Crossover of the Week

January 1936

THE REPLACEMENT 

Bruce Wayne is staying at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, which he thinks of as a missing link between Gotham and Metropolis. Bruce’s father Thomas told him that before they came together to start the hotel, the Waldorf and Astor families had invited him to their individual hotels several times. Bruce’s butler Alfred Pennyworth answers a phone call from “Miss Lane.” Bruce thinks this is Lois Lane, but Alfred says it was her eldest sister, Margo, who has connections to the Cobalt Club and Lamont Cranston. In the 1920s, Cranston was an advisor to General Cho Tsing, then studied under Marpa Tulku in Tibet, along with Shiwan Khan. Cranston’s other identities include Clifford Gage and Kent Allard. Officially, Bruce is in New York to launch WayneTech, a scientific subsidiary of his family’s business empire, which he seeks to expand. In doing so, he has met with Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards, whose son Reed is also a potential genius. Alfred drives Bruce to a meeting at the Empire State Building, where they are greeted by a man who is one of the world’s top chemists, despite his apelike appearance. On the 86th floor, they meet an elegantly dressed Brigadier General, who tells Bruce his friend Harvey Dent shows promise to be an outstanding attorney, and a tall, extremely thin man who wears a monocle over a damaged eye. Bruce is ushered in to meet Clark and Kent, who know he was motivated by the tragedy of Park Lane, also known as Crime Alley. During his stay in England, Bruce spent some time with an old beekeeper in his cottage on the South Downs of Sussex. Clark asks Bruce to escort his cousin Patricia next time she’s in Gotham. Getting on the elevator, Bruce runs into Britt Reid, the publisher of the Daily Sentinel, and his valet Kato. Kent asks the latter if he spent any time in Tibet studying with the Sâr Dubnotal. 

Short story by Xavier Mauméjean in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 16: Voir Dire, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2019; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 26), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2020. Bruce Wayne will soon become Gotham City’s most famous vigilante, Batman. Bruce’s parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, were murdered by Joe Chill in Park Row (to use the correct name), later known as Crime Alley. Alfred Pennyworth is the Dark Knight’s butler. WayneTech is the research and development branch of Bruce’s company, Wayne Enterprises. Harvey Dent will later become Gotham’s District Attorney, until his face is scarred by an acid-wielding criminal, leading to him becoming the gangster known as Two-Face. Metropolis is Superman’s hometown. Lois Lane is the Man of Steel’s coworker at the Daily Star (later renamed the Daily Planet), and later his wife. Her sister is an agent of the shadow-cloaked vigilante. Philip José Farmer jokingly proposed the relationship between the two in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. The shadowy hero frequently impersonates a wealthy globetrotter, often seeking information at the Cobalt Club. The General is from the Shadow novels The Fate Joss and The Teeth of the Dragon. Tulku is from another entry in the series, Masters of Death. Khan battled the vigilante in that book and three others before it. Gage is another of the slouch-hatted crimefighter’s aliases. Howard Stark is the father of Tony Stark, better known as Marvel Comics’ armored hero Iron Man. Nathaniel Richards’ son, Reed, will later be known as Mr. Fantastic, the leader of the Marvel hero team known as the Fantastic Four. The 86th floor of the Empire State Building is the headquarters of the bronze man. The apelike chemist, the Brigadier General, and the thin man are three of his aides. The old beekeeper is Sherlock Holmes. Doc’s cousin is from Lester Dent’s pulp novels. Britt Reid is also known as the Green Hornet. Kato is Reid’s chauffeur and his partner in his war on crime. The Sâr Dubnotal is an occult investigator from the French pulps. Although this story is dated January 1938, Bruce Wayne’s debut as Batman has been placed in Early May 1936, since the first Batman story, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” was a swipe of the Shadow novel Partners of Peril, which Rick Lai placed in that period in his book Chronology of Shadows: A Timeline of the Shadow’s Exploits. Therefore, I am instead placing it in January 1936. 

