I may have groaned loudly at the reveal in this one, so now I'm passing it on to you! Uh, you're welcome. From 1977, Adventure Comics #453, "You Too Can Be a Super Hero!" Written by Bob Rozakis, pencils by John Calnan, inks by Murphy Anderson.

Returning from a visit to the Legion in the 30th century, Superboy makes a quick pass by Camp Smallville, where he saves a young girl from drowning before swinging back into town to change into Clark Kent and then return to camp. The girl gets grounded in her bunk by her older brother Anthony, and wishes she was a superhero herself: oh, how she'd make them pay then...Luckily for her, Superboy had brought back a magic crystal from Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #230, and things might be happening. Later that night, she's forced to go out to the campfire with the other kids, as Lana Lang tells a ghost story, with Clark and Pete Ross ready to jump out and scare them...with sheets over their heads, real low production values, guys. Transforming into Mighty Girl, the little girl clobbers ghost-Clark, with a punch that would've killed a regular kid. Switching to Superboy, he's able to get back to save Pete, with the usual lie that he had already 'saved' poor Clark. Next, with a fire spreading, Mighty Girl tries to stop it but instead spreads it with super-breath. (Aside: I feel like DC did this one every so often, where a girl gets the hero's powers but just causes problems with them. I suppose most super-powers took some practice, and an 11-year-old with Superboy's powers would be trouble, but it still felt pretty condescending and sexist.)

While Mighty Girl is ready to fight for her powers, Superboy throws the crystal into the sun to destroy it, taking them away. He tries to explain that you couldn't get super-powers by wishing, but training and experience were needed. Only briefly daunted, the little girl pipes up that she will be a super-heroine someday, and that little girl was...Barbara Gordon? The closing caption box asks if you put together the clues; which I didn't really see? Her brother Tony had maybe two appearances pre-Crisis, that's not much of a clue.

Also this issue: an Aqualad short, "Aqualad--Who is Thy Father!" (Written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Carl Potts, inks by Joe Rubenstein.) The Idylists of the underwater Hidden Valley have been stonewalling Aqualad, about who his father really was; refusing to reveal the secret, or the Hidden Valley would be doomed, and where would you get your ranch dressing then? (Boo!) Read more!

I don't think I'm doing this bit all week. I probably could, sure, but...

This is another one I had at some point, and recently pulled from the dollar bins at least twice, so by rule...From 1989, Batman Annual #13, "Faces" Written by James (Priest) Owsley, pencils by Michael Bair, inks by Gray Morrow.

So over on Progressive Ruin, there was a recent discussion about whether or not Commissioner Gordon knows Bruce Wayne is Batman. The consensus is, probably? But he pretends not to know, out of respect for his friend, and doubtless for liability reasons, to protect the department. I'd like that more, if Jim still hung out with Bruce; especially after an issue like this one, where Alfred would be serving brandy and Bruce would have to sit there and nod politely while getting read the riot act secondhand: "Batman absolutely screwed the pooch on this one, Bruce. Completely dropped the ball. The nerve of that guy, who does he think he is...?" Probably a solid 45 minutes of that.

This issue begins with a prologue to (arguably) cheerier times, although it's maybe a brief window, when Jason Todd was Robin and Batgirl was still occasionally active. A cop is killed in a bombing, and Batman tells Gordon it was planted by Freddie Richards, an associate of Two-Face. Both Freddie and Two-Face are captured; and Gordon briefly confronts Batgirl, saying he thought Barbara had hung up the cape: I didn't think he knew that!

Years later, Freddie was going to get the chair for killing a cop, but Bruce watches a tape of a Jack Ryder news special, interviewing members of Two-Face's gang hiding out in Santa Prisca, and one admits he killed the cop Freddie was going to fry for. Batman goes to Gordon to request custody of Two-Face for 72 hours; but doesn't pick the best time: asking him at his wife's grave, with the now-wheelchair bound Barbara. Gordon flatly tells him no; Batman proceeds anyway, disguising himself as a doctor and busting Two-Face out of Gotham. (I wonder if Bats uses his Batman-voice so Harvey knows him, but Two-Face claims he knew immediately.) Batman feels like he helped finger Freddie--ugh, phrasing--and refuses to let him die for a crime he didn't commit, regardless of what he would have to do. Starting with, keeping Two-Face in a cage in the Batcave, while Bruce Wayne plays dumb with Gordon during a Wayne Mansion fundraiser.

