Detective Comics #70
October 28, 1942
"The Man Who Could Read Minds"
Let's start off by saying I really love this cover. It is fantastic as we have Robin in a bathysphere while Batman rides atop it. I have no idea what is trying to be conveyed here, but I love this cover.
The story we're dealing with here concerns a man named Carlo who has a mind-reading act. Bruce and Dick catch the show and Bruce instantly sees him for a phony as his assistant uses code words to tip Carlo off on what he is holding up.
One night, Carlo gets into an auto accident during a storm. He undergoes surgery and during the surgery the storm knocks out the lights. The surgeons work under candlelight and are able to save him. He recovers, but he quickly discovers that he has the all to real ability to real minds.
Carlo uses his ability to win at radio quiz shows and card games, but it's all small change to him. He then begins a crime wave by robbing safes after learning the combinations from the owners. He is caught on one job by Batman and Robin one night and is able to avoid their attack as he can anticipate their every move. He even stuns them when he reveals who they really are!
Carlo sends Bruce a warning to stay clear or he will reveal his identity. He even goes so far as to say he is going to Misers' Isle to rob a rich recluse. The two don the costumes for what they feel is one more time as they take the Batplane to the isle.
Carlo is waiting for them and once again, he has the upper hand on them as he can read their minds. He traps Batman and places a knocked out Robin in the bathysphere we saw on the cover of the issue. Meanwhile, Batman finds himself in a room with walls moving towards him. He knocks the oil out of a lamp hanging above and uses it to keep the wheels that move the walls from getting any traction and thus the walls stay in place. He then escapes from the room by opening the ceiling by breaking an electronic beam.
Confronting Carlo, Batman finds he has the recluse, Pete, tied up. He wants Pete's treasure chest, the source of his wealth. He leaves Batman to save Pete from certain death, which he does, by using a diamond encrusted Bat emblem he keeps in his pocket to cut the glass case that Pete is trapped in.
Yeah, I can't believe I wrote that last line.
He rushes off to save Robin.
Getting to a ship that Carlo is using, he fights the man one more time and while Carlo may be able to read minds, it doesn't mean he can handle a punch when it lands and Batman knocks him out. Batman then dives overboard and frees Robin from the Bathysphere.
