WILDCAT

Wildcat has always been one of my favorite characters, ever since I read my first DC 100-Page Super Spectacular (which also reprinted the first Doll Man story I ever read, another character I hope to profile on the Web).

The stories are also completely incongruous with the status quo of the DC Universe at the time. Editor Murray Boltinoff had a predilection for teaming the Caped Crusader with a lot of interesting co-stars in the pages of The Brave and the Bold, but there were a few that defied continuity. Many of the Sgt. Rock team- ups have no real place in the DC Universe timeline, since a post-war career was never established for Rock and Easy Company. The Spectre was another troublesome character, both since any team-ups were practically redundant when you consider his cosmic powers, and because he, along with Wildcat, resided on Earth-Two. The Batman of the B & B sagas was the Earth-One version. (One note: With all the retroactive continuity that has gone on the past decade, now some of these adventures do possibly have a place in real continuity.)

But barring those flaws, which naturally I didn't really notice as a kid, the Batman-Wildcat team-ups were always fun to read. The first few were admittedly kind of lame story-wise, but with artwork by the likes of Nick Cardy, Irv Novick and B&B regular Jim Aparo, they were always great to look at. And they must have been somewhat popular, as Wildcat made a total of five appearances in the pages of The Brave and the Bold, a number equaled or surpassed only by Sgt. Rock, Green Arrow, the Metal Men, Black Canary and the Joker. They were always popular with me ... and I wish there would have been more of them. I would have loved to see some of the later B & B artists, like the late Don Newton, draw Wildcat.

For the uninitiated, a few brief facts on Wildcat. Wildcat was really former World Heavyweight Boxing Champ Ted Grant. He debuted in the first issue of Sensation Comics, along with the likes of Mr. Terrific, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, The Gay Ghost, and Wonder Woman. Ted was studying to be a doctor when he was forced to start boxing to make ends meet. After crooked managers framed him for murder, he took up the mantle of Wildcat (after being inspired by a comic of the Golden Age Green Lantern) and brought the criminals to justice. He continued to fight for right all through the Golden Age of comics, appearing in Sensation Comics. He made one cameo appearance with the Justice Society in All-Star Comics, and was a full-fledged member when the group was revived in the 1960's in the pages of Justice League of America.

Wildcat's place in the DC Universe has changed recently, as retroactive continuity has now connected him much more strongly with the origins and histories of the Batman, Catwoman, and numerous other hand-to-hand combatants, as a teacher and trainer. Thanks to Grant Morrison in the pages of JLA, he also now has a somewhat ambiguous (though very useful) superpower, "nine lives", which he claims to have gotten in 1945 and has already allowed him to come back from the dead at least once (and he implied that it was responsible for him retaining his robust physique at his relatively advanced age). Please note that Wildcat also appeared in The Brave and The Bold #62, which was a team-up of Starman and Black Canary, and was clearly set on Earth-Two. I believe that adventure, with some minor changes, is still part of the official DC Continuity, and I have included a synopsis of the tale here as well.

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #62

Starman and Black Canary (with Wildcat) in "The Big Super-Hero Hunt"

Script by Gardner Fox
Art by Murphy Anderson

Cover by Murphy Anderson

SYNOPSIS: The Sportsmaster has begun a series of crimes, the first being the theft of the Parker Trophy at a sporting event dinner. He is followed by Dinah Drake Lance, better known as Black Canary, who trails him to the estate of Ted Knight (Starman). Ted has discovered his old JSA partner Wildcat in a cage in the heart of a labyrinth replica he has on his Federal City estate. Wildcat was captured by his old enemy, The Huntress, who briefly detained Starman with a flock of wild birds. The Sportsmaster and the Huntress were rendezvousing and almost inadvertently defeated both Starman and Black Canary and flee the scene. The criminal pair are actually husband and wife now.

