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"Inquiring Minds": Arthur Brown, once the costumed criminal known as the Cluemaster, is declared cured of his criminal psychosis and paroled from Blackgate Penitentiary. In truth, however, Brown has merely been cured of his compulsion to send clues to the authorities; his criminal instincts rema

Quote1 You see, I would use my puzzlements as a way of compensating for a lack of self-esteem. I wanted to show my intellectual superiority. But thanks to the wonders of modern psychiatry, all I want now is to be rich. Quote2
Cluemaster

Detective Comics #647 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 1992.

Synopsis for "Inquiring Minds"

Arthur Brown, once the costumed criminal known as the Cluemaster, is declared cured of his criminal psychosis and paroled from Blackgate Penitentiary. In truth, however, Brown has merely been cured of his compulsion to send clues to the authorities; his criminal instincts remain strong as ever, and he quickly dons his old costume and seeks out a new gang to commit robberies through. Brown's intelligence leads to a string of successful heists, and true to his word, none of them are foreshadowed with his trademark clues.

Meanwhile, former District Attorney Armand Krol launches his mayoral campaign, based mainly around condemning Commissioner Gordon and the police department for relying on costumed vigilantes. Ironically, one of Krol's speeches inspires a blonde teenage girl to begin a vigilante career of her own, beginning with foiling Brown's future heists by sending clues of her own to the police.

The constant stream of clues eventually attracts attention from Batman and Robin, who confront Brown but fail to find any evidence of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, this confrontation causes Brown's new gang to become suspicious, forcing Brown to kill their former leader in order to maintain control. Now the undisputed leader of the gang, Brown vows to kill not only Batman and Robin, but also the "impostor" Cluemaster who threatens to ruin everything.

As Brown rants, a mysterious figure in a purple hooded cloak watches silently.

Appearing in "Inquiring Minds"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Cluemaster
  • Drew (Single appearance)
  • Wiley Stark (Single appearance; dies)
    • Jimmy Fish (First appearance)
    • Louis (First appearance)

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:



Notes

Trivia

  • In the scene where Stephanie Brown is interrupted by her mother while in the act of producing clues for the police, Stephanie is conspicuously wearing white gloves. The final panel of the scene shows a closeup of her hand upon which the artists forget to draw a glove. The colorist attempts to correct the error by coloring her hand white.


See Also


Links and References

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