InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Who let the nutjob out?"

kingrockwell (kingrockwell) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-09-23 01:23:00

Entry tags:

char: jim gordon, char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson, char: superman/clark kent, creator: eduardo barreto, creator: frank mclaughlin, creator: gerry conway, creator: jon bogdanove, creator: kelley puckett, creator: rich buckler, event: no man's land, publisher: dc comics, title: batman, title: world's finest comics

Jim Gordon! Robin! Superman! All working together in one story!
So, last month I requested stories where Jim Gordon interacted with others beyond Batman and Robin, and this month mullon expanded it to heroes outside of the Batfamily. Additionally, lyraeinne requested scans of Dick and Clark interacting.
Well, as Tim, in the first story I ever read with him, strove to do, I'm gonna kill two birds with one stone by posting Worlds Finest Comics #269.

A few weeks ago, I went in to the library for the first time in ages, and stumbled across The Strange Deaths of Batman. It's an interesting collection, some of the earlier imaginary stories with Dick and Clark dealing with the grief over the loss are interesting, even if one of them is just a setup for Gardner Fox to sell his idea of the Multiverse further. But this story stuck out for me in particular, due to my earlier request.

Written by Gerry Conway, with art by Rich Buckler and Frank McLaughlin, Batman is buried alive somewhere and no one knows why he's missing.

Clark is so upset to have his date ruined~~

Jim gets a call from the Metropolis police. There's some guy with a bomb strapped around him, gloating about how he's kidnapped Batman. Dick and Clark waste no time. Jim's used to quiet exits.

Clark tries to talk the guy down, gets him to spin the tale of how he captured Bruce (which amounted to camping on the route to a crime scene and shooting out the tires of the Batmobile, causing it to swerve, crash, and ultimately explode after the crook's dragged Bruce's unconscious body out), keeping him distracted while Dick goes for a sneakier approach.
It doesn't quite go as planned.

Dick is injured in the explosion, so Clark rushes him to the hospital. The staff there are courteous enough to leave the mask alone, apparently.

Jimmy helps Clark decipher some of the clues the crook had left before Dick grabbed him, so Clark runs off to the cemetery to find Bruce, but the lead-lined coffin he finds is...empty!
Because Bruce is right behind him!
They return to the hospital, where, after Dick wakes up, Bruce gives with the details of his daring escape, and they all have a laugh and act chummy because their friendship is awesome. (and i guess they got over that crook blowing up pretty quickly, though Alfred won't be happy with the stains it would've gotten in Dick's suit)

(worth noting this is 1981, so i think the Fourth World wasn't heavily involved with the DCU and they might not be familiar enough with Scott Free to know just how wrong they are here)

As an added bonus,

espanolbot's post with Cass and Azrael put me in the mood to read through No Man's Land (i think i'd only read whatever trades had the Ivy story and Sarah's death before), and while I'm hardly 1/4 of the way through, I've stumbled upon some lovely single-issue stories (i've been putting them off to the side to post later, of course).
One of them is Batman #566, written by Kelley Puckett, art by John Bogdanove and Eduardo Barreto. The story's about Clark visiting NML Gotham to try to help as he can. When word gets to the Blue Boys, we get this scene.

It's sad that he turns out to be right, but seeing Clark try was important.

What do you guys think?

char: jim gordon, char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson, char: superman/clark kent, creator: gerry conway, creator: rich buckler, creator: frank mclaughlin, creator: kelley puckett, creator: john bogdanove, creator: eduardo barreto, event: no man's land, publisher: dc comics, title: world's finest comics, title: batman
(why don't we have any kind of tag related to Bromance? we should have that tag so much)

(Post a new comment)

	icon_uk 2009-09-23 07:06 am UTC (link)
	As I said when I posted this on SD1.0: You have an unstable bomber to deal with - Superman decides that he, being invulnerable and flight capable, will float at a safe distance whilst the completely vulnerable acrobat has to clamber up the side of the bridge and try to sneak up on him wearing THAT outfit and do the disarming... What's wrong with that picture? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-23 02:40 pm UTC (link)
	And super-speed! Really, the whole situation wasn't thought out well enough, but that's Gerry Conway for you. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	icon_uk 2009-09-23 03:12 pm UTC (link)
	Never mind Batman not even thinking of making a phone call to let Robin and Superman know he was okay. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ex_stig213 2009-09-23 09:27 am UTC (link)
	Mister Miracle I is perhaps the Galaxy's greatest escape artist, or New Genesis', but not Earth's. That title was held by Batman until Shiloh Norman came along. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	xammax 2009-09-23 02:21 pm UTC (link)
	Even now I question it. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-23 02:58 pm UTC (link)
	Do you mean when Shilo came along or when Morrison re-imagined him in Seven Soldiers? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	bluefall 2009-09-23 03:17 pm UTC (link)
	If the galaxy's greatest escape artist is on Earth, he is necessarily Earth's greatest escape artist. Since anyone else on Earth is also in the Milky Way, and therefore inferior to him, and all. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	aaron_bourque 2009-09-23 09:34 pm UTC (link)
	Scott Free is actually Mr. Miracle II. He inherited the stage name from Thaddeus Brown, and then passed it down to Shilo Norman, Mr. Miracle III. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-23 09:42 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, Shilo was Thaddeus' ward. Dick Grayson-style, perhaps? (Reply to this) (Parent)

