Detective Comics #29

Detective Comics #29
July 1939
“The Batman Meets Doctor Death”

Gardner Fox (writer), Bob Kane (penciler/inker)

A scientist named Dr. Karl Hellfern plans to extort money from wealthy people by threatening them with a pollen-based poison he's concocted. To insure there's no complications, Hellfern, a.k.a. Dr. Death, decides to make a preemptive strike against Batman. Following a notice in the newspaper, Bruce Wayne is directed to pick up a letter from the post office, which challenges Batman to stop Dr. Death from committing a murder at a specified time and location. Naturally, it's a trap prepared by Dr. Death's burly Indian servant, Jabah, and some hired goons. Batman narrowly escapes after being shot by Jabah.

Meanwhile Dr. Death sends Jabah to poison a man named John Van Smith who has refused to pay him the extortion money. Batman as Bruce Wayne manages to rescue Van Smith from the poison by covering Van Smith's mouth. Following Jabah back to Dr. Death's mansion, Batman defeats Jabah and chases Dr. Death to his laboratory. When Dr. Death faces him with an explosive chemical, Batman (no doubt with a great appreciation for the irony) knocks it out of Dr. Death's hand with a fire extinguisher. Batman leaves Dr. Death to burn alive in his own laboratory.

What's Important?

Batman is called “Batman” for the first time. More importantly, it's arguably his first encounter with a bona fide supervillain, albeit one that never really took off.

It's also the first Batman story written by Gardner Fox.

Ah, The Golden Age...

Did I mention that Dr. Death has a giant Hindi manservant named Jabah?

Comments

Although he appears again in the next story, Dr. Death never made much of an impression, most likely because even at the time he was just a well-worn archetype. Still, this story injects a gothic atmosphere into the stories that wasn't quite there before and which fits perfectly. Apparently Bob Kane and Gardner Fox both realized they were onto something. After this story, Batman would battle supernatural threats and more eclectic villains, including Dr. Hugh Strange, another mad scientist, although a character that for whatever reason had more staying power than Dr. Death.

Although he did not appear in any more Golden Age stories after Detective Comics #30, he was reworked twice: once by Gerry Conway in Batman #352 and Detective Comics #512, and then again in 2000s, where he was completely reimagined as a supplier of biological and chemical weapons to terrorists.

Footnotes

None.