After Starman and Black Canary awaken, they find Wildcat gone from Starman's labyrinth, but trail Sportsmaster's remote controlled skis back to their lair, where Wildcat has been caged up along with a number of dangerous wild animals, which are released when Wildcat is freed. The animals are only a short diversion for their combined abilities. Starman and Black Canary head out to stop the Sportsmaster and Huntress, who are attacking the members of a golf course on a flying green (with the intent of stealing the tournament's $100,000 prize money), leaving a dejected Wildcat to guard the estate on the chance the bad guys escape. The pair beat the two athletic villains fairly easily, trapping them in the device the Sportsmaster had intended to use on the heroes.

COMMENTS: This was another of DC's early efforts to bring the heroes of the Golden Age out of retirement. The popularity of the early Justice League/Justice Society team-ups let Gardner Fox and the other creators play around with the individual JSA members. Starman and Black Canary had two outings in the pages of B&B (including this issue with Wildcat). Showcase featured a pair of team-ups between Doctor Fate and Hourman (including one with the Golden Age Green Lantern), as well as a three-issue run that led the Spectre to get his own short-lived book (which also had an issue with Wildcat, with art by Neal Adams).

This issue was one of the more fun books in this brief series. Here you have three great heroes (albeit near-second stringers) of the Golden Age with two fairly popular villains. You had the "Strange Sports Stories" angle with the Sportsmaster's crimes (a popular theme in the sixties at DC, right up there with apes everywhere), and you get to see Wildcat knock out a kangaroo (see below…which for some reason has been one of my favorite Wildcat sequences since I first got the book when I was a kid). Sure, having Starman around pretty much made both Black Canary and Wildcat superfluous, but he did let them take their turns at the baddies.

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #88

Batman and Wildcat in "Count 10 -- and Die!"

Script by Bob Haney
Art by Irv Novick and Mike Esposito

Cover by Neal Adams

SYNOPSIS: Bruce Wayne visited Ted Grant (Wildcat) in his Gotham City flophouse, convincing him to coach the US boxing team that was heading to the World Youth Games in Vienna (though a staged mugging helped Ted revive his flagging confidence to do so). Upon arriving in Vienna, Ted is immediately beset by the coach of the (presumably) Soviet team, Koslov the Hammer, who is still angry that he never got a shot at Ted when he was World Boxing Champion. Ted refuses to be drawn into a fight, thinking he is still washed up.

In the meantime, Batman has contacted Anglo-American Military Intelligence, on a mission to prevent the spy Schimmerling from selling the coded launch date for the "other side's" planned armed manned space station. The US-British forces had already paid he spy for this, but Schimmerling reneged.

Ted also has his hands full stopping fights between his team and Koslov's, both of which are trying to provoke him into fighting the Hammer. Even after Koslov finally manages to lure Ted into punching him and challenges him, Ted refuses, much to the dismay of both his team and Bruce Wayne.

In order to clear his head, Ted dons his Wildcat attire and hops on his motorcycle, and happens upon Batman pursuing Schimmerling through the streets and sewers of Vienna. Both lose the elusive spy, which does nothing to help Wildcat's confidence.

While Ted wandered the Prater amusement park, Batman accosted him and tried to convince him to fight Koslov, for the sake of keeping the Games going. Ted convincingly beat the tar out of the Caped Crusader on a ferris wheel (though Batman did take a bit of a dive, he still acknowledged that Ted was a hard-hitter), and Ted went into training to fight the Hammer. Batman also planned to "help" Ted out if needed, by dousing the lights and taking his place during the seventh round if Ted was in trouble. Before he could implement his plan, Batman was captured by Schimmerling's confederates and held captive on a barge on the Danube.

Ted took Koslov convincingly until he started to tire in the fourth round, and Koslov revealed himself to be on Schimmerling's team when he told Ted to take a dive or Batman would be killed. Batman's plan to help Ted did start without him, as the lights in the arena went out automatically. Ted used the moment of confusion to deck the Hammer and dump him in a motorcycle sidecar, taking him on a harrowing ride through the streets of Vienna until he revealed when the Dark Knight was being held. Ted rescued Batman and he went out after Schimmerling again, and Ted returned with Koslov to the ring.

