Man, I wish I had the previous issue handy, but pressing on: from 1990, Detective Comics #611, "Snow and Ice, part two: Bird of Ill Omen" Written by Alan Grant, pencils by Norm Breyfogle, inks by Steve Mitchell. Previously, Batman attended the funeral of the Penguin; who faked his death, aided by the death-fetishist Mortimer Kadaver. (He had appeared in #589, the first Grant/Breyfogle issue I read; and had a hand-shaped scar burned into his face that issue.) Kadaver had hypnotized Penguin to put him into a death-like coma, and was trying to make Penguin hold up his end of the bargain and bust him out. Which he does, except Penguin was more than willing to throw Kadaver out of a helicopter afterward; but Kadaver planned ahead for that, and still had the post-hypnotic command that could put the Penguin into a coma that only he could reverse.
Batman knows something is up, but can't nail it down yet. Meanwhile, working with his new "partner," Penguin picks up some new gear, and they hit a drug deal for some quick cash. This was the snow, and next on Penguin's list was the ice, with a brazen--and bloody--diamond smash-and-grab. Batman is furious at this point, but knows the Penguin's next target: robbing the proceeds of his charity-scam "Antarctic Reserve Penguin Fund." Why he had to hit all three the same night is anyone's guess, but after a quick trip to the restroom, Penguin's ready to deal with Kadaver, having simply plugged his ears with toilet paper. Kadaver tries his safewords, but since he can't hear them, Penguin is free to shoot him: like most "death-fetishist" types, Kadaver is not ready to die when he's looking down the barrel of a gun. Unfortunately, Penguin's giving clues to Batman fails to pay off yet again, as Batman catches him outside and after a short scuffle, shuts him down.
I don't think Penguin always had that clue-leaving tendency--certainly not to the extent of the Riddler or others--but this time he seems compelled to try and rub Batman's nose in it. I also don't know how he beat the charges, since Pengy commits at least four murders this issue alone: I wasn't sure if Kadaver survived getting shot, but he would return in Shadow of the Bat #11.
2 comments:
I've honestly never heard of this Mortimer Kadaver guy until today. I'll look it up, but it doesn't sound like he caught on enough outside of Grant, to show up again. I know just based off th name alone, he'd be an ideal fit for your beloved Izombie show though;)
Penguin did have a clue leaving fetish more fitting the Riddler in his single but influential (like the rest of the run) Englehart and Rogers' Strange Apparitions issue. Maybe Grant got it from there.
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