This crossover writeup is one of over a thousand included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Covers: The Lone Ranger/Green Hornet: Champions of Justice

 

In June 1938, Britt Reid becomes the Green Hornet and fights a new incarnation of the Cavendish gang with the aid of his great-uncle John, who comes out of retirement to don the mask of the Lone Ranger once more. John gets a ride from a cab driver, who is meant to be one of the shadowy vigilante’s agents. In a flashback, a Sergeant of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police appears; this is meant to be Sergeant Frank Preston from the radio series Challenge of Yukon. John and the Sergeant discover they are related through their mutual ancestors, the Waynes. In other words, the Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet, and Sergeant Preston are all related to Batman. In another flashback to 1896, John Reid gives a nine-year-old Franklin Delano Roosevelt one of his trademark silver bullets, an event first mentioned in the miniseries The Shadow/Green Hornet: Dark Nights, also written by Michael Uslan. The Ranger gets some help from a police officer named Kip. Officer Kip Burland will later become the masked crimefighter known as the Black Hood, whose exploits will be published by MLJ, later known as Archie Comics. Mourners at John Reid’s funeral include the shadowy pulp hero, Daddy Warbucks, a certain golden-eyed doctor, the Spirit, Mandrake the Magician, Jungle Jim, Flash Gordon, Bruce Wayne, and Clark Kent. In this story, Dan Reid, Jr. dies before his son Britt becomes the Green Hornet, whereas he was still alive in the original radio series. The Hornet is based in Chicago, but in the CU he operated in Detroit. The Shadow/Green Hornet has already been designated an AU. The Lone Ranger's death conflicts with Jim Harmon’s “Tom Mix and the Mystery of the Bodiless Horseman.”  Therefore, this series must be an AU.

This crossover is one of over a thousand covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Centipede '63

 

The vigilante known as the Black Centipede and Captain Marla Bartowski, the daughter of his old friend Stan Bartowski, attempt to thwart the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Centipede’s foe Adrian Countenance is executed at Winnemac State Prison in Zenith. The town of Zenith, located in the fictional state of Winnemac, is from the works of Sinclair Lewis. The Centipede reaches out to ex-cop turned private eye Ace Harlem for info. Ace appeared in a story by John Terrell in the one-shot All-Negro Comics in July 1947. The Centipede and his allies Raoul and Marie Unknown discuss the Martian War of 1897. The Martians came to Earth in cylinders. Of course, this is a reference to H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. The Centipede receives a call from his ex-wife Anonymoushka, the precognitive daughter of Professor Moriarty. In the Black Centipede’s universe, Moriarty is really Sherrinford Holmes, Sherlock’s brother. He was bitten by Count Dracula, and as a result came back as a vampire after his death at Reichenbach Falls. He then killed Dracula and took his mantle as Lord of the Vampires. This is obviously incompatible with CU continuity and makes the Black Centipede books an AU. Marla contacts her friend, FBI agent Jill Trent. Jill Trent, Science Sleuth was the protagonist of a feature in Nedor Publishing’s titles Fighting Yank and Wonder Comics from 1943-1948. The Centipede calls his friend Gregor Samsa, the protagonist of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. He also says about a foe, “He was a criminal at heart, and as somebody once said, criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot.” “Somebody” is Batman. 

This crossover is one of over a thousand covered in my book Crossover Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Covers: Batman/The Shadow

 

Are you a Batman fan?

Then you may enjoy this miniseries, in which he teams up with the Shadow!

For more details, consult the appendix on alternate universes in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Bane Enters the Ring

Are you a fan of the 1960s Batman TV series?

Then you'll love this issue of the Batman '66 comic book that has appearances by El Santo and Mil Mascaras!

For more information, see my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, a Meteor House joint! All three volumes are official and AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Covers: Batman '66 Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel

Batman and Robin join forces with John Steed and Emma Peel to battle the Cybernauts, Mr. Freeze, and Lord Ffogg. Batman says, “As a noted crime-fighting predecessor once observed, ‘the weeds of crime bear bitter fruit!’” Batman’s crime-fighting predecessor is the pulp hero of the shadows. The Batman and Robin seen here are Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne, Jr.

This crossover is one of hundreds covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3! Much like the first two volumes, this book is an AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2, and will be published by Meteor House!

Crossover Covers: Batman '66 Meets the Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Batman, Robin, and Batgirl join forces with Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin when THRUSH has several of the Caped Crusader's foes broken out of Arkham in exchange for their joining the organization. Mr. Freeze and the Siren steal a ray gun called a “moleculator” from a facility in London. One of the scientists at the facility is named Dr. Quatermass. Dr. Bernard Quatermass is from the British science fiction television serial The Quatermass Experiment and its sequels.

