Batman #109

Issue Details

Synopsis

THREE CRIMES AGAINST BATMAN A villain named Bagley, in his Dragon Fly craft, is able to exert enough electromagnetic force to steal metal objects by drawing them through the air . However, the only objects that he steals are models or busts of Batman or his equipment. Batman and Robin are unable to stop him making three related thefts, including pulling the Bat-Signal right off the roof of the GCPD Headquarters. However, Bagley has a method to his apparent madness: he knows that such thefts will draw Batman to his hollow statue in Gotham Park, which Batman will "stand in" for, and the forewarned Bagley and his gang will be able to capture and unmask him. Thus Bagley hopes to become king of Gotham's underworld. However, when he sees Robin replacing the statue with another Batman figure and carries out his plan, Bagley only unmasks a Batman robot. The real Batman, who has used his robot as a decoy, descends with Robin into the crooks' lair and captures them. The stolen Batman items are returned. FOLLOW THE BATMAN A Gotham mob trains Waller, one of its members, to impersonate Batman in order to help them during a big job. The real Batman and Robin, having recently finished a lecture at Professor Larabee's School for Private Detectives, are lured by a phony radio alert into a trap, where the Batmobile is knocked off a hill road and Robin is thrown clear, through neither the Batmobile nor the two heroes is seriously damaged. Waller, the phoney Batman, is released from the truck that hit the Batmobile to substitute for the real Batman. When police arrive, responding to the fake call, the caped figure has them take Robin to the hospital for a short period of observation, and, later, has them keep him there for undisclosed reasons. Prof. Larabee and his students hear of the accident, investigate the scene, and conclude that the real Batman was dragged away and an impostor has taken his place. When they confront the Batman-figure, they challenge him to do an acrobatic feat, which he flubs. The detectives give chase, but the cowled protagonist gives them the slip. He then goes to guard a radium shipment, taking over from the reassured guards. But, when the mob breaks in, the caped figure proves to both them and late-arrivals Larabee and his detectives that he is the real Batman by mopping up the crooks himself. Afterward, Batman explains that he overcame Waller after the accident and took his impostor's place to nab the criminals during their next robbery attempt. Larabee apologizes, admitting his detective methods could not discern when Batman was impersonating himself. THE 1,001 INVENTIONS OF BATMAN Using their Flying Eye spy-device, Batman and Robin are able to pick up two crooks' conversation that reveals the thieves' boss is planning a big heist using one of Batman's own inventions. The two bring back the Flying Eye before it can be spotted, and begin to review their collection of crime-fighting inventions, wondering which can be the one which has been copied for crime use. Their jet-powered units, which allow humans to fly for short distances, was used to grab pigeons which jewel thieves had banded their loot to; their Sleuth Machine, a mobile device which fastens a radar beam upon a given subject and follows it, emitting a radio signal, was used to trail a mobster. A detonator ray was once used to set off high explosives that drifted away from a deserted ship. But none of the devices have ever been close enough to mobsters for them to discern their inner workings. However, Batman recalls the Flying Eye creation, and when they used it to locate criminal scientist Curt Mathis. Robin recalls that the tube of Mathis's X-ray machine was warm when they arrived to take him in, and Batman deduces that Mathis must have used it to take a picture of the inner workings of the Flying Eye. Mathis proves to have made a Flying-Eye for himself, but Batman and Robin, using their jet-units, are able to close upon the Eye in mid-air, destroy its sight-equipment, and force Mathis to bring it back to his hideout for repairs, where they confront and capture him and his mobsters. The duplicate Flying Eye and Mathis's X-ray film of the real Eye are confiscated and taken back to the Batcave.