if Clark married Lois, the two could adopt her and get poor Linda Lee (who was Superman's secret weapon at this time) out of Midvale Orphanage.

Supergirl first tries painting Lois' face on billboards for Clark to see, then works on a dinner, then a relaxing boat ride, but, Superman's super responsibilities tend to get in the way of any romance between Lois and Superman.

Supergirl even tries copying Batman's handwriting and sending love letters to Lois as Batman (as well as a Batwoman costume for her to wear....).  None of this really works, and Supergirl girl tries subliminal programming on Clark to get him to propose to Lois...but it works too well!

Supergirl realizes her efforts are too much, and stops trying to interfere in her cousin's life.

This story was reprinted in Lois Lane Annual #2 in Summer, 1963, and many of Supergirl's main life events were reprinted in Supergirl Action Giants!  Sadly, the original Batwoman and Supergirl seemed to have never met!

 

Superman Meets The Ghost Of Batman

Holy ectoplasm, Batman!  It appears all the comics you've read since 1964 have been lying to you, claiming that Batman is alive, when, according to this cover of World's Finest Comics #139 (February, 1964, by Jim Mooney and Sheldon Moldoff), Batman has only been a ghost of himself!

Well, wait a minute....

...let's take a look inside this book, to find out what is going on.

"The Ghost Of Batman" (by Dave Wood, Jim Mooney and Sheldon Moldoff) begins pretty much like any tale of the day, with Superman, disguising himself as Batman, stopping the Sphinx Gang from completing a robbery (all so that Bruce Wayne can appear with Kathy Kane/Batwoman, to allay her suspicions of his being Batman), when things go horribly wrong, in that the gang appear to have successfully kill the Batman!  Now, Superman easily escapes their trap, but....how to reveal Batman is still alive without blowing Batman and Superman's secret? 

Why, Superman poses as the Ghost of Batman, while Bruce poses as Superman.  

Eventually, (after a little unintentional torture of Robin, making him think Bruce was dead), the World's Finest Team lets Batwoman in on this (pretending it was all part of the original plan to capture the gang)....but, this reawakens her belief in Bruce being Batman....at least until they borrow another Wayne Manor resident to help misdirect her investigations (though, how as close up as the video shows, would anyone mistake Alfred for Batman, even in the costume....but, hey it worked a few years later on TV!).

Now, there was a death in this issue, with the Aquaman/Aqualad feature, "The Doom Hunters"  by Jack Miller and Ramona Fradon, as this was the last new Aquaman story in World's Finest Comics for a time, where Aquaman has to save Tom Blake from the Daredevil's Club.  

Don't feel too sorry for Aquaman and Aqualad, as by this time, they were well into issues of Aquaman's own title, where, at the time, Aquaman was well into his courtship with Mera.

Batman Foe The Spinner

Back in the day, Batman and Robin faced many a strange foe, and one of them was...the Spinner, and he happened to be Batwoman's biggest fans!


Premiering in Batman #129 (February, 1960 by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris) in "The Web Of The Spinner", Batman and Robin were chasing the green armored villain, the Spinner, while Batwoman searches for Swami Ymar, a leading criminal running his own racket on the wealthiest of Gotham City.  The heroes paths intersected, finding out the secret of who was under the Spinner's spinning helmet!

Then, that was it for the Spinner!

True, the Spinner's story was reprinted in Batman #198 (January-February, 1968, under a Carmine Infantino/Murphy Anderson cover), and then again in Batman Family #8 (November-December, 1976 under an Ernie Chan cover, with Robin facing Catgirl, who was another villain in disguise), but he really was a one and done villain (with the secret that the Spinner was really the Swami!).

Still, he must have made an impression on someone, because he also ended up as a background villain on the animated Batman: Brave and the Bold series, with such luminaries as Mr. Polka-Dot, Zebra-Man, the Eraser, Calendar Man, Cat-Man, Cluemaster and Killer Moth! 

That anyone remembers the Spinner makes me dizzy!