Portion of the interior artwork from the comic book series Robin #56 (June 1998). Art by Staz Johnson, pencils, Stan Woch, inks, and Adrienne Roy, colors
Has a number of plasti-glass pellets attached to the front of his costume that he can hurl as weapons (these pellets variously contain a blinding incendiary flare, smoke bombs, paralyzing gas and high explosives)
A failed game show host, the character became a criminal who leaves clues to his crimes, but unlike the Riddler's clues, they are not in the form of riddles. He is also the father of Stephanie Brown who became the vigilante Spoiler and later the fourth Robin and third Batgirl.[2]
The Cluemaster starts his criminal campaign by a daring but unsuccessful attempt to learn Batman's identity and gain a fighting edge.[2][4] He returns to Gotham for a rematch with Batman,[5] then appears in several supervillain crowd scenes over the years.[6]
With several other villains, Cluemaster becomes a member of the Injustice League, a team of out-of-luck supervillains who, when banding together, become even less successful than they have been in their individual careers.[7] The Injustice League have been defeated time and again by the Justice League International, at least when they are not making laughingstocks of themselves. Trying to reform, the members later become the core of the equally laughable hero team Justice League Antarctica.[8] They help out the Justice League when JLI liaison Maxwell Lord lies in a coma,[9] but again later reform as the Injustice League as henchmen of Sonar.[10]
Cluemaster reappears in Detective Comics #647 by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle. In this three-issue story, Cluemaster has reformed and been released from Blackgate Penitentiary. Cured of his compulsion to leave clues, Cluemaster originally joins a gang and plans their heists in exchange for 10 percent of their winnings. He later kills the leader by suffocating him with a strong polymer over his mouth and nose, and begins to plan a master heist.
During this time, it is revealed Arthur Brown has a daughter named Stephanie through a woman named Crystal Brown, but rarely spends any time with her due to long periods of incarceration. Stephanie is furious when she discovers that he has returned to crime without his need to leave clues behind. Making a costume for herself, she calls herself The Spoiler, finds out her father's plans, and leaves clues so that the police and Batman can stop him.[11]Robin spots Spoiler on the rooftops during a police bust of Cluemaster's apartment and unmasks her, though she incapacitates Robin by hitting him in the face with a brick. Robin tracks her down and Batman, Robin and Spoiler set a plan in motion to take down Cluemaster. Spoiler was forbidden from going to the bust because she was only motivated by revenge. Catching Cluemaster at his mall heist whilst he hauls a giant glass canister of money away by air, Stephanie is then held hostage by Cluemaster atop the canister, holding a vial of acid to her face as Batman tries to stop him. Batman tells Cluemaster to stop and Cluemaster, thinking Batman will only lecture him about how it is morally wrong to disfigure a child, is taken aback when Batman simply reveals Spoiler is his daughter. Spoiler uses the shock of the revelation to gain the upper hand and uses one of the chains attached to the Gunship lifting the canister to strangle Cluemaster, but Batman prevents this. Cluemaster is taken back to Blackgate.[2]
Each time the Cluemaster escapes or start some new plan, Stephanie dons her costume again to foil him. Eventually, she realizes she enjoys being a hero, and begins regular patrols as Spoiler. For a brief period of time she even replaces her boyfriend, Tim Drake, as Robin.
Apparent death
Cluemaster mourning the loss of his daughter. Art by Pete Woods.
Cluemaster and his teammates in the Injustice League volunteer to join the second Suicide Squad, a group sanctioned by the US government, in return for a full pardon of his crimes. The Cluemaster also hopes to make Stephanie proud of him.[2] During the mission, which involves dealing with terrorists and a lovesick genetic experiment, Cluemaster sees his friends, Big Sir, Clock King and Multi-Man die (though Multi-Man has the power to be reborn). In the resulting chaotic battle, Cluemaster seemingly saves Major Disaster's life twice, though the Major admits the situation was confusing. Cluemaster is seen shot many times through the chest. He survives this incident, with a year's recuperation in the hospital and many, many scars. He is encouraged by thoughts of his daughter.[12]
When he gets out and discovers that his daughter has been killed, he takes on the secret identity Aaron Black and creates the "Campaign for Culpability", blaming Batman for his involvement in Stephanie's death, saying that she was not the first child working with Batman to die, and that Batman should be brought to justice.
