Cluemaster
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The Cluemaster is a
supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...
appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, commonly as an adversary of the
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
as well as a recurring enemy of
Tim Drake Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, he first appeared in Batman: Year Three, ''Batman' ...
, the third Robin. Cluemaster first appeared in ''
Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' #351 (May 1966) and was created by
Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...
and
Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creat ...
. A failed
game show host A game show host is an individual who manages a game show, introduces contestants, and asks quiz questions to test the knowledge of said contestants. They may also have other duties pertinent to production. History In 1938, Freddie Grisewood wa ...
, the character became a criminal who leaves clues to his crimes, but unlike the
Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in Oc ...
's clues, they are not in the form of riddles. He is also the father of Stephanie Brown who became the vigilante Spoiler and later the fourth Robin and third Batgirl. Cluemaster appeared in the second season of the
Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW Seed. ...
series ''
Batwoman Batwoman is a name used by several characters of DC Comics, both in mainstream continuity and Elseworlds. The best known Batwomen are Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Kathy Kane and Kate Kane. History * The first Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Batwoman, Kathy Ka ...
'', portrayed by Rick Miller.


Publication history

Cluemaster first appeared in ''
Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' #351 (May 1966) and was created by
Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...
and
Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creat ...
.


Fictional character biography

The Cluemaster starts his criminal campaign by a daring but unsuccessful attempt to learn the secret identity of the Batman, in order to gain a fighting edge. He returns to Gotham for a rematch with Batman, then appears in several supervillain crowd scenes over the years. With several other villains, Cluemaster becomes a member of the
Injustice League The following is a list of fictional criminal and terrorist organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints. 0-9 100 Originally based in Metropolis, the 100 kept a firm grip on the city's criminal underworld for years, ind ...
, a team of out-of-luck supervillains who, when banding together, become even less successful than they have been in their individual careers. The Injustice League have been defeated time and again by the
Justice League International Justice League International (JLI) is a fictional DC comics superhero team that succeeded the original Justice League from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The team enjoyed several comic books runs, the first being written by Keith Giffen and ...
, at least when they are not making laughingstocks of themselves. Trying to reform, the members later become the core of the equally laughable hero team Justice League Antarctica. They help out the Justice League when JLI liaison
Maxwell Lord Maxwell Lord IV is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Justice League'' #1 (May 1987) and was created by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire (artist), Kevin Magui ...
lies in a coma, but again later reform as the Injustice League as henchmen of
Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
. Cluemaster reappears in ''
Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' #647 by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle. In this three-issue story, Cluemaster has reformed and been released from
Blackgate Penitentiary This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City fo ...
. Cured of his compulsion to leave clues, Cluemaster originally joins a gang and plans their heists in exchange for 10 percent of their winnings. He later kills the leader by suffocating him with a strong
polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
over his mouth and nose, and begins to plan a master heist. During this time, it is revealed Arthur Brown has a daughter named Stephanie, but rarely spends any time with her due to long periods of incarceration. Stephanie is furious when she discovers that he has returned to crime without his need to leave clues behind. Making a costume for herself, she calls herself The Spoiler, finds out her father's plans, and leaves clues so that the police and Batman can stop him. Robin spots Spoiler on the rooftops during a police bust of Cluemaster's apartment and unmasks her, though she incapacitates Robin by hitting him in the face with a brick. Robin tracks her down and Batman, Robin and Spoiler set a plan in motion to take down Cluemaster. Spoiler was forbidden from going to the bust because she was only motivated by revenge. Catching Cluemaster at his mall heist whilst he hauls a giant glass canister of money away by air, Stephanie is then held hostage by Cluemaster atop the canister, holding a vial of
acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
to her face as Batman tries to stop him. Batman tells Cluemaster to stop and Cluemaster, thinking Batman will only lecture him about how it is morally wrong to disfigure a child, is taken aback when Batman simply reveals Spoiler is his daughter. Spoiler uses the shock of the revelation to gain the upper hand and uses one of the chains attached to the Gunship lifting the canister to strangle Cluemaster, but Batman prevents this. Cluemaster is taken back to Blackgate. Each time the Cluemaster escapes or start some new plan, Stephanie dons her costume again in order to foil him. Eventually, she realizes she enjoys being a hero, and begins regular patrols as Spoiler. For a brief period of time she even replaces her boyfriend, Tim Drake, as Robin.


