Batman #299 and #301 relation to #300?

[Mr.50]

Hey guys does Batman #299 or #301 have any relation to Batman #300 or is #300 a stand alone issue? I just picked up a nice copy of #300 and from the ending I can see how it could go either way........ a continuation or we don't see Earth-2 Bruce Wayne again till his death over in Adventure Comics?

Mr.50

[Jack Zodiac]

Standalone. The next two issues are a two-part story about him accidentally killing some guy. So issue three hundred was more of a "what if?" story.

[Mr.50]

Standalone. The next two issues are a two-part story about him accidentally killing some guy. So issue three hundred was more of a "what if?" story.

Thanks Jack!

Can it be said that it is the sencond to last adventure of Earth-2 Batman? At the end of #300 Bruce talks about going to run for Govenor but I thought Bruce from Earth-2 becomes the Commissioner? So is this Earth-2 at all or a future possible earth? Or something else?


Mr.50

[marshal99]

I don't think that was earth 2 , it was a futuristic what if .

In Earth 2 , after batman retired , he married selina kyle and became comissioner later.

[Mr.50]

I don't think that was earth 2 , it was a futuristic what if .

In Earth 2 , after batman retired , he married selina kyle and became comissioner later.



Do you guys know what the most pivotal Earth-2 Batman stories are? I am looking to add the full story of the Batman of Earth-2 to my collection (I realize there are many golden age issues considered 'Earth-2"). I am basically looking for early silver age/late golden up through COIE stories where it was clearly delineated that we were talking about Earth-2 Batman/Bruce Wayne?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Mr.50

[Chad]

Do you guys know what the most pivotal Earth-2 Batman stories are? I am looking to add the full story of the Batman of Earth-2 to my collection (I realize there are many golden age issues considered 'Earth-2"). I am basically looking for early silver age/late golden up through COIE stories where it was clearly delineated that we were talking about Earth-2 Batman/Bruce Wayne?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Mr.50

SPOLIERS





The most pivotal issue would likely be the issue in which he died - Adventure Comics 462 (April, 1979). The story itself is nowhere near as great as it sounds - it feels as if it were written simply because DC realised that with Earth 2 they had a planet full of heroes who were suddenly expendable. It didn't feel like a Batman story so much as a Justice Society comic into which Batman got shoehorned. Others may feel differently, but the story was nothing special to me.

He also played a role in the All-Star Comics run from the 1970s which preceeded Adventure Comics. He was used as a supporting character and not as Batman. I liked how he was utilized in this series actually - Bruce Wayne at 60 was the Commissioner of Gotham and wanted the JSA apprehended for vigillantism. We find out that he was under the control of the Psycho Pirate. The series was collected recently though I don't know what the title of the tpb is.

Brave and the Bold had the best stories involving the Earth 2 Batman.

182 follows his death and he doesn't actually make an appearance. Our Batman is brought to Earth 2 about a year after the death of his counterpart. Here, he has to deal with an adult Dick Grayson who resents him for not being his Batman; a Batwoman who doesn't know how to deal with an alternate version of the man she loved; and his own issues regarding the fact that on this Earth he's dead and buried. It's a great story, in which our Batman is taken completely out of his element and told that he has to save Gotham from the return of Hugo Strange while teamed with partners who resent the Hell out of him. It's by Alan Brennert who has never written a Batman story that hasn't been incredible. Like I said, there's no appearance of the Earth 2 Batman, but we get to see a lot of his equipment used against our Batman.

197 is a flashback story in which the Earth 2 Batman and Catwoman realise their feelings for one another after going up against the Scarecrow. It's been reprinted in the original Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told.

200 is a team-up of sorts between the Earth 1 and 2 Batmen. The first half of the story takes place in 1955 and is told in the style of that era (Dave Gibbons on art, Mike Barr on story). Batman and Robin go after an up and coming new criminal mastermind called Brimstone, trade quips, follows the clues, death-trap ensues, Batman outsmarts the bad guy and knocks him out cold at the end of the adventure. However, the adventure doesn't end there. Brimstone winds up in a coma from Batman's punch and wakes up in 1983. He vows revenge upon Batman, at which point an elderly Joker tells him that he's too late seeing as how Batman's been dead for awhile. Brimstone returns to a comatose state and his mind enters the head of the Brimstone of Earth 1 who happens to be a simple businessman with no evil intentions. This Brimstone goes after our Batman to get his vengeance and our Batman is left wondering who this guy is and why he has it in for him.

World's Finest 271 is a recounting of the various origins of the Superman-Batman team. The Earth 2 Batman appears only in flashback, but it's a thorough retelling of how he met Superman (Roy Thomas realised that they never actually met in the comics until the Earth 1 adventures kicked in, so used an old radio adventure to tell the tale and presented it here for the first time in comics).

[Mr.50]

Much appreciate Chad! B&B 182 is a great story and I actually just read it the other night. I am going to try to pick up the rest of the issues you mentioned. Do you know the issue numbers for the All-Star comics run with Bruce as the commissioner and not Batman? Where did it get revealed that he was under the control of Psycho Pirate anyway?

Anyone else have any other earth-2 Batman/Bruce Wayne issues?

Thanks.

Mr.50

[Chad]

Much appreciate Chad! B&B 182 is a great story and I actually just read it the other night. I am going to try to pick up the rest of the issues you mentioned. Do you know the issue numbers for the All-Star comics run with Bruce as the commissioner and not Batman? Where did it get revealed that he was under the control of Psycho Pirate anyway?

Anyone else have any other earth-2 Batman/Bruce Wayne issues?

Thanks.

Mr.50

Issues 66-68 introduce Bruce Wayne as Commissioner of Gotham and deal with him as a subplot - ie. he gets about two pages or so per issue. 66 ends as a sort of "So another adventure ends for the Justice Society, but in the shadows of a Gotham office, sits this man...Bruce Wayne. Who has plans of his own..." In 67 he announces his plans to bring the team down and in 68 I think he attempts to recruit Hourman. Issue 69 is the all-out battle.

This reminds me of the fact that Roy Thomas' America vs The Justice Society (1985/86) uses the Earth 2 Batman's diaries as the key component of his story. It was a four part mini-series in which the JSA's history is recounted, and the trial they're involved in deals with accusations made by Batman detailing their allegiance to Hitler. The diary isn't a forgery, but a result of the cancer that would have claimed Batman's life had he not been killed in battle, acting on his brain. The story doesn't really center on Batman, but his diaries are integrel to the story. As it turns out, his accusations were meant to conceal a clue to the upcoming return of one of the JSA's greatest foes.

Speaking of Roy Thomas - Secret Origins (1986) retells the origin of the Earth 2 Batman. As a bonus, the story is also drawn by Marshall Rogers so it's sort of a hidden gem. It touches upon his relationship with Julie Madison, his training, and of course, The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.

[Chad]

197 is a flashback story in which the Earth 2 Batman and Catwoman realise their feelings for one another after going up against the Scarecrow. It's been reprinted in the original Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told

Interestingly, I've just come across a link to this very story. The main page is in Spanish, but the original tale is reprinted as it was. Comicbook Urban Legends actually mentioned this story a few months back - Joe Staton snuck something into the artwork on page two that had to be removed when this issue was later reprinted. Check out the box the Commissioner's holding.

http://elmartinete.com/foros/viewtopic.php?t=31151