Public Domain Super Heroes
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Black Bat
Black book detective 1945spr

Real Name

Tony Quinn

First Appearance

Black Book Detective (July 1939)

Original Publisher

Nedor

Created by

Norman A. Daniels

Origin[]

Tony Quinn was a district attorney until an angry criminal threw acid into his face leaving him blinded and scarred. Quinn vowed revenge and began to train his other senses and his body. He later secretly received an eye transplant from a slain police officer. His new eyes allowed him not only to see, but he now had night vision due to his time spent as a blind man.

Tony decided to use his new ability to become a costumed hero known as the Black Bat. He carried twin .45s and often would leave a bat shaped scar on his victims. Black Bat used a secret crime lab and drove a heavily modified car. Law officers were against his vigilante activities and tried to deduce his identity. One officer in particular, Captain McGrath, believed Tony and the Black Bat were one and the same and tried to prove it.

Powers and Abilities[]

Black Bat had night vision as well as superhuman senses of touch, smell, hearing, and taste. He was also a good shot with a gun and a skilled brawler.

Golden Age Appearances[]

  • Black Book Detective

Notes[]

  • The Nedor comics were renewed by Popular Library, which was eventually bought out by Fawcett Books. When Fawcett went out of business, Popular Library was sold to Warner Bros. A number of different publishers, however, are currently/have been using these characters without any lawsuits from Warner Bros., so any action over them is (probably) unlikely. They are still, however, "use at your own risk" characters.
  • While in America, the Black Bat's adventures ceased publication in 1953 but, in Germany, he continued as "Schwarze Fledermaus" in about 700 German language adventures.
  • Black Bat's origin was the inspiration for Two Face's backstory.
  • The Mask was initially created as a pulp character called the Black Bat. The comic version was changed in several respects because of the agreement between Nedor and DC Comics over how they may use their respective bat-themed characters.
  • Black Bat was played by Jody Haucke in the 2012 film, Rise of the Black Bat.

See Also[]

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