What If Detective Comics #1027 Was Actually Only Batman’s 997 Appearance In The DC Comics Series? (Sans Spoilers)
The plot thickens.
BATMAN
Yesterday, we chronicled how Detective Comics #1027 (full spoilers here, here and here) was Batman’s 1007th appearance in the series not 1000th.
Since then, an eagle eyed reader Kevin L. K. noted that despite all the extra issues DC crammed into the Detective Comics run over the years, there was a ten issue run without Batman.
BATWOMAN
From 2009-2010 in Detective Comics #854-#863 Batwoman was the lead in the book not Batman.
SO…
That would then make the upcoming Detective Comics #1030 Batman’s 1000th appearance in the series.
Detective Comics #1030 (full spoilers here) arrives in stores on November 10 / 11, 2020 and features the debut of new villain the Mirror as well as continues the no-longer-Robin storyline involving Damian Wayne.
BUT…
AZRAEL AS BATMAN
However, that is not all; Tariq K. indicated there are other examples in the Detective Comics run where the Bruce Wayne Batman was not the lead of the series and/or didn’t appear in the book.
For example when Bruce Wayne needed time to heal after Bane broke his back; that all began with the Knightfall arc that included 1993’s Detective Comics #659.
It ended, the TEC part of the arc anyway, in 1993’s Detective Comics #666. During Knightfall Bruce Wayne was Batman until he couldn’t be any longer.
The full Knightfall arc, collected in three omnibi, are well worth picking up. They include what was previously part of a Knightfall Prelude tpb too including Detective Comics issues all the way back to 1992’s TEC #654. The omnbi include the following:
- Volume 1 – BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE #1, BATMAN #484-500, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #16-18, DETECTIVE COMICS #654-666, SHOWCASE’93 #7-8
- Volume 2 – DETECTIVE COMICS #667-675, ROBIN #1, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #19-28, BATMAN #501-508, CATWOMAN #6-7 and JUSTICE LEAGUE TASK FORCE #5-6.
- Volume 3 – BATMAN #509-510 & #512-515, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #29-30 & #32-35, DETECTIVE COMICS #676-677 & #679-682, ROBIN #8-9 & #11-14, CATWOMAN #12-13, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #62-63, SHOWCASE ’94 #10, NIGHTWING: ALFRED’S RETURN #1, BATMAN: VEGEANCE OF BANE #2.
After that, as Bruce Wayne needed time to heal is broken back.
So, what followed was the Knightquest run from 1993-1994 that saw Jean Paul Valley aka Azrael become Batman from Detective Comics to #667 with a Bruce Wayne Batman returning in issue #677; making it TEC #676 the last issue without a Bruce Wayne Batman. However, since Azrael was “Batman”, I don’t think we need to exclude his run from the count.
NIGHWTING AS BATMAN TWICE
1993’s Detective Comics #679 to 1994’s Detective Comics #681 Dick Grayson was Batman during that Prodigal arc.
However, he was Batman so his run should stay in the Batman count of TEC.
You may be wondering what about TEC #678? That’s the issue between Azrael and Nightwing’s runs as Batman. Well that was a Zero Hour issue.
In addition, Dick Grayson has a second run as Batman beginning in 2010.
From Detective Comics #871 to #881 in 2011.
That was the last issue of the first violume of Detective Comics before Rebirth and since Grayson was Batman I don’t think it needs to be discounted in the Batman TEC appearances count.
SO…
So, I’m comfortable with Detective Comics #1027 representing Batman’s 997th appearance in the series.
What have I missed?
What say you?
