Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Black Bat

 Black Bat
type
TVTItem
 Black Bat
label
Black Bat
 Black Bat
page
BlackBat
 Black Bat
comment
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })Black Bat is a 1930s pulp fiction character by Pines Publishing that was introduced in a 1934 issue of Popular Detective.The Black Bat's first appearance was in the story The Bat Strikes Back by to C.K.M. Scanlon. In it, an investigative journalist is framed for a murder and sentenced to be executed. Sympathetic police officers stage his execution and the protagonist is let back onto the streets. With plans of revenge against the criminals that set him up, the secret identity "the Bat" is born after the main character gets inspired by a bat who flew through an open window. The Bat's way of protecting his identity is a simple black hood with a bat emblem on it. He carries around a gas gun to knock enemies unconscious. The Bat's way of fighting crime was knocking his foes out and leaving them tied up, with a bat logo on their foreheads, for the police to jail.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })This original incarnation of the Black Bat, then simply called "the Bat", starred in four pulp stories before being discontinued. Several years later in 1938, he was retooled as a caped superhero to bank off the success of characters such as Superman.This version of the Black Bat was originally written by G. Wayson Jones in the magazine Black Book Detective. Anthony "Tony" Quinn is a district attorney fighting against the criminal underbelly. During one trial, a suspect throws acid at Tony and blinds him. Tony goes into seclusion until he's visited by a mysterious woman named "Carol Baldwin". Carol's dying father wants to repay Ton for helping him in the past by allowing Anthony to undergo a secret, new surgical operation in order to transplant his eyes. This surgery not only restores his sight but also gives him powers including night vision, radar senses, and super-strength. Tony uses his newfound abilities to fight the criminal underworld by hand. He begins wearing a costume and fighting as "the Black Bat". The Black Bat is known for leaving bat-shaped paper stickers on his victims so that innocents couldn't be framed and criminals would fear him.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })Amongst Tony's allies are Carol, a resourceful young woman who works undercover with gangs, and Butch O'Leary, a not-so-smart but strong and loyal fellow.The Bat predates Batman by several years. Their similarities are considered coincidental. If speculation on The Bat's creator is true, they were both inspired by Zorro, explaining their similarities. However, the retool, The Black Bat, was released only a few weeks after the first issue of Batman. Both DC and Pines threatened legal action against the other for plagiarism (with added allegations that Batman was plagiarizing another character, The Phantom Detective, as well)note While it's up in the air whether either plagiarized each other, it is known that Batman's glove design was inspired by the Black Bat's. The lawsuit was settled out of court, with DC agreeing not to get into pulp magazines while Pines agreed not to turn Black Bat into a comics character. Pines got around this by rewriting Black Bat's origin in comic book form as The Mask Strikes (explaining why The Mask originally wore a bat-looking cowl).Despite the Black Bat being forgotten by most, it was one of the longest-running pulps. He appeared in stories from 1938 to 1953. In Germany, the stories lasted even longer.Black Bat has since fallen into public domain with the fall of pulp magazines. A Legacy Character Black Bat character was introduced in 2011's Education of a Superhero. He has his own series called Legacy of the Black Bat. DC also has their own "Black Bat" character in Cassandra Cain's second alias.
 Black Bat
fetched
2022-03-25T16:09:18Z
 Black Bat
parsed
2022-03-25T16:09:18Z
 Black Bat
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Black Bat / int_931ac452
type
Color Animal Codename
 Black Bat / int_931ac452
comment
Color Animal Codename: Black and bat.
 Black Bat / int_931ac452
featureApplicability
1.0
 Black Bat / int_931ac452
featureConfidence
1.0
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Black Bat / int_931ac452
 Black Bat / int_93d99453
type
The "The" Title Confusion
 Black Bat / int_93d99453
comment
The "The" Title Confusion: The Black Bat is both just "Black Bat" and "the Black Bat".
 Black Bat / int_93d99453
featureApplicability
1.0
 Black Bat / int_93d99453
featureConfidence
1.0
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Black Bat / int_93d99453
 Black Bat / int_a8c462db
type
Super-Senses
 Black Bat / int_a8c462db
comment
Super Senses: Tony's time as a blind man left him with increased senses compared to most seeing people.
 Black Bat / int_a8c462db
featureApplicability
1.0
 Black Bat / int_a8c462db
featureConfidence
1.0
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Black Bat / int_a8c462db
 Black Bat / int_aa07ca54
type
Obfuscating Disability
 Black Bat / int_aa07ca54
comment
Obfuscating Disability: In his civilian life, Anthony still pretends he's blind even after the operation.
 Black Bat / int_aa07ca54
featureApplicability
1.0
 Black Bat / int_aa07ca54
featureConfidence
1.0
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Black Bat / int_aa07ca54
 Black Bat / int_b4d1f1e1
type
Sense Loss Sadness
 Black Bat / int_b4d1f1e1
comment
Sense Loss Sadness: After losing his vision, Tony secludes himself until he meets Carol.
 Black Bat / int_b4d1f1e1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Black Bat / int_b4d1f1e1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Black Bat / int_b4d1f1e1
 Black Bat / int_name
type
ItemName
 Black Bat / int_name
comment
 Black Bat / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Black Bat / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Black Bat / int_name
 Black Bat / int_name
itemName
Black Bat

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Black Bat
hasFeature
Color Animal Codename / int_261678a3
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Color Character / int_261678a3
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Proto-Superhero / int_261678a3
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Public Domain Character / int_261678a3
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Super Hero Origin / int_261678a3
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Throwing Off the Disability / int_261678a3
 Black Bat
hasFeature
Vigilante Man / int_261678a3