Why not a utility belt for me, the Joker? My own kind of utility belt! Then I'll have the edge! 
- — Joker
Batman #73 is an issue of the series Batman (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 1952.
Synopsis for "Guns For Hire!"
The criminals of Gotham City have developed a new modus operandi in which they commit crimes with rented firearms that they return after their crimes. For this reason, the Gotham City Police Department have not been able to find evidence or establish a connection between captured criminals and their crimes. Batman and Robin start investigating the case without success and Bruce decides to disguise himself as a criminal to learn the secrets behind the new criminal methods.
Batman is taken to the base of operations of the Renter, who is the man behind the rented weapons business. After doing an extensive investigation, Batman is discovered and some of the criminals try to kill him. However, Batman manages to defeat them and brings the whole organization down.
Appearing in "Guns For Hire!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Renter (Single appearance)
- Herman Marn (Single appearance)
- Charley
- Pete (Single appearance)
- Weaver (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Vicki Vale's Secret!"
Vicki Vale comes into Wayne Manor, desperately looking for help. She explains that she has brought doom upon herself and she passes out before revealing any other information. Bruce and Dick leave her in the care of Alfred while they investigate at Vicki's house as Batman and Robin.
While at her home, the Dynamic Duo finds a picture of "Keys" Bennett, a notorious criminal, and they assume he has threatened Vicki to keep her from turning his photo over to the police. Batman and Robin set out to locate "Keys" and they capture him after escaping a dangerous situation and a short confrontation. When Batman asks "Keys" about his intentions with Vicki, he is shocked to learn that "Keys" doesn't know who Vicki is. Batman realizes that there's something odd about this whole situation and he tells Robin to return to Wayne Manor to stall Vicki while he goes elsewhere.
In the meantime, Vicki has recovered and it is revealed that she was pretending to be in danger in order to learn if Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are Batman and Robin. After their long absence, she deduces that she is right about their identities. When Bruce and Dick return home, she tells them that she has managed to prove their secret as she planted a microphone on her home, which would have recorded their voices as they investigated the place. The trio goes to Vicki's home to listen to the recording, and Vicki is disappointed to listen to Batman talking about how Bruce Wayne warned them about Vicki's problem. Vicki's suspicions are once again thrown off.
When the Dynamic Duo go back to the Batcave, Batman tells Robin that he spotted the microphone immediately and took steps to drown it out. Then, upon learning of Vicki's plan after capturing "Keys", Batman then returned to her apartment to record his voice corroborating Bruce Wayne's later story that he and Dick found Batman and told him of Vicki's harrowing story.
Appearing in "Vicki Vale's Secret!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Keys Bennett (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Alfred (Cameo)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Joker's Utility Belt!"
The Joker tries to steal a valuable gem collection from the Gotham City Museum, but his crime is thwarted by Batman and the always useful set of tools from his Utility Belt. Out of frustration, Joker decides to create his own utility belt to get an advantage over Batman.
Using a series of spectacular trick gadgets and prankster tools, Joker commits a series of successful crimes that leave Batman and Robin baffled. During one of their confrontations, Joker manages to capture the Dynamic Duo and place them on a deadly trap, but Batman is able to break free using the Joker's utility belt. Finally, the clown prince of crime is captured and taken to the GCPD Headquarters, where he reveals his new hatred towards any sort of belts.
Appearing in "The Joker's Utility Belt!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Gotham City
- GCPD Headquarters
- Wayne Manor
- Gotham City Museum
Items:
- Bat-Signal
- Utility Belt
- Gotham Gazette
- Joker's Utility Belt
- Joker's Joy Buzzer (First appearance)
Vehicles:
Notes
- "The Joker's Utility Belt" has been collected in the following:
- Additionally, "The Joker's Utility Belt" was loosely adapted into the 1960s Batman series' first Joker story, the two-parter "The Joker is Wild"/"Batman is Riled".
Trivia
- In the Joker story, there are references to famous comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and the duo Laurel and Hardy.
See Also