Batman #180
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeBatman #180 is the Silver Age debut of Death-Man — a villain in a skeleton costume who exploits a death-feigning technique to repeatedly escape justice — making it the seed of a character whose influence quietly rippled across decades of Batman mythology. The story stood apart from most of the campy Bat-content of 1966 by leaning into genuine macabre atmosphere, earning it a reputation among collectors as one of the more tonally serious Batman tales of the television-era run. Its creative footprint extends far beyond American comics: the issue was adapted by Japanese manga artist Jiro Kuwata for Shonen King magazine, where Death-Man was rechristened Lord Death Man, a name that eventually re-entered mainstream DC continuity when Grant Morrison used the character as the centerpiece of Batman Incorporated's opening Japan arc in 2011. That chain of cross-cultural transmission — from a single Silver Age issue to manga, to an animated series segment, to Morrison's canon-affirming revival — makes Batman #180 a genuinely unusual case of a minor-key issue accumulating outsized long-term significance.
In "Death Knocks Three Times!", Batman faces a chilling criminal in a skeleton suit who brazenly claims he can't be stopped—only to collapse and die in court, leaving the Dark Knight unsettled. When the man returns, seemingly reborn, Batman must confront a mystery that blurs the line between fate and fear, as the cycle of death and resurrection repeats. Written by Robert Kanigher and brought to life with sharp, expressive art by Sheldon Moldoff and Joe Giella, this eerie tale is capped by a striking cover by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson.
In "Death Knocks Three Times!", Batman faces a chilling mystery when a crook in a skeleton costume boasts he’ll escape justice—only to die suddenly on the way to court, leaving the Dark Knight unsettled. When the man returns, seemingly resurrected, Batman must confront a sinister cycle of death and rebirth, wondering if the third time will finally break the curse—or seal his own fate.
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The issue carries a cover date of May 1966 and went on sale April 30 of that year, landing on newsstands during the height of 'Batmania' sparked by the Adam West television series, though production timelines suggest the story was almost certainly written before the show premiered. Editor Julius Schwartz oversaw the issue; the main story, 'Death Knocks Three Times!', was scripted by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Sheldon Moldoff — whose work was published under the Bob Kane byline per the contractual arrangements of the era, a fact later confirmed by DC's own editorial records from Schwartz's files. The cover — a dramatically composed 'coming-at-you' Batman figure against a graveyard backdrop — was penciled by Gil Kane with inks by Murphy Anderson, a pairing that produced one of the more atmospherically striking covers of the Batman series' Silver Age run.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Death-Man (later known as Lord Death Man), a villain who fakes death using a yogi-style technique of suspended animation to evade capture by Batman and Robin.
- Cover date: May 1966 (on-sale date: April 30, 1966); published by DC (National Periodical Publications).
- Main story 'Death Knocks Three Times!' scripted by Robert Kanigher, penciled by Sheldon Moldoff (credited as Bob Kane per contractual practice), inked by Joe Giella; cover penciled by Gil Kane, inked by Murphy Anderson.
- Editor: Julius Schwartz. DC's editorial records — provided to the Grand Comics Database — confirm the script and inks credits; those same records show Bob Kane was paid for pencils but scholars agree the pencil art is Moldoff's work.
- The story was adapted by Japanese manga artist Jiro Kuwata for the magazine Shonen King, where the character was renamed Lord Death Man — the first major cross-cultural Batman manga adaptation of a specific American villain.
- Grant Morrison revived the character under the 'Lord Death Man' name as the primary antagonist of Batman Incorporated #1–2 (2011), explicitly drawing on the Kuwata manga version and bringing the character into mainstream DC continuity for the first time since 1966.
- Batman Incorporated #2 (2011) by Yanick Paquette included a visual homage to this issue's cover.
- The main story was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Batman Vol. 2 (2007) and the cover was featured in Batman: Cover to Cover (2005); international reprints appeared in Finland, Sweden, Mexico, and Norway in 1966–1967. DC later collected the complete Jiro Kuwata Batmanga — which leads with the Lord Death Man adaptation — in three English-language paperback volumes (2014–2015).
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↩ Reprints Mr. District Attorney #58 (1957)
Reprinted in Batman - Lepakkomies #2/1966 (1966), Läderlappen #10/1966 (1966), Batman #354 (1966), Lynvingen #3/1967 (1967), Batman: Cover to Cover #[nn] (2005), Showcase Presents: Batman #2 (2007)
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