ladymirth
2009-09-23 10:40 am UTC (link)

I cracked up at that first panel itself. Clark's acting for all the world like a girl who got stood up at her prom. I love the story too - although this conclusively proves that the Great Coffin Escape in R.I.P Batman definitely had precedent even in the days when Bruce wasn't written as a Bat-God.

The NML one - OMG that's beautiful. Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from Kelley Puckett.

(Reply to this)

	retro_nouveau 2009-09-23 12:56 pm UTC (link)
	Clark: Oh, you had me so worried. Here. Bruce: I've told you a dozen times, I don't need a signal watch. Clark: Come on, you don't have to use it, just put it in your belt. Bruce: No. Clark: Bruce, I'm not a happy man. (Reply to this)

	jkcarrier 2009-09-23 01:14 pm UTC (link)
	Re: Mister Miracle, he and Bats had met a couple of times by then. IIRC, they were considered fairly equal as escape artists. Frankly, Scott cheats a lot... I could be a bad-ass escape artist too if I had a Mother Box and a Multi-Cube. (Reply to this)

	sistermagpie 2009-09-23 01:47 pm UTC (link)
	I love that Robin refers to their "private retreats." It seems like they must be all over the world--and also maybe a cave to go camping in on the Wayne estate. I do want to see Bruce's reaction when Clark tells him he thought it was better for Robin to grab the guy with the bomb. But I love Robin waving to him from his hospital bed.:-D (Reply to this)

icon_uk
2009-09-23 03:47 pm UTC (link)

Regarding leaving the mask on, I think it was in JLA that they had a member of hospital staff mention "The code of the cape" or something like that.

It's an unofficial code held by medical staff, as a professional courtesy towards people who save lives on a regular basis, to make no effort to remove the mask of an injured costumed hero (unless medically required), make no attempt to uncover their identity whilst in their care, or acknowledge they might have recognised them should they do so.

Though there is a Golden Age story which has Batman seeking help from a Doctor with a seriously injured Robin. The Doctor has to remove the mask to help check his recovery, and Batman notes that it was worth the Doctor learning Robin's ID to save his life, to which the Doctor points out he learned no such thing. All he knows is that Robin is a dark haired boy, like thousands of others in Gotham.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-23 03:55 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, cool. That's something I'd like to see name-checked these days, since it illustrates exactly why I'm more into DC than Marvel. But nooooo, intead we have Superman feeling the Might of America! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	mullon 2009-09-23 04:54 pm UTC (link)
	Good stuff. I wonder if there is any more. (Reply to this)

	mysteryfan 2009-09-23 10:38 pm UTC (link)
	So many heh moments in that first one. It's kind of hilarious to me how upset Superman and Gordon are: What's happened to Batman!?! Versus Robin, same as ever, cheerily congratulating Batman on his escape skills from his hospital bed. Where he almost died. Glad you didn't die, Robin! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	mysteryfan 2009-09-23 10:39 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, and I like the second one too. Although it is significantly less... happy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-23 10:55 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, NML will do that to you. (i think i need a Sad Jim icon to go along with my Happy Babs) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-23 10:54 pm UTC (link)
	I think I speak for all of us here at S_D when I say everyone is very glad he didn't die. And yes to the cheeriness! That's why Dick is the best at what he does, and what he does is very happy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mysteryfan 2009-09-23 11:02 pm UTC (link)
	Heh. I wasn't clear, and it doesn't change your sentiment but in my mind I meant-- Batman, in the hospital: Glad you didn't die, Robin! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-23 11:17 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, I guess like my icon says, proud of his acts. This time the act to be proud of was "not dying". :D But I'm still glad he didn't die, too. :( (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mysteryfan 2009-09-23 11:38 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, me too! (Reply to this) (Parent)