Crossover Cover: A (Super) Friend in Need

Scooby and the gang help the Super Friends and Supergirl deal with a seeming haunting at the Hall of Justice, which turns out to actually be the work of the Legion of Doom. Since superhero teams are generally not included in the CU, this must be an AU.

Crossover Cover: Sherlock Holmes: The Crossovers Casebook

This anthology consists of stories featuring Holmes meeting other historical and fictional characters. One story, "Sherlock Holmes in the Lost World" by Martin Powell, originally appeared in the anthology Gaslight Grimoire, and was included in Volume 1 by Win. It's worth noting that this story references Farmer's theory that Lord John Roxton was the Spider's father. I covered Win's contribution, "The Adventure of the Fallen Stone," in a previous post. Here are the other stories that have Holmes meeting other characters from fiction. In Matthew Baugh's "The Adventure of the Ethical Assassin," Holmes is hired by the King of Bohemia once again, this time to protect him from an assassin. After preventing one such attempt, Holmes discovers the would-be assassin is a member of the Assassination Bureau, Ltd., led by Ivan Dragomilov. The assassin’s weapon is a device invented by the Russian hunter Zaroff. The Bureau and Dragomilov (originally Dragomiloff) are from Jack London’s novel The Assassination Bureau, Ltd., completed posthumously by Robert L. Fish. Zaroff is from Richard Connell’s short story "The Most Dangerous Game." In Christopher Sequeira's "The Scion of Fear," Holmes and Dr. Watson work with Inspector Athelney Jones and Jonathan Small to investigate a pair of attacks apparently committed by an Andaman Islands native like Small’s late confederate Tonga. Watson reveals to Mycroft Holmes the box which once held the Agra treasure has a hidden panel which opens to reveal three yellow diamonds. Mycroft says they are part of a series of four “moonstones” that adorned temple idols in India. He adds the fourth diamond was recovered years ago after much drama. Inspector Jones, Jonathan Small, and Tonga are from the Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of Four. The diamonds are from Wilkie Collins’ novel The Moonstone. In Barbara Hambly's "The Adventure of the Sinister Chinaman," Watson, recovering from an illness, accompanies Holmes to San Francisco, where they become embroiled in an investigation of a Chinese-American magician who has been accused of kidnapping a young girl who was helping him perform a trick. They are aided by another stage magician, Professor Oscar Zoroaster Diggs, who is also a balloonist. Diggs claims to have spent the last forty years in a magical realm, and built a City of Emeralds and done battle with the Wicked Witch of the East and her minions. After the resolution of the case, Watson learns Professor Diggs looked exactly the same when he returned as when he disappeared forty years ago, and concludes the Professor that he and Holmes met was an impostor. He notes the alleged Professor disappeared a year later on another ballooning expedition. Professor O. Z. Diggs is better known as the Wizard of Oz. Of course, the Diggs who disappeared in the 1860s and the one who encountered Holmes and Watson are one and the same. In Matthew Mayo's "The Folly of Flight," Arsène Lupin recruits Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to help him apprehend the murderer of a French aeronaut who has invented a remarkable airship. In Don Roff's "The House on Moreau Street," Holmes is abducted by Augustus Moreau, nephew of the notorious Dr. Moreau, whose beast-men have committed a series of murders in the course of robberies to finance Augustus’ experiments. Edward Prendick brought the elder Moreau’s predations to the public’s attention. Dr. John Thorndyke and Christopher Jervis, investigating the crimes independently from Holmes, wind up working with Dr. Watson to save Holmes. Thorndyke has Nathaniel Polton examine hair samples found at one of the crime scenes. Dr. Moreau and Edward Prendick are from H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau. Thorndyke, Jervis, and Polton appear in a series of books by R. Austin Freeman. In Joe Gentile's "The Secret of Grant's Tomb," Holmes and Watson, visiting Inspector Lestrade, are drawn into Professor Van Dusen and his sidekick Hutchinson Hatch’s investigation of the murder of a friend and fellow reporter of Hatch’s. The quartet, along with Lestrade and Inspector Conway, apprehend the culprit, master thief Bradlee Cunnyngham Leighton. Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen and Hutchinson Hatch are featured in the Thinking Machine stories by Jacques Futrelle. Cunnyngham and Conway appear in the Thinking Machine story "Problem of the Missing Necklace." In Martin Gately's "The Petrifying Well," Holmes accepts T. E. “Ned” Lawrence’s request to investigate the bizarre death of a friend’s brother. The planned Maracot expedition to the deep Atlantic is mentioned several times. The Maracot expedition is a reference to Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Maracot Deep, which takes place in 1926. Gately’s story "Rouletabille and the New World Order" explains why the expedition seen in this story (set two years after "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane," which Baring-Gould place in 1909) failed. Christopher Sequeira's other story, "The Adventure of the Lost Specialist," must be an AU. Holmes and Watson do battle with Professor Moriarty, who identifies himself as the stationmaster, and reveals both the Moriarty who Holmes dueled with at Reichenbach and Colonel Moriarty were actually his alternate reality counterparts. Moriarty than unleashes alternate versions of Holmes and Watson on the duo; one pair are meant to be Batman’s foes the Joker and the Penguin, while another pair are Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster. Watson mentions Holmes’ actions in the affair of the depraved Herbert West and the grave-robberies in Essex County, Massachusetts, and also refers to Victor Savage’s uncle, the famous American doctor and adventurer. Given the story takes place in 1903, this most likely refers to the father of a certain bronze-skinned adventurer.

