Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Bring on the Bad Guys: Alfred Stryker

Real name: Alfred Stryker
A.K.A.: None
First Appearance: Detective Comics I#27 (May 1939)
Abilities: No powers, but seemed comfortable with a gun.
Weapons: Gun
Quotes:-"Sure...I did it! But you won't send me to the 'chair' for it!"
Worst Act: Well, homicide and attempted homicide are pretty bad.
Created by: Bill Finger (writer) and Bob Kane (artist-credited).


Founding Apex Chemical with his three partners, Stryker got a bit greedy and decided to eliminate them to inherit the company. Pity he decided to do this in Gotham City...


You think for the very first villain ever fought he'd be bigger presence in the Batman series. The story "the Case of the Chemical Syndicate" has been referenced only a few times since then. The first was Batman's 30th anniversary in 1969, which was more or less a retelling. In 1991 the story was remade for the Post-Crisis, with two different retellings. One casting him as a disfigured victim and the other a straight out villain. The last time we saw him (maybe) would be in 2014, with a cameo in the New 52.

So, what exactly can one say about Alfred Stryker? The story is fairly pedestrian. One could easily sub out any of the dozen masked heroes that were running or flying at the time. Not the most exciting story or character, but for historical importance he can't be ignored.

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