DETECTIVE COMICS #510

"HEAD-HUNT BY A MAD HATTER!"
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Gene Colan & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Klaus Janson | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman watches a mayoral debate between Hamilton Hill and Arthur Reeves, then stops a robbery. Meanwhile, Lucius Fox is working late at Wayne Enterprises when the company computer goes haywire and knocks him out, and he is subsequently kidnapped by the Mad Hatter. The next morning Bruce Wayne takes a call from Commissioner Gordon, informing him of the incident. Bruce meets the commissioner in the Wayne offices, where his secretary presents him with a business card from Head Hunters, Inc., which she found on her desk. At Gordon's order, Bruce calls the number. The Mad Hatter answers and tells Bruce he will return Lucius for two million dollars.

Gordon orders Bruce to pay the ransom so the police can track it. But before doing so, Bruce does some investigating of a component which was added to his company computer. Afterward, Bruce pays the ransom and when the Hatter confirms it has been done, he drains all of Lucius's business knowledge with a special computer, then perpares to erase the executive's memory -- but Batman appears, having traced the electronic component to the Hatter's hideout. Batman takes out the Hatter's goons, then volunteers to take Lucius's place in his machine. The Hatter agrees, but his device fails to erase Batman's memory. Later, as the police take the Hatter and his men away, Batman explains that he wore a special rubberized headpiece under his cowl, which prevented his brain from being drained.

BATMAN #343

"A DAGGER SO DEADLY..."
Writer Gerry Conway | Artist: Gene Colan | Embellisher: Klaus Janson
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: Batman ends a fruitless search for Man-Bat near Wayne Manor, and drives back to Gotham City. Inside city limits, he spots a knife-thrower on a motorcycle who takes out a semi-truck with a well-placed dagger. Batman drives after the villain, who calls himself Dagger, but another hurled knife takes the Batmobile out of commission and Batman is forced to drive it off Gotham bridge to prevent it from exploding near civilians.

The next day, Dagger continues his spree, attacking a jewelry shop to extort protection money. He eludes the police and escapes. That night, Batman dives for the crashed Batmobile and retrieves Dagger's knife, which leads him to the weapon's manufacturer: the Rennington Steel company in New York. Batman speaks with Mister Rennington, who leaves him momentarily and then returns in the costume of Dagger. Rennington attacks Batman, but the Caped Crusader proves more than his match, using a dummy to distract Dagger and then knocking him out with a massive novelty dagger. Batman turns Dagger over to the police and then drives back to Gotham.

Continuity Notes: Narration states that Batman has been searching for Man-Bat for a week, with a footnote pointing to the prior issue for their last encounter. However Batman also thinks to himself that he traveled to Egypt during that week (footnoted to DETECTIVE COMICS #508), and wonders if the trail went cold because of that little side-quest.