Detective Comics #151

Issue Details

Synopsis

I.O.U. MY LIFE Ben Kole saves the lives of Homer Davis, Peter Chaney, and Batman. In return he gets each of them to sign a paper stating that they owe him their lives. When Kole is financially ruined, he tries to get the men to pay him. When they refuse to pay the blackmail demand, Kole curses them and tells them they will die in the same manner that he saved them. When Davis drowns in his home, Batman investigates the apparent accident. He then rescues Chaney from a gorilla attack. Batman sets himself up as the next intended target, but escapes his own death. He follows a clue to Kole's office, where he finds Davis about to kill him. Davis had faked his own death and attempted to frame Kole. His real goal was to kill Chaney, to whom he owed a large sum of money. Batman foils the plot, and Kole apologizes for trying to cash in on his I.O.U.s. AROUND THE WORLD IN 24 HOURS Inventor Doc Payne approaches Robotman, asking him to try his newly invented atomotor. Robotman declines, but the inventor installs the atomic powered motor anyway. When Payne turns the motor on, Robotman is unable to control himself. He also finds that he is far faster and more powerful. He then begins to run around the world, out of control. Robotman finally decides to smash himself into a huge boulder to stop his momentum. The plan works, but his body is destroyed. A farmer finds Robotman's head and mails it to a repair shop where Robotman gets a new body. Payne then gives up on his atomotor idea. RICH MAN, POOR MAN, LAWYER MAN… THIEF A lawyer visits Slam's office and informs him that Slam and Shorty have been mentioned into the will of eccentric millionaire Ezra Pickney. The only condition of the will is that the detectives retire. Slam and Shorty agree to accept the money and quit their jobs. The lawyer then informs them that Ezra's son Elbert is contesting the will claiming he has one of his own. Slam and Shorty pay Elbert a visit and see the second will. When Slam notices a fingerprint on it, Elbert and two men attack. Slam and Shorty overcome the men and expose Elbert as a phony. They prove the second will false, but ironically their actions in solving the case have broken the terms of the original will. The inheritance is instead given to an animal shelter. THE ORIGIN OF POW-WOW SMITH A young member of the Sioux indian tribe living in Red Deer Valley befriends a white boy named Jimmy. The indian boy named Ohiyesa is given the name Pow-Wow Smith by a group of loggers, when he settles a conflict by talking rather than fighting. When Jimmy goes to college, Pow-Wow misses his friend and obtains permission to follow his friend to the white man's university. Pow-Wow excels at college in athletics and academics. After graduation he returns to his tribe to teach them of new technology. Another Sioux warrior Matogee challenges Ohiyesa, claiming that he has forgotten his tribal past. Ohiyesa proves him wrong by performing in a ritual ceremony.