Detective Comics #364

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CRIME-LESS CLUES! The Riddler is on the loose again and is caught in the act of robbing a safe by Batman and Robin. Despite the fact that the Riddler has many riddle inspired weapons to keep Batman and Robin at bay, the Dynamic Duo easily defeat him and turn him over to the police. Returning to the Batmobile, Batman and Robin are surprised to find a riddle painted onto the headlights of the car, however they dismiss it simply as one of the Riddler's crime clues and return home. The next morning, Bruce, Dick and Aunt Harriet are served breakfast by an incredibly tired Alfred, noticing that his butler is almost dead on his feet Bruce orders him to go to bed and get some rest. While on patrol as Batman and Robin, the Dynamic Duo pick up a disturbance at the Marine Warehouse where the Historical Museum is storing a chest of Spanish Doubloons that were recently pulled from a sunken ship. Going inside they find a gang of crooks inside and easily defeat them. After the fight is over, the two are shocked to find a number of the coins have been arranged to spell out a joke, a popular motus operandi of the Joker. However, when Batman questions the crooks they learn that they were not hired by the Joker. Realizing the Joker is still in jail, Batman and Robin return to the Batcave to confirm Joker is still locked away. The following night Bruce notices that Alfred is once more tired and orders him to bed while he and Dick once more go out in patrol. Out in the rain, the two heroes stumble across crooks running out of a mansion on "Millionaires Row" and foils their robbery. Spotting a man running back into the mansion, Batman and Robin find the place empty with a trail of muddy footprints leading up the wall and ending on the roof. They recognize the feat as something their foe Getaway Genius would pull off. However, when they question the crooks, they learn that Getaway Genius was not involved. When preparing a float featuring statues of their greatest foes for the Founders Day parade, Batman realizes that the clues they have been given so far were tipping them off to a potential assassination attempt against them, and that their intended attacker would potentially assassinate them during the parade. Batman and Robin decide to plant a decoy of himself in the parade and watch the parade disguised as a civilian in order to flush their intended killer out in the open, placing life like balloons in their place. Sure enough during the parade an attempt is made when the statue of the Penguin suddenly comes to life and sprays the fake Batman and Robin with gas, causing the balloons to pop. Scanning the crowd, Batman and Robin spot Alfred who suddenly collapses into Batman's arms. To Batman's surprise Alfred's face is partially transformed into that of his evil alter-ego the Outsider. Returning to the Batcave, Batman explains to Robin that Alfred's recent bout of sleeping troubles has been caused by his Outsider personality manifesting while Alfred was asleep. It would plot to kill the Dynamic Duo as it did once previously. When telling Alfred what happened, he is horrified, but the crisis is over and the threat of the Outside is once more quashed due to the fact that to the Outsider, Batman and Robin have seemingly been killed and they can be sure in the knowledge that Alfred will not be having any remissions in the future. THE SHIP THAT SANK TWICE!