Batman and Two-Face hitch a ride on a cargo transport dropping medical supplies for Santa Prisca, and Two-Face is more than a little irritated that his crew has forgotten their place. Batman is more mad, since in the background of the Ryder interview, was the cop that had allegedly been murdered in the first place! He'd been on the take; which doesn't quite line up: Barbara had been a friend of his, she probably would have recognized him and could've backed up Batman's side of this story. Batman suggests Two-Face let the coin decide, but his goons show up first, and his 'coin' is cracked open, revealing some kind of gyroscope: Batman had slipped him a fake! Two-Face is livid, sure, but also disappointed: Bats had cheated, which seemed unworthy of him. He leaves Batman in a death trap, that he of course escapes from; and Batman realizes a crooked cop might find work in a crooked country as a crooked cop again.

While he manages to get both the crooked cop and Two-Face to the airplane, they both take off running, leaving Batman with a perverse Sophie's Choice: he only has time to catch one of them. Batman chooses the cop, and manages to get a stay of execution for Freddie Richards, but Gordon gives him an earful. There had been a body in the bombing, who's to say Freddie didn't kill whoever that had been? He hadn't been an innocent by any account. And what crimes would Two-Face commit while on the loose? Batman knows, he kind of broke his trust with Two-Face, and he could be worse going forward. Let's see if we can run that down: this came out April 1989, and I think Two-Face would next appear shortly in "A Lonely Place of Dying," but that was a crossover with Titans and introduced Tim Drake, right? I don't know if this issue was mentioned. And Priest would get to write some Batman again, but it would be a while.

Also this issue: "Waiting in the Wings," by Kevin Dooley and Malcolm Jones III. Mid-Year One, Alfred tells Bruce he's quitting, to pursue his acting career. (Spoiler alert: he doesn't!) There's also several updated Who's Who style pages, including one for Vicki Vale, who had virtually been written out of the book by then. Read more!

"The End" Week: Batgirls #19!

I know I bought a few issues of this: it was fast-paced, fun, colorful, a fan-favorite setting itself apart from other Bat-titles. Of course it only lasted like a year and a half. From 2023, Batgirls #19, "From Hell's Heart, finale" Written by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, art by Robbi Rodriguez.

Because internet searches are kind of garbage now, I haven't been able to figure out if the creative team was leaving to do something else; or if editorial wanted to move Cassandra Cain over to Birds of Prey, or if sales really just weren't what they wanted them to be; because Google will find you stories about the tax write-off Batgirl movie or the cancellation of the CW's Batwoman. Still, the Batgirls go out on a high note, as Gotham rallies behind them.

Stephanie Brown gets to win a fight, taking down Gunbunny with the Deadpool-mouth-off technique: everybody knew, the one in black was the asskicker. I'm hoping both Batgirls are still out there kicking ass, but Steph probably got sent back to the minors, for like the fifth time. Still, just a matter of time before there's another Batgirl series. Probably. Read more!

Neo-Tokyo Gotham is about to explode.

I'm having a bit of a motivation problem today, so trying to shake myself figuratively awake with a post. Today, a limited series I think I got seven of eight out of the quarter bin years ago, but only got the conclusion recently! From 2004, Batman: City of Light #8, story and art by the Pander Brothers, story by Mark Paniccia.

This may have been ahead of the curve, as every Batman story now involves massive amounts of property damage and casualties, but maybe that was novel in 2004? This was the conclusion of Batman and Batgirl (Cassandra!) versus an insane architect blowing up chunks of the city to replace with his own vision...wait, that's the plot to Destroyer, the 90's story intent on maybe retrofitting Gotham to look more like Tim Burton's movies. OK, this one also involved an artist commune, some kind of living light technology, and Purge, the architect's enforcer-slash-Batman replacement.

Bats is more monosyllabic than Cassandra this issue, because he's been put through the usual wringer; but I also think this was fairly far along for Cassandra, as she even seems to go on a date in the end. Batman also seems harsher than usual with Purge, but I'm guessing he wasn't really alive. This might've been easier if I had the other seven issues next to me...

Oddly, I think I recently got the last issue of the 2002-03 Batman: Family limited; we saw one issue of that some time back, but I bought most of it from the same quarter bins and didn't have the end!

Read more!