Story: Made of Wood, Part Two (22 pages)
(previous part in Detective Comics #784, next part in Detective Comics #786)
Writer(s): Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Patrick Zircher
Inks: Aaron Sowd
Characters:
Bruce Wayne / Batman, James Gordon, Alan Wellington Scott / Green Lantern I
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon / Oracle (off-screen), Clovers gang member, Jackie O'Rourdan (leader of the Clovers gang, murdered), Assistant District Attorney Calvin Jaffe, Francis Sullivan (grandson of Seamus Sullivan), James Sime (off-screen, murder victim), Carolyn Sime (off-screen, James' wife), Commissioner Michael Akins (off-screen), Doiby Dickles (in flashback), Solomon Grundy (in flashback), Isaac Bowin / Fiddler (in flashback), Sportsmaster I (in flashback), Mayor Thorndike (off-screen, in flashback)
Synopsis:
Batman is tearing apart an Irish bar, asking for the location of Jackie O'Rourdan. In the background we see a news anchor on tv saying that James Sime, the murder victim, was involved with the Irish gang "Four Corners Clovers." While Batman questions one customer, the bartender takes out a shotgun and another customer (with a green top hat), who was hidden in the bathroom, also comes out with a weapon. Both shoot at Batman, who disarms them in a fight, and then throws the guy with the top hat through the window. Outside Green Lantern picks him up in a net made from energy with his ring. A flashback to the morning: Bruce and Alan are playing golf, Alfred is there as a caddy. Bruce asks Alan about the original killings. Five men were killed from July '48 to December, all had the words "Made of Wood" carved into their chests. Alan doesn't know any specific motive, beyond that the message seemed to be aimed at him, as wood is his only weakness. Back in 1948 Green Lantern felt bad about not sharing all his knowledge with the police, but nevertheless kept silent to protect himself, and Gotham, so that none of his adversaries would learn his weakness. He investigated the murders on his own, but didn't solve them. Bruce asks Alan to let him handle this crime. Back in the present Green Lantern says he listened but didn't make any promises to keep out of the investigation. Batman questions the man they captured, who is a member of O'Rourdan's gang, but nobody in their gang has seen O'Rourdan for the last three days. Batman lets the him go, and tells him he doesn't want to see him in Gotham again. He promises to leave town. Green Lantern expects him to join a gang in the next town, but Batman doesn't think so. Batman and Green Lantern work together for the rest of the night. They take care of many crimes, but don't find any trace of O'Rourdan. Meanwhile Jim Gordon uses his connection to the Assistant DA Calvin Jaffe to get information on the original "Made of Wood" case. He suspects the killing might have stopped so abruptly because the killer was committed to Arkham for something else in December 1948. He gets the records for Arkham commitments and deaths for that month. Oracle informs Batman that O'Rourdan's body has been found, he was dumped on the sidewalk. Batman and Green Lantern watch the police and talk about the frustrations of being a crimefighter in Gotham. Though they couldn't help O'Rourdan, they continue to work the rest of the night. Gordon's research the night before yielded three possible names, one died in prison, two were committed to Arkham. In the morning James Gordon decides to question them, respectively their surviving relatives. The first is an old man, a former cellmate of a homicidal maniac, who doesn't know anything, the second is Francis Sullivan, the grandson of Seamus Sullivan, a paranoid delusional who was committed in December 1948 and died two months ago at the Williams Medical Clinic. Francis Sullivan doesn't answer the bell so Gordon buzzes the super, and tells him he needs Francis to sign some documents because his grandfather left him money. He doesn't realize that Francis is the super, and Francis knocks out Gordon with a heavy blow to the head with a wrench, and drags the unconscious Gordon away.
Continuity References:
- Grundy and the Fiddler are seen together fighting Green Lantern [p. 7]. Later there's a flashback to Green Lantern's fight with the Sportsmaster [p. 18]. Both the Fiddler and Sportsmaster were members of the second Injustice Society, which was formed in 1948. Its formation is mentioned in ??
- Harvey Dent was Assistant District Attorney in Gotham [p. 12], and a friend of both Batman and James Gordon when they worked together to rid Gotham of crime, seen for example during Year One, in Batman #405, or in Batman: The Long Halloween, later he became the mentally unstable Two-Face, after a criminal threw acid at him during a trial, disfiguring half of his face, an event that has been told for example in Batman Annual #14 as well as in Batman: The Long Halloween.
- Batman says he never fought with Green Lantern I in Gotham before [p. 14], however this somewhat contradicts the backup story Guardian in Batman: Gotham Knights #10, which tells the first meeting between the original Green Lantern and Batman, takes place in Gotham, and leads to them working together briefly.
Bruce Wayne Character Details:
- Bruce says he feels that handling a crime like these murders is beneath Green Lantern. [p. 9]
- Bruce understands Alan's feeling of mistakes that come back to haunt you. [p. 9]
- Batman puts a lot of faith in his ability to intimidate criminals, as he expects it to work to scare the gang member away from crime for more than short term. [p. 11]
- According to Batman this is the first time Batman works with Green Lantern I in Gotham. [p. 14] (see above for references contradicting that claim)
- Batman thinks Green Lantern enjoys crime fighting more than he does, because Alan doesn't have his motive. He admires Green Lantern as a hero. [p. 15]
- Batman does his job hiding in the shadow because he is "just a man" [p. 17]
- Hearing about all the places he couldn't be while fighting other crime always rips away the moment of satisfaction that comes with fighting crime too soon. Still Batman feels that there are good people in Gotham who are worth fighting for. [p. 18]
James Gordon Character Details:
- He feels like he can't just sit on his hands all day. [p.19]
- He still has access to classified documents through Assistant DA Calvin Jaffe, who doesn't hesitate to help him out. Possibly because they both were close to Harvey Dent once. [p. 12]
Alan Wellington Scott Character Details:
- Alan considered Mayor Thorndike to be a friend. [p. 6]
- Alan feels bad that he kept his secret from the Police Chief, even though the fact that wood is his weakness, and that the killings were addressed to him, were an important part of a murder investigation. But he had to protect himself and his family, as well as his city. [p. 6/7]
- Alan doesn't consider himself to be a detective. [p. 9]
- He feels like his mistakes come back to haunt him. [p. 9]
- It seems Green Lantern doesn't know Oracle, despite knowing Bruce's identity. [p. 15]
- Green Lantern feels they should should help the police openly, not in the shadows. [p. 16]
- Gotham makes Green Lantern feel like "hopelessness just tries to beat down anything good." [p 17]
- Back in the 40's and 50's Green Lantern felt like he accomplished something after fighting the bad guys night after night. [p. 18]
Gotham City Details:
- The "Four Corners Clovers" aka "Clover Boys" are a local Irish gang, implicated in protection and smuggling operations in Gotham. James Sime had links to them. The Clovers gang member is shown to wear a distinctive green top hat, it might be a sign for gang membership. [p. 1]
- Arkham Asylum existed in 1948. [p. 13]
- The courthouse basement contains old records. The courthouse is across the street from the building with the DA's office. [p. 13]
- There's a "C Line" in Gotham. The station Gordon gets off is above ground. [p. 19]
- There's a Williams Medical Clinic. [p. 20]
Trivia:
- Assistant DA Calvin Jaffe was Harvey Dent's protégé once. [p. 12]