Today, we look at a short-lived love interest for Batman that couldn't work out because of how similar their lives were.
In every installment of “If I Pass This Way Again,” we look at comic book plot points that were rarely (sometimes NEVER!) mentioned again after they were first introduced.
I have another feature that I don't use that often called "You Act Like We Never Have Met," which is a feature about one-time cast members of popular comic book series that have fallen by the wayside in the years since. Some of these are characters who would appear in comics routinely read by hundreds of thousands of people but are now effectively mysteries. I initially considered doing this post as part of that feature, but I think that the character was just TOO short-lived and that feature is better used for characters who actually became REAL cast members (you know, appeared for at least a year or so in the book). But whatever, either way, I'm obviously overthinking things. Onwards and upwards!
As you may or may not know, the Batman titles were in a major sales slump at the start of the 1960s. They were still selling better than other comics, but they were hemorrhaging readers. One theory is also that Bob Kane's deal with DC required him to make a certain amount of money and that might have been a high enough rate where Batman had to sell more than a normal comic book for DC to make money on it. I mention that only because the story goes that Batman and Detective Comics were in danger of being canceled and their numbers weren't near cancellation range, so it was either because of that Kane thing or perhaps just a general "If sales KEEP GOING DOWN, it will be canceled," which makes the most sense to me.
In any event, DC felt compelled to fire longtime Batman editor Jack Schiff in 1964 and bring in a new editor, Julius Schwartz, who brought with him his star artist, Carmine Infantino, and a new group of Batman writers from Schwartz's other books, primarily John Broome (who created the Barry Allen Flash and the Hal Jordan Green Lantern with/for Schwartz) and Gardner Fox (a longtime DC writer who did a lot of work for Schwartz, including Justice League of America). This was called the "New Look" era because Batman gained a yellow oval on his chest to denote the big change in creative direction.
However, oddly enough, one of the creators that Schwartz turned to in that first year was a veteran comic book writer who had done a number of Batman stories in the past, Ed "France" Herron. It was a bit odd to see an old-time writer brought in to help give a book a new direction like this, but whatever, Herron was a fine writer, so fair enough.
One of the changes that Schwartz made was to get rid of the older love interests for Batman and Bruce Wayne, namely Batwoman and Vicki Vale. So it was almost certainly with the intent of introducing a new love interest that we met Patricia Powell in Batman #165 (by Herron, Sheldon Moldoff and Joe Giella). Batman is giving a speech to the newest class of Gotham City police officers and Batman is telling some oddly long story about how important his physical fitness was to solving some crime recently.
Anyhow, his story ends and then he gets to meet the star cadet from this year's class and it's a g-g-g-g-girl?!?!
Batman really comes off as a real tool in how shocked he is that a woman was the top cadet in the class. Don't get me wrong, it was certainly unusual for the time period, and it was almost assuredly the fact that it was BECOMING more common at the time that led to Herron deciding to write about it, but it was still not so shocking that Batman should be SO unnerved by it.
So Batman gets to know Patricia and he is shocked again to learn that she has a crush on a guy...Bruce Wayne!
You could tell that this was Herron trying to come up with a gimmick for Patricia as a love interest. She was into Bruce Wayne, but there was always something in the way of them meeting outright, whether it be that she was masked or, of course, the fact that she is now with him while he is dressed as Batman.
Patricia is an ace detective, although annoyingly we see that Herron has her Bruce Wayne obsession throw her off her game, like when she finds a clue but blanks on WHY it is a clue for a moment because she's too busy thinking of Bruce. Ugh.
Anyhow, the end of the issue sees Patricia and Batman solve the case and then Patricia is finally going to meet Bruce Wayne at a charity event!
But when the next issue picks up on the story, the event is robbed and so Patricia and Bruce DON'T get to meet!! How long do you think Herron was planning to keep this concept going?
Once again, Batman is a bit of a jerk when he is shocked that Patricia was able to find the criminal's hideout at the same time as him as they work the case together (along with her cop dad)...
But then we later learn that she cleverly planted a transmitter on the bad guys (this was right around the time that homing devices were becoming HUGE in popular fiction).
At the end of the issue, Bruce Wayne comes to the station to pick up his wallet, and SURELY they must meet THIS TIME, right?
Well, we never learn if they did or not, as despite the final panel promising another Patricia story, it never was published. Herron wrapped up his work on the Batman books a few issues later and I suppose no one else was interested in his creation.
Come on, James Tynion IV, bring Patricia Powell back to the pages of Batman!
If you have a suggestion for a future edition of I Pass This Way Again, be sure to drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!
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