“PERIL IN PARIS”

This issue is mind melting. It makes absolutely no sense. It’s incredible. It starts with this.

I’m sure you also have questions. Bruce, however, does not.

Cut to.

Apparently, “apaches” here refers to a European criminal subculture, so called because of similar brutal violence attributed to the Native American Apache tribe by Europeans. Which is obviously deeply racist and rich in a sad and depressing irony. (Read David Graeber’s Dawn of Everything!)

Anyway, moments later, after accidentally getting into Bruce’s taxi, someone is throwing knives at her.

They flee and run into the faceless man who terrifies her into fainting. It took my brain like four tries to understand what the second dialogue bubble was saying.

He truly has no face at all. Also, the Duc is a cringey incel dork.

And this is why. “ON A HIDDEN ALTAR HE BURNED AWAY MY FACE AND FEATURES WITH A TERRIBLE RAY.”

OH. OKAY.

Here is the Duc himself who is very well dressed for someone who lives in a sewer. He swiftly knocks Batman out with his secret laser cane.

He puts Batman on his “Wheel of Chance” torture device with plans to watch from another room.

You know. Like a little freak.

Of course, Batman breaks free just by flexing his muscles of steel and attempts to leap to safety. The Duc however opens a secret door in the ceiling through which Batman goes flying. I have no idea what Batman’s original plan was? Hit the ceiling?

Anyway, he ends up here.

Is this the single best panel in Batman so far? YES, OBVIOUSLY.

This is literally never explained.

Batman escapes, rescues everyone and chokes out the Duc in an out of control speeding car before letting him die in the fiery wreck. Which is pretty normal comparatively.

Early Batman is the best because “secret underground garden full of flowers with human faces” is a throwaway idea that we never come back to. Also, as far as I am aware Charles never gets his face back.

Why did the Duc have a face burning-off laser? Why did he have so many flowers WITH faces? Are they connected? I hope you aren’t curious, because we’ll never know!

Originally tweeted by Weird Batman of the Golden Age (@GoldenAgeBats) on June 10, 2022.