The nearly-exhausted Ted was almost knocked out by Koslov when Batman tossed a batarang with "has-been" written on it into the ring, which egged Ted on to defeat the Hammer. Batman in turn managed to retrieve the stolen code from Schimmerling before he could sell them.

COMMENTS: Well, so this isn't the greatest story, but it has Wildcat in it. For some reason, Wildcat has always been one of my favorite comic characters. I first came across him in a reprint book (a DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular with him, Batman, Dollman, Blackhawk and the Atom), which was one of the books that started my love of the old-time heroes. I think it's the character's simplicity that appeals to me. This story isn't as bad as it sounds, and has some excellent Irv Novick artwork ... which an old Flash fan like me is always glad to see.

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #97

Batman and Wildcat in "The Smile of Choclotan"

Script by Bob Haney
Art by Bob Brown and Nick Cardy

Cover by Nick Cardy

SYNOPSIS: Batman saves the life of young cliff-diver Luis Mercado twice in Acapulco, and discovers that Wildcat is boxing in an old amphitheatre outside of town, using the name "El Tigre", and that Luis is acting as his second. After a drugged Wildcat is forced to the canvas, Batman intervenes as a group of thugs try to kidnap Wildcat. Batman spirits the fighter and Luis away.

Luis tells the Dark Knight that Ted Grant and his father were great friends after a boxing match in which Luis's father refused to steal Ted's heavyweight title while knocking him out while he was blinded. Luis's father has also discovered Mexico's most important archaeological treasure … Choclotan. "He Who Smiles" was a legendary lost god, but was also coveted by Senor El Grande (Mr. Big), the head of a criminal ring that steals and smuggles out Mexico's treasures. In a fight with El Grande's men, Luis's father was killed and Ted lost his memory. Batman agrees to help Luis find the treasure, stop El Grande, and help Wildcat get his memory back.

Early into their journey, they meet up with Luis' father's al El Sordo, who offers to act as their guide through the Sierra Madre Mountains. After following the trail to what was supposedly the lair of Choclotan, El Sordo revealed himself to be El Grande. When told that Wildcat had amnesia, he forced the fighter to battle El Buey (The Ox), to beat the information out of him. Wildcat's memory returned and he told them how to get the treasure, much to Luis's chagrin.

Unfortunately for El Grande though, Wildcat did not reveal that the entrance to Choclotan was booby trapped, and he and his men were killed with a plume of tons of water spouting from the cave. Batman, Wildcat and Luis got to the treasure and made preparations to keep it safe ... in a museum.

NOTE: This issue also features a reprint of the first adventure of Deadman, from Strange Adventures #205, with art by Carmine Infantino.

COMMENTS: Here is another one of those stories that are fun but really not the greatest tales ever told. On average, the villains in The Brave and The Bold were less than inspiring, and this case is definitely no exception. The story reads like a forties adventure movie with costumed adventures in two of the lead parts. Batman had more international adventures in the pages of this magazine than he ever did in his books during the 1950's. Bob Brown and Nick Cardy's artwork is the real highlight of the book, since they always strove to draw their heroes like real people.

The Brave and The Bold #110

Batman and Wildcat in "A Very Special Spy"

Script by Bob Haney
Art by Jim Aparo

Cover by Nick Cardy

SYNOPSIS: Peter Voss disrupted the test of the Miracle-2000 fuel additive, claiming the Tryton Corporation had stolen the formula from his dead father Hans. The Batman was on hand for the test, as well as Ted Grant, who was a vice president with Tryton (in a public relations capacity). Batman and Ted went to see Tryton president B.B. Sanford, who introduced them to the man who claimed to have discovered the additive, Bill Bradshaw. The Batman also noticed that Bradshaw's lab wasn't set up for any serious chemical research.

Batman went to see Voss. Voss's father had been a Dutch scientist who was presumed dead after World War II. Voss had been trying to decipher his father's notes ever since, but had failed. He also believe that L.K. Dowling, a chemist who worked for him a year earlier, had found the answer and sold it to Tryton. Dowling was actually a man named Radek, a top industrial spy.

