Black Glove Society

"They're called Black Glove because they don't leave a trace."

—Virgil Getty to Sophie Moore^[src]

The Black Glove Society is a crime syndicate operating in Gotham City, formerly led by Marla Elliot. It is comprised of elite families aiming to "fix" their troubled children before the public finds out. The organization, both its running heads and rank-and-files, are very secretive, such that they rarely leave any outsiders as credible witnesses alive to speak of their existence; as Renee Montoya puts it, those who survive after an encounter with their operatives are "beyond lucky".

History[]

Background[]

In 1984,^[1] the Black Glove Society was formed by Marla Elliot along with other wealthy families as a means of treating their troubled children's various mental illnesses, while keeping them secret from the public due to the sponsoring families not wanting their good names tarnished. Over time, however, the group's subordinates got involved in criminal activities and cover-ups as their methods grew more underhanded and illegal (i.e. testing their "curing methods" on unwilling subjects in unsanctioned clinical trials, tying up "loose ends" that could lead back to them, etc.). Thus, the Black Glove Society's field agents often kept the details of their research hidden from the families who sponsored it.^[2][1]

At some point, Barbara Kean joined the Black Glove Society to find a cure for her son, J.J. Gordon. She hired off-the-books doctors to fill JJ with experimental medication in an attempt to fix him. However, the attempt failed and JJ was left in a vegetative state and sent to Arkham Asylum.^[1] Following Marla's death, the Black Glove Society came under new leadership and began performing experiments for Jeturian Industries.^[3]

Replicating the Freeze Serum[]

Jada Jet hired and tasked Black Glove Society with testing and creating a version of Mr. Freeze's liquid nitrogen that would successfully put a person's body in suspended animation without any adverse effects (i.e. an accelerated aging that follows after defrosting) on that person’s body and cells, so she could use it on her son Marquis.^[4]

Agent Virgil Getty stole the nitrogen and tested it on Jordan Moore and her friends at the Gotham Expo Hotel, but it hadn't worked as intended. Virgil and other members broke into Jordan's apartment to destroy his evidence and tried to kill Sophie Moore and Alice, to no avail. Afterwards, Virgil stole the right result of the nitrogen that the Bat Team used to heal Jordan and gave it to Jada Jet.^[3] After being captured and tortured by Sophie to tell the truth about Black Glove, Virgil ended up strangling himself to death with his chains.^[2]

Run-in with Marquis Jet[]

For revenge, Marquis Jet kidnapped and blindfolded the members of the organization; Barbara Kean, Mario Falcone, Jeremiah Arkham, Burton Crowne, and his mother. He took them to a hideout, where he subjected Barbara to the same drugs to which J.J. was subjected, through a gas mask. Barbara fainted, and thinking she was dead, Marquis killed Mario, Jeremiah and Burton. He was going to do the same to Jada, but was stopped by Alice, who told him where the Batcave was and he fled there. Batwoman managed to save Barbara by taking off her mask, she vomited and the heroine called for medical help.^[1]

Known members[]

• Jada Jet
• Barbara Kean

Former members[]

• Marla Elliot (founder and leader; deceased)
• Virgil Getty (deceased)
• Burton Crowne (deceased)
• Mario Falcone (deceased)
• Jeremiah Arkham (deceased)

Known allies[]

Current allies[]

• Jeturian Industries

Known enemies[]

Current enemies[]

• Bat Team
  • Ryan Wilder/Batwoman (leader)
  • Beth Kane/Alice
  • Luke Fox/Batwing
  • Mary Hamilton
  • Sophie Moore
• Jordan Moore

Appearances[]

Batwoman[]

Season 3[]

• "Antifreeze"
• "A Lesson From Professor Pyg" (mentioned)
• "How Does Your Garden Grow?" (mentioned)
• "We're All Mad Here"

Behind the scenes[]

• In the comics, the Black Glove is a criminal organization with great reach and power dedicated to ruining, and eventually ending, Batman's life. They were apparently led by Doctor Simon Hurt. They were created by Grant Morrison and Tony S. Daniel, first appearing in Batman #667 (August, 2007).
  • In the comics, Jezebel Jet was a member of this organization.

References[]