Corporate Takeovers, Mutant Assassins and Raising the Dead Back to Life--Part 1

Cover art by Jim Aparo

Usually, Batman's foremost concerns are stopping costumed madmen from committing mass murder, saving the world at large from various threats, or beating up the occasional mugger. But there are times when, as Bruce Wayne, he does have to pay attention to his business ventures. In Batman #332 (February 1981), this is particularly important, because someone is trying to run Wayne Enterprises out of business and take over its assets.

This is the beginning of an engrossing four-part story written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Irv Novick (with Don Newton drawing a connected back-up story in this first issue). As the story opens, Bruce is having personal problems as well as business problems. He's gotten involved with Talia, the daughter of immortal criminal Ra's al Ghul. Bruce has apparently accepted her story that she's in love with him and will go straight, but Dick Grayson isn't convinced of this at all. This, by the way, is just a short time before Dick graduates from Robin to Nightwing. Dick storms out of the Bat Cave, vowing never to return.

Of course, we eventually learn that Batman isn't that dumb or that trusting--he does care for Talia, but keeps her in mind as a suspect even while he's working with her.

Then Bruce finds out about the business-related shenanigans. An obese rival named Gregorian Falstaff (I love that name) is behind all this, but he's using blackmail and kidnapping to get inside information on Wayne Enterprises, which makes it a matter for Batman.

Soon, there's a fight between the Dark Knight and a genetically altered strong man, in which Batman gets tossed through a wall with embarrassing ease. But I guess the law of Conservation of Ninjutsu is in effect here--where Batman is curb stomped by one mutant, he's able to fight his way through a roomful of them a little later one.

This all comes to an end when Falstaff tries to use a hostage as a shield only to have Talia kick him into the path of his own energy weapon. The guy ends up as a pile of ash on the floor. This doesn't end the case, though. By now, Batman has figured out that there was a power behind Falstaff--a greater enemy who still poses a threat.

So, in Batman #333 (March 1981), it's off to investigate a Swiss bank in hopes of back-tracking the money trail. But the bad guys are on to Batman and he soon finds himself pursued (in an excellent action scene) by assassins on skis shooting laser rifles at him. Soon after, he and Talia are attacked while he's dressed as Bruce Wayne, which means the bad guy knows his secret identity.

Bruce and Talia end up in Hong Kong, still attempting to figure out who the villain behind all this is. But the issue ends with Bruce getting captured.

While all this is going on, Robin has enlisted Catwoman as an ally to begin his own investigation into all this. At this point in Bronze Age continuity, Catwoman has reformed and had also found out Bruce Wayne was Batman. If I remember correctly, she was brainwashed back into being a villain just before the 1986 reboot. In more recent years, the idea of her reforming has been re-visited in stories I'm not familiar enough to pass judgement on. But in the early 1980s, it was handled well, making her an interesting part of the Bat Family and hinting at an eventually marriage to Bruce that would have mirrored her Earth 2 counterpart. 

Anyway, I really like the way this separate plot thread was handled. For what I would bet were reasons that included pacing and the chronology of the events, the adventures of Robin and Catwoman are regulated to 8-page backup stories in each of these two issues. The two follow their own leads, also end up in Hong Kong, team up with government agent King Faraday, then themselves get captured. 

Keeping the two story lines separate allows us to fully appreciate the contributions each of the protagonists is making to the overall plot and Marv Wolfman dovetails them together nicely. 

Next week, we'll look at the final two issues in this story arc, when the action moves to a remote island in the Indian Ocean and we finally find out who the Big Bad is this time.