As a new decade dawned, the times were a-changin’ at DC Comics, where the plan was to leave all that 1960s Silver Age silliness behind. In the pages of Detective Comics, master artist Neal Adams was redefining Batman to be as unlike Adam West as possible. And Detective #400 (Drew’s pick for this episode) introduced a character way too dark for TV (until the 90s animated series): the tragic antihero Man-Bat. There was also a backup story starring Robin and Batgirl, who would team up quite often throughout the 1970s. Can you stop Batgirl by building a brick wall around her? Let’s find out. Meanwhile, Kevin looks at a pair of Teen Titans comics that completely redefined the team. As Robin resigned (to go hang out with Batgirl, presumably) the rest of the Titans abandoned their superhero costumes and powers, and went to work for the mysterious Mr. Jupiter. They also picked up a couple of new members: a psychic go-go dancer (!) named Lilith and a guy named Mal. And while Mal worked with the Titans all through the 70s, for several years he had no superhero code name, costume, or powers. (He eventually did cycle through a series of increasingly ridiculous identities. His “Hornblower” costume was… not good.) It was a bumpy ride for Mal, but he is still considered DC’s first Black superhero. So join us as DC stumbles into the 70s. We’ll bring the Carpenter’s records. Available exclusively to Patrons of the ESO Network. Why not join in the fun and help support ESO at the same time! Click here to join!!
