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| Publisher |
DC |
| Series |
Batman |
| Published | March 1959 |
| Artist |
Curt Swan |
| Writer |
Bill Finger |
PRISONERS OF THE SARGASSO SEA Batman and Robin head far out to sea in the Batplane to pursue pirate Blackjack's submarine. A storm rises, buffets the Bat-Plane, and causes its engine to conk out. They land on the plane's pontoons and drift for a day. Finally, on the horizon, they sight a legendary scene: the Sargasso Sea, a morass of seaweed entangling over a score of ships from ancient times, with a cloud of mist hanging heavy over it. Drifting in closer, Batman and Robin are bade welcome by an English ex-pirate, Jolly Roger, and his cohorts Erik of Norway and Flavius of Rome. They explain that strange mists from the seaweed keep them alive and unaging, and even their clothes do not wear out. In their Sargasso colony, all wars and hatreds have been forgotten, and they live in peace. That is, until Blackjack and his men clamber over the side of Roger's ship. The pirate, whose sub was also storm-damaged, enters a losing battle against Batman and Robin, until a machine-gunner on the sub forces them to desist upon pain of killing the ancient seamen. When Blackjack offers Jolly Roger a chance to join his crew, the old pirate turns him down flatly, having mended his ways. Blackjack nevertheless takes charge, and locks Batman and Robin below. the two heroes escape through a porthole, organize a secret council among Jolly Roger and his men, and help the Sargasso sailors bombard the sub with cannon shot. The submarine retaliates, and the sailors on the wooden ship are soon in danger. But, Batman and Robin clamber over to the surfaced sub and attack the crew, and, with the sub's guns silenced, the ancient sailors board the submarine as well, and take its crew prisoner. Roger says that he will keep the modern pirates with them so time can cure their evil. Batman and Robin repair the Batplane's motor, cut away the seaweed from the undercarriage, and, fashioning a wooden airstrip from one of the ship's timbers, take off for the modern world, keeping the Sargasso colony their secret. THE CROSS-COUNTRY CRIMES! A new villain costumed as the Jack of Spades and calling himself Hijack leads a small gang in hijacking trucks from the Cross-Country Trucking Company whenever they carry valuable cargo. Carter, the head of Cross-Country Trucking, tells Commissioner Gordon, Batman, and Robin his troubles, and the two costumed heroes agree to tail Carter's next valuable truck in the Bat-Plane. The next night, two truckers take out a load of platinum, with Batman and Robin in the skies above. They halt one attempt of Hijack's to take the cargo, but the gang gets away. Later, Batman and Robin are decoyed by a phony holdup, and Hijack separates the cab and its load, stealing the platinum. Batman vows to bring Hijack to justice personally. From his trademark, the Jack of Spades, Batman deduces Hijack to be Jack Spade, a recently-released criminal who had been deafened for two years by dynamite during an escape attempt. Later, Batman tells Carter in the latter's office that he and Robin will ride along in the back of a truck carrying silver plate. Hijack, as Jack Spade, reads Batman's lips with binoculars from a nearby penthouse with line of sight to Carter's office. That night, Hijack stops the silver truck and orders the two drivers out, then yells for Batman and Robin to come out and be cut down by their guns, or stay inside and be dynamited. They dynamite the load, but Batman and Robin emerge from hiding, having been disguised as the drivers all along. The heroic pair defeats and captures Hijack and his gang, telling the costumed criminal later that they had guessed he had learned lip-reading during his deaf period, and had baited a trap for him with Carter's cooperation. Later, Batman and Robin gaze proudly at the departing transport truck, having made its path a little safer. THE MARRIAGE OF BATMAN AND BATWOMAN After hearing Bruce Wayne say that he is going out with Kathy Kane, who is secretly Batwoman, Dick sees Bruce to the door and then falls asleep in a chair. He appears to awaken when roused by Bruce and Kathy together, as they tell him they have taken the plunge and gotten married. Dick is fearful of his status as Batman's partner, and, alone with Bruce, discovers that Bruce has not yet told her his secret identity. Later, at the dinner table, Bruce and Dick make excuses to leave when the Bat-Signal summons them as Batman and Robin to an airport terminal robbery. Kathy, feeling bored, becomes Batwoman and heads for the same site. After the three heroes defeat the hoods, they head home separately. When they arrive home, Batman reveals his double identity to a grateful Batwoman. On the next night, when Batman and Robin leave to answer another Bat-Signal, Kathy cannot find her uniform. Batman confesses that he has hidden it, saying that one crime-fighter is enough, her place is in the home, and if she were unmasked the underworld would know that Batman is Bruce Wayne. Batman and Robin appear on a movie set to foil a robbery there, but Batwoman, clad in an altered Batsuit, also turns up and joins in the battle. One of the hoods activates a wind machine and the gale blows away Batwoman's cowl, revealing her as Kathy Kane-Wayne. The hoods then exclaim that "Batman is Bruce Wayne!" Robin angrily yells that Kathy has ruined Batman's career, but Batman shakes Robin and tells him to stop it. At that point, Dick Grayson wakes up in the chair, being shaken by Bruce Wayne. Bruce tells him that what he has experienced has been only a dream. However, Bruce muses that someday he might probably marry, and Kathy is a nice girl. This does nothing for Dick's peace of mind.
