Shaman is a Batman storyline written by Dennis O'Neil and illustrated by Ed Hannigan and John Beatty. It was published from November, 1989 to March, 1990 through the first five issues of the then new comic book series Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. The storyline takes place very early in the career of Batman: around the first weeks of Batman: Year One.
Synopsis
Years prior of becoming Batman, Bruce Wayne went training to Alaska with a notorious manhunter and he confronted the killer called Thomas Woodley. After the encounter, Bruce was left badly injured and he was rescued by a local shaman, who healed Bruce by telling the tale of an ancient bat. Bruce was told not to tell the story to anybody, but years later, he forgot the promise he made and told the story to an investigator, who gained notoriety after Bruce Wayne sponsored his investigation of Alaskan tribes.
During Batman's first year in Gotham, several killers appeared and they were all cultists of Chubala, a deity from the island of Santa Prisca. Batman investigated the case, but he also came across a killer, who wore one of the ancient Alaskan masks used by the shaman who cured him; and murdered the investigator and his assistant. Bruce believed there was a connection between Chubala and the shaman, which prompted him to return to Alaska after several years, but he was not well received by the natives, who blamed him for corrupting their people by sending the investigator to their land. After learning of the investigator's atrocities, Bruce became upset, but he overcame the feeling when he had to heal a woman by using the same tale the shaman did to help him. The shaman himself told Bruce he had "the mark" and true enough, Bruce healed the woman, much to his own surprise.
After a valuable lesson, Bruce returned to Gotham, where he finally found the evidence he required to stop Chubala. However, Bruce didn't realize that Alfred had been captured by the shaman killer, who was holding the butler in Wayne Manor until Bruce returned. Bruce arrived to Gotham and he went directly to the location of Carl Fisk, the man he suspected of being Chubala. After placing various tricks, gadgets and trinkets in Fisk's Chubala outfit, Bruce returned home, where he confronted the shaman killer, who was none other than Thomas Woodley, who survived his encounter with Bruce several years before. Bruce beat the killer once again, but the man ran away from Wayne Manor.
The next night, Batman went out and confronted Chubala, who was exposed as a fraud thanks to Batman's preparations and tampering with his suit. The cultists scattered and Batman delivered the criminal to the police. Finally, Batman returned to Wayne Manor, where he tracked down Woodley and retrieved the ancient mask he had stolen from the Alaskan shaman. Woodley died by his own hand and Batman was allowed to keep the Bat Mask in the Batcave as a reminder of what he had become.
Issues
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #2
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #3
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #4
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #5
Notes
- This storyline is relevant for introducing the first origin of the Batcave on the Post-Crisis continuity.
Recommended Reading
Links and References
  This event or storyline is specifically related to Batman, or to members of the Batman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Batman Storylines category. |