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By request, the Vigilante story from Adventure Comics #417, 3 1/3 pages of 10.

This is the Golden Age Vigilante, but a Silver Age edging into Bronze Age story--his first appearance since being reintroduced in JLA #78-79 with the other members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

Yep, ol' Vig has just caught himself a couple of plainclothes detectives. They were running in front of the police cars trying to catch up to someone they suspect of being a cop killer. Five policemen have died, this is the first solid lead they've had, and the Vigilante managed to screw it all up and let the suspect get away. One spectator thought the Vigilante had retired, another quips that maybe he should have.

He recaps in his mind that the JLA gave him his new motorcycle, and he didn't screw up during the big crossover. And if the police are just now starting to close in on the killer after five deaths, maybe they aren't so hot themselves. So Vigilante resolves to get the cop kiler, and quickly.

Down at Fisherman's Wharf, a couple of cops are hassling a cheap hood, who refuses to say anything useful to them. He knows his rights, after all.

The moment the thug is off-guard, the Vigilante lassoes the varmint, and pulls him up a floor for a friendly discussion.

It's too early in the story for that gun to be the cop killer. Instead, it's a young Chinese woman, who wants Vigilante to put up his hands. She's okay with him letting go of the rope and thus dropping the thug--they're not related, and the thug genuinely knows nothing about the cop killer. Lui-An (for such is her name) wants Vig to go meet her employer.

Over in Chinatown, above a restaurant, Vigilante is introduced to Hi-Chang, legimate businessman. Hi-Chang explains that one of the dead cops was Chinese-American, and killed in Chinatown. "We do not tolerate crime here!" Also, the Anglo cops are trying to pin this killing spree on a Chinese person if they can. Their poking and prying are bad for business. As it happens, Hi-Chang's organization has located the cop killer, who is hiding somewhere outside Chinatown, and thus out of the tong's jurisdiction. The white police won't listen to any tips that don't match their prejudices, but the Vigilante might be more willing to hear the locals out.

(Not mentioned here is one of the reasons the denizens of Chinatown might trust the Vigilante--one of his Golden Age sidekicks was Stuff, the Chinatown Kid.)

Based on the lead provided by Hi-Chang, Vigilante investigates a smelly apartment building. The inhabitant of the appropriate room has already ducked out the window, and shoots at Vig when the Prairie Troubador sticks his head out. It might not be the cop killer, but whoever it is is sure trigger happy! Vigilante gives chase.

The suspect jumps a cable car and threatens the (black) driver if Vigilante doesn't back off. But Vig makes sure to keep the shooter's attention fixed on him rather than following up that threat, dodging bullets all the while. Finally he's able to board the cable car and get the driver off. Now the two men struggle. The cop killer (yep, right guy this time) rants about how they'll all be sorry as the car goes out of control down a hill. It breaks through a barrier and into a ditch.

Okay, yeah. Vigilante really doesn't come off too well in this story, does he? Marv Wolfman would go on to write another Vigilante years later, Adrian Chase, the worst District Attorney ever.

Your thoughts and comments?

If there's interest, there's two more stories in this issue, a Supergirl tale with gender!fail, and DC's first attempt at the magical girl subgenre. Anyone want to see either of those?

Suggested Tags
char: Vigilante/Greg Saunders
creator: Grey Morrow
creator: Marv Wolfman
creator: Steve Skeates
publisher: DC Comics
title: Adventure Comics