Batman's Weirdest Girlfriend: Patricia Powell

[mr_neutron]

Batman has gotten involved with many strange women over the years. But none has been as delightfully strange as Patricia Powell, Policewoman...



Some notes before I begin. This is my first Scans_Daily post on dreamwidth--I originally posted these scans on the first version of Scans_Daily, back when it was on livejournal (you may remember me as Senordildo, named in honor of the Earl of Rochester). I have rechecked the scans to make sure they fall under the 1/3 rule (various bits and pieces that add to up about 4 pages from a 13 page story, and 2.5 pages from another 13 pager). Now, on with the show!

Patricia Powell first appeared in Batman #165 (August 1964), in "The Dilemma of the Detective's Daughter!", written by Ed "France" Herron and penciled by Sheldon Moldoff, with inks by Joe Giella.

Batman is giving the graduation speech at Gotham City's Police Academy ("I want to stress the value of your physical fitness training, which I can best do by recounting one of my own cases!"). Eventually he finishes yakking...













And now lots of boring plot gets in the way...too bad, since this kooky little love story is the sort of thing a surrealist might come up with on his day off. Professor Smedley, an expert in explosives, gets kidnapped by some gangsters. But have no fear, Policeman Powell is on the case, along with Batman!


"...you'll notice there's not a single ashtray or pipe in the room! Smedley obviously doesn't smoke--so why should he have a can of tobacco? Let's see what's inside," says Batman.
"That's what I get for thinking of Bruce Wayne--I overlooked the obvious!" says Pat.


Everything turns out hunky-dory, and the professor is rescued by the Bat-Pat team.


DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!!!!

The Patricia Powell saga resumes in Batman #166, by the same team. Join us for "A Rendezvous with Robbery!"

Of course, just when Bruce and Pat are about to finally meet, someone tries to rob the ball with land-mines (ain't that always the way!):



Pat naturally gets onto the robbers' trail lickety-split:

"...everything he wore was expensive, and imported and sold only at a couple of exclusive Gotham City stores!" (So she tracks him down through his tailor.)
"Terrific deduction, Pat!" says Batman. "But now the big question--how can you be following the crooks? They didn't leave a marked trail!"
"No time for that Batman," says Pat. "We're almost here!"


The robbers are swiftly foiled, and we move to the end...



So what happens next? We'll never know, because there was no follow-up story! In the best surrealist tradition of continually frustrating desire in increasingly maddening ways, Patricia Powell never appeared again!! AAAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!! Though Ed "Why the fuck was he called France?" Herron wrote a couple of later Bat-stories, he never again returned to his most tantalizing creator. So let the word go forth to a new generation of Bat-writers: bring back Patricia Powell! Don't leave us hanging for another 47 years!!! Continue the craziness!!!



Ah well. And now here's a clip from Lipstick on Your Collar that tells the moral of the story:

Comments

[golden_orange]

Oh, those crazy women and their inexplicable crush-lapses.

[halloweenjack]

I think that that's the only time I've seen Bats with a circular (or nearly-circular; it seems to vary throughout the strip) logo.

[aaron_bourque]

Crazy wimmins?

[darkknightjrk]

Quick! Send these comics to Morrison--STAT! :D

[psychopathicus_rex]

Yeah, I own that collection, and that's one of the more inexplicable things in it - there's this big wind-up to something that never pays off! It's a shame, too, because Pat Powell is arguably one of the few non-superheroic women Bats knows who could potentially deal with his being Batman - after all, she's a crimefighter, too, and a good one. (Probably not a great idea to team her up with her dad like that, though - I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain there are regulations forbidding that sort of thing.)
Also - man, I've gotta look up 'Lipstick on your Collar' after that clip - until the end, I was thinking it was just a really nifty music video, but no, it's a miniseries! Is it any good?

[mr_neutron]

Pat indeed has a lot of potential. "Lipstick" was written by the great Dennis Potter, who had done two earlier miniseries that used the miming-to-music idea: "Pennies From Heaven" and "The Singing Detective." "Lipstick" is much lighter than either, and is commonly regarded as the least of the three, but it's still quite fun and worth watching. If you're in Britain it's available on DVD. If you're in America you'll either need an all-region player or can try finding the old VHS release.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Probably not available for me, then. Damn. Still, it might be on Netflix - I'll check.

[perletwo]

So, Pat Powell is the female Shawn Spencer?

[whitesycamore]

I love the way everyone speaks in this. Maybe the world would be a better place if we all spoke in precise expository statements that briefly outlined our feelings and motivations?

[mr_neutron]

It would definitely be a simpler, more economical place, perhaps with far more free time.

[icon_uk]

You mean you don't?

[whitesycamore]

No; I confabulate, prevaricate, bloviate and lie! You can't just use simple language to clearly state your feelings and intentions. That's cheating.

