Polite Dissent

When last we saw Batman (in this blog, at least), he was smacking around a criminal lowlife who just happened to have a retained bullet that was too near his heart, and Batman inadvertently killed him with a punch.

Now the tables have turned and Batman’s in the same situation.

As The Brave and the Bold #100 opens, Batman is shot by a sniper. He survives, but the bullet has lodged inside his chest, right next to the heart. It’s one of those Tony Stark wounds that exist only in comic books: the bullet will kill him in less than a week, but it is too dangerous for any ordinary surgeon to remove. There is one doctor in the entire world who can save him, but that doctor is in Zurich and it will take him several days to get to Gotham City. In the meantime, Batman is bandaged up, placed in a wheelchair, and told not to move because even the slightest movement could dislodge the bullet and kill him!

A near fatal injury and confinement in a wheelchair might stop an ordinary super-hero, but not Batman. He is determined to capture the drug lord who had him shot. Using Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and Black Canary as his street operatives, Batman is able to foil the all of the drug lord’s schemes to import heroin into the country. Until the final confrontation that is, which takes place in the operating room with the Batman under anesthesia and the drug lord masquerading as the surgeon. You’ll have to figure out for yourself how that one ended (but as a hint, The Brave and the Bold continues for another 100 issues).

Notes:
For all you ballistics experts, the bullet is identified as a .30-06.
The doctor is saying that the bullet penetrated the pericardium — a fibrous membrane that surrounds the heart — and stopped just before it hit the left auricle, which is part of the left ventricle atrium.
Interesting x-ray machine that shows a perfect image of the heart and diaphragm, but no other organs (like the lungs or bones), and only the silhouette of the bullet.
Batman’s bandages are placed over his costume.
Much like the young Tony Stark, every four of five panels Batman makes a point to mention how much his chest his hurting.
Black Canary doesn’t come off very well in this issue. In one particularly memorable scene, she is unable to hear the Batman’s comm signal because she is in a beauty shop getting her hair done after it got ruined in the rain (which is ridiculous because her blond hair is a wig). Come to think of it, Canary didn’t come off too well in any of her appearances in The Brave and the Bold.
The Brave and the Bold #100 is by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo.