Batman Meets Himself In Brave and the Bold

Holy multiple Batman, Batman!

After over 75 years in the comic industry, Batman has changed a little bit over the years since Detective Comics #27 (May, 1939)...

...and here's a few stories that help show those changes as the Silver Age (or Earth-1) Batman meets a few Golden Age (or Earth-2) members of the Batman family!

Face Yourself

In Brave and the Bold #200 (July, 1983), writer Mike W. Barr, with artist Dave Gibbons (and all under a stunning cover by premiere Batman artist, Jim Aparo), tells a tale late in the original Batman's career, where he faced Brimstone (a villain with a devilish theme, good enough to make it into 1950s comics, or even the 1966 Batman TV show)...

...and Brimstone was defeated (at least for the 1950s...). 

A few decades later, and Brimstone wanted to revenge himself on the original Batman, but is unable to due to the passing of Earth-2's Batman, so Brimstone takes over the body of his Earth-1 counterpart and menaces the (at the time) current version of Batman.

A fun little story even if the two Batmen don't meet, and the issue contains the first appearance of Batman and the Outsiders as well!

One of the biggest differences at the time (besides the yellow oval) was that 1950s Batman still had Robin as a partner....

The Ex-Boy Wonder

Now with Brave and the Bold #182 (January, 1982), the modern Batman was given an "Interlude On Earth-Two" thanks to writer Alan Brennert and artist Jim Aparo, where he met with the original Batman's now grown-up partner of Robin!

The Batman of Earth-1 also met two people he considered to be ghosts, Batwoman and Hugo Strange (both who had just passed on Earth-1, but were still alive on Earth-2).  Seems the original Batman's foes were all ready to kill Batman, and not that happy that they couldn't...

This story established that some of Batman's later 1950s stories must also have happened in the lives of both Batmen, and it was a touching tale of how to deal with loss.

This story was reprinted in the Secrets of the Batcave tradepaperback as well...

...and more history of the original Robin has been covered here too!

Darknight Daughter

Earth-2 must have been on Mike W. Barr's mind as well, as he gave us a Christmas take on cross-Earth Bat-family meetings (along with artist Jim Aparo) with Brave and the Bold #184 (March, 1982) and "The Batman's Last Christmas".

Batman discovers that his father, Thomas Wayne, may have been involved in the Gotham crime scene...as a criminal! 

Luckily for the Earth-1 Batman, his "niece" from Earth-2, the daughter of the original Batman, Helena Wayne, a.k.a. Huntress, came over for a visit..

...and the two of them worked it out, as well as dealing with the loneliness the holidays can bring!

This story made it into the Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Volume 2 tradepaperback of 2007, and the Huntress had the majority of her earliest solo appearances including her first appearance and origin in DC Super-Stars #17 (November-December, 1977, by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Bob Layton) gathered in the Huntress: Darknight Daughter tradepaperback of that year as well (and this was the Huntress that was the inspiration for the Huntress of the Birds of Prey TV series as well!).

Crossing the Cat's Path

With all of this, you might wonder who the Huntress' mother was, and she was a foe of the original Batman, Catwoman! 

Her part in Huntress' origin was covered pretty well in Huntress' origin in DC Super-Stars #17, but there was still a little more of the tale to be told, and that was told in Brave and the Bold #197 (April, 1983), by Alan Brennert and Joe Staton (and cover by Jim Aparo).

This issue also dealt with a lonely Batman, but this time it was the original, Golden Age, Earth-2 Batman, and his fear was made that much worse by the master of fear, the Scarecrow!

This could be considered a "zero issue" for the Huntress, as it detailed how Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were finally able to reveal their feelings for each other, and put the masks behind.

A truly touching tale, reprinted in the original Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1988 and the tradepaperback of 1989.

All of this shows how much Alan Brennert, Mike W. Barr, Jim Aparo and Joe Staton have given to the legend of Gotham and it's hero, the Batman...and their work is appreciated!  It also shows that Brave and the Bold helped Batman's mythology as well, expanding and exploring the Batman family and finding the man behind the mask!

