of Monks and Vampires
Batman's 2nd ever villain in the comics, the Mad Monk, was created by Gardener Fox and Bob Kane for Detective Comics #31 in 1939. The first super natural character, predating Ra's Al Ghul by 30 years, the unnamed monk is a vampire, the Dracula kind. He wears a red robe and hooded mask, depicted above, looking eerily similar to a klansman. The monk has hypnotism powers, and can turn himself into a wolf. The original character is a Hungarian lord with a plan to dominate the world with an army of female werewolves. The Monk kidnaps women and turns them into monsters. He is assisted by Dala, the first female sidekick, starting a trend in DC comics that gave us Talia , Query and Echo, March Harriet , Dollhouse , Harley Quinn , and Punchline . The Monk and Dala attempt to kidnap and turn Bruce Wayne's girlfriend. Obviously this was a mistake, and Batman rescues the girlfriend, and kills both vampires with silver bullets. In 1982, Gerry Conway brough the character back...