DC Comics has the best set-up for one of the bestBatmanstories of all time, but it just hasn’t pulled the trigger on it yet. The Dark Knight has been through some strange adventures in the past, but he’s yet to embark on what could be the greatest mystery of his life.
Batman has obviously been aroundfor nearly a century, and in that time he’s taken on some of the wildest cases in fiction. But during the milestoneDetective Comics #1000, Batman discovered that there were corners of the DCU even he wasn’t aware of, and it’s high time fans finally get to witness Batman experience it.
Batman and the Guild of Detection Need to Come Together Again
Despite Being Introduced, DC Hasn’t Used the Team
The landmarkDetective Comics #1000featured the story “Batman’s Longest Case” by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano. The Caped Crusader is in Gotham on a case, but this is not a normal mystery Bruce is investigating.Batman is working on a casethat ties all the way back to his very first investigation as Batman, when he discovered one of the victim’s relics had been replaced with a forgery. Thatled Batman on a chase that has taken him all across the world and back to where it all began; in Gotham.
Batman enters a derelict apartment, but can’t see anything that connects him to the globe-spanning mystery he’s been trying to unravel. Eventually, Bruce discovers a typewriter where the impression spells out ‘G-A-L-T-O’, the first five letters of Francis Galton’s surname. Batman types the letter ‘n’ on the typewriter, revealing a hidden staircase behind a bookcase.Batman follows the mysterious corridor and ends up in a room of fellow detectives in the superhero community. Martian Manhunter, Detective Chimp, the Question, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Elongated Man and Sue Dibny,andSlam Bradley fromDetective Comics’first issues, all greet the Caped Crusader.
Francis Galton pioneered fingerprinting for criminal cases. Nice one, Guild!
The heroes introduce themselves as the Guild of Detection, a collective that has existed for years that serves to solve the universe’s greatest mysteries. Batman is confused, but the Guild tells him that the path to the Guild is different for everyone. Though Bruce came looking for answers,Slam tells Batman that for people like them, the fun is in the process. Slam takes Bruce to the Guild’s archives and shows him some of the oldest recorded mysteries in the Guild’s history. Batman opens up one book off the shelf and is shocked at what he finds.
DC Absolute Needs to Show Batman Adventures with the Guild
They Could Solve the Greatest Mysteries in the DC Universe
Unfortunately, despite the individual members of the Guild of Detection appearing in other books, the team has never appeared outside this one story inDetective Comics #1000. It’s an absolute shame because the idea of an all-detective team of heroes is perfect for a universe literally named after its flagship title. Yes, Batman has teamed up to solve cases with Detective Chimp and Martian Manhunter since, but justimagine what the combined brainpower of this innovative team could do and what DC Universe mysteries they’d be able to crack.
…it’s kind of bizarre that DC would introduce such a cool team and then do absolutely nothing with them.
Granted, mysteries are one of the hardest genres to pull off and a story featuring the entire guild would need a hell of a seasoned mystery writer. But the DC Universe has all the ingredients needed for one of the weirdest and most complicated mysteries in fiction. They could team together to solve the death of an immortal or invulnerable superhuman, or they could investigate some of the weirdest, most perplexing mysteries in the supernatural side of the DCU. Hell,Batman and his team could even investigate the mysteries left behind after each and every Crisis event.
Whatever case they’d actually go after, what’s important is that DC Comics introduced something really cool for Batman, a team of heroes who ‘get’ him. Heroes who are just as determined to find the truth no matter what twists and turns they encounter. The Guild of Detection is a novel idea and, frankly, it’s kind of bizarre that DC would introduce such a cool team and then do absolutely nothing with them. But under the right creators,the Guild could be one of the coolest teams that Batman has ever been a part of.
Batman’s Guild Needs to Return ASAP
Let Them Solve the DCU’s Most Perplexing Mysteries
Whether they rally inDetective Comicsor a brand-new miniseries, the Guild of Detection needs to come back and join Batman for an adventure. It’s an idea that’s too good to be contained to a one-off story and left in the dustbin of comic history. Granted, Bruce does just fine on his own in the mystery-solving department. But with the Guild of Detection by his side, there’s no telling what kind of outrageous casesBatmancould solve.
