Batman #304

Issue Details

Synopsis

TO HELL WITH BATMAN --- AND BACK! Diamond Jock Cafferty pays the Spook $50,000 to guarantee a safe setup of Batman for a murder attempt. The Spook obliges by luring his nemesis into a trap, knocking him out, and dosing his eyes with drops of a compound that distorts his vision and, melting, releases a sedative drug into his bloodstream. Batman is then placed in a special chamber filled with airholes, through which air pressure is forced to keep him aloft on a cushion of air. Finally, the room is filled with a pinkish mist, and illusions are projected onto it to make Batman feel as though he had died and was reincarnated as a ghost.  Batman is then deposited on a pier in front of Cafferty, who shoots at him. The hero gets hit in the shoulder and falls into Gotham Bay, whose waters wipe the drug-lenses from his eyes. Batman is able to reorient himself, overhearing from beneath the pier the Spook giving Cafferty a documentary film of his shooting Batman and then slugging Cafferty, to be found by the police. Batman trails the Spook back to his hideout, defeats him and his gang, and learns what occurred to him from the Spook's videotape of the event. THE AMAZING SECRET OF DR. DUNDEE Dr. Douglas William Dundee was the surgeon that, with Thomas Wayne's help, aided Martha Wayne in giving birth to Bruce. He remained Bruce Wayne's friend throughout his life, even after the death of Bruce's parents. One day, Bruce Wayne revealed his greatest secret to Dr. Dundee, telling him of his Batman identity and Dundee agreeg to act as the Batman's personal doctor whenever he was needed.   Now, while Bruce is receiving a checkup, two crooks break in to Dundee's office and, at gunpoint, force the doctor to remove a bullet from the arm of one of the two, who has blue-stained fingertips. The two hoods leave, taking some of Dundee's drugs to sell on the street. Bruce realizes that the gangster's fingers were stained blue from pool cue chalk. He tracks the hood to a local pool hall as Batman, discovers his identity, and disguises himself as Dr. Dundee. Then, taking the two crooks unaware, he kayos them both and has them picked up by the police. When Dundee protests to Batman that "his" heroic action has brought him too much publicity, Batman replies that Dundee's new "reputation" will keep other crooks from trying to rob him in the future.