Apparent death

Cluemaster and his teammates in the Injustice League volunteer to join the second
Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
, a group sanctioned by the US government, in return for a full pardon of his crimes. The Cluemaster also hopes to make Stephanie proud of him. During the mission, which involves dealing with
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
s and a lovesick
gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
tic experiment, Cluemaster sees his friends, Big Sir,
Clock King The Clock King is the name of three supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first Clock King debuted in '' World's Finest Comics'' #111 (August 1960), and was created by France Herron and Lee Elias. The Clock ...
and
Multi-Man Multi-Man (Duncan Pramble) is a fictional character that has been both a superhero and a supervillain in DC Comics comic books, primarily as a villain for the Challengers of the Unknown. His first appearance was in ''Challengers of the Unknown'' ...
die (though Multi-Man has the power to be reborn again). In the resulting chaotic battle, Cluemaster seemingly saves
Major Disaster Major Disaster is a former DC Comics supervillain and reluctant amoral superhero. Publication history Major Disaster debuted in ''Green Lantern'' (volume 2) #43 and was created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane. Fictional character biography Paul Booke ...
's life twice, though the Major admits the situation was confusing. Cluemaster is seen shot many times through the chest. He survives this incident, with a year's recuperation in the hospital and many, many scars. He is encouraged by thoughts of his daughter. When he gets out and discovers that his daughter has been killed, he takes on the
secret identity A secret identity is a person's alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1903, the concept was widespread in pulp heroes and is particularly prevalent ...
Aaron Black and creates the "Campaign for Culpability", blaming Batman for his involvement in Stephanie's death, saying that she was not the first child working with Batman to die, and that Batman should be brought to justice. It is later revealed that Stephanie survived the incident that everyone believed had killed her, and spent some time recuperating overseas. ''Robin'' (vol. 2) #177 was planned by
Chuck Dixon Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s. Early life D ...
intended to feature Cluemaster, but Dixon's abrupt exodus from DC meant the issue was scrapped. Cluemaster finally reappears after Stephanie Brown has become the new
Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...
. He is revealed to be the man who has been funding the Reapers, a group of young supervillains who have been battling Batgirl.


The New 52

In September 2011,
The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...
rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, as part of the ''
Forever Evil "Forever Evil" is a 2013–2014 crossover (comics), crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics that began in September 2013 and ended in May 2014, consisting of an eponymous, central miniseries written by Geoff Johns and art by David F ...
'' storyline, Cluemaster is among the villains that the
Crime Syndicate of America The Crime Syndicate are teams of supervillains from one of DC Comics' parallel universes where they are the evil counterparts of the Justice League. The original team was specifically known as the Crime Syndicate of America and is sometimes abbrev ...
recruited to join the
Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978, ...
. Cluemaster appears as a villain in the '' Batman: Eternal'' series, plotting with several other minor villains when interrupted by his daughter, Stephanie Brown, who overhears part of the plotting by her father and his associates. This is Cluemaster's first full appearance in the New 52 continuity. He is later revealed to be the final mastermind behind the systematic attack on Batman by various villains; inspired by an old theory he had when talking with other lower-grade villains that they could take action while Batman was occupied with the bigger criminals, he sent out invitations to other big-league foes to take action after the fall of Commissioner Gordon, and then all he had to do was slip a basic mind-control drug into Gordon's coffee to make him see a threat that wasn't there and let the other villains do what they wanted, guessing correctly that Batman would never think to look at a small-timer when so many bigger villains were playing a part in the scheme. Although Brown manages to capture and unmask Batman, Bruce is able to escape his bonds and fight back, but he has taken such a beating over the course of the storyline that Cluemaster manages to overpower him, only for Lincoln March to show up behind Cluemaster and slit his throat, revealing that he funded Cluemaster's plans solely so that he could kill Batman at this point in secret.


DC Rebirth

During "The War of Jokes and Riddles", Cluemaster is seen as a member of Joker's team. After Batman joins the war on the side of the Riddler and begins taking out Joker’s allies one by one, Cluemaster suggests to
Kite Man Kite Man (Charles "Chuck" Brown) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is commonly depicted as an adversary of Batman who uses kite-based weapons to commit crimes. His name is a homage to ''Peanuts'' protagonist Cha ...
that they let themselves be beaten rather than flee and face the wrath of both kingpins. However, he is then gassed by the Scarecrow, one of Riddler’s allies, and taken out of the conflict.


