Revisiting Batman: Shadow of the Bat #50

July 22nd, 2010

Filed under: Comics, Medicine

Let’s take another look at Shadow of the Bat #50, where Batman is facing Narcosis, a villain who has created a special gas — a “patented” combination of Ketamine and Acetylcholine — to cause horrific nightmares.

First, the Ketamine:

scene from Shadow of the Bat #50

Ketamine is a sedative and an anesthetic which I’ve covered extensively before. It is a strong tranquilizer and it has been known to cause nightmares, so its inclusion in Narcosis’ nightmare gas makes a certain amount of sense.

Now the Acetylcholine:

scene from Shadow of the Bat #50

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter. In other words, it is a chemical messenger used to pass information between two nerves and it is also used to pass information between nerves and muscles. It has multiple effects within the human body. It causes skeletal muscles to contract. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system which, among other things, increase gland excretions and cause the heart to slow down. Within the brain itself, acetylcholine is associated with REM sleep — a state known for its vivid dreams — but its exact effect is not entirely clear. When the body moves from other stages of sleep into REM sleep, acetylcholine production — which had been suppressed — increases, so there is a rise in the level of acetylcholine. Dreaming also increases in REM sleep, but there is mixed evidence that it is the acetylcholine itself that causes the dreams. Some researchers say acetylcholine causes dreams, some say it causes REM sleep, some say it’s the other way around, and some say it’s all just coincidence. For now, I’ll just point out that while it’s true that all three situations (REM sleep, vivid dreaming, high levels of acetylcholine) exist at the same time, correlation does not equal causation. I’d give Narcosis a mixed grade on this (if the acetylcholine gets to the brain, it may cause increased dreaming which may cause nightmares) except for one thing:

The bigger problem with Narcosis’ use of acetylcholine in his gas is the effects of the neurotransmitter on the other parts of the body. Sure, it might cause nightmares, but who cares when you’re having severe cholinergic symptoms (salivation, urination, lacrimation, defecation, nausea, vomiting), uncontrollable muscle convulsions, and cardiac symptoms. Frankly, nightmares are the least of your worries.

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5 Responses to “ Revisiting Batman: Shadow of the Bat #50 ”

  1. RW
    July 23rd, 2010 at 2:31 am

    For a guy who goes to the trouble to patent his criminal superweapon he doesn’t seem to have too many hang-ups about copying Scarecrow’s.

  2. Boonerang
    July 23rd, 2010 at 7:57 am

    I can see why they’d gloss over the actual effects of the drug. It makes terrible copy:

    Narcosis: “Look at them, deep in their nightmares…”
    Minion 1: “Boss, actually most of them are awake.”
    Minion 2: “Yeah, that guy won’t stop screaming as he throws up – it’s creepy.”
    Minion 1: “… and are you smelling that?”
    Narcosis: “I need new minions.”

  3. Will
    July 23rd, 2010 at 9:20 am

    Shadow of the Bat #51 will be the copyright infringement case: Jonathan Crane a/k/a Scarecrow v. John Doe a/k/a Narcosis. The exciting moment will be when Narcosis pulls off his mask and reveals he is the patent holder to the fear gas.

  4. Lazarus Lupin
    July 23rd, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    well a mix grade indeed but let me make the case.. now earlier he said he had this as a patented formula.. even given that he probably didn’t mean it literally, I think we can say he just didn’t slap it together over night. No doubt this stuff has been tested. So in this case he knows what the effects are and if he were to publish no doubt it would be a great splash in the field. As to the effects upon the body perhaps this weaponized form is in a state where it only “uncorks” once it passes the brain blood barrier, or while it’s a major component it’s not so great as to trigger the unfortunate physical side effects.

  5. Tales to Enrage
    July 23rd, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    Maybe those additional symptoms are part of the reason he uses acetylcholine? It knocks you out, then your heart is behaving strangely, you’re sweating and drooling (and…everything else), and you’re body is going into convulsions. If you’re out cold from the gas, then it would probably be pretty easy for your body to go into nightmare territory in response to all of the physical symptoms.

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