Detective Comics #388

Issue Details

Synopsis

PUBLIC LUNA-TIC NUMBER ONE The Joker has returned and he starts a crime spree during the nights. For this reason, the Gotham City community has started to call him the "Public 'Luna'-tic Number One". Batman and Robin start investigating the case and they confront the Joker at the Planetarium, but they are unable to capture the crook. The next day, Bruce has to assist to a technological demonstration at the Wayne Foundation, but the event goes awry when the leading scientist learns that his anti-gravity device has been stolen and replaced with a fake replica. Bruce investigates the phony artifact and finds an obvious clue that points towards the Joker as the criminal mastermind behind the crime. Shortly after, the Joker strikes at the Gotham Central Station and he manages to outmatch the police using the anti-gravity machine. When Batman and Robin arrive at the crime scene, they are also unable to stop Joker and his goons, and are utterly defeated. When the Dynamic Duo recover, they find themselves in the moon, or a place that looks very much like it. The Joker talks to them and taunts them to find a way to escape the dark side of the moon and suffer a freezing death. Batman eventually deduces that the whole place was just a prop prepared by Joker and he manages to locate the source of the trick in the anti-gravity machine. Batman strikes at the Joker while Robin takes care of his henchmen. Finally, Joker is taken into police custody later, Batman and Robin inform the scientist at the Wayne Foundation that his machine was destroyed during Joker's capture. SURPRISE! THIS’LL KILL YOU! Answering to a too-good-to-be-true ad in the paper offering free room and board to somebody who fits her physical description, Barbara Gordon soon finds herself selected to live with.... Batgirl!? This is really a stewardess named Darlene Daweson who is looking for somebody to live in her apartment while she is gone on various flights. She asks Barbara to dress up as Batgirl and pretend to be Dawson at a costume party while she really goes to visit her grandfather, so as not to break both promises to attend. Leaving Barbara with the Batgirl costume, Darlene explains that her escort would come at 9:00 that evening. When 9:00 finally rolls around, Batgirl is shocked to see that her escort is none other than Batman... or at least somebody dressed up like the caped crusader. However this guy in the Batman costume tries to kill her with a gun but the two end up in a struggle where "Batman" makes away with Batgirl's purse and leaves thinking that he'd thrown Batgirl out the window to be splattered on the pavement below. Following "Batman" to the costume party, she finds him meeting with other crooks dressed up like Superman, Flash, and the Green Lantern and that the contents in her purse are really jewels. Batgirl then attacks them, but the crooks gain the upper hand. Reaching her handbag hoping to grab a weapon to use against them, Batgirl soon realizes this isn't her real weapons bag, but only a costume version of it, just as one of the crooks trains a gun on her. This story is continued in next issue....