Introduction by twof
The following story was first presented in the May, 1966, issue of Batman comics, No. 180. The way comic books are published, it probably came out in March of that year. As the Batman TV series debuted in mid-January of 1966, I wouldn't be surprised if this story was written by Batman's creator just about the time his creation became a national sensation.
The first five stories of the TV show were based on specific comic book adventures of Batman and Robin. For our Halloween episode of this fourth season of Batman, we return to this tradition.
As with everything on this website, it is presented with the intention of honoring all the Batman characters, the Batman comic book creators and all the people involved with the TV series. If this story fails to please, the fault lies with my adaptation, not with Mr. Kane's original material.
Without any further ado, here is my Halloween treat for you, Death Knocks Three Times.
Bruce Wayne, millionaire playboy, and his protege, Dick Grayson, are guests at a penthouse showing of Gotham City's swankiest gem dealer . . .
"Ladies and gentlemen . . . you are about to witness the priceless "Rubies of Fire" collection!
"Ah, Mr. Wayne. The international beauties you surround yourself with . . . rival my precious gems. May I borrow them to model my display?"
"Help yourself," Bruce generously offers.
"Ooooooh - - !" one of the lovely young ladies exclaims.
"You girls won't be so happy when you find out you can't take home any ‘samples'!" Dick ungraciously remarks.
Suddenly, terror seizes the audience by the throat at the sudden sight of an eerily garbed figure. Framed in the doorway of the entrance to the room, stands what almost appears to be a living skeleton! The skeleton's face is covered in a tight, white hood, that strongly resembles a human skull. Black holes seemingly indicate the skull's eyes and nose, with a thin dark line suggesting a mouth. The rest of the figure is dressed in a skin-tight black union suit, on which in white are drawn the bones of the human body. The figure grabs the box of gems from the dealer and an eerie male voice, with perhaps the hint of a British accent, plays on Dick's comment by saying, "You can't take it with you . . . so I'm takin' it with ME! Ha-ha-ha-ha-HA!"
Bruce whispers to his youthful ward, "Get set, Dick. We're going to take it away from that costumed clown."
But . . . like deathly dark shadows . . . appear three more figures dressed entirely in black, except for white gloves and belts. Their hoods, unlike their leader's, are also black and appear to be more loosely fitted. They hold guns on the gathering, while the original figure speaks, "If any of you are rash enough to try to stop me . . . my henchmen will see that you reach a dead end! Ha-ha-ha-HA!"
From the funeral figure . . . an icy warning . . . "Live a little! Don't try to follow me through this door. Guns will be aimed at it until I'm gone. Farewell!"
Having anticipated the possibility of foul play, Bruce and Dick had worn their costumes under their clothes. Bruce says, "We'll change and follow him down the fire-escape."
While putting on his mask, Dick replies, "It'll be a 20-story chase!"
They conceal their street clothes for later retrieval. In moments, the unique team of Batman, the Master Detective, and Robin, the Boy Wonder, dangle in dizzy space as . . .
"We'll have to slide down this pipe. I forgot the building is fire-proof . . . no fire-escapes!" Batman admits.
"Now you tell me!" complains Robin.
Suddenly, the Daring Duo's spectacular slide comes to an end when the pipe enters the building just above a ledge. "Looks like we've run out of pipe! and we've still ten floors to go!" observes Batman.
At that moment, on the sidewalk in front of the building, a lone guard valiantly tries to halt the escaping gang led by their eerie leader. With three guns against one, the guard is hopelessly outnumbered.
Pow! Pow!"The fool . . . giving up his life . . . just to hold me for a few seconds!" the skeleton shouts over the gunfire.
Crack! "He's got about as much chance of stopping you . . . Death-Man . . . as he'd have of stopping a tidal wave with a tea cup!" replies one of the henchmen.
The sounds of gunfire from below sting Batman and Robin into risking their lives to their incredible acrobatic agility as . . . Pow! Pow! "Hear that, Robin?" asks Batman. "Shots! That grisly gang must have reached the street and are shooting their way out! We've got to take the fastest way down to try to stop them! via those flagpoles!"
With that the Dynamic Duo dive off the tenth floor ledge headfirst, aiming for a flagpole sticking out the side of the building two floors below. Grabbing it with their hands, they loop around and hurl themselves towards another pole, two more floors away.
Pow! Pow! "A single, wounded guard . . . holding the gang back . . ." observes Batman, as they reach the fourth floor.
Pow! Pow! "He could use four helping hands!" answers Robin two floors later. Pow!
As the ruthless figure of death leads his sinister gang past the slumped guard, flapping capes like giant wings seem to hover over them . . . "Batman . . . take . . . over . . . " gasps the guard, with his dying breath.
Pow! Pow! "A little more target practice won't hold us up much! An extra ruby to the man who knocks those clay pigeons out of the air first!" offers Death-Man. Pow!
