You Probably Forgot About That Time Batman Was a Senator (And it Was a Wild Time)

Batman has had many positions and jobs over the years, head of Wayne Enterprises, Gotham’s dark protector, and being a member of the Justice League, to name a few. However, none compare to the absolute absurdity that followed when the Dark Knight briefly held a position as a U.S. Senator. That’s right, Bruce Wayne once served as a senator for his home state, whichever one that is. This and every wacky event that followed all occurred in The Brave and the Bold Volume 1 #85, released in 1969, just at the tail end of the Silver Age of comics. And does it ever have that classic Silver Age zaniness.

The Brave and the Bold was a team-up comic, meaning it saw two unrelated superheroes working on an adventure together, and this one saw Batman and Green Arrow joining forces, although they both come and fight for completely separate reasons the entire time. To set the stage, Paul Cathcart has just won the election and is giving a speech at his Gotham-based campaign headquarters when he is shot. Batman gives chase, but the criminals get away, leaving Bruce Wayne to go to the hospital with the senator’s son Edmond, as Bruce was a close friend and campaign ally to the Senator, who was put into critical condition. 

Political Moves and Attempted Assassinations

Meanwhile, financier Oliver Queen is finishing his “New Island” plan, which will totally refinance Gotham and allow the city to build itself to a top of the line capital. However, his assistant steals the plans just as a man attempts to assassinate Oliver with a grenade through the window, which the Green Arrow is more than able to knock away. He knows that only Miklos Minotaur could be behind this, the man who leads a company that is trying to outbid Queen Industries to get this Gotham contract. Minotaur is also the one behind Cathcart’s shooting, as he is a crime boss who wants to get a grip on the crime epicenter of Gotham and was threatened by the Anti-Crime bill the senator built his campaign around. What does the bill entail? It’s against crime in some way. 

Back at the hospital, Bruce gets a call from the governor, who informs him that Senator Cathcart wanted Bruce to replace him if anything were to happen. Bruce is told he has to take the position, because without his vote the Anti-Crime bill will never pass, and the vote is very soon. Except there’s a problem, because if Bruce agrees to be a stand-in senator then Batman won’t be able to track the assailants. Batman confides this dual responsibility to Edmond by actually telling him he’s Batman, to which Edmond says both identities are equally important and Bruce must choose what he thinks is best. They have this conversation in a gym where there are other people standing within ten feet max, by the way. But don’t worry about Edmond revealing Batman’s identity, he’s a psychiatrist, which Batman says means he won’t ever say anything about this. Bruce was definitely not his patient so he has no legal obligation to keep quiet, but that’s not important I guess. 

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Afterwards, Edmond goes to meet Oliver, who wants his “psychiatric view” of the New Island plan. Oliver, who at this time is deeply questioning which of his two identities can do more good in the world, also immediately reveals his secret identity to Edmond to ask his opinion. Which, okay Bruce and Edmond are friends and he trusts him, but Oliver just met this man, so this seems crazy to me, but I’m not a superhero, so what do I know? Regardless, Edmond is kidnapped later that night by Minotaur’s men, as their boss plans to use this apparently very trustworthy man as a hostage against both Bruce and Oliver. Batman and Green Arrow both break into Edmond’s office to speak with him later that night, and find evidence of the attack. Edmond had a secret tape recorder in his desk for some reason, which lets the men know who’s behind the attack, and both assume it’s about their alter egos. Green Arrow goes to track down Minotaur, while Batman leaves to accept the position as senator.

That’s Senator Batman, to You

Green Arrow tracks the men to the Mediterranean, deep inside a maze-like cave system, where Minotaur unleashes his army of pets to stop the hero. They include a hog, bear, and lion, which is quite the collection. Green Arrow stops them as Batman arrives, but both men are lost inside the maze, until Batman attaches a tracker to a bat that leads them outside. They then rescue Edmond from Minotaur, but because they’re not in America, neither can arrest the man. Green Arrow says he’ll handle that, and Batman rushes back to the Senate to pass the bill.

Senator Bruce Wayne arrives just in time to vote the Anti-Crime bill into success, and Oliver traps Minotaur by inviting him to a party in the Mediterranean. Once Minotaur arrives, Oliver has U.S. Marshalls arrest the man, as he unwittingly failed to notice that the party was held at the U.S. embassy, meaning he was on American soil and could be arrested for his crimes. In the end, Queen Industries won the project and the Anti-Crime bill was passed, after which Bruce retired from his senatorial position as Cathcart was on the road to recovery. Both Batman and Green Arrow came to see how important both their identities were, and vowed to work hard to help the world as both heroes and citizens. And to tie up any loose ends, Edmond uses self-hypnosis to erase their secret identities from his mind.

So there you have it, Bruce Wayne served as a U.S. Senator for about a day. This story was wild, not just because of the plot and how it had Batman of all people work as a government official, but because it was very important to the development of both Green Arrow and Batman. This was the first issue to see the classic moustache and beard combo on Green Arrow, as well as his new costume which is a definite upgrade from his original look. Furthermore, this is the issue that begins his climb from a Batman clone to a hero dedicated to fighting for social justice. This was his last appearance before he starred in Green Latern/Green Arrow, in fact. And this was the start of Batman’s break away from the 1966 television show’s portrayal as the happy go lucky superhero, with him being referred to as a dread avenger and being drawn in dark, sweeping shadows. This story is zany, hilarious, and fundamental to both the modern Batman and Green Arrow.