Monk (comics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Monk | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Monk is a fictional DC Comics supervillain, an enemy of Batman.
[edit] History
The Monk first appeared in Detective Comics #31 in 1939. He is one of the earliest significant villains of the series, his battle with Batman being one of the first multi-part Batman adventures. The Monk was a vampire who wore a red, monk-like outfit, with a hood that bore a skull and crossbones. He had an assistant named Dala who lured Batman to his lair and convinced him to use Bruce Wayne's fiancee Julie Madison as a way of hurting the Batman.
The Monk placed Julie in a hypnotic trance using his vampiric abilities and used her as bait for the Dark Knight. After rescuing Julie, Batman killed the Monk and Dala by shooting them with silver bullets as they lay in their coffins. This action is notable as it displays a ruthlessness and affinity for firearms that Batman would abandon in later stories as the series drifted away from its pulp adventure roots. The tale of the Monk is also remembered for its moody visuals and use of the supernatural, other elements that were downplayed as the Batman series continued to evolve.
The Monk would return several decades later when writer Gerry Conway revived him in 1982's Detective Comics #515. The Monk's appearance was preceded by Dala's return in Detective Comics #511, during which she romanced Dick Grayson (a.k.a. Robin) as part of her master's plan.
Conway's story was ostensibly an update of the original tale, establishing an Earth-One counterpart of the Monk during the days of DC Comics' Multiverse. It departed from the original however by establishing the Monk's true identity and origin. In Conway's version, the Monk had been a post-Civil War plantation owner in New Orleans named Louis DuBois. He and his sister Dala were attacked by their vengeful ex-slaves and subjected to a voodoo ritual which transformed them into the undead.
During the course of the story, Batman himself was transformed into a vampire by the Monk but was eventually cured by a serum administered by a priest/exorcist named Father Green. At the conclusion of the tale, Green departed with the captive Monk and Dala, hinting that he had been pursuing them for a very long time indeed.
Although later events have called this story into question, the Monk's continued existence in the post-Crisis version of the DC Universe was confirmed by the presence of a familiar red hood displayed as a trophy in the Batcave.
[edit] Batman and the Mad Monk
In the summer of 2006, DC began publishing a six-issue miniseries by writer/artist Matt Wagner called Batman and the Mad Monk. This is once again a revised update of the original Monk story.
In this version, the Monk is referred to as Niccolai and is the vampiric leader of a cult called The Brotherhood, based in an abandoned castle/manor house on the outskirts of Gotham City. His followers, among whom is the gothic Dala, feed upon the blood of captured victims. Only the most devoted acolytes are transformed into true creatures of the night however. Maintaining a link with the 1939 version, Julie Madison is once again turned into the Monk's pawn, as she is lured to the castle by Dala under the guise of the Monk being some sort of self-help guru. At present, the current origin of the character has not been revealed. It should be noted that Dala is not a vampire, but she hopes to become one so she can serve at Niccolai's right hand.