Crossover Cover: Two Mites Make It Wrong

Batman and Robin and Mystery, Inc.’s attempts to apprehend the Spook and False Face are disrupted when the Fifth Dimensional imps Bat-Mite and Scooby-Mite, Batman and Scooby-Doo’s self-proclaimed biggest fans, appear. Scooby-Mite uses his magical powers to make Mystery, Inc. more “contemporary,” including providing them with “high-tech ghost-chasing gear!” After the Dynamic Duo and Scooby and the Gang convince the two pests to leave, another imp named Larry appears, proclaiming himself Robin’s biggest fan. Mystery Inc.’s high-tech “ghost-chaser” uniforms are clearly based on the Ghostbusters’ uniforms, placing this story in the ’80s. Per CU, continuity, this story features the third Batman and Robin team. Scooby-Mite also turns the gang into ponies briefly. Rather than treating this as a crossover connection to My Little Pony, it is preferable to interpret this as Scooby-Mite being familiar with the original toy line, which ran from 1981-1993. Larry is the CU counterpart of the character of the same name from the cartoon Teen Titans.

Crossover Cover: Gotham Ghouls

Mystery, Inc. is summoned to Gotham City by Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to help them end an apparent curse that has been on them since they stole an opal. The “ghost” responsible turns out to be Catwoman. Ultimately, the gang works with Batgirl to apprehend all three larcenous ladies.

Crossover Cover: Trouble in Paradise

Velma and Daphne are invited to Paradise Island by Wonder Woman on Batman’s recommendation, partly to learn the ways of the Amazons, and partly to help them stop the spate of mythological creatures that have been attacking recently. This is somewhat complicated by Fred, Scooby, and Shaggy being unable to set foot on the mainland due to the Olympian gods’ edict. Since the Amazons are canonically immortal, and other stories set in the CU have Wonder Woman active in the 1970s and early '80s, there is no problem with including this story, even though Diana was first active in the 1940s.

Crossover Cover: Who's Scared?

When the Scarecrow douses Mystery, Inc. and the Mystery Analysts of Gotham City with his fear gas, it’s up to Scooby-Doo and Ace the Bathound, who as non-canines are unaffected by the drug, to save the day. The Mystery Analysts present for the meeting include Batman and Robin, Roy Raymond, Mysto, Doctor Thirteen, Kaye Daye, Slam Bradley, and Jason Bard. Paintings of Detective Chimp and Sam Simeon are also seen. Roy Raymond, TV detective, appeared in Detective Comics from 1949–1961. Mysto, Magician Detective appeared in his own back-up feature in the same series in 1954. Doctor Terrence Thirteen, “the Ghost-Breaker,” appeared in Star-Spangled Comics from 1951-1952. Kaye Daye is one of the original Mystery Analysts of Gotham City that appeared in Batman in the 1960s and 1970s. Slam Bradley appeared in Detective Comics from 1937–1949. Slam’s older brother Biff Bradley was involved in an affair on Dinosaur Island alongside several other adventurers in 1927, as seen in Guns of the Dragon, while Slam himself had an adventure with the third Batman and Robin team, the Elongated Man, and an elderly Sherlock Holmes in 1986, as seen in “The Doomsday Book.” Jason Bard first appeared in a Batgirl story in Detective Comics in 1969 before spinning off into his own back-up feature, which ran until 1973. Detective Chimp (Bobo, a chimpanzee skilled at solving crimes) had a back-up feature in The Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog from 1952–1959. Sam Simeon, a talking ape who works as a P.I. with the curvaceous and brilliant Angel O’Day, was featured in the comic Angel and the Ape. These characters are all CU counterparts of their equivalents in the DC Comics Universe.

