Batman #17 - Story 4

April 9, 1943

"Adventure of the Vitamin Vandals"

Eh, I've said it before that I'm not keen on the nautical based stories of Batman as it takes him away from Gotham City, but this one does have a somewhat interesting twist.

Fishing ships find themselves being boarded and attacked by the Phantom Raiders, masked pirates who steal the day's take of the fishermen, sharks whose livers are rich in vitamins. These sharks are very valuable before the vitamins are needed to fortify the soldiers and the war effort. Again, a nice war time story that doesn't have Batman directly fighting Nazis the way his counterpart Superman does, but a realistic way of helping with the war effort on a more local level.

Bruce and Dick hear of the raids while on vacation and go undercover, getting a job as deck hand and cabin boy on board the Jenny Jones. The captain is reluctant to go out as he lost most of his crew who quit after the last raid, but he goes for it when he finds out the fish brokers are desperate and willing to pay a bonus.

While on deck and talking with the cabin, Bruce spots a pile of sand in a corner. He finds it odd that a ship that had just returned from sea would have sand on its deck. What could it mean?

And then there comes a peculiar moment in the story. Bruce and Dick think it's an easy job being a shark fishermen as the nets are cast from the rear of the boat and the sharks become ensnared as the boat moves through the water. The problem is, it takes a great deal of effort to humanly lift the nets out. There's no pulley to help with the load. And then comes the issue of knocking the sharks out with the clubs. Should that fail, someone has to be ready with the gun. And that someone is Bruce, holding a rifle and having to use it when one of the sharks fails to succumb to the blow from the club and lunges at Dick. Bruce with a gun after he's established that he has no need for guns is a bit strange to see.

The bring in their haul and head back to shore, hoping the gathering fog can cover them. But their hopes are dashed when the Raiders board the ship. The Raiders are surprised though when Batman and Robin attack. They send the Raiders on the run and Batman discovers how the pirates were able to sneak aboard - they lowered themselves from a blimp above the ship.

They climb up the rope ladder leading to the blimp and attack. The gang trap the two in the ballast room and then release the ballast, sending the two to the water below. Batman surfaces with a knocked out Robin and finds a shark circling them. He places Robin on top of some driftwood and goes to attack the shark with a knife.

They are picked up by the harbor patrol who bring them to shore. There, they spot one of the members of the Raiders. They follow him to the hanger where the gang keeps their blimp. The story moves quickly as they get back on board and learn that the fish broker is behind the Raiders. It's a lot cheaper to pay these men off then the large fees he was paying the fishermen. With this, they round up the gang and then return to their vacation in which Bruce actually appears to be relaxing, much to Dicks surprise.

Overall, not a bad little collection of stories for this issue, including this one. And what's next? Stay tuned, Citizens!