Like curved rockets, the Dynamic Duo's batarangs screech into the gunmen . . . "Fire one!" yells Batman. Wroooosh! Sok! The weapon connects with a henchman's jaw.
"Fire two!" answers Robin. Whooosh Sok! The Boy Wonder's missile finds its target.
"Squash those bugs. . . till they've no more sting left!" orders Death-Man.
But Batman and Robin make short work of his henchmen, wise-cracking all the way -
Batman: "This gunsel has a jaw like iron!"
Robin: "Bet my waltzing partner's jaw is harder!
Batman: "You're right, Robin!"
Robin: "No, Batman! You're right!"
Batman: "Uh-oh! Sorry I bowled one over into your alley, Robin!"
Robin: "Mistakes happen, Batman! Don't stop playing on our account. Right, fellas?"
As the Boy Wonder's fists sink into the gunmen like exploding depth-charges scattering sharks . . . "Batman! The hot-rod is blasting off!"
"Looks like Death-Man is taking a holiday . . . all by himself!" says Batman as he dives after the fleeing skeletal villain.
Even though Batman's hands close like handcuffs around the eerie figure . . . Bruce's blood turns to ice at the chilling laughter . . .
"Ha-ha-HA! Do you really think you've captured me?" asks Death-Man. "You've nothing but the black shadow of death in your hands! I can drift right between your fingers like smoke . . . anytime I wish! Ha-HA! Ha-HA!"
Batman is startled by his spectral foe's reaction. "I never heard any criminal so confident of escape! at the very moment of his capture!" thinks Batman. "How could he be so sure? How? . . .How? . . . HOW?"
"Ha! HA! HA!
Batman and Robin's capture of the sinister Death-Man is followed months later by a bizarre scene in a Gotham City court room. Despite the best efforts of the prison doctors, Death-Man's uniform cannot be removed!
"Evidently, he had the costume grafted on to him," reported Commissioner Gordon to Batman. "His skin has grown right into it! The skin specialist couldn't begin to describe the agony he must have endured in the process. What could have driven someone to do such a thing?"
Not withstanding his strange appearance, the accused was found competent to be tried for the murder of the guard. After a speedy trial, the jury unanimously finds Death-Man guilty. Bruce and Dick have a front-row seat as the judge is pronouncing sentence . . .
"I therefore sentence you to death in the matter prescribed by the laws of this st-"
"Ha! Ha! HA!" interrupts Death-Man. "Do you really think you have the power to sentence me to death?"
"I . . . and I alone possess the power over life and death! I am beyond your feeble laws! You can no more jail a shadow . . . or punish it . . . than m-m-m . . ." suddenly, Death-Man slumps to the floor!
The bailiff bends over him. "He . . . he's not breathing. His pulse has stopped beating! . . . He's dead!
In Gotham's Tavern-on-the-Green, a few days after the spectacular conclusion to the trial . . . four lovely young ladies share a table with Gotham City's most eligible bachelor and his teenaged ward.
"Bruce? . . . Bruce, darling . . . you're not with us!" complains a pert brunette.
"That's obvious, darling. Isn't it, darlings?" replies a statuesque blonde.
"But . . . where is he?" asks another blonde.
Bruce, who along with Dick, was lost in thought, suddenly springs up from the table. "Excuse me, girls! I just remembered something I had to do. I'll be right back . . . in a day or so. Charles, see that the ladies have everything they want."
"They'll lack for nothing . . . except your company, Mr. Wayne," replies Charles, the Tavern's headwaiter.
The millionaire sportsman and his youthful ward hurry to Wayne Manor. Avoiding Aunt Harriet, they advance quickly to the study, where the bust of William Shakespeare is tilted back to reveal the secret switch. When the switch is toggled, a wall slides back, revealing the Bat-poles. Sliding down to the Batcave, Bruce and Dick are transformed once again into Batman and Robin!
Batman turns to his companion, "Maybe you'll think I'm flipping . . , but I just can't get Death-Man's mocking laughter . . . just when I caught him . . . out of my head. How could he have been so confident he wouldn't pay for his crime?"
"I've been bugged by the same thing," admits Robin. "He seemed to know exactly what was going to happen to him . . . right up to the very moment of sentencing."
The Dynamic Duo hop into the Batmobile. As the Batmobile roars into the foggy late afternoon, Batman continues, "It isn't humanly possible to be that confident, unless . . . he was absolutely positive that he would escape through the use of some gimmick of which we were completely unaware."
"There's only one way of checking . . . and you're taking it!" observes Robin, noticing the destination to which Batman is driving.
Moments later, the Dynamic Duo arrive at the gate to the municipal graveyard - a "potter's field" at the city's outskirts, where unidentified bodies are buried. Batman knew that at this particular moment, Death-Man was scheduled to be interred. Just as the gravediggers are about to lower the coffin into the open grave, Batman and Robin walk up. "Mind if I take a look?" Batman asks. He steps forward and raises the lid.
