Batman #402 (December 1986)

Superheroes can be an inspiring sort. They can make people want to be better. They can bring out the best in people. However, like anything good...there can be a dark side to it. In the 1970s and 1980s, comic books started to explore the darker side of the superhero and the effects of them on society. Watchmen was most notable for this. Even the Dark Knight was not immune to this phenomenon.

The comic we're looking at here is a showing of the darker effects of the superhero. This is a tale of a man obsessed. A man inspired by the Batman to take justice into his own hands...and cross lines that Bruce Wayne himself would never dream of doing. This...is Batman #402.

The cover is a Jim Starlin and Anthony Tollin piece. It's pretty good, depicting what looks like Batman strangling himself. It's like a dark parody of a Silver Age-era cover. It's an eye-catcher, that's for sure.

"There's Nothing So Savage--As a Man Destroying Himself!" 
Writer: Max Allan Collins
Penciler: Jim Starlin
Inker: Jim Starlin
Colorist: Daina Graziunas
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Dennis O'Neil
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with the Dark Knight on patrol in Gotham. Seemingly nothing strange about that. We then focus on a couple. No, their names are not Jack and Diane, they are Dick and Jane. The two just left a rock show, and they're mixed on the music. Jane liked it, but Dick thought they were a bad parody of Velvet Underground. I don't know, I thought they were pretty good myself.

The couple have tickets to see a group called "Del Fuegos". Oh yeah, their last album was so underrated. Two punks, a blond and a mustached man approach the couple, and they're not interested in being friendly.

The blond demands Dick hand over his wallet. Blondie gets annoyed with Dick's pleading not to hurt him, so he gives Dickie a wrench to the mouth.

Before anything else can happen, Batman arrives. Mustache charges the Dark Knight with a knife, but the Bat is easily able to disarm him...and then he helps Mustache with that crick in his neck by breaking it.

"It was at that moment that Bruce Wayne realized that he was a lousy chiropractor."

The triumphant "Batman" returns not to a Batcave, but to his garage. This Bat-Impostor feels proud. He applied some preventive medicine to Gotham City. And tomorrow night, he would be at it again.

This reboot of The Pretender is weeeeeeird...

Meanwhile, the real Batman heads towards Gotham PD's HQ, answering the summon of the Bat-Signal. And there's a surprise waiting for the Caped Crusader.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BATMAN! WE GOT A BIG CAKE AND EVERYTHING!"

The Batman avoids the cops' gunfire, noting that normally, Commissioner Gordon is waiting for him there. Instead, it was Deputy Commissioner Barnes. Gordon and Batman watch some TV together at his home. The news broadcasts that Batman is wanted for murder. As in the two muggers from the beginning of the story. The newscaster reveals that they were arrested for murder about a year earlier, but got let out on a technicality. Gordon is infuriated. He refuses to let his friend be smeared like this, and he knows Barnes is taking advantage of this because the man is hungry for Gordon's job.

Batman tells Gordon to play along while he looks into it. The next morning, Bruce Wayne is enjoying some breakfast with his young ward, Jason Todd. Bruce asks Alfred to look into something for him. If this imposter has a Batman suit, he may have bought or rented it if he didn't make it himself. He wants Alfred to call every theatrical costume maker in the city. If they can figure out where the suit was bought or rented from, they may be able to nail the impostor.

Meanwhile, Jason and Bruce do their own research. Jason finds out about the murder that Blondie and Mustache committed. The victim was the wife of a man named Howard Despond. She didn't even get named.

The two briefly debate on whether Batman should kill. Jason is perfectly fine that they're dead. Bruce admits he is as well...but he's not proud of it. Alfred reports that the seven companies he called had no Batman costumes...because they all have been stolen. So much for an open-and-shut case.

Bruce goes to talk to Mr. Despond, using his capacity as the head of the Wayne Foundation. They have a program to aid the victims of violent crime, and he's using that the murder of...I'm calling her Lenore. Despond tells Wayne that nobody seemed to care about the two murdering Lenore, but a young detective did. Busted his hump to catch the two, only for them to released, as established earlier. 

The night falls.

"The lengths people go to get drunk these days..."