 

Happy 48th Star Trek

On September 8th, 1966, Star Trek premiered on NBC with an episode entitled "The Man Trap".

...first boldly taking us where no man has gone before with Captain James T. Kirk, Spock, Bones and the crew of the Enterprise....


Then came the comics...

...first from Gold Key, starting July, 1967, then Marvel Comics from April, 1980...

...then DC starting February, 1984, and finally with IDW Publishing from 2007 to now.

Even with a few twists and turns along the way, still continuing to explore strange new worlds!

A Quick Flash on Heat Wave

That could have been the title for Heat Wave's first appearance in Flash #140 (November, 1963, by John Broome and Carmine Infantino), wherein this hot Flash foe was introduced.

It wasn't, the title was "The Heat Is On...For Captain Cold!".

We Didn't Start The Fire

Mick Rory was a kid who was fascinated with fire. So much so, that he watched his parents' home burn...with them in them.

Mick was then raised by his uncle, and later ran away to join the circus and became a fire-eater.

Didn't help him though, he burned the circus down. Mick was inspired by the Rogues to become Heat Wave, and he came up with his fire-resistant costume and heat gun, and started a competition with Flash foe, Captain Cold.

This led to Heat Wave joining Flash's Rogue's Gallery, and many battles with the Flash for a time, both with and without the rest of the Rogues.

Mick does get tired of the criminal life, and tries to give it up for a time, encouraged by his Flash foe (secretly Barry Allen), and Mick even helps Flash capture a Heat Wave impostor.

With what seemed to be Barry Allen's death during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Heat Wave had most of his reason to be a criminal, though he did mix it up with Blue Devil once.

Burning Like A Flame

Heat Wave tried to reform, working with Captain Cold for a time...

...but Captain Cold's criminal nature and Mick's own fascination with fire led him to work with Weather Wizard, Captain Boomerang, and the new Mirror Master to release Neron (an evil demon who had designs on Earth's heroes)...

...where the Earth's heroes had to face Neron during the Underworld Unleashed event (and it had cost the Rogues their lives, to burn in hell forever more...).

Well, not quite.

Neron was a planner, he was.
 

Neron had these foes trapped in hell, and later released them to bedevil the Flash (at this time, Wally West, having picked up his mentor's name and costume).

Now, the Rogue's worked together to prevent themselves from going to hell! It didn't last for Heat Wave, who teamed up with Green Lantern Kyle Rayner's version of Sonar and Green Arrow Connor Hawke's foe Hatchet to free the magnetic foe, Dr. Polaris.

Regretting this, Heat Wave tried to help out at Cadmus while Superboy was missing, and ended up working security there for a time under the watchful eye of the Guardian.

Heart of Fire

Still, the pull of the Rogue's got to Mr. Rory, and he came back to work with them for a time (though working more with the reformed Rogues, Trickster and Pied Piper). Still, at the end of the Rogue War, the Rogue's were reunited, and all pretense of Mick's reformation had gone up in smoke by the time of the Infinite Crisis, and Mick worked with other fire-foes like Effigy, Plasmus and Scorch against Superman.

Then, Mick was one of the Rogue's who helped kill Bart Allen (he who was formerly Impulse and Kid Flash, and after the Infinite Crisis was Flash for a short time as part of the Flash legacy).

This sparked a manhunt for the Rogues and all villains, and let to the villains being exiled off-Earth in Salvation Run, and a Countdown to the Final Crisis.

Eventually, the Rogues returned to Earth, and got their revenge on Inertia (the Impulse foe who tricked the Rogues into killing the Bart Allen version of the Flash), and worked with the Rogues to stave off the rising of the undead Flash foes during the Blackest Night.

Heat Wave Burns Out

Heat Wave even worked with the Rogues to help fight the Renegades (25th Century police who used the Rogues as templates for their own to fight time travelers...

...basically a group like the Rogues, but inspired to do good by the Reverse-Flash of the 25th Century - Heat Wave's equivalent was Heatstroke).

Then, Flash faced his foe, the Reverse-Flash, and changed time in Flashpoint (with an alternate Heat Wave being the star of the Legion of Doom mini-series..

