Batman #3 - Story 2
October 18, 1940
"The Ugliest Man in the World"
There are those stories you wonder how they came about and there are those stories you just let tell its tale. This is one that is better to fall under the latter.
The story opens in typical fashion with Batman stopping the destruction of a museum by a group of particularly ugly men. In the mix is police detective McGonigle. While the men manage to get away, he is thrilled that he will be bringing in the Batman. Of course he doesn't and Batman gets away. McGonigle vows to capture him especially considering how he's looking a fool among his peers.
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne pays a dinner visit to his friend Harvey Dodge who introduces him to Larrimore. In the course of the evening, Bruce notes Dodge not looking so well, Indeed, Dodge's features mutate before their eyes as he become ugly.
The doctor can find no reason for the change. In the days that follow, a number of people fall under the same conditions. And there is a spike in criminal activity by those affected. When the police appear to have them, they get in a car which mysteriously disappears.
We get a scene of Bruce visiting Gordon, probably getting the latest on the police's investigations into the case, when McGonigle walks in. He's still going on about Batman. Even Gordon tells him to let it go and focus on the ugly people crimes. We also get a scene right out of Batman 66 as our leader of the ugly people proclaims war and destruction against all things of beauty, which gets the others all riled up.
Bruce reads about the delivery of a valuable statue from the war torn country of Boravia. He is confident that will be a target of the ugly criminals. So he plans to head on out with Robin to stop them. Now, if you follow the podcast, you may have heard myself and writer Jim Beard discuss the 1943 Batman serial. We commented on how the serial would show Batman and Robin step out of their home and enter their car (not referred to as the Batmobile) and thought it pretty silly.
Now, depending on what source material the producers used in putting the serial together, this may be why it was shown that way. In a panel that looks like it could have come from the 43 serial, we see Batman and Robin, in the street, walk up to their car from what looks like outside their home. There is a sidewalk, which suggests this is more of a suburb that they live rather than a home on the outskirts of the city as we'll later see. So, it was a valid interpretation.
Back to the story, Batman and Robin foil the robbery, but once again Batman is held back by McGonigle. Batman manages to lose him by tossing him in the river. They pursue the escaping crooks who manage to disappear just as they did with the police.
They hear on the radio that an antidote to the ugly serum has been developed and Batman knows that will put the creator's life in danger so they race to his home. (How come the police don't figure that out?). They arrive in time to halt his execution. The killers escape with Batman in pursuit, leaving Robin behind to guard the victim.
Batman is able to see how they managed to disappear. The car drove into a truck that had been seen in both instances, but ignored by the police and Batman. Batman follows the truck to the ugly gang's hideout where he is captured and tied up.
Our ugly leader reveals his origin. He was a college student who was accidentally injected with a concoction of chemicals meant only to scare him. It alters his looks and changes his life in that his friends and his fiancee rejects him. He decides to find the mix that did this to him and succeeds. He goes on a quest to destroy all that is beautiful.
And his next target is his former fiancee. He is stopped short by a sling bullet from Robin who races in and frees Batman. The two quickly round up the gang. The leader is shot by McGonigle as he tries to get the drop on Batman. Batman and Robin manage to again slip away from McGonigle who vows again he will get Batman.