Powers and abilities

Unlike most of Batman's villains, Cluemaster is completely sane, which gives him a unique relationship with Batman. Cluemaster has no
metahuman In DC Comics' DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with both ''mutant'' and ''mutate'' in the Marvel Universe and '' posthuman'' in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In DC Comics, the term ...
powers or abilities. He has a number of plasti-glass pellets attached to the front of his uniform. The pellets contain various offensive weaponry including: blinding incendiary flares, smoke, incapacitating gas, and explosives.


Other versions


World Without Young Justice

In the alternate timeline of ''World Without Young Justice'', Arthur under the title "Crypto-King" is featured. When his wife Crystal decided to turn him into the
Gotham City Police Department Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...
, he forced her to overdose on her favorite pills. On the night of his big scheme, he found that his daughter Stephanie was waiting for him and planned to have him overdose. Realizing that she could physically force him to overdose, he tried to run away. When Batman came to intervene, she used to opportunity to shove the pills down his throat, killing him.


Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the '' Flashpoint'' event, Cluemaster is imprisoned in military Doom prison. He is subsequently killed by Eel O'Brian who hides inside Cluemaster's body killing him to break
Heat Wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
out.''Flashpoint: Legion of Doom'' #1 (June 2011). DC Comics.


In other media

* Cluemaster appears in ''
The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Batma ...
'', voiced by
Glenn Shadix William Glenn Shadix (April 15, 1952 – September 7, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his role as Otho in Tim Burton's horror comedy film ''Beetlejuice'' and as the voice of the Mayor of Halloween Town in ''The Nightmare ...
as an adult and by
Kath Soucie Kath or KATH may refer to: * Kath (city), the historical capital of Khwarezm * Kath (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * KATH-TV, the NBC TV station in Juneau, Alaska * KATH (AM) KATH (910 kHz) is an ...
as a child. Introduced in the episode "Q&A", this version was a spoiled, self-entitled, yet brilliant prodigy with an
inferiority complex In psychology, an inferiority complex is an intense personal feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others. According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought ab ...
and
Peter Pan Syndrome Peter Pan syndrome is a pop-psychology term used to describe an adult who is socially immature. It is a metaphor, based on the concept of not growing up and being trapped in childhood. It is not a recognized mental health illness. The term has ...
. After losing on the game show ''Think Thank Thunk'' following a twelve-week champion run and a failed attempt by his mother to sue everyone involved on the grounds that the show was rigged, Brown dropped out of school and secluded himself in her home for the next twenty years to plan his revenge. All the while, he subsisted on the lifetime supply of Kremelo chocolate bars he won on ''Think Thank Thunk'' and became obese to the point where he can withstand physical attacks without taking damage. In the present, Brown hires henchmen to publicly humiliate and kidnap the contestant who beat him, Yelena Klimanov, and ''Think Thank Thunk''s host Ross Darren and producer Herbert Ziegler so he can put them through a twisted version of the game show with the intention of dropping them in a large tub of acid. However, Batman eventually locates Brown's lair and defeats him. Brown also makes a minor appearance in the episode "Rumors" as a prisoner of the vigilante Rumor. * Cluemaster makes a cameo appearance in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "A Bat Divided!". * Cluemaster appears in the ''
Batwoman Batwoman is a name used by several characters of DC Comics, both in mainstream continuity and Elseworlds. The best known Batwomen are Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Kathy Kane and Kate Kane. History * The first Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Batwoman, Kathy Ka ...
'' episode "I'll Give You a Clue", portrayed by Rick Miller. Five years prior, this version was the host of the game show ''Quiz Bowl'' before he was fired. He threatened to destroy the studio, but was arrested by
Sophie Moore Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...
of the Crows security firm. In the present, Cluemaster escapes from
Blackgate Penitentiary This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City fo ...
to seek revenge on Moore. After discovering his daughter Stephanie Brown contributed to his arrest, he knocks her out and attempts to kill them both until
Luke Fox Luke Foxe (or Fox) (20 October 1586 – c. 15 July 1635) was an English explorer, born in Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, who searched for the Northwest Passage across North America. In 1631, he sailed much of the western Hudson Bay before ...
rescues her. Brown is later taken to the hospital.


See also

*
List of Batman Family enemies The Batman family enemies are a collection of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters are depicted as adversaries of the superhero Batman and his allies. Since Batman first appeared in '' Det ...


References

{{Gardner Fox DC Comics male supervillains Fictional television personalities Comics characters introduced in 1966 Characters created by Gardner Fox Characters created by Carmine Infantino