...though Heat Wave was never a member of the original Legion of Doom, like Toyman II), and, now there was the return of Heat Wave in the New 52, with new internalized heat powers, which I'm sure will be a scorcher!

Batman's Ace the Bat-Hound

Back in the Silver Age, comics were a little simpler and more of a family thing. 

That even held true for Gotham's guardian, the Batman, as he had young ward Robin, extra-dimensional Bat-Mite, butler Alfred Pennyworth, police Commissioner James Gordon, gal pal Batwoman, her niece and partner Bat-Girl...

...and, mostly importantly...Ace the Bat-Hound!

Dark Dog Days Begin

Ace started his career in Batman #92 (June, 1955) in the story "Ace, the Bat-Hound" by writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff, wherein Batman and Robin help a lost dog, the dog follows Batman and Robin on a case, and due to its distinctive marking, Robin makes Ace a mask. 

The dynamic duo then find out Ace's owner, John Wilker is missing, and the trio track him down, saving the man (and still protecting Bruce's identity).

This story ended up being reprinted in Batman from the 30s to the 70s, Batman Family #5 and in the Batman in the Fifties Tradepaperback...

...though, sadly, most of Ace's appearances haven't been collected....

The Bat-Hound Returns

It starts with Ace's second appearance in Batman #97 (February, 1956) wherein Batman borrows Ace from Wilker to track down a thief using dogs in his crimes, then to Batman #103 (October, 1956) with the Bat-Hound becoming a movie star (Holy Rin-Tin-Tin, Batman!).

Batman began to see the use of the Bat-Hound.

Batman saving Ace from a villain who planted a bomb in his collar in Detective Comics #254 (April, 1958 in Ace's only Detective Comics cover), Ace helping Robin to track down "The Fugitive Batman" in Batman #123 (April, 1959, with a cover by Curt Swan, who would later be known more for being Superman's artist), and finally becomes Bruce Wayne's pet when John Wilker goes travelling in Batman #125 (August, 1959....Ace's first cover that he wasn't on....though the story is reprinted in Batman Annual #7 of 1964, which was reprinted in the Batman Annuals Volume 2 Hardcover).

Ace continued to appear on occasion, like Batman #130 (March, 1960), Batman #131 (April, 1960), Detective Comics #280 (June, 1960), and then Batman #133 (August, 1960), wherein Ace makes the cover again (and works with Batwoman and Bat-Mite...

...and this story makes it into Batman Annual #7 and thus the Batman Annuals Volume 2 Hardcover as well).

Ace just didn't have a chance in the early sixties, as Batman faced more alien menaces and strange criminals (who took up more of the coveted cover space on issues Detective Comics #287 of January, 1961, Batman #140 of June, 1961)....

...but at least he shared the space with the latest bug monster in "Bat-Hound and the Creature" in Batman #143 (October, 1961) before disappearing again with Detective Comics #306 (August, 1962), Detective Comics #307 (September, 1962), Batman #152 (December, 1962), Batman #156 (June, 1963), World's Finest Comics #134 and #135 (June and August, 1963) and Detective Comics #318 (August, 1963), and getting his last cover with Batman #158 (September, 1963) showing off new, temporary super-powers!

Ace then showed up in Batman #162 (March, 1964, reprinted as a part of Batman: The Black Casebook Tradepaperback which came about because of writer Grant Morrison's putting some of Batman's 1950s and early 1960s adventures back into Batman's history), and then Ace made his final Silver Age story in World's Finest Comics #143 (August, 1964, where Ace met the Nighthound, a partner of Superman's Nightwing identity, Superman's version of Batman in Kandor, which oddly has been reprinted a few times, in World's Finest Comics #197, Superman: the Bottle City of Kandor and in Showcase Presents: World's Finest Volume 2!).

Another version of Ace returned in starting with Batman #462 (May, 1991 by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle) and there was even an animated partner of Krypto the Super-Dog version of Ace for a time, as well as being the elder Bruce Wayne's loyal dog in the Batman Beyond animated series and appearing in Batman: Brave & the Bold animated series as well in a more classic version, and even helped Scooby-Doo recently in Scooby-Doo Team-Up #2!  Zoinks!

