THE BRAINSTORMS

A decade before Marvel had one of their own! Wait, Doctor Doom? That guy’s Marvel, right? In 1950, DC would have you believe Doctor Doom is their guy (if only because Marvel wasn’t really a thing, yet). Detective Comics #158 features a villain by that name, but he’s inconsequential enough that eventually Marvel could get away with their own Doom. But in the 50s, the only Doom was this one! In April 1950, we see Batman and Robin celebrate their “1000th” case (implying being a

The puzzling puzzler’s earliest crimes! In Detective Comics #140 (October 1948), we finally got the debut of the man who would eventually become one of Batman’s most iconic foes of all time. Edward Nygma, aka Riddler! Eddie is a man who made his money by cheating at, then actually solving, puzzles. When he was younger, he managed to find an answer key to a seemingly near-impossible puzzle, and solved it to much acclaim. From there, he built his career on more of the same thi

Vicki Vale talking to Batman in her debut! The Marilyn Monroe-inspired, Lois Lane-esque new character! When modern audiences think of Vicki Vale, they usually think of a pushy female reporter, convinced Bruce Wayne is Batman though having no evidence, mostly played for comedy. That is, if they think of her at all. But, once upon a time, she spent a decade as the primary love interest of Batman! Victoria “Vicki” Vale, a reporter (don’t ask me for what publication, it is NOT

The Cavalier, mid-crime! Batman’s most common nemesis you’ve never heard of! If you’ve been looking for a dumb, campy Bat-foe, look no further! Mortimer Drake, aka the Cavalier, is a relic of a bygone time in comics, so bygone that he missed out on the time he would’ve honestly been most at home! He first appeared in Detective Comics #81, in November 1943. A society fixture in his real identity and life (even an acquaintance of Bruce), Mortimer had an “exotic” collection of

But wait, wasn't Bruce Wayne engaged? In one of several stories in Batman #1 (1940), we meet The Cat, a mysterious female con artist who dons disguises to gain access to jewels, and who flirts with Batman to escape once caught (there’s even a joke where Dick accuses Bruce of letting her get away, which it’s heavily implied he did). It’s a dynamite debut, solidifying a character who was clearly poised for greatness, already sharing chemistry with the title character from the f

But wait, where's the giant penny? When we think of Batman’s trophies in the Batcave, we see in our minds a life-sized T-Rex, a giant penny, a Joker card, and more. This makes sense, because for decades that’s the image we see and have seen. It’s the nostalgia bait, the obvious callback to the past, the hallmarks of iconic cases and people even if you haven’t read anything where he got those trophies from. Would you believe me if, the first time we hear any mention, let alon

Batman: Serial Hero? An in-depth look at the 1943 serials featuring the Caped Crusader In 1943, there were basically no superhero comic adaptations, mostly because the genre of superhero comics was so new. Superman had gotten a radio show (which introduced Kryptonite, Perry White and Jimmy Olsen!), and animated shorts, while Captain Marvel got his own live action movie. Once the US entered the war, a lot of the focus on media like serials and movies was on supporting war effo

Oh, there's Joker? And Santa? Huh. The very first issues of Batman to be published after America entered World War II, Batman (1940) #9, are issues I anticipated to be particularly pointed in their war-based content. I was anticipating fighting of Nazi spies, racially charged Japanese stereotypes unfortunately typical of 1940s comics (we'll talk about that more in another article). But I didn't get that. What I got instead, was a quartet of other stories. First, a story featu

How our introduction to the Boy wonder shaped him for years to come! Way, way back in Detective Comics (1938) #38 (for reference, at time of writing DC has just published issue #1108 one week ago), we were first introduced to Richard "Dick" Grayson, soon known to basically anyone who has consumed pop culture in the past century as Robin. Everyone knows the basic bones of the story, how he'd been part of a traveling circus, flying on the trapeze with his acrobat parents, when

And icon status versus staying power. When we think of the earliest Batman foes, most people on the street would say Joker, or Catwoman. And they'd be right, if we were only talking about Batman (1940), but there was more before that. Doctor Death, one of the first foes Batman ever faces, is literally a doctor obsessed with death who creates poisons in special delivery mechanisms with the intent to kill people. He's the first recurring foe, simply because he appears in one is

Detective Comics #27 begins a journey that will last 80 years and counting. But who doesn't board that journey at the first stop? In the opening pages of the first issue, Bruce Wayne (described as a socialite, rather than millionaire or billionaire) is socializing with Commissioner Jim Gordon, the very first recurring Batman character aside from Batman himself. None of the other characters in this very first issue appear in the second, or are relevant again. In fact, we don't

What is it about the Caped Crusader? What brings people back to him, time and time again? 8 months ago, someone calculated the appearances in comics Bruce Wayne has had, across versions across time, and according to that, since his debut he has appeared in 8,690 issues, across 88 years, with more and more guest appearances every year. Here's why: He's a real, no-powers human, but he dresses up as a giant bat and fights giant crocodile men, monks with the power to control were