Batman broke into Tryton and examined records proving that Radek had worked for Tryton, and was assaulted by guards. Ted clocked a guard trying to kill the Dark Knight and after being filled in on the subterfuge, Ted took up his Wildcat identity to help Batman solve the case.

After trailing the guards back to Sanford, Wildcat and Batman find that the company's head of security is Manfredi, a top underworld enforcer. Wildcat trails Manfredi to the company hunting lodge, where Radek is holed up. Wildcat leaps into the fray as Manfredi tries to kill the spy, and is wounded in doing so. Radek is killed trying to escape and Wildcat is left to die in the forest. Meanwhile, Batman has jetted to Holland to the ruins of Hans Voss's old lab, where he finds an old man staring at the gutted building. Trailing him, he finds him to actually be Hans Voss ... having in his possession a statue that he saw a copy of in Peter Voss's office.

Wildcat is saved from both a real wildcat and the elements by a hermit hunter, and returns to Tryton in time for the court case between Tryton and Voss. Batman arrives with Hans Voss and explains that the statue he saw in Peter's office had marks on it that represented the distances between atoms in the Miracle-2000 formula. After Ted gets Sanford to admit he commissioned Radek's murder, Manfredi breaks in the courtroom and whisks the president away. Batman and Ted give chase and apprehend them before they manage to escape on a waiting jetliner. They return to the judge ruling that the rights to the fuel additive do indeed belong to the Vosses.

COMMENTS: A very tightly written little story, though again Wildcat is apparently having trouble dealing with his dual identity. He starts the story not wanting to take up his costumed alter-ego, preferring to play things as the jet-setter. He does, naturally, change his mind after he finds the company he works for to not be on the up-and-up.

This was always a bit out of character, since in Wildcat's every other Silver Age appearance (outside of The Brave and the Bold) he was in costume and coming out punching from the very start. It may be simply the problem of adapting a very simple Golden Age character to the increasing complexity of the times ... there always seemed to be the need to make characters "deeper" than they were (or for the most part, needed to be). I never really minded the "relevancy" at the times (mainly because I probably didn't understand much of it at the time I originally read the stories), especially when you look at some of the truly important and ground breaking stories of the era (such as the classic "Snowbirds Don't Fly" in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #86 or the late sixties Spider-Man stories), but it wasn't necessary to do it for every book and every character. Must be the same sort of thinking that made creators in the nineties make every character look like Cable or Wolverine or Spawn or some Jim Lee travesty. Oh well ... no accounting for taste anymore, I guess.

The Brave and The Bold #118

Batman and Wildcat with The Joker in "May the Best Man Win Die"

Script by Bob Haney
Art by Jim Aparo

Cover by Jim Aparo

SYNOPSIS: Batman and Commissioner Gordon went to Sparta Prison to attempt to pry the Joker's plans from his convicted henchman, Mike Dubcek, but failed to break the man's resolve. Meanwhile, Ted Grant practiced for a bout at the prison in an exhibition bout against Dubcek, taking Whitey Ross along as his second.

Ted beat Dubcek in a come-from-behind victory, but a few days later every inmate in the prison came down with a rare tropical fever. The Joker had managed to poison Dubcek's water bucket at the fight and now the entire prison population was near death. Batman and Ted (as Wildcat), set out to catch the Joker, but first must deliver a dog, a lab animal from the Barston Institute to Gotham City. The animal's blood was filled with anti-bodies to combat the fever and was the only hope for the convicts.

The Joker managed to waylay the armored truck ferrying the dog, but the dog escaped him as well, and eluded Batman and Wildcat. The dog ended up jumping into a dogcatcher's van, and was claimed at the pound by his master ... the Joker.

The Joker lured Batman and Wildcat to Jefferson Square Garden, and forces the pair to fight each other, with the dog's life being forfeit if they don't. He makes both men wear ancient Roman Cestus (spiked gloves) that were coated with his rare fever germs. Both men practically knock each other out, and the Joker was about to kill the dog himself when it bit him. He ordered one of his thugs to destroy the dog, but Batman tells the Clown Prince of Crime that the dog is actually tainted with fever germs instead of healing antibodies, meaning that without the pooch, the Joker would die too. The Joker runs to save the dog, even jumping into the river to retrieve him, forgetting that he can't swim. The dog freed himself and played a big part in saving the Joker from drowning.