It is later revealed that Stephanie survived the incident that everyone believed had killed her, and spent some time recuperating overseas.[13]
Robin (vol. 2) #177 was planned by Chuck Dixon intended to feature Cluemaster, but Dixon's abrupt exodus from DC meant the issue was scrapped.
Cluemaster finally reappears after Stephanie Brown has become the new Batgirl. He is revealed to be the man who has been funding the Reapers, a group of young supervillains who have been battling Batgirl.[14]
Cluemaster appears as a villain in the Batman: Eternal series, plotting with several other minor villains when interrupted by his daughter, Stephanie Brown, who overhears part of the plotting by her father and his associates. This is Cluemaster's first full appearance in the New 52 continuity.[16] He is later revealed to be the final mastermind behind the systematic attack on Batman by various villains; inspired by an old theory he had when talking with other lower-grade villains that they could take action while Batman was occupied with the bigger criminals, he sent out invitations to other big-league foes to take action after the fall of Commissioner Gordon, and then all he had to do was slip a basic mind-control drug into Gordon's coffee to make him see a threat that wasn't there and let the other villains do what they wanted, guessing correctly that Batman would never think to look at a small-timer when so many bigger villains were playing a part in the scheme. Although Brown manages to capture and unmask Batman, Bruce is able to escape his bonds and fight back, but he has taken such a beating over the course of the storyline that Cluemaster manages to overpower him, only for Lincoln March to show up behind Cluemaster and slit his throat,[17] revealing that he funded Cluemaster's plans solely so that he could kill Batman at this point in secret.[18]
DC Rebirth
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". During "The War of Jokes and Riddles", Cluemaster is seen as a member of Joker's team.[19] After Batman joins the war on the side of the Riddler and begins taking out Joker’s allies one by one, Cluemaster suggests to Kite Man that they let themselves be beaten rather than flee and face the wrath of both kingpins. However, he is then gassed by the Scarecrow, one of Riddler’s allies, and taken out of the conflict.
In a three-issue story arc beginning in Batgirls #13 (February 2023) Cluemaster kidnaps Stephanie but is thwarted by Cassandra Cain.
Powers and abilities
Unlike most of Batman's villains, Cluemaster is completely sane, which gives him a unique relationship with Batman. Cluemaster has no metahuman powers or abilities. He has a number of plasti-glass pellets attached to the front of his uniform. The pellets contain various offensive weaponry including: blinding incendiary flares, smoke, incapacitating gas, and explosives.
Other versions
World Without Young Justice
In the alternate timeline of World Without Young Justice, Arthur under the title "Crypto-King" is featured. When his wife Crystal decided to turn him into the Gotham City Police Department, he forced her to overdose on her favorite pills. On the night of his big scheme, he found that his daughter Stephanie was waiting for him and planned to have him overdose. Realizing that she could physically force him to overdose, he tried to run away. When Batman came to intervene, she used to opportunity to shove the pills down his throat, killing him.[20]
Flashpoint
In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Cluemaster is imprisoned in military Doom prison. He is subsequently killed by Eel O'Brian who hides inside Cluemaster's body killing him to break Heat Wave out.[21]
Arthur Brown / Cluemaster appears in The Batman, voiced by Glenn Shadix as an adult and by Kath Soucie as a child. This version was a spoiled, self-entitled, yet brilliant prodigy with an inferiority complex and Peter Pan syndrome. After losing on the game show Think Thank Thunk following a twelve-week champion run and failed attempt by his mother to sue everyone involved on the grounds that the show was rigged, Brown dropped out of school and secluded himself in her home for the next twenty years to plot revenge. All the while, he subsisted on the lifetime supply of Kremelo chocolate bars he won on Think Thank Thunk, becoming obese and durable.
Arthur Brown appears in the Batwoman episode "I'll Give You a Clue", portrayed by Rick Miller. Five years prior, this version was the host of the game show Quiz Bowl before he was fired. He threatened to destroy the studio, but was arrested by Sophie Moore of the Crows security firm.
