Batman Family #8

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE COPYCATGIRL CAPERS! During a chemistry class at Hudson University, Dick Grayson and Lori Elton witness the appearance of Catgirl, a villain who uses the same costume and methods as the notorious criminal, Catwoman. Robin confronts the new challenger, but is unable to capture her and he phones his mentor, Bruce in Gotham City. During the phone call, Robin hears that Batman's apparent kidnapping and he decides to go back to Gotham as soon as possible.  At the New Carthage airport, Robin confronts Catgirl once more and he finally manages to capture her before taking a plane to Gotham. However, as Robin didn't make sure Catgirl was taken by the police, the criminal escapes and goes to Gotham as well. Once in Gotham, Robin contacts Alfred and Commissioner Gordon and learns that Batman is working in an undercover mission to capture Catwoman.   Robin then learns that Catgirl has arrived to Gotham and he confronts the young villain in one of Catwoman's hideouts. Robin and Catgirl have to team-up to defeat Catwoman's henchmen and after their enemies are down, Robin unmasks the villain and discovers that Catgirl is not Catwoman's daughter as she claimed, but instead she is Joker's Daughter in disguise. At that moment, Batman comes from the basement of the hideout with Catwoman tied-up and the distraction created allows Joker's Daughter to escape.   With Catwoman locked away and Joker's Daughter on the loose, Dick Grayson decides that it's time to return to New Carthage to spend time with Lori. THE WEB OF THE SPINNER This story is reprinted from Batman #129. Batman and Robin encounter a new costumed villain, the Spinner, whose metal uniform is overlaid with spinning discs, and who utilizes a spinning buzz-saw gun, tops, and giant fans in his arsenal of tricks. The heroes are dazzled by the reflected light of the sun from the Spinner's colored-glass fan and thus are unable to stop the gang's escape, but a slang word used by the Spinner common among Joliet Prison inmates gives Batman a clue to his identity.   In the meantime, Kathy Kane is checking out a Swami Ymar who runs a racket finding lost valuables for wealthy people. He proves unable to see that Kathy's brooch is in her jewel box, but can see that another woman's diamond ring is on the powder box in her bureau. Kathy judges him master of a racket in which a henchman steals things and hides them, then, for a fee, the Swami pretends to find them. The Spinner has another encounter with Batman during a payroll robbery, but fends off the heroes with a giant spinning top. He drops a glove during the struggle, which Batman's analysis reveals to ahve peanut oil and salt on it. From this, and the Joliet Prison clue, Batman deduces that Peanuts Gilson, an ex-con, must be the Spinner, though he doesn't seem bright enough for the role. At the Swami's studio, a reporter nudges the Swami into revealing the Spinner's hideout, at a windmill outside of Gotham. Batwoman, outside the Swami's window, gets the news even before the reporter phones police headquarters, and thus precedes Batman and Robin by a few seconds--and gets caught by the Spinner and tied to a giant fan. Batman disables the fan controls with a pitchfork, and he and Robin easily defeat the gang. The Spinner, unmasked, proves to be Gilson. But when a freed Batwoman accuses him of other crimes, Gilson exclaims that he is not really the Spinner, who gave him this costume and asked him to stand in for him while he is out. Batman correctly suspects a trap and gets everyone out of the windmill before a booby trap blows the structure to bits.   Batman, Robin and Batwoman return to the Swami's studio and capture the real Spinner--Swami Ymar. Ymar admits to using the slang and dropping the gimmicked glove as false clues, and was planning to have Gilson, in the Spinner costume, die in the blast, so that Ymar would be clear to retire safely with his loot from the robberies and the reward for The Spinner's capture. Batman leads him away, telling him the only one caught in the Spinner's web was the Spinner himself. BATGIRL'S LAST CASE This story is reprinted from Detective Comics #424. On the big election night to find a new congressional representative in Gotham City, the local criminal element is less than ecstatic about the potential for the police Commissioners daughter going to Washington and so they begin a campaign of intimidation to dissuade the citizens of Gotham to vote for Barbara Gordon. This however backfires when Babs becomes aware and sends some of her supporters to encourage people to vote.   With their first plan a failure, they deiced to assassinate Gordon instead, and start their plan by trying to get rid of her bodyguard Jason Bard, while simultaneously rigging the podium for Gordon's victory speech with explosives. Bard answers a phone call that tells him that they have Batgirl hostage, Bard not knowing that Barbara is really Batgirl goes to Gotham Park to free her, bumping into a familiar face setting up the podium along the way.   At Gotham Park, Bard falls into the trap and has to be saved by Batgirl. Afterwards, Bard remembers why the TV crew man was familiar, because his was the voice of the man making threats on the phone. As Batgirl rushes to make her speech in her civilian guise, Jason rushes to save her life, and manages to stop her from setting off the explosion.   Days later, Barbara bids farewell to Jason and her father before boarding a plane headed for Washington, D.C.