The Twelve Days of Who's Who! Part Two: from Cavalier to Doctor Double-X (1985-1989)

[about_faces]

The response to the first part was great, guys! Keep 'em coming! So far this is damn fun, although I may kill myself trying to get them all out once a day! In the meantime, MOAR BATMAN VILLAINS!

Comments

[about_faces]

And that was Pre-Crisis Jason too, the one who WASN'T an impulsive tough kid from the street, but rather the nice, well-adjusted boy whose parents were fed to goddamn crocodiles by Killer Croc. The Universe must have really resented Dick for ever getting replaced, since neither of the Jasons have exactly had it easy.

[about_faces]

On the other hand, he also got incredibly stupid spiked 90's hair, which must be some small consolation to Jason. Poor, dead, pantsless Jason.

[abqreviews]

We've discussed BLADES in the past (which featured an entirely different Cavalier), but one thing that interests me about Mortimer Drake is how apparently Finger et al were really trying to push him as the next big Bat-villain. In Detective Comics #63 there was a villain named "Mr. Baffle" who was pretty much the same "Gentleman thief" character as Cavalier, he was hyped on the cover and set up to return, but never did. I think Cavalier was an attempt to create a more compelling Mr. Baffle

[about_faces]

I just recently heard about Mr. Baffle for the first time thanks to The Batman Villain Project, which I'll probably give its own post as a Who's Who bonus. This Baffle fellow intrigues me, and I would LOVE to see a club of the gentleman thieves! Why, I bet they would always be holding wagers over who could steal what, which would often result in their communal frustration at discovering that Catwoman got there first!

So your Karlo is essentially a more rounded and villainous version of the Gray Ghost? I approve!

[abqreviews]

I'm not quite ready to wreck my BATMAN ARCHIVES VOL 2 (it's extremely hard for me to scan hardcovers anyway), but if I see a way around it, maybe I'll scan the Mr. Baffle story for you and post it on my blog Out of the Quicksand. It's just that I've done way too many posts about obscure villains already. That said, as a former poster on politically correct /co/, you'll love the "slashiness" on display.

>your Karlo

Oh dear, now I'm sounding like a fan-fic writer. That said, I'm just amazed that no one else thought of it, either in fics or the actual comics. I'd still like to see DC do a one-shot or a story for one of their halloween specials showing what the plot of "The Terror" or "Clayface" was.

[lego_joker]

You know, in its own way, The Killing Joke is the greatest Crazy Quilt story ever told. The original, that is. Imagine seeing the entire world in John Higgins' colors, every day, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (Brian Bolland's Uncanny Valley art optional).

And yeah, Cavalier had an unusually big deal made about him. In Dick Sprang's "Dick Sprang Remembers" pin-up (forgot which issue it was, but it came out in the 90s), he's featured quite prominently alongside Joker, Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, and Scarecrow.

I recall Dixon giving Cavalier a brief revival during Knightfall, but after that, even he seemed to lose interest in poor Mortimer.

On Cluemaster and Steph: I like them a lot more than you appear to, but I can't quite articulate why. For now, all that I can say is that without Cluemaster, we would never have seen Riddler don this sweet handlebar:

[about_faces]

Totally! God, I love the original vivid, nightmare-carnival colors of The Killing Joke.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I still like Cluemaster thanks to his inclusion in that Riddler story (sweet, sweet stache, Eddie) as well as in JLI/JLAntarctica,but he's always been kind of a jerk without any redeeming qualities. As for Steph, I really don't get the appeal. The only time I ever liked her is when Cassie was constantly knocking her out, but otherwise, she's just kind of a standard blond teen everygirl, and I'm aggressively apathetic when it comes to most teenagers. Tim is one of the few exceptions that I like. And as Batgirl, Steph is (was) a bit too Buffy for my tastes.

[surrealname]

i love you john, but there is no way to get me to believe that the guy dressed as a pirate is a threat to batman. he looks fun, i will say that, but he also looks like not only a Jobber, but a Jobber who would be given to a more experienced wrestler to use as canon fodder during his feud with the champ. he is a stevie richards at best.

that said, it was always good fun to see stevie richards get beat up and thrown around, and i'm sure i'd love seeing the same thing happen to the cavalier, ESPECIALLY because he jumps into a room shouting "HAHA!" I bet he would say "have at thee" too.

[about_faces]

Maybe he'd be more intimidating if here were more like the Blue Blade:

[surrealname]

no, i'd shit myself too, but almost entirely because that guy looks like he'd try to rape us.

[box_in_the_box]

That's the last thing sex offenders see before they die. He is their Grim Reaper just as surely as Death of the Endless is for everyone else.

[anonymous]

Ah, the Blue Blade. At first you want to write him off, then you remember he faced down Nazi tanks in that getup.

I think the best quote about Doctor Double X is still "so, is he stronger than Doctor X but less raunchy than Doctor XXX?"

And yes about the gentlemen theives club. Awesome idea
-Nobody

[anonymous]

Also, and seeing that Batman project reminded me, is there no profile for the Blue Bowman?
-Nobody

[about_faces]

What, you mean evil alternate universe Green Arrow from The Brave and the Bold? I imagine he'd have to do ALL of the evil counterparts, which would be a lot of work. Still, considering how hardcore he is and the fact that it's apparently still ongoing, who knows?

[anonymous]

Funny enough, not the Blue Bowman I was refering to. No, this Blue Bowman used to be a Batman foe named the Signalman, who upon growing weary of being beaten by Batman, decided to rip off Green Arrow instead.
-Nobody