The lineage of Batman will continue into the far future. But what about the legacy of The Joker? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Batman #59 awaits!
BATMAN #59
Writer: Bill Finger
Penciler: Bob Kane (Batman and Robin figures only); Lew Sayre Schwartz
Inker: Charles Paris
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Ira Schnapp
Editor: Whitney Ellsworth
Publisher: National Comics Publications (DC Comics)
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $14,500.00
Release Date: April 12, 1950
Previously in Batman: Debuting in 1944, Professor Carter Nichols was obsessed with the concept of time travel. To that end, he developed a device that would, via hypnosis, create realistic hallucinations of times past, using it for the first time on Batman and Robin. After experiencing ancient Rome, the Dynamic Duo and Professor Nichols collaborated more often. But in 1947, Nichols had perfected an actual time machine, able to project himself, or, more often, Batman, through time to experience history firsthand. In the mid-40s, he appeared regularly to trigger whatever plot Finger wanted to kick off. This time, we open with Batman and Robin bringing in The Joker for another nefarious plot. When Batman asks the incarcerated Harlequin of Hate why he does what he does, Joker sneers that his ancestors were all famous clowns, leading Batman to wonder if said ancestors would provide any clue.
Cue Professor Nichols!
But, rather than send Batman and Robin into the past, an absent-minded Professor Nichols accidentally fires them 100 years into their own future. At least, he claims it was an accident. He clearly wanted to test whether his device could send them forward in time, and it’s probably safer to send sturdy Bruce Wayne than a balding academic. Upon their arrival in the year 2050, though, our heroes witness a familiar green-haired figure in the midst of a chase, and quick-change to get involved.
Rather than some futuristic Joker 1000, the Caped Crusaders have apprehended Gotham City’s head cop, police Chief Rekoj. (Bill Finger loves his anagrams and reversed names.) This issue’s art is a lot of fun for me, as credited creator Bob Kane only handled the penciling of the figures of the heroes, while Lew Sayre Schwartz handles everything else, and Schwartz draws an incredibly menacing Joker. Fans of Batman: The Brave and the Bold may remember this design as the basis for their Joker and his Earth-3 counterpart, the heroic Red Hood. As for Chief Rekoj, he is excited to have the help of a legendary detective, asking the Dynamic Duo to go undercover as part of a sting to catch space pirates. While they’re there, Batman takes the time to build his own Bat-Rocket to serve as a temporary Bat-Plane.
The pirates’ sabotage has continued, leaving Batman’s Bat-Ship as the only available craft for a race through the solar system, which they hope will flush out the saboteurs.
It works a little too well.
Batman and Robin venture out on a spacewalk, investigating the other ships in the hopes that they have residual fuel in their tanks. Scraping together as much “radioactive fuel” as they can find, Team Bat is able to get their ship going again, with the combination of 1950 ingenuity and 2050 piloting skills puts them in first place, saving Milman’s spaceship company. It also provides the last bit of information ol’ Bats needs to figure out who the saboteur is!
Returning home, Dick opines that they learned something important about Joker and Rekoj, but I don’t agree. Chief Rekoj is entirely sidelined for a space adventure and interstellar road rally, which proves only that he, like Jim Gordon, knows which side of the Bat his butter is on. As with so many Bat-Tales in this era, Batman #59 feels like it was created as a cover concept and reverse-engineered from there, with a couple of ingenious Finger moments to round it all out to 3 out of 5 stars overall. Even if it doesn’t tell us much about Rekoj, it’s a fun little twist that Grant Morrison will probably get around to reviving any day now.
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BATMAN #59
Even though it's the cover featured story, this tale is overshadowed by the lead feature's introduction of Deadshot. For my money, though, this is the better story.
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Writing7
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Art6
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Coloring6
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.