Crossover Cover: Man Bat and Robbin'

Scooby and the gang go to Gotham City to investigate monster sightings, and wind up working with Batman and Robin to pursue the source of the sightings, the Dynamic Duo's old foe Man-Bat. I am planning on reading the rest of this series in order to determine which stories can fit into CU continuity and which cannot. It's probably safe to say the ones featuring the Super Friends, the animated version of the Teen Titans, and Secret Squirrel don't take place in the CU. This story takes place a few years after The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and Fred refers to Mystery Inc. and Batman and Robin previously encountering the Joker and the Penguin.

Upcoming crossovers: Batman '66

Although DC Comics' ongoing Batman '66 series based on the Adam West show is coming to a close, there are crossovers in the works with The Avengers (as in John Steed and Emma Peel) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I won't have time to include these in the books, but they sound like worthy additions to the CU, and I will absolutely read them anyways.

Crossover Cover: The Devil of Harbor City

This collection of stories has crossover connections to other pulp characters, as well as one of the author's own New Pulp characters. In "Enter the Devil," the Harbor City police commissioner asks Officer Frank Devlin to become a vigilante. Devlin replies, "Well, now, do you want me dressing up as a bat or a spider or something? Or should I just blend in with the shadows?" The Commissioner replies, "Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, but I’d rather them be afraid of a crazy cop with a license to kill." Devlin is referring to Batman, the Spider, and the Shadow. In "Deal with the Devil," Sergeant Benjamin Campbell dismisses the idea of Devlin hiding in darkness: "That was what that guy in New York would do. Devlin’s not one to play with shadows." The Police Commissioner introduces Devlin to Michael Shaw, a New Yorker who owns a private investigation agency, whose services he has enlisted to clean up the courts in Harbor City. Shaw refers to underworld hangouts in New York such as the Pink Rat and the Black Ship. 'That guy in New York" is the Shadow. The Pink Rat and the Black Ship are underworld dives from the Shadow novels. Michael Shaw operated in the 1930s as the vigilante called the Nightmare, as seen in a series of stories by French. In "The Devil's Wake," Devlin is apparently killed by men working for New York City gangster Wolf Hopkins. Hopkins planned his attempt on Devlin’s life with a Harbor City crook at the Red Thorn in New York, which has the same reputation as the legendary Pink Rat and Black Ship, bars where the police dare not go. The Police Commissioner, Sergeant Benjamin Campbell, and private investigator Michael Shaw attempt to avenge Devlin’s death, but he turns out to be very much alive. In the 1930s, Wolf Hopkins was the archenemy of the Nightmare. In "Devil's End," Devlin finally ends the menace of Wolf Hopkins. Afterwards, he and his bride-to-be Angela Martinelli accept a job with Michael Shaw’s private investigation firm.

Crossover of the Week

Winter 1967

A THING OF BEAUTY

            Sanford Biggs accepts a contract to kill the Green Hornet and Kato, and steals the Black Beauty for his museum, housed aboard his cargo carrier, the Bigg Dipper. The items in Biggs’ museum include a glowing green meteorite; the remains of a crashed experimental airplane that had been shot down over Switzerland in 1939; the mask, hat, and pistols of a famous lawman in the old west; and a bat-shaped metal throwing weapon. The Hornet recognizes the lawman’s equipment. In the aftermath of the Hornet’s battle with Biggs, everything in the museum is tagged, labeled, and accounted for, except for one empty case. The Hornet (aka Britt Reid) tells his ally, D.A. Frank Scanlon, that the case contained an heirloom stolen from his family many years ago, which belonged to his grandfather.

