Batman #312

Issue Details

Synopsis

A CAPER A DAY KEEPS BATMAN AT BAY! The Calendar Man is back in Gotham and committing one grand robbery a day for a week, with a new costume to symbolize what mythical god or planet for which the particular day of the week was named. On Monday, he dresses in a moonman outfit and steals handfuls of postage stamps cancelled by astronauts on the moon. On Tuesday, as Tiw, god of war, he robs Ulysses S. Grant's Civil War medals from a military museum. Batman investigates, but the only thing he finds are calendar pages with taunting handwritten messages from the supervillain.  On Wednesday, Batman has his first chance to capture Calendar Man. The supervillain robs another museum as Woden (or Odin), riding an eight-wheeled cycle to symbolize Woden's eight-legged steed Sleipnir, and uses a laser-blast lens over one eye to blast Batman's Whirly-Bat out of the sky. Batman manages to land on Calendar Man's vehicle, but barely escape being killed after the criminal disengages the rear chassis to escape on the remaining conventional motorcycle frame and lets it crash.   On Thursday, Commissioner Gordon informs Batman that the Gotham City Police are preparing a trap to capture Calendar Man on Sunday in the likely attempt him of him stealing a valuable statue of the Egyptian Sun god, Ra. On that night however, Calendar Man, dressed as Thor, he steals a painting entitled The Storm King. Batman attempts to stop him, but Calendar Man attacks him with a helmet weapon that injures Batman's inner ear with a sonic "thunder" blast. As it is, although Batman is able to disable the weapon, he is too injured to stand and is helpless against Calendar Man. The only way that Batman survives this encounter is that the police were approaching before Calendar Man can finish him off and is forced to flee.   While Batman convalesces as per doctor's orders firmly enforced by Alfred, the Calendar Man spends Friday, named for the wedding-goddess Frigga, robbing a wedding reception, and steals the money from an ecology benefit on Saturday, dressed as Saturn, god of agriculture.   Meanwhile, Wayne is frustrated at his situation and has to confine himself to conducting his business affairs in bed with Lucius Fox, who refuses to cooperate in providing his employer an excuse to get out of bed. However, on Sunday, when Alfred mentions that Fox would be leaving the city on the Western Sun Express soon, Wayne realizes what Calendar Man is planning to do on that day and distracts Alfred by getting his butler to call Selina Kyle while he slips away to get into costume.   Batman's realization is that surely Calendar Man would realize that the Ra statue would obviously be a lure for a police sting lying in wait for him. However, Sunday is also a day of rest, and thus fleeing the city would be in keeping with his themed crime wave and the Western Sun Express would keep with that theme as well. As such, Calendar Man is about to board the Western Sun Express and escape with his loot, but Batman confronts him at the last moment. Calendar Man makes a break for it, but his own theatricality proves his undoing considering he senselessly stops in the middle of Batman's hot pursuit and takes the time to change into what would become his default costume.   Regardless, Batman pursues Calendar Man into the railyard and is nearly killed when his boot gets caught in a rail juncture during his struggle with the supervillain as a train is heading right for him. Barely managing to get his boot off to dodge the train, Calendar Man manages to gain a seemingly insurmountable lead. In desperation, Batman throws a Batarang to a signal switch's lever and pulls on it to have the rigid signal strike Cale in the face. Knocked out, Batman captures his foe.   Unaware to the public during Calendar Man's crimes, intruders break into a defense installation, gas the on-duty personnel unconscious, and take a binary code for America's new defense system from a computer. On Sunday night, the gang demands $22,000,000 for its return, and sends a similar offer to the enemy governments. The double-cross is suited to the nature of the gang's leader, Two-Face.