A Mr. Davis, a news photographer, wants to know what happened here. The two walk off. Gordon tells Davis that the dead man was robbing this here liquor store, but then Bat-Impostor came along and snapped his neck like a twig, then tossed him through the window for good measure. No kill like overkill, indeed. Gordon recognized the dead man. Last year, he killed a convenience store manager during a robbery, but like the two muggers earlier, got off on a technicality. 

Gordon also has a prime suspect for these "Batman Killings": Tommy Carma, formerly of the Gotham PD.  Youngest person to make the rank of Detective. Carma was an eager young cop...a bit too eager. His zeal caused him to make mistakes, break regulations, and it allowed criminals to get away thanks to charges of police brutality. It's revealed that "Davis" is actually Batman in disguise.

That night, Batman gets ready to leave, and tells Jason that he can't come along as Robin. Carma is a dangerous man. After all, man was a boxer (good enough to win a Golden Gloves tournament), a skilled practicitoner of Karate, and a massive chip on his shoulder. But it's not like he doesn't have a good reason to have said chip. 

"I know a Vigilante this guy can talk to..."

Yeah, Carma and Adrian Chase likely would bond over something like this. Batman drives off to a warehouse. Since the death of his family, Carma had either quit (or more likely had been fired) the police, taking a job as a night watchman. However, it turns out that he switched to working in the daytime, and the new guard is happy to give the Dark Knight his address. In the year since his family died, he's been living with his mother...or she moved in with him. The guard describes Carma as very quiet, but angry. Batman arrives at Carma's address. 

"Wait, are you one of his cosplayer friends?"

Carma's mother sees the Caped Crusader in his full Batman regalia, and assumes it's Carma himself. She takes a seat and has a drink...against doctor's orders. She's aware of this, but her work at the old folks' home does wear on her...as does Carma's activities as the Batman. She understands that he admires the superhero, even naming his late daughter "Robin", but Carma is not Batman. The old woman falls asleep, and Batman heads to the basement. He discovers Carma has turned it into his own version of the Batcave, with clippings of Batman's adventures on the walls...it's worse than Bruce feared. Carma isn't just impersonating Batman...he believes he is Batman.

Batman notices that three of the clippings are not about him. They're about three criminals that managed to slip the justice system in various ways. Looks like our man's found the imposter's potential next targets...

Meanwhile, Carma hunts down one of his targets: The Snuffer, a mob hitman who is under witness protection because he is turning state's evidence. Basically, he's going to testify against other mobsters. He's called "the Snuffer". Really? You'd think he'd get a better nickname. I mean, I do get it, his job is "snuffing" people out, but yeah.

Anyway, Carma manages to get the Snuffer and toss him out a window to his supposed death. The real Batman saves him, and the two Caped Crusaders fight. 

Then Robin appears in the alleyway, calling out to his partner. This gets Carma's attention and rattles him, making him think of his family. This allows Bruce to hit him with a knockout punch.

Bruce says he should be angry at Jason for disobeying his orders (He had told Jason not to accompany him earlier), but instead he's grateful. Jason's presence allowed him to stop the fight before somebody got really badly hurt. The police come, but Batman wants to stay to clear his name. The story ends with him remarking that it was hard to swing at him. After all, he's just another guy who thinks he's Batman...

I did enjoy this issue. it does make sense that there are people out there who would feel a superhero isn't going far enough in stopping criminals, and would try to take matters in their own hands. Carma is essentially a dark mirror for the Batman. He's a former cop-turned vigilante, working with modest means and limited resources. The story isn't really much of a mystery (which is funny as this comic was written by Max Allan Collins), but that's alright here. What this story is about is Batman facing a darker version of himself.

What I also found interesting here is Jason Todd. I think this is the beginnings of the darker, angrier personality that he would be established to have post-Crisis on Infinite Earths. His seeming support of Carma's activities allows for some good character stuff between him and Batman.

I am always surprised to see Jim Starlin on penciling duties, especially for a DC book, as my first exposure to him as a writer for Marvel, mainly associated with Warlock and Thanos. His art has a bit of a gritty feel to it, which fits this darker Batman story well. I do find amusement in his giving Batman's cowl the ridiculously long Bat-ears.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2015 trade paperback Batman: Second Chances. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off ! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!