            Short story by Bobby Nash in The Green Hornet Casefiles, Joe Gentile and Win Scott Eckert, eds., Moonstone Books, 2011. The glowing green meteorite is a piece of kryptonite, one of the few substances that can kill Superman. The experimental airplane belonged to the Canadian pulp hero Lance Star; its destruction at the hands of Star’s foe Baron Otto Von Blood is depicted in Nash’s upcoming novel Lance Star: Sky Ranger – Cold Snap. The lawman of the old west is John Reid, aka the Lone Ranger. The Green Hornet radio series revealed that Britt Reid was the Lone Ranger’s great-nephew. NOW Comics’ Green Hornet comic established in turn that the Green Hornet from the 1960s television series was Britt Reid II, the original Hornet’s nephew. Therefore, Britt Reid II is actually John Reid’s great-grandnephew, not his grandson. The bat-shaped metal throwing weapon is one of Batman’s batarangs.

Crossover Cover: Gotham by Gaslight

In 1889, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City and takes on the mantle of Batman, and soon finds himself hunting Jack the Ripper, who has fled England. In Austria, Sigmund Freud tells Bruce, “A good student, you have been. My friend, the English detective, said much the same thing,” a clear reference to Sherlock Holmes. Given the recasting of the Batman mythos in the Victorian era, and the final revelation about the Ripper's identity, this story obviously takes place in an AU.

Crossover Cover: More Blood

This authorized anthology of new Destroyer stories written by fans of the series, co-edited by Warren Murphy's son, has two stories with crossovers. One is Brad Mengel's "The Roads Not Taken." A cop turned soldier in Vietnam named Remo is greeted by a sentry named Michael Long, also a cop in civilian life. Remo’s platoon mates have nicknamed him the Destroyer, just as others in the group have been dubbed the Exterminator, Hannibal, and Sergeant Mercy. Remo considers becoming a soldier of fortune when his tour of duty ends, "like that Rainey fellow people [keep] talking about." Remo can see himself like James Bond, traveling the world to protect America. A visiting soldier tells a group of listeners about how he cleared a fellow soldier of the allegation of a massacre at Hoi Binh. This soldier, named Bolan, also tells them a story he heard from a guy named Spenser in Korea. Michael Long (later known as Michael Knight) is from the TV series Knight Rider. The Exterminator is John Eastland from the movies The Exterminator and Exterminator 2. Hannibal is John "Hannibal" Smith from the TV show The A-Team. Sergeant Mercy was the wartime nickname of Mack Bolan, aka the Executioner, the vigilante created by Don Pendleton. Bolan cleared the name of Niles Barrabas in "Incident at Hoi Binh," included in Executioner #63: The New War Book. Barrabas is the protagonist of another series, The Soldiers of Barrabas by Jack Hild. Jim Rainey is the hero of Peter McCurtin’s Soldier of Fortune series. James Bond needs no explanation. Spenser is Robert B. Parker’s future private investigator. In R.J. Carter's "Fool's Paradise," Remo Williams and Chiun team up with a masked vigilante to end the threat of the sentient computer chip Friend, which has been corrupted by the caped crusader’s archenemy, a psychotic clown. Mark Howard, assistant director of CURE, tells Remo, "Thanks to the run of unique characters that regularly pass through this city, your street clothes and your blurred-out features have the newscasters crediting some faceless vigilante, with the'‘man in the kimono' as his partner and sensei. Richard Salamander, Rick Dragon, something like that.' There is apparently some bad blood between Chiun and this latter individual. The vigilante says that more than one of the defense mechanisms in his cave headquarters were designed to contend with an out-of-control extraterrestrial, should the need ever arise. Although the masked vigilante is not referred to by name, the story makes it abundantly clear that he is the Batman. Per CU continuity, this would be the as-yet unidentified fourth Batman, whose predecessors were Bruce Wayne Sr., Dick Grayson, and Bruce Wayne Jr. His archenemy is the Joker. The faceless vigilante is another DC Comics hero, the Question (although he was originally published by Charlton Comics), while his sensei is martial arts master Richard Dragon. The extraterrestrial against whose losing control Batman is taking precautions is Superman.