Arthur Brown appears in the Gotham Knights episode "Daddy Issues", portrayed by Ethan Embry.[22] Similarly to the aforementioned Batwoman incarnation, this version was the host of the game show Quiz Bowl.
Poison Ivy is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino, she debuted in Batman #181, and has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
The Riddler is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in Detective Comics #140 in October 1948. He has become one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in 1961 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff as Bat-Girl, and was replaced in 1967 by Barbara Gordon, who became the iconic Batgirl. The character debuted in Detective Comics #359 by writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino, introduced as the niece/adoptive daughter of police commissioner James Gordon.
Cassandra Cain is a Superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, Cassandra Cain first appeared in Batman #567. The character is one of several who have assumed the role of Batgirl. Over the years, she has also assumed the names of Black Bat and Orphan.
Stephanie Brown is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #647, and was created by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle.
Firefly is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by France Herron and Dick Sprang, he made his debut in Detective Comics #184. Initially portrayed as a criminal who utilized lighting effects to commit robberies, Firefly was later reimagined as a sociopathic pyromaniac with an obsessive compulsion to start fires following Crisis on Infinite Earths' reboot of the DC Universe in the 1980s. This darker depiction of the character has since endured as one of the superhero Batman's most recurring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his central rogues gallery.
Mary Elizabeth Kane, better known as Bette Kane, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in the 1960s as "Betty Kane", the Bat-Girl. Her name was later modified to "Bette Kane", and she assumed the role of Flamebird.
Cavalier is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Magpie is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by John Byrne, and first appeared in The Man of Steel #3.
"War Crimes" is a comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The event ran during the month of August 2005 in the Batman and Detective Comics series, and is the sequel to another Batman crossover, War Games. While originally released by itself in trade paperback format, the later trade paperback release in 2016 would have this event as part of Batman: War Games Vol. 2.
Originally created in 1967, the fictional comic book character Barbara Gordon has been adapted into various other forms of media. The character has appeared in both live action and animated television series and films, as well as in video games in her alter-egos as both Batgirl and Oracle.
"Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin" is the first episode of Season 3 of the Batman television series, first aired on ABC September 14, 1967 as its ninety-fifth episode. It guest starred Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, and also was the first appearance of Yvonne Craig as Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl.
Batwoman is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writers Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, and artist Alex Ross, Kane is a wealthy heiress who becomes inspired by the superhero Batman and chooses, like him, to put her wealth and resources toward a campaign to fight crime as a masked vigilante in her home of Gotham City as Batwoman.
Batman Incorporated is an ongoing American comic book series published by DC Comics, featuring the superhero Batman. Written by Grant Morrison, the series debuted following the events of Batman R.I.P, Final Crisis, Batman and Robin, and The Return of Bruce Wayne where, after being stranded in the distant past and believed dead, Bruce Wayne has returned to the present day DC Universe. Now, he is prepared to take his war on crime to the next level by essentially "franchising" it and drafting, training and commanding a global team of heroes who will answer to Batman himself, known as Batman Incorporated.
Batman Eternal is a year-long weekly limited series published by DC Comics, that began in April 2014. The series featured Batman, his allies, and Gotham City, and was written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins, and Tim Seeley. John Layman was originally scheduled to write for the series as well, before leaving the project in January 2014 and being replaced by Higgins; his final issue was #10. Batman Eternal ran through April 2015, after which it took a hiatus, before returning in October 2015 for a 26-issue weekly sequel series titled Batman and Robin Eternal.
Bluebird is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, primarily in association with Batman. Harper Row was created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, first appearing in Batman #7, before debuting as Bluebird in Batman #28. Harper Row's Bluebird identity was designed by artist Dustin Nguyen. Within the fictional DC Universe, Harper Row officially joins Batman's group of allies during the events of Batman Eternal, a year-long weekly maxiseries.
Batwoman is a name used by several characters of DC Comics, both in mainstream continuity and Elseworlds. The best known Batwomen are Kathy Kane and Kate Kane, while several original incarnations have appeared in adapted media.
References
↑ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p.111. ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
↑ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p.70. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
