District Attorney Tony Quinn is blinded by acid thrown by a thug working for Oliver Snate, a crime lord, and believes his career is over until a mysterious woman arrives (Carol Baldwin). She tells him that her father is a small town policeman who is dying from a gangster’s bullet and that a surgeon is willing to perform an operation to graft his corneas onto Tony Quinn’s eyes so that he can see again. The operation is done in secret and when the bandages are removed four months later, Quinn finds that he can not only see normally but can even see perfectly in darkness too. While blind, Quinn had developed the necessary skills of the blind; sharper hearing, more sensitive touch, a better sense of smell, etc. Like many other crime fighters, Quinn is unhappy about all the criminals who slip through the law’s net on legal technicalities, etc. and decides to work outside the law in another persona to bring them to justice, and so the Black Bat is born, with Quinn deciding to keep the role of a blind man and later acquires the title of “Special District Attorney”. Con man, Norton “Silk” Kirby, a small-time crook who had tried to rob Tony Quinn (when sighted) one night and had been persuaded to stay on as “officially” a valet and this continued after Quinn was blinded. His many criminal skills are a valuable asset to the Black Bat. Carol, a “resourceful and intelligent girl” who is already working undercover in a gang decides to work with Quinn on his secret crusade and last comes Jack “Butch” O’Leary who risked his life to save a crowd from machine gun fire. None too intelligent but completely loyal and “a hulking giant of a man who was never happier than when his fists were flying in defense of the law and in the aid of the Black Bat”. Quinn has a secret tunnel to a gatehouse at the rear of his house which leads to a quiet street, which he uses as the Black Bat. This is necessary not just because of criminals who want him dead but because of the police too as he works outside the law. Friend to Quinn, the bulky lieutenant, Captain McGrath (under Commissioner Warner) who is so honest he would turn in his own mother if she did something wrong is also enemy of the Black Bat. He suspects they are one and the same (same build, similar voice) and often tries to prove it, with tricks, even once having a doctor examine Quinn’s eyes. While Quinn can see perfectly, he can also make his eyes appear like those of a blind person and even a doctor is fooled. Quinn usually turns the tables on McGrath, making him look foolish in his attempts to prove he is the Black Bat. The Black Bat left paper stickers of a bat stuck to his victims, so like The Spider before him (who stamped a blood-red spider stencil on the criminals’ foreheads), innocent people would not be blamed for their deaths, and other criminals would come to fear him.
Description District Attorney Tony Quinn is blinded by acid thrown by a thug working for Oliver Snate, a crime lord, and believes his career is over until a mysterious woman arrives (Carol Baldwin). She tells him that her father is a small town policeman who is dying from a gangster’s bullet and that a surgeon is willing to perform an operation to graft his corneas onto Tony Quinn’s eyes so that he can see again. The operation is done in secret and when the bandages are removed four months later, Quinn finds that he can not only see normally but can even see perfectly in darkness too. While blind, Quinn had developed the necessary skills of the blind; sharper hearing, more sensitive touch, a better sense of smell, etc. Like many other crime fighters, Quinn is unhappy about all the criminals who slip through the law’s net on legal technicalities, etc. and decides to work outside the law in another persona to bring them to justice, and so the Black Bat is born, with Quinn deciding to keep the role of a blind man and later acquires the title of “Special District Attorney”. Con man, Norton “Silk” Kirby, a small-time crook who had tried to rob Tony Quinn (when sighted) one night and had been persuaded to stay on as “officially” a valet and this continued after Quinn was blinded. His many criminal skills are a valuable asset to the Black Bat. Carol, a “resourceful and intelligent girl” who is already working undercover in a gang decides to work with Quinn on his secret crusade and last comes Jack “Butch” O’Leary who risked his life to save a crowd from machine gun fire. None too intelligent but completely loyal and “a hulking giant of a man who was never happier than when his fists were flying in defense of the law and in the aid of the Black Bat”. Quinn has a secret tunnel to a gatehouse at the rear of his house which leads to a quiet street, which he uses as the Black Bat. This is necessary not just because of criminals who want him dead but because of the police too as he works outside the law. Friend to Quinn, the bulky lieutenant, Captain McGrath (under Commissioner Warner) who is so honest he would turn in his own mother if she did something wrong is also enemy of the Black Bat. He suspects they are one and the same (same build, similar voice) and often tries to prove it, with tricks, even once having a doctor examine Quinn’s eyes. While Quinn can see perfectly, he can also make his eyes appear like those of a blind person and even a doctor is fooled. Quinn usually turns the tables on McGrath, making him look foolish in his attempts to prove he is the Black Bat. The Black Bat left paper stickers of a bat stuck to his victims, so like The Spider before him (who stamped a blood-red spider stencil on the criminals’ foreheads), innocent people would not be blamed for their deaths, and other criminals would come to fear him.