Batman and Wildcat managed to get the dog to Sparta Prison in time to save all the prisoners ... including Dubcek and the Joker.

COMMENTS: Another nice story ... complete and compact but suspenseful and action-packed. Wildcat is in top form, though in this issue it seems as though Commissioner Gordon is privvy to his dual identity. The addition of the Joker was mainly for sales of course, since he was recently featured as a B & B co-star (in issue #111). His "co-star" billing really isn't deserved, since he is just the issue's villain, not a teammate. Still, it was a very enjoyable story, and even when I first read it, the Joker holding the gun to the dog's head made me think of that famous National Lampoon cover.

The Brave and The Bold #127

Batman and Wildcat in "Deadman's Quadrangle"

Script by Bob Haney
Art by Jim Aparo

Cover by Jim Aparo

SYNOPSIS: After making a promise to a dying man, Batman went on the trail of El Zapatero, a mysterious criminal who headed a ring responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into the United States from South America and the Caribbean. He was also known for killing and dumping his human cargo overboard if federal agents got too close to his operations. His "calling card", as it were, was the pair of new boots that he gave each of his customers ("El Zapatero" is Spanish for "the shoemaker").

Another complication to the matter was the mystery of the area that El Zapatero operated in, which was known as the "Dead Man's Quadrangle", which had been detailed in a best-selling book that was written by Harrison Kingsley. Coincidentally, Batman met the author on his flight to the Caribbean, and true to form, the plane ran into some mysterious turbulence along the way as well.

The special blue quartz sand on the dead man's boots could only have come from the island of Key Allegro, where Ted Grant (alias Wildcat) now runs a health spa. Ted was there after swearing to himself to never use his fists again, since he killed a man in the ring in his second comeback attempt. After they encountered a man swimming to the island, and failed to save him from the sharks, Ted agreed to help Batman bring the men responsible for his death to justice.

Ted took the place of Pedro, the dead man, and joined the men being "helped" by El Zapatero, going onto the boat with a homing bug in his belt buckle. While following the boat, Batman receives a call from a schooner in trouble in a whirlpool, but is too far away to provide any help in time. The bug is broken when a thug attacks Ted as the ex-boxer was trying to look around the ship. To help Batman find him, Ted releases of trickle of oil into the water, leaving an oil slick for the Caped Crusader to follow.

Ted, as Wildcat, began searching the boat, but was captured by El Zapatero himself. Batman's launch was also netted and brought aboard. El Zapatero revealed himself to be the author Kingsley, who had written the book to drum up even more fear and mystery about the area to cover his operations. He was also responsible for the fake distress call that Batman heard, keeping the authorities in other areas of the sea.

Kingsley gave Batman a front row seat to watch Wildcat be executed by Iron-Fist, his thug and karate expert. Wildcat refused to fight back until Kingsley threatened to hang Batman, which spurred him into action. After they were aided by the other "passengers" and defeated Kingsley's men. Kingsley fled in a small helicopter, but crashed into the ocean, become the only real victim of the Dead Man's Quadrangle.

COMMENTS: A nice little story, with some beautiful Aparo artwork. However, we again have the incredible changing career of Ted Grant, with another off-panel boxing comeback. At least he's not destitute again like he was in his first two B & B Batman team-ups. It is mentioned that his spa is failing, but he does seem to have a little cash now.

Another good thing is that right around this time is when Gerry Conway revived All-Star Comics, where Wildcat was featured prominently. I'm not sure if his appearances there were the reason, or if it was declining sales on his team-up issues, but this was the last issue of The Brave and the Bold to feature Wildcat as Batman's co-star. Barring appearances by Sgt. Rock and Blackhawk in wartime stories, and clearly defined appearances by Dr. Fate, Robin and the Huntress, it was the last time any of the continuity bending Earth-Two characters appeared in the magazine.