And to use a real life example, "I'm concerned about something - I have unexpected lapses where I can think of nothing but sandwiches/sex/Jason Todd" is honest, but probably better left unsaid.

[icon_uk]

And I'm sure that there was absolutely NOTHING Freudian in your use of "Jason Todd sex sandwich" as a comparison.

[whitesycamore]

I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding - the Jason Todd-sex-sandwich lapses are a completely different matter. For a start, they're not unexpected.

[icon_uk]

Of course, just when Bruce and Pat are about to finally meet, someone tries to rob the ball with land-mines

Bet the robbers had nothing to so with the land-mines and just took the credit.... Robin can a jealous little sod at times you know.

[mr_neutron]

Robin is actually in the story too, but says and does very little. Suspiciously little...

[star_of_airdrie]

I've got to say that the land-mine approach to crime is woefully under utilized... I smell a fanfic coming on...

[sadoeuphemist]

"Right between the eyes! Good shooting!"

[kusonaga]

I love Bats saying "Right between the eyes! Good shooting!".

[lieut_kettch]

Inner monologue: It would've been quicker for Mom and Dad if Chill had gotten between the eyes... instead I was forced to watch while they spent their last few minutes on Earth bleeding to death, twitching...

[mr_neutron]

Deep down, Batman is searching for a woman who could have properly killed his parents...It's all very Freudian...

[greenmask]

Batman had her relocated and gave her a new identity because he was sure that she would have already figured out his ID?

[mr_neutron]

That's as plausible an explanation as any, though perhaps her trances would have incapacitated her ability to tell anyone. She doesn't care too much about Batman--there's a panel I didn't reproduce where she thinks to herself "Batman is all right I guess, but Bruce Wayne is something special!"

[greenmask]

But surely she would have come out of a trance with Batman's head where Bruce's had just been in her memory, which may well have led to exclamations. She's a good detective alright, but it never mentions whether she can keep a secret, or NOT react to what she's just discovered..

[mr_neutron]

That is also plausible. The other possible outcome is that she might lose all interest in Bruce if she finds out he's Batman.

[greenmask]

Now that would have been amusing.

[thelazyreader]

Has Batman been involved with other policewomen? Besides Barbara Gordon from the DCAU?

[kaete]

Despite being rather dated, I quite like her!

And it's interesting having a romantic lead who is madly in love with "Clark Kent" instead of Superman, as it were.

[icon_uk]

I think Clark had someone like that too, I just can't recall their name (and no, it wasn't Jimmy, they just lived together for a while)

[perletwo]

I vaguely recall seeing that at one of the previous s_d's. Wasn't there something a bit celebrity-stalkerish about that one, though, or am I confusing two different minor characters?

[icon_uk]

Yes, that rings a bell... oh, and it might be worth mentioning Mayson Drake, a DA in "Lois and Clark" who fancied Clark, but had no time for Superman.

[jmacq1]

IIRC Cat Grant actually had an attraction to Clark Kent in the post-Crisis era.

I believe there have been a couple others albeit not as prevalent/in (Earth) One-offs.

[icon_uk]

Hmmm... so, after recounting one of the stories highlighting his superb physique and physical prowess, Batman receives "A round of lusty applause"? From an almost entirely male audience?

Good thing he didn't tell the story about the time he and Robin infiltrated a nudist colony to hunt down a criminal Greco-Roman wrestler, there might have been a riot!

[thelazyreader]

Issue number, NOW.

[icon_uk]

Now do you honestly think that ANY actual picture could be better than the mental images running through your head right now?

Batman and Robin slowly and carefully taking their clothes off in the sauna... before gently but firmly massaging oil into their beautifully defined pectorals... and sliding careful yet manly hands up and down those lithe, muscular legs before happily engaging in some healthy, virile masculine wrestling, seeking inquisitively with their strong yet tender fingers for some new hold on their opponent?

[icon_uk]

Oh, all right, there is THIS from Batman 38

[thelazyreader]

Is it just me or did Batman comics of that era ooze gay overtones?

[mr_neutron]

It was a society-wide thing--because homosexuality was not supposed to exist, people gazed at all sorts of potentially homoerotic images without ever realizing how their behavior and interest could be construed. It still happens today, though less often--witness all the straight men swooning for "300" (and then hastily disavowing anything "gay" about the film or their interest). Sort of the same thing is happening in this panel from Batman 38--the dynamic duo seems to have traveled back in time to ancient Greece, so we got lots of Greek wrestling tropes, without any acknowledgement about ancient Greece being a profoundly pederastic society.

[mistygeek]

I like this post on my blog:

http://goldenreadingdomain.blogspot.com/2012/03/sheldon-moldoff-part-2.html

You do good work!

[mr_neutron]

Thank you, and the same to you for that excellent tribute post!