Detective 83 – Alfred takes a vacation, Spy ends, and Air Wave intercepts a flying bomb
The Batman and Robin story in Detective 83 (Jan. 44) has a more complex plot than usual, dealing with a gang that hit a person with a car, take him to a fake hospital, and hypnotize the victim into robbing their own company.
The issue is better known for it’s subplot dealing with Alfred, but it also features one of the earliest depictions of the Batcave, appearing somewhat as we think of it now.
Alfred decides he is not of much use to Bruce and Dick being so overweight and out of shape, so he heads off to a health resort.
Meanwhile, Batman gets knocked out and hypnotized by the gang, while Robin is held captive. They are being trailed by a mysterious man.
The man turns out to be Alfred, who manages to save the day. He is now tall, thin, with a bit more hair and a moustache, but still good for a pratfall.
The previous Alfred would return occasionally, mostly in stories set in alternate realities, such as his appearance in Zero Hour.
Spy comes to an end with this issue. Bart investigates a native tribe. Considering the way this series has been going for the past couple of years, with everyone from wrestlers to monkeys turning out to be Nazi agents, one almost expects the revelation that the natives are as well.
The story also includes a preposterous scene in which Bart avoids being attacked by a mama bear by picking up and throwing her cub to another person. Sorry, Bart, do that and you get eaten.
So what becomes of Bart Regan, Spy, after this? His character never appeared again. I could send Bart off to the front lines, or behind them, at this point. But he has Sally back home, and a nest of kids by now I’m sure, so I think Bart gets promoted at this point, reaching the higher levels of power in the O.S.S., and likely helps found the C.I.A. after the war.
The Air Wave story in this issue introduces us to Larry Jordan’s nephew, Buddy. He has a remote controlled airplane, which must have been very expensive, and totally cool, in 1943.
The airplane gets stolen, and Air Wave makes the most of his suit’s abilities to monitor and send broadcasts, tracking the plane, discovering that it is bring fitted with a bomb, and messing up the bad guy’s plans.