Batman #29 - Story 4

April 13, 1945

"The Mails Go Through"

This is an interesting one as Batman and Robin learn what it takes to be a mailman. The story opens with a mailman making his rounds when he comes upon the Duo fighting crooks on the street. One of them shoots the mailman and while he isn't critically hurt, he cannot complete his appointed rounds.

Batman takes the mail while Robin gets the postman to the hospital. His first stop is a registered letter needing a signature. The person at the door doesn't show his face and when Batman gets his pen back, there's blood on it. He bursts into a room where the recipient of the letter is bound and is being menaced by The Scuttler, a West Coast villain.

The Scuttler gets away and Batman learns he is after the formula for an invention that was in the registered letter. But the letter he delivered was not it. It was to arrive the next day. Batman decides to learn everything about the registered mail system in order to make sure he can predict how the Scuttler will intercept the letter.

In the learning of the system, he discovers that the letters are delivered to local stations via pneumatic tubes underground. He works out that the letter, meant for station C, will go to station E. He sends along a sleep gas bomb in the tube to stop the Scuttler, but the gas isn't strong enough in the large area to hold them for long.

Batman and Robin quickly take out the gang and all is well again. A simple story, but I liked the Scuttler even though he didn't do that much. Haven't looked to see if he ever returns, but I think there is potential in the character.

And what's next? The 100th issue of Detective Comics! Was it as momentous in 1945 as it would be today? Stay tuned, Citizens!