Automation worried many Americans in the 1950s. The Nation magazine termed it an “Automation Depression.”
“We are stumbling blindly into the automation era with no concept or plan to reconcile the need of workers for income and the need of business for cost-cutting and worker-displacing innovations,” the magazine said in November 1958. “The problem we shall have to face sometime is that the working force is expensive while latter-day industrial technology is contractive of man-hours.”
The trend touched even the highly specialized job of masked crimefighter, according to Detective Comics 224 (Aug. 1955).
Comics historian Michael L. Fleisher noted that “Blast” Varner was the leader of a gang that planned to use explosives to open the vaults of the Gotham City financial district.
“Inspired, however, by an unfounded rumor that has been circulating recently among the underworld to the effect that Batman may actually be a robot operated by Robin, Batman constructs a lifelike Batman robot, tricks Varner and his cohorts into stealing it from Robin, and ultimately locales Varner’s hideout and apprehends the criminals by concealing himself inside the robot,” Fleisher wrote.
“Operated by remote control by means of a special ‘radio-control box,’ the robot is equipped with ‘electric-motored’ arms and legs, television camera eyes and microphone ears, and a concealed direction-signal transmitter designed to keep the Dynamic Duo continually apprised of the robot’s location.”
That wouldn’t be the last appearance of a Batman robot. As the Caped Crusader’s adventures became more science fictional, Batman robots reappeared with increasing frequency.
In Batman’s Robot Twin (Detective 239, Jan. 1957), the ingenious Professor Carden uses a brain-wave helmet to create a Batman robot programmed with the Masked Manhunter’s personality and abilities. Repurposed by the criminal Dr. Dall, the robot winds up as a souvenir in the Batcave.
In Three Crimes Against Batman (Batman 109, Aug. 1957), the Dynamic Duo use a Batman robot with camera eyes to track down criminals.
“By August 1958, Batman can summon and control his Batman robot by means of the radio installed in his utility belt,” Fleisher wrote. “The Batman robot is quite powerful now, able to do battle with larger robots (Detective 258, Aug. 1958: Prisoners of the Giant Robots!) or smash heavy machinery (Detective 261, Nov. 1958: The Amazing Dr. Double X!).”
In Batman, Robot! (Detective 281, July 1960), The robot stands in for a presumably dead Batman in court, only to be exposed as part of an elaborate ruse to capture Eddie Chill, the head of the masked Night Owl Gang
In The Negative Batman (Detective 284, Oct. 1960), the Batman robot is sufficiently complex to successfully impersonate the Caped Crusader.
In Batman’s Master (Batman 138, March 1961), the damaged robot, becoming telepathically linked with Batman, disguises itself as the masked mystical mastermind Kadar. But once he deduces the robot’s identity, Batman can activate the programming that requires it to protect him from danger.
Even Robin got his own automaton. In Robin’s Robot (Detective 290, April 1961), the Dynamic Duo deploys a mechanical Boy Wonder against “Gadgets” Blore’s gang.
About Author