You just can't keep a good dog down!

Mattel’s 30th Anniversary Super Powers DC Classics

Mattel had said they were ending the DC Universe Classics, but they have one last blast from the past for us all!

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Kenner’s Super Powers collection…we have six figures in classic Super Powers packaging (though these figures will be in the DC Classics six inch size!).

Coming in September, 2014, will be Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman, in the brighter colors of the Super Powers set!

 

Coming in October, 2014, will be Gold Superman and Mr. Mxyzptlk (reflecting some of the unproduced figures of the Super Powers line, as a Gold Superman was to be done for Superman’s 50th Anniversary, and the imp was also a figure produced for the Mego line back in the 1970s and to be a part of the 4th wave of Kenner’s Super Powers) and Green Lantern as Riddler (as Riddler was an exclusive to the 1989 Super Amigos made only in Argentina…and was a Green Lantern figure painted to be the Riddler).  Holy confused identity, Batman!

Not only that, but each figure will have a piece to collect and connect, and will build a Super Powers accurate Kalibak!

One line ends, and one gets a new beginning…

Batman’s Marvelous Team-Ups!

One of the questions I heard at the Avengers premiere was…”Where’s Batman?”.

Now, most comic fans know that Spider-Man lives in the Marvel Universe as published by Marvel Comics, and Batman in the DC Universe published by DC Comics.

Now, with this past week’s column, we showed the movie split as to why the Amazing Spider-Man wouldn’t be in Avengers’ movies, and yes, Batman won’t be in any of them, either.


Still, wouldn’t Batman teaming up with any of the modern Marvel movie stars be an incredible, amazing thing?

But, that doesn’t mean these two recent movie stars haven’t crossed paths….as evidenced by these comics!  Starting off with a couple of meetings with Spider-Man…

Swinging With Spidey

Spider-Man and Batman had their first meeting in Spider-Man and Batman #1, in September, 1995, by J.M. DeMatteis and Mark Bagley.

In this issue, they faced off against two of their crazier foes with “Disordered Minds”, Carnage for Spider-Man, and Joker for the Batman.  A nice little team-up, but a little lacking in real substance, as Carnage was just a little too new of a character to match up well with the Joker (though they matched well by both being crazy!  In fact, it was attempting to cure the Joker and Carnage that got them to team-up.  I don’t think it is a spoiler to say it didn’t work out so well…).

Still, the next time the Dark Knight and Amazing Webslinger met up was in Batman & Spider-Man #1 (October 1997), it was with some older and weightier foes…specifically, the master of the League of Assassins, Ra’s Al Ghul, and king of crime, the Kingpin.

This story was also written by J.M. DeMatteis, with artist Graham Nolan.  Kingpin and Ra’s Al Ghul are the drivers of the plot here, both manipulating as only they can, and even involve the women in their life, Kingpin’s ever-ailing wife, Vanessa and Ra’s daughter and sometime co-conspirator (as well as romantic distraction for the Detective), Talia.

All of this led to a stronger team-up, and they end up as allies to save the world from one of Ra’s plans to end it all with a “New Age Dawning”!  All this, and a little more Batman/Spider-Man interaction as well.

But, the battle isn’t over for the the dark knight detective…no, he has more marvelous journeys to follow…

Meeting The Man Without Fear

After meeting with the wall-crawler the first time, Batman also met with another creature of the night…Daredevil, the Man Without Fear!


Batman met up with Spider-Man’s fellow New Yorker, Daredevil for a few team-ups as well.  First time around was in Daredevil and Batman #1 (January 1997) in a story by D. G. Chichester, and art by Scott McDaniel.

Batman chases his foe, Two-Face, and DD’s foe, Mr. Hyde, to New York…and of course, the two crimefighters face off as well.  Most annoying thing…is that Two-Face is upset to be in the first meeting of these two urban crimefighters, so upset, he wants “An Eye For An Eye”!  Seems more than Batman’s life hangs by the flip of a coin…

Still, the second time around was a little more involved (and familiar as well!).  In December, 2000′s Batman Daredevil: King of New York #1 (by Alan Grant and Eduardo Barreto), the two heroes face off against Batman foe, the Scarecrow and Daredevil’s foe, Kingpin (who seems to like working the DC side of the street, it appears!  Seems Mr. Fisk might prefer Gotham City to New York City…or, maybe not).

