Batwoman has so far gone to great lengths to develop Kate Kane’s rogues gallery and supporting cast, not intent on relying too heavily on Batman’s own mythos. To this end, several, more obscure characters have been introduced in the series.
The most recent of these is the hard-boiled gumshoe character of Slam Bradley, whose history in DC Comics predates even Superman and Batman. Here’s a look at the history of the DC Comics detective, particularly his role in the Batman mythology.
THE ORIGINAL DETECTIVE COMICS
Samuel Emerson “Slam” Bradley first appeared in the inaugural issue of Detective Comics in 1937, with the basic idea for the character being thought up by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. He was developed, however, by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who would around a year later bring Superman to life in Action Comics #1.
The character was depicted as the type of rough and tumble detective befitting the book, with a cartoonish kid sidekick named Shorty (who slightly resembled Tintin) and a mean left hook. Even though he was conceived as being an amateur, he was called in by the police for cases too difficult for themselves, to which Slam would employ a keen combo of grit, wit and “slam bang” action to get the job done. Unfortunately, these comics would be rife with racial stereotypes, such as horribly offensive Yellow Peril caricatures like the Oriental Fui Onyui. After the introduction of Batman, Slam would eventually be phased out of Detective Comics, making only a few more appearances in the Pre-Crisis publications of DC. These included team-ups with other detective characters, including the Human Target, Sherlock Holmes and of course, the Dark Knight himself.
POST-CRISIS SLAM BRADLEY
The character would appear haphazardly at the beginning of the Post-Crisis era, before writer Ed Brubaker reintroduced the character proper in the pages of Catwoman. The character was retconned as a former Gotham police officer, erasing previous appearances in Superman and other books. Tasked with tracking down the missing Catwoman, Slam would instead befriend Selina Kyle after discovering her on the run, developing a working relationship with the anti-heroine. His son, Slam Bradley, Jr., would also become romantically involved with Selina, and fathered her daughter, Helena. Slam, Sr. was also the primary officer in charge of investigating the death of Roger Elliot, the father of Batman villain Hush. He would become determined to take Hush down after the villain attacked Catwoman.
The resurgence in the character's use saw him appearing outside of the regular continuity, as well. In Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier, which told the story of the transition from the Golden Age to the Silver Age of DC Comics, Slam was cast as the partner of Detective John Jones, who was the Martian Manhunter. He had the same role in the story's animated adaptation, his first appearance outside of the comics. He also appeared in Legends of the Dark Knight, an out-of-continuity Batman book where he helped clear the name of the character who essentially replaced him as the hero of Detective Comics. Recently, Slam has shown up in continuity in Detective Comics #1000, years after debuting in the book's first issue. With his fitting right into grounded detective stories and his connection to the Batman Family in recent years, it makes sense that Batwoman would bring the character into the Arrowverse for some two-fisted, slam bang justice.
Created by Caroline Dries and developed by Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, Batwoman stars Ruby Rose, Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Camrus Johnson, Dougray Scott, Elizabeth Anweis and Nicole Kang. The series airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.