Batman #106

Issue Details

Synopsis

BATMAN’S SECRET HELPER A new television program stars Batman relating stories of people who have helped him in past cases, and presenting them for their hour of recognition before the camera. He speaks of James Wilkins, a locksmith, who followed his Morse code-tapped instructions through a locked bank safe door to rescue him, Robin and a cashier; of Bill Seton, an underwater welder who cut their Batmarine free of a trap; of a baby whose cries of pain signalled to Batman that an art thief had stuck golden statuettes in his baby carriage; and Dr. Walter Thorne, a surgeon who operated to save Batman's life in a power blackout by the light of a lighthouse's beam. Their most mysterious helper they intended to smoke out by a ruse, the mystery man who helped them against Jim Varrel, a mobster that has escaped from prison. By the next show, Varrel is nabbed trying to "assassinate" the mystery helper--who turns out to be a mannequin--and the real helper reveals himself as Varrel's law-abiding brother, who has been hiding his criminal sibling. Varrel agrees to reconsider his ways in prison. STORM OVER GOTHAM CITY! When a hurricane proves too powerful for even hunter planes to chart, the National Weather Bureau has Commissioner Gordon request Batman and Robin to do the job in their Batplane. The mighty craft is able to do the job, charting it at a wind-speed of 102MPH, and then brings them home safely. Keene Harner, a local mobster, is noted by Batman asking questions at the local Weather Bureau office. The heroes are kept busy throughout the duration of the hurricane helping dock an ocean liner, helping a worker secure a television mast, saving a wind-tossed car and its driver, and standing guard over fallen power lines. Commissioner Gordon's men are out in tanks, their cars proving too light for work in the storm, and Harner and his men have stolen a tank and used it to blast their way into the Gotham Branch Bank. Batman and Robin intercept them in the act and open the front doors of the bank, releasing gusts of wind that knock the armed crooks off their feet and make them easy prey for the crusaders. He returns the stolen tank to Commissioner Gordon with the thieves, and the storm blows out to sea soon after. THE PUPPET BATMAN During a performance of the Gotham City Charity Circus, Batman is forced by a strange compulsion to play a trumpet solo, make a high dive into shallow water, and play lion-tamer to a cage full of big cats--all skills he has never before exhibited. Moreover, after each feat, he is compelled to reveal his secret identity to the TV cameras covering the circus, but he fights the impulse back each time. His woes are being caused by Guy Graney, a Gotham gangleader who has stolen a "mindray" invented by a dead scientist. The "mindray" can be used to transmit the thoughts of the wearer to any person, and, if the wearer's will is strong enough, force him to do his bidding. The men who influenced Batman before--a trumpet player, a high diver, and a lion-tamer--were all competing for Graney's $100,000 prize to be given to the one who makes Batman reveal his secret identity. The next day, Batman is at the Gotham Gallery, and a painter at Graney's hideout almost forces him to paint a picture of his unmasked face--but Robin throws a Batarang through the canvas before it is completed, breaking the spell. The art expert at the Gallery identifies the technique of the painting as that of Vincent Vonn, an art forger. Batman and Robin capture Vonn and learn of Graney's plot. Soon, Graney is visited by a newcomer who seems to use the device to make Batman unmask on TV. But the unmasked face is not Bruce Wayne's, and Batman --who has disguised himself with makeup--soon afterwards breaks into Graney's headquarters, captures Graney and his contestants, and reveals that he has not shown his actual visage. Later, in the Batcave, the lucky "contestant" proves to be Alfred.