Bruce Wayne/Batman
Character created by Bob Kane

Yes, THAT Bruce Wayne.

Now, don't get me wrong -- as I've had to tell numerous readers of this site over the years who are upset at the exclusion of Batman , the Caped Crusader is NOT a private eye. Nor is his alter ego millionaire playboy BRUCE WAYNE. At least most of the time...

The exception is "Bruce Wayne, Private Detective," the cover story in the January 1950 issue of Detective Comics. And unlike much more recent "Elseworld" tales that feature familiar heroes and villains of the DC universe recast in various occupations and time periods, this tale actually falls squarely into recognized Batman continuity.

Well, the continuity of that era, anyway.

Those used to the Bat's current grim-faced Dark Knight mode may not at first recognize the chipper and decidedly angst-free guy in the cowl gleefully showing Vicki Vale, newspaper reporter and current girlfriend of alter ego Bruce Wayne, around the Batcave for a photo essay she's working on. And their heads will definitely spin when Wayne later lets the Lois Lane wannabe talk him into taking over the office of an ailing private eye pal of hers, Ed Wedge, after Bruce idly dismisses Batman as a "glorified detective" and boasts that he could probably do just as well.

Yeah, it's a little bit disconcerting to see Bruce portrayed as a pussy-whipped suitor, commanded by a domineering Vicki to "make like Humphrey Bogart" or else, but once you get past the premise, the story's actually a fun little read, an enjoyable twelve pages of hokum, typical of Batman tales of the that time, complete with a wisecracking and perpetually grinning Robin, an only-in-the-comics death trap for Batman to escape from, a dopey motive and a far-fetched solution, plus a smug challenge just before the story wraps up: "Readers! Bruce has the answer! Have you?"

And if you liked that one, be sure to seek out "The Other Bruce Wayne," which originally appeared in the October 12957 issue of Batman.well, and whose convoluted premise is even more far-fetched: Commisioner Gordon summons Bruce Wayne to his office one night to meet... Bruce N. Wayne, a distant cousin on his father's side and his namesake. This new Wayne, just in from "the Coast," turns out to be "one of the greatest private detectives in the country," according to Gordon. While in Gotham City on a case, he insists on staying with his cousin and teaching him a few "detective tricks" in order to make a man out if him.

If you like this sort of stuff, but can't quite get your head around a jolly, jocular Batman who seems to have OD'd on happy pills, you should certainly check out a couple of more recent (and decidedly darker) Elseworlds tales, particularly Nine Lives: Who Killed Selina Kyle? and Gotham Noir, which cast Dick "Robin" Grayson and Commissioner Gordon as private eyes, respectively.

It should also be noted that, even if Batman isn't really a private eye, he has upon occasion called upon the services of various fellow DC sleuths, including Christopher Chance, The Human Target, Jason Bard and, of course, Oracle.

COMICS

• DETECTIVE COMICS
  (1937-present, DC Comics)
  

  "Bruce Wayne, Private Detective" (January 1950, #155)

• BATMAN
  (1937-present, DC Comics)
  

  "The Other Bruce Wayne" (October 1957, #111)

RELATED LINKS

• The Thrilling Detective Web Site: Detective Comics
  A preliminary listing of all the private eyes who have shown up in DC Comics.

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith, with a special flash of the cape to Laurent Lehmann.