Every Sunday morning we showcase a classic comic cover, complete with compelling pop culture commentary, for your cordial contemplation. It’s the Classic Comic Cover Corner!
Batman #219 – February, 1970
Cover art by Neal Adams
Did you see Batman appear before Congress last week? Well, Ben Affleck, who plays the caped crusader in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice film, made an appearance anyway; and he made reference to the Dark Knight while lobbying for U.S. aid for Africa, one of the actor’s charity causes.
Bats typically sticks pretty close to his home in Gotham City (Presence knows he’s got enough problems there to keep him busy), but this “Batman goes to Washington” news story made me wonder if the comic book hero ever had any adventures in our nation’s capital.
Cover art by Nick Cardy
In Batman #219, in a story titled, “Death Casts the Deciding Vote,” by writer Frank Robbins, Bruce Wayne is accompanying Senator Lincoln Webster on a flight to Washington D.C. to promote one of his pet political projects. But when the plane is hijacked, Bruce’s amazing alter ego has to spring into action to save the day.
But Batman isn’t the only Chiroptera-themed crime-fighter to make a mark on the District of Columbia. Back in October of 1973, in Superman #268, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) is semi-retired from her costumed escapades and is living in Washington D.C. – serving as a congresswoman in the United States House of Representatives.
When Clark Kent makes a trip to Washington, Batman talks the Man of Steel into going on a date with his former protégé (knowing that they are both super-nerds). But as things are apt to occur in comics, Clark’s trip goes awry and Babs has to don her congressional bat-suit in order to help save him.
On a side note, the real-life Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has appeared in three Batman films and Ben Affleck has confirmed that the politician will be also have a cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as well. So who says Congress can’t get anything done?
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