"I could have sworn . . .? Well, it doesn't matter now. It's Death-Man all right! despite all his mocking laughter at me . . . and the law."
"Looks like the last laugh was on him," says a solemn Robin.
- - - but, in the nights that follow . . . Bruce's dreams are haunted by hollow laughter . . .
"Fool! Do you really think you've captured me? Ha! Ha! Ha! HA! HA!
"You've nothing but the black shadow of death in your hands! I can drift right between your fingers like smoke . . . anytime I wish! Ha! Ha! Ha!
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
"Just imagine . . . I could kill you . . . and no law could touch me . . . because . . . how can you prosecute a dead man? Ha! Ha! Ha! HA! HA!"
"No! NO! NO!"
Dick, Alfred and Aunt Harriet all rush into Bruce's bedroom. "Wake up, Bruce!" shouts Dick. "Wake up! You must have been having a king-sized nightmare! I heard your moans clear across to my room. What was it? Something you ate?"
"N-No . . . something I can't digest," Bruce groggily replies.
"Oh, dear," exclaims Aunt Harriet.
"Is there anything I can get for you, sir?" asks Alfred.
"No, Alfred, but . . . I . . . I think a change of scene will do me good . . . help me forget something that needs forgetting. Tell you what, Dick, let's go scuba-diving . . . in Jamaica . . . "
A few days later, Dick Grayson emerges from the waters of the Caribbean, accompanied by a dark, teenaged Jamaican girl he met that morning on the beach. They approach Bruce, who is laying on the sand. A deeply tanned blonde is rubbing his neck, while a super-model is holding a drink he is imbibing through a straw. Nearby a gorgeous redhead is dancing to reggae music playing on a radio.
Dick turns to his new friend, "This must be what they call dryland fishing! Ever since we landed here, Bruce hasn't been nearer water than the ice in that soft drink he's been diving into . . ."
Suddenly, the music stops, interrupted by a news bulletin: "Flash! Death-Man has struck again! This time in Bay City! The killer . . . sentenced to death after being captured by Batman . . . has been positively identified by eye-witnesses at the scene of his latest crime!"
Bruce jumps to his feet and hits the beach running. "Sorry, girls! I've got a jet to catch!"
"Hey! Wait for me!" yells Dick, chasing after his mentor.
A speedy jet-flight . . . and after a swift change, the Dynamic Duo leave the Batcave for the heliport where the Bat-copter is stored. "Eye-witnesses have been known to slip up in making positive identifications," says Batman, sounding as if he's trying to convince himself.
"Positively!" replies Robin.
"We both saw Death-Man topple dead! We saw him in his grave!" summarizes the Caped Crusader. "This can't be him! It must be some goon impersonating him!"
"We'll find out . . . when we get to Bay City," concludes the Teenaged Thunderbolt.
As the Bat-copter glides towards Bay City, the Bat-copter's police scanner picks up . . . "A.P.B. - Death-Man and his new henchmen were last seen headed for Route 66A . . . in the black hearse in which they made their getaway from their latest holdup. It is reported armored as bullets have ricocheted off its sides"
Looking down, Batman sees, "Black hearse speeding along Route 66A! That must be it below! I'll go nearer and check."
Pow! Pow! Pow! As a hail of bullets suddenly pours from the racing funeral coach . . .
"We knocked and they answered with lead!" observes Batman. "It's the gang all right, but whether it's Death-Man is another matter!"
"Seeing is believing!" states Robin. "Let's see!"
Brrvoooom! From the swooping Bat-copter hurtle . . . "Our smoke-grenades could stop them . . . (sssss! SSSSS! Hisssss!) . . . but they missed!" concludes Batman.
"Maybe the best way to score a bull's-eye . . . is to stand right on it!" suggests Robin.
Batman throws the Bat-copter's rope-ladder over the side and begins to descend. "Hey . . . that's not fair, Batman!" complains Robin. "It was my idea!"
"Age before brains, Robin. I need a cool, steady hand at the controls. Lower away . . . right onto the target!"
As the fearless Masked Manhunter is lowered toward the death car . . . "Ha-ha-ha-Ha! HA! HA!"
"It is Death-Man! There's no mistaking that laugh!" exclaims Batman. "Somehow . . . he's risen from the dead!" Pow!
"You're a brave man, Batman!" yells Death-Man, "risking a second meeting with death! But you're also a fool! You'll hang for your foolhardiness! Ha-ha-HA-HA"
As if by the figure-of-death's command, a violent gust of wind almost hurls Batman from his precarious perch.
Whiiisssh! Pow! Pow! "How considerate of you, Batman! Just hang there one moment more . . . and I'll take you with me like a deer slung over the hood! Ha! HA! HA!"
On to the astounding conclusion of Death Knocks Three Times