The Brave and the Bold #166
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Brave and the Bold #166 earns its place among the key issues of DC's Bronze Age by serving as the debut vehicle for Nemesis (Thomas Tresser), a non-powered, master-of-disguise vigilante who went on to appear across the Suicide Squad, the Shadow Fighters, Wonder Woman's supporting cast, and the New 52 era — a surprisingly durable corner of the DC Universe born in an eight-page backup. The issue is also the final Batman-and-Black-Canary team-up in the series' long run, closing out a pairing that had appeared together in The Brave and the Bold five times since 1970. As a combined package — a tight Bronze Age crime story in the lead and a brand-new street-level hero debuting in back — it illustrates the series' continuing role as DC's creative incubator right up to its final stretch.
In "Requiem for 4 Canaries!", the Penguin escapes prison with a deadly score to settle against four individuals who sent him away—among them a former ally, a corrupt guard, and two others tied to his downfall. With Batman and Black Canary racing to stop him, the city becomes a stage for a chilling game of vengeance, where every move could be a trap and no one is safe.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
DC editor Paul Levitz tasked writer Cary Burkett with creating a non-costumed hero suited to a Batman-themed anthology, resulting in the Nemesis concept, which Burkett developed in 1979. Burkett named the civilian identity Thomas Tresser after a real actor he was rooming with in New Hampshire, and grounded the character's origin in the historical story of Edwin Booth — the celebrated actor shamed by his brother John Wilkes Booth's assassination of Lincoln — giving Nemesis his thematic core of familial disgrace and the pursuit of justice. Levitz paired Burkett with veteran artist Dan Spiegle, and also added the Scales of Justice emblem to Nemesis's otherwise plain black costume. The lead story was assigned to writer Michael Fleisher with penciller Dick Giordano and inker Terry Austin working under a Jim Aparo cover, a standard Bronze Age production arrangement for the title.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Nemesis (Thomas Andrew Tresser), created by writer Cary Burkett and artist Dan Spiegle, debuting in an eight-page backup story.
- Lead story: 'Requiem for 4 Canaries!' — written by Michael Fleisher, pencilled by Dick Giordano, inked by Terry Austin, with cover art by Jim Aparo.
- This is the final team-up of Batman and Black Canary in The Brave and the Bold's original run; they had partnered in the series five times beginning with #91 (1970).
- The Penguin serves as the lead-story villain, hunting four former henchmen who betrayed him — placing the action in both Gotham City and Star City, Black Canary's home turf.
- Nemesis's eight-page origin backup launched a feature that ran continuously through issue #192, with the character later crossing over to the Suicide Squad, the Shadow Fighters, and a prominent role in Wonder Woman's supporting cast.
- Editor Paul Levitz specifically directed Burkett to craft a non-costumed hero; Levitz also contributed the Scales of Justice chest emblem to Nemesis's design.
- The lead story was reprinted internationally in French (Les Géants des Super-Héros #1, 1981), German (Batman Superband #12, 1980), Scandinavian (Lynvingen #6/1981; Läderlappen #9/1981), and Yugoslav (Eks almanah #369) editions.
- Both stories in this issue are collected in Batman: The Brave and the Bold — The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 3 (DC, November 2021), which collects issues #157–200.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Batman Superband #12 (1980), Batman Superband #13 (1981), Les Géants des Super-Héros #1 (1981), Läderlappen #9/1981 (1981), Lynvingen #6/1981 (1981), Nemesis #[nn] (1982), Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo #3 (2017), Batman: The Brave and the Bold - The Bronze Age Omnibus #3 (2021), Eks almanah #369
Key issues in The Brave and the Bold
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