The War Begins!

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 featuring a group of criminals trying and failing to escape from a fate someone bestowed on them. These criminals, only some of whom would be given names, do as much as they can to continue their lifestyle of crime while avoiding their fates, but each succumbs to a death that was predicted of them at the open of the story. It's somewhat creepy, but very in keeping with 40s ideas of spirituality, luck and fate. It's also, if I'm permitted to be a bit judgmental, nothing special.

Then, following that, we have a Moby Dick parody! No, seriously, Batman and Robin spend the next story in this issue dealing with a violent captain obsessed with a massive white whale that they also have to deal with (spoiler alert: the whale turns out to be a submarine). It's camp, if nothing else.

Then, Joker is here, with a hare-brained scheme to get rich and get away, but it's also a fairly short story in which Batman and the police are able to trap the clowny criminal and chase him down. In terms of Joker fare, which is an enormously common thing to find in the time period we're in (he's easily the most common foe Batman faces, though Penguin rises quickly in appearances once he debuts), it's satisfying, but short.

Finally, we see a Christmas story, in which Batman and Robin help a young boy whose father is in prison experience the magic of Santa Claus. It's a cute, heartwarming story, and the inspiration is clear when you read the boy's name (Tim Cratchit). This rounds out the issue, leaving a fairly light, unfortunately forgettable overall book.

The following issue isn't much different in that regard, featuring dinosaurs, a dreaming young boy, a scavenger hunt from Catwoman, and some cowboys. No bad stories, all enjoyable fare, but given the tumult of the world around them, not what was anticipated.

Over in Detective Comics, things weren't much different, with issue #59 featuring Batman dealing with a scam Penguin is pulling to collect rewards for different wanted criminals, then break them out and split the reward with them. The following issue features Joker in command of a submarine, which is a bit more topical but not by much.

Over time, topical stories would enter the Bat universe (in Two-Face's original backstory, the plastic surgeon who could've fixed him in time was unable to, because he was in a concentration camp). We'll go on to see quite a few instances of Batman and Robin punching spies, tripping generals and trapping Germans under large objects. But in the immediate aftermath, all Americans got in the face of war was the escape of a Batman story.

Maybe, in the end, that was enough.

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