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starwolf_oakley (starwolf_oakley) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-04-17 12:39:00

Entry tags:

char: batman/bruce wayne, creator: jim aparo, creator: peter milligan, title: detective comics

The Golem of Gotham
Batman threatens an old man. Ah, good times.

Some context after the cut. Batman is fighting a clay man that isn't Clayface.

From DETECTIVE COMICS #632, written by Peter Milligan and pencilled Jim Aparo. This is from 1991, before Batman used to gripe about how much he hated magic.

Batman is fighting a Golem created by an old man named Saul. It turns out the Golem is animated by the spirit of the old man's dead brother, Jacob.

Even an understanding of Jewish legend can't make it easy for Batman.

"It's falling too quickly... or I'm moving too slowly. Either/or" Batman is exhausted after his previous fight with the Golem, which isn't Clayface or a guy in a mud costume.

A flashback revealed that when Saul was 22, he was threatened with torture by the Nazis if he didn't say where Jacob was hiding. Jacob was captured and Saul went crazy with guilt.

"I have my own problems with guilt, shame and anger!" The creature wasn't limiting itself to attacking the neo-nazis, which is why Batman wanted to stop it. The creature thought it was in Nazi Germans or Nazi-occupied Poland (I'm not sure which) and attacking indiscriminately.

Batman doesn't have the luxury of self-hatred. Because he's Batman.

Wikipedia says the legend of the Golem, an artificial being created as a protector that turns against its masters, is a precursor to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the alchemical homunculus, and the Destroy-All-Humans robot. An episode of The X-Files called "Kaddish" also used the Golem legend.

More comic golems can be found here: http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/golems.html

(Post a new comment)

	cricharddavies 2009-04-17 03:06 pm UTC (link)
	A brilliant example of just how scary the Aparo Batman, usually regarded as a lighter version than many, can actually be. (Reply to this)

	dustbunny105 2009-04-17 05:17 pm UTC (link)
	"You're Batman! How did you find me?" Huh. Quite a reverse from the usual. (Reply to this)

besamim
2009-04-17 05:18 pm UTC (link)

The part with the golem falling and nearly crushing Batman after he ties it up reminds me of a legend collected by the Brothers Grimm. A Jewish man creates a golem to do household tasks, but over time it grows dangerously large, so that the man can no longer reach its forehead. So he tells the golem to take off his boots, and as it bends down to do so, he erases the E so that the creature reverts to clay. Unfortunately it then topples forward and crushes the man to death.

(Reply to this)

	Mod Note: schmevil 2009-04-18 04:07 pm UTC (link)
	Preview images can be a max of 300x400. Yours is far too big. Please resize or cut. (Reply to this)