Kingpin seemed to learn a little about manipulation from Ra’s Al Ghul, as he also used the feline Catwoman to distract Batman.  And, how would the Man Without Fear fare against fear gas?  Hey, it means Daredevil will get a trip to Batman’s Batcave, at least!  And, the second team-up, Batman and Daredevil interact a little more on a personal level…


Not only did Batman meet Spider-Man and Daredevil, but he encountered a slightly more violent villain, the Punisher as well.

Killing Time

In Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1  (cover dated June 1994, by Denny O’Neil and Barry Kitson),  it’s Jean-Paul Valley, not Bruce Wayne, as the Batman (Jean-Paul was a substitute for Bruce, who had been injured by Bane…yes, the villain in the current Batman film), versus Batman foe, the Joker and Punisher’s main menace, the Jigsaw.

This was the first DC/Marvel team-up since they stopped after the Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans team-up of 1982 due to difficulties that had arisen between Marvel Comics and DC Comics while working on the original Justice League of America and Avengers first meeting (that only took place decades later…).  And, the title characters battled first, before working together against their common foes.

This worked so well that it had a follow up within the same year, with the Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1 (cover dated October 1994, with regular Detective Comics and Robin writer at the time of Chuck Dixon and the amazing John Romita Jr. was doing the art).


No new villains, as it was still a battle against the Joker and Jigsaw (why mess with a good team, right?  Still, new villains usually spice up the mix a little), but it was the more familiar Batman at this point, dealing with the ultra-violent, gun-toting Frank Castle as the Punisher.

And, the more by-the-book Batman had more trouble with the Punisher and his use of guns on criminals as well….


After all that grief, dealing with a hero who acts more like a villain, Batman got a break, working with the star-spangled Avenger, Captain America.

War With The Star-Spangled Avenger

With the release of Batman and Captain America #1 in December 1996 by John Byrne, this would be a more light-hearted team-up (and one that took more advantage of a possible shared DC and Marvel Universe, where familiar storyline would play out over generations, as this Batman & Robin met Captain America & Bucky and battled the Joker and Red Skull in World War II!  This was also considered an “Elseworlds” tale by DC Comics (where things happen that wouldn’t normally happen in a DC Comics, such as Batman being around during World War II, kind of like Marvel’s “What If?”, which is their version of odd stories playing out).

Things played out for Captain America at the end of the war as they have before…but, slightly differently! 

A sequel to this would have been very appreciated, but it was not to be.

Still, one of the best team-ups Batman had with a Marvel character, was his very first, and that happened when Bruce Wayne’s alter ego crossed paths with a certain gamma-irradiated scientist, the Hulk.

Don't Make Me Angry

In DC Special Series #27, (September 1981, by writer Len Wein who had worked on both Batman and the Hulk’s titles in the past) and incredible DC artist Jose Luis Garcia Lopez), Bruce Banner ends up looking for a cure for the Hulk at Waynetech, which insures a run in with Batman.  Of course, the Joker steps in to steal the device needed (as the Hulk’s foe, the Shaper of the Worlds needs it to survive, and Joker made a deal with the Shaper if the Joker could deliver the device, which the Joker did…and, in return, the Shaper grants the Joker the ability to reshape reality!  Would that that new reality had more team-ups with Batman and Marvel’s characters in it!).  The last of the oversized DC/Marvel team-ups, and certainly one of Batman’s best!

And, of course, Batman fought the whole Marvel Universe (which, as you can see also included the X-Men, as well as a few of Batman’s more regular Justice League and Titans friends) in DC Vs. Marvel #1-4, which led to a few more DC/Marvel all-inclusive team-ups as well with Access, the Marvel and DC character that would allow DC and Marvel characters to meet at any time as that was his power!  All these characters meeting…it’s like Mego time for Batman and Spider-Man!


But that’s a tale for another time!

