Batman #412 – “The Sound of Silence” – Max Allan Collins/Dave Cockrum/Don Heck
This one starts early Sunday morning, with Batman and Robin finishing their nightly patrol and stopping across from St. Martin’s church to hear the bells chime (which is apparently a ritual Batman observes every Sunday). But this time, the bells don’t ring and they find out someone has stolen the clapper. Commissioner Gordon tells them the same thing has happened to churches and cathedrals all over Gotham and Batman wonders if someone’s trying to send a message. That night in the theatre district, a mime performs in the middle of an intersection, impressing the crowd but causing a big traffic jam. When a cab
driver mouths off to her, she pulls a silenced pistol (of course it’s silenced, she’s a mime!) and shoots him. Everybody freaks and the noise attracts Batman and Robin. Batman goes after the mime, catching her in the park. He grabs her handbag, but she zaps him with gloves wired for electricity and takes off. Robin tells Batman the cabbie has a bullet in his shoulder, but he’ll live. The cabbie looks at a line-up of mimes later but can’t pick out the one who shot him. Gordon says an all-mime line-up is idiotic, but Batman thinks there was something familiar about this particular mime’s makeup. As Bruce Wayne, he talks to Vicki Vale about an 
article her magazine (now called Vue apparently) ran on a mime named Camilla Cameo. Camilla’s father owned a fireworks company, but she preferred quieter pursuits and after her parents died, she went to Europe to study mime (with Marcel Marceau). She came back and started her own troupe, performing regularly at the Civic Center, but when arts funding was cut, her troupe dissolved and she disappeared. Batman thinks Camilla is expressing her disdain for the noise of modern life by stealing the church bells, and he has a pretty good idea where she’ll strike next … the Civic Center, since they’re hosting a heavy metal concert tonight by a group called Blister Twister.
(The crowd looks punk, but the band look metal … the lead singer is a combination of Gene Simmons, King Diamond, and Alice Cooper.) Sure enough, Camilla shows up and starts zapping the band. Batman and Robin arrive and Batman’s newly insulated costume gives him the edge. They take Camilla down with a blast of feedback and the show goes on … making Batman wonder if they did the right thing.
Detective #579 – “The Crime Doctor’s Crimson Clinic” – Mike W. Barr/Norm Breyfogle
This one starts with an ex-con named Schuyler Reems doing something shady to get a big pay-off for his wife and kid. His wife doesn’t want him doing something illegal, but he’s adamant and leaves with some people to go see “the doctor”. Elsewhere, some guys are ripping off a blood bank when Batman and Robin show up to kick their asses. Batman recognizes one of them
and notices he’s been treated for a gunshot lately. Batman knows no reputable doctor would treat a gunshot wound without reporting it, so he figures the Crime Doctor (Bradford Thorne) must be back in business. Commissioner Gordon says the guys robbing the blood bank work for Boss McAllister, who wants to flee the country but has a severe heart condition. Batman speculates that Crime Doctor might help McAllister out with his heart problem, for the right price. He’s right, Thorne is preparing to perform an operation on McAllister (as well as on someone who can only 
be Two-Face), and apparently Reems is a big part of that; maybe Reems agreed to donate his heart in exchange for his family being taken care of. Being a mobster, McAllister tries to threaten Thorne to do a good job, but Thorne’s nurse (Nurse Rench, which I assume is a Nurse Ratched reference) pounds McAllister’s goons. At Leslie Thompkins’ clinic, Batman uses her computer to check McAllister’s medical records while Leslie is examining Robin. Batman finds out Reems has McAllister’s rare blood type and goes to talk to his wife. He finds some mud left by Thorne’s men and figures out where Thorne’s new hideout is. After alerting the Commissioner, Batman and Robin head into Thorne’s clinic.
Robin takes out the generator and Batman releases knockout gas through the vents. Robin ends up having to take down Nurse Rench, while Batman confronts McAllister, scaring him so much he dies of a heart attack. Thorne attacks Batman, tearing his mask off so he inhales some of the gas. Before Thorne can kill Batman, Reems jumps him and smashes Thorne’s hands when he pulls a gun (ending his career as a surgeon). Batman tells the cops Reems was helping him find Thorne and tells Reems to go to the Wayne Foundation to get a job.
Noticeable Things:
- Crime Doctor’s last appearance was in Detective 495, where he learned Batman’s secret identity and was given mercury that caused brain damage. There’s no reference to that story here, so I guess this is a post-Crisis version of the character, and this turns out to be his only appearance.
Outsiders #24 – “Night of Camp David” – Mike W. Barr/Trevor von Eeden, Erik Larsen/Bill Wray
Last issue, a Russian villain named Fusion (who’s formed from three super-powered Soviets) broke out of prison intending to kill President Reagan and start World War II. Apparently, Fusion blames his condition on the Cold War and this is his way of getting back at both sides. Fusion splits up to kill some guards, then re-amalgamates to find the President. Batman and the Outsiders aren’t far behind and they find the dead guards in
some bushes. Before they can go after Fusion, soldiers show up to detain them. (I guess they don’t watch the news, since they don’t seem to recognize anyone, even Batman … or maybe they’re just trained to detain any unauthorized personnel at Camp David, no matter who they are.) The Outsiders knock the soldiers out, but more are on the way, so Black Lightning, Katana, and Windfall act as decoys to draw pursuit. Batman heads off on his own (as usual), while Geo-Force, Metamorpho, Halo, and Looker go after Fusion. He’s not hard to find, since he’s leaving a trail of bodies behind him. When they catch up, 
Fusion attacks, pounding Geo-Force and Metamorpho. Halo and Looker use their powers against Fusion and Looker manages to force him to split into his three component people. But they each have powers too, and with Geo-Force and Metamorpho still reeling, the three Russians seize the advantage, trying to electrocute the Outsiders. Looker contains the electricity, but Fusion escapes. Inside, Batman has disguised himself as President Reagan but has to knock out a few soldiers to keep them from evacuating him to Air Force One. He leads Fusion toward the hangar, telling the rest of the Outsiders to meet him there through Looker’s telepathic link. Black Lightning, Katana, and Windfall wrap up the soldiers who were chasing them and join the rest of
the team at the hangar. Batman takes off in Air Force One and Fusion jumps on, trying to tear the plane apart. The outsiders try to stop him, but Fusion knocks Geo-Force out, depositing him in the plane. Fusion realizes Batman tricked him and rips Batman’s parachute to shreds, but Batman grabs Geo-Force and bails out anyway, leaving the plane (and Fusion) to crash into a mountain and explode. Halo and Windfall catch Batman and Geo-Force, bringing them down gently to the ground. Batman doesn’t actually seem too bothered by Fusion’s death; I’ve noticed Barr tends to write Batman a bit more cavalier towards his opponents … as long as he doesn’t kill them directly, he isn’t too worried if they end up dead.