The Hero, the Warrior and the Doctor

Last week, the heroes were time travelers on screen (TV and the movies), and here...


...it's  time to look at a few of the time travels of Superman, Captain Kirk of the starship Enterprise on Star Trek and the Doctor of Doctor Who in the comics!


It's quite the wild ride, as characters met themselves over the years, crossing over generations...


...and it might even be as interesting as the cover mock-up of Super-Team Family provided!

Boy meets Man of Steel

Superboy met his future self, (the Man of Steel, Superman) in Superboy #47 (March, 1956), in a little story by Otto Binder, drawn by Curt Swan. 

Superboy accidently landed in the future, met Lois Lane and his future self (because, these early adventures of Superboy weren't those of a clone, they were of Superman, when he was a boy).  The two were stuck in one time, and had to put their heads together (sorry for the pun) to figure out how to separate themselves. 

This story was also reprinted in Super-Team Family #5 of 1976 (which had a slightly different cover in the day) and in Superman Annual #4 of 1961, which also featured a few Superman time-travel tales! 

There were even Superman meetings over in Smallville, where Tom Welling (as Clark Kent) met previous actors who played Superman (Christopher Reeve as Dr. Virgil Swann, and Dean Cain as Dr. Curtis Knox), so the Supermen didn't quite meet each other as Superman (at least in the "real world"), but close....

...oh, so close.

Star Trek Generations meet

Before Kirk and Picard met in the 7th Star Trek movie, Captain Kirk came across his younger self in a 20th Anniversary Star Trek tale from Star Trek #33 (December, 1986) by writer Len Wein and artist Tom Sutton (and a stunning cover by Jerry Bingham) for the story "Vicious Circle".

This story had the crew of the Enterprise-A (between Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home) meet with the TV series crew from Star Trek's first season (including Yeoman Rand and Nurse Chapel, and not Pavel Chekov, who wasn't added to the crew until the TV shows second season).  It also showed the value in getting the complete Star Trek franchise (as the 18 issues of the original Marvel Star Trek run only had rights to likenesses and concepts of Star Trek: The Motion Picture).

A fun little story, and a chance to see how the Star Trek franchise had grown in 20 years (and this before Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise...

...and even the most recent two Star Trek movies that rebooted Kirk, Spock and the rest of his loyal crew!). 

Later comics had the various crews meet, and they even branched out and met other licensed characters...like one of the most frequent time travelers of them all!

Doctor, Doctor

Still, it took quite some time for the Doctor of Doctor Who to make it to American comics...and even then, they were reprints of issues from British comics from Marvel UK's Doctor Who Weekly featuring the 4th Doctor (Tom Baker)...at least to start in 4 issues of Marvel Premiere (#57-60, 1980-1981), and then 23 issues starting in 1984 (that featured reprints of Marvel UK stories with the 4th and 5th Doctor, Peter Davison....).

Still, IDW finally took advantage of the unlimited access comics provide to time and space with a 12 issue mini-series entitled Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time!

Over the course of these twelve issues, the Doctor's companions were disappearing (as seen starting with the first Doctor in issue #1, the second Doctor in issue #2, and so on), until all 11 Doctors gathered to solve the problem and find which companion was behind this in the 12th issue, as each Doctor appeared once a month all over 2013, all written by Scott and David Tipton and a variety of artists!

The story has been collected in 3 volume tradepaperbacks (the first four Doctors in Volume 1, the second four in Volume 2, and the ninth through the eleventh and resolution in Volume 3), or get it all in one large oversized hardback all from IDW!


A chance to see all the Doctors in action once again (from the 1st - William Hartnell, 2nd - Patrick Troughton, 3rd - Jon Pertwee, 10th - David Tennant, 11th - Matt Smith, 4th - Tom Baker, 9th - Christopher Eccleston, 5th - Peter Davison, 8th - Paul McGann, 7th - Sylvester McCoy and 6th - Colin Baker), all in one story, helping to celebrate Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary in a story the Silence couldn't even make you forget! 

Still, here we are with the newest Doctor (Peter Capaldi), and I bet he's feeling left out after his renewal...