Throughout the career of the Batmen, they have always proved victorious versus the forces of evil. Well, almost always. That event which spawned both the golden and silver age versions of the Dark Knight has always haunted them, the night when they lost their parents Thomas and Martha Wayne at the hands of mugger Joe Chill. At this point in 1981, the Batman of Earth-Two had already died, having prevented another tragedy, the lost of his dear wife Selina "Catwoman" Wayne. In a twist, his counterpart on Earth-One would face a role reversal from his late twin, the chance to save his family... or at least the Waynes of Earth-Five.
When his occasional ally and fellow Justice Leaguer (debatable), the Phantom Stranger, appears with Robin alongside... Batman is offered the opportunity to save this new world's Thomas and Martha.
And so, the Dynamic Duo appear on Earth-Five, almost immediately getting in the crosshair of that Gotham's Police and Lt. James Gordon. After some research, they determine the location of the Wayne family, and track down criminal mastermind Lew Moxon and his hired gun Joe Chill. Neither are the individual who would ultimately confront the Wayne's in what would come to be known as Crime Alley. Yet once Batman and Robin deduced that this was the date and time when the tragic event was to occur, the Caped Crusader swooped down to vanquish the would-be mugger assassin. The Wayne family returned to their normal life, with young Bruce Wayne of this world inspired by the heroic example he had just witnessed.
Although living on an Earth with no heroic legends and in a universe where Krypton apparently didn't exist, it was this young man who would one day adopt the same caped cowl as Earth-Five's future hero. Whether there was a version of the Stranger on that world was not revealed, although another mystery man labeled "Unknown" was a contemporary of the original Batman, although his path led to less than honorable pursuits in the end. But to continue the tale of the young Wayne himself...
Since the narrative in this story stated what would occur once he was an adult, more than five years in the future when the Crisis on Infinite Earths had occurred, this would prove even further that in one timeline, the Multiverse still existed. As would the Batman of Earth-Five, over a decade later!This event was earlier mirrored by the journey that the golden age Batman and Robin undertook from their native Earth-Two to that of Earth-S. Only they were brought over to that world by a resident of that realm, not their world's version of Stranger. And the person substituting for the suit clad Stranger was an equally powerful Justice Society member along for the ride in Johnny Thunder.
The golden age Caped Crusaders met their own counterparts on Earth-S in fellow Gothamites Mister Scarlet and Pinky, battling the Joker and Weeper...themselves pawns of immortal mastermind King Kull.
As the Earth-Two Phantom Stranger, Lando had vague powers and no origin. Both wore tuxedos draped as men of mystery with enigmatic abilities and curious insight. Lando never met the Dynamic Duo of his world, but had clashed twice with the Dark Knight's ally in the Justice Society, Doctor Fate. While Phantom Stranger was aware of the Earth-Two Batman, was he also aware of his own cosmic twin of that world? If so, undoubtedly a feeling of shame swept over him at the path this twin took… which perhaps motivated Stranger’s actions in this instance, guiding his Bruce Wayne into shaping the life of Wayne's younger twin a universe away… in a way that Lando has not been exposed to in the past.
Lando had a series of appearances from 1941 to 1942 concurrent with the World's Finest heroes Superman and Batman. His so-called heroic tales saw him influenced more by fascist doctrines and white supremacy. When finally returning to the United States from his adventures abroad, Lando adopted the alter ego of Krishna Das, pretending to predict the future for his own greedy goals. Doctor Fate had initially been bested by this turbaned tyrant, but turned the tables on his foe in March of 1943 (More Fun Comics #89).However, Das escaped using his abilities, and in May of 1943 adopted another alias...as Mister Fortune! Lando's true allegiance was finally revealed as a Nazi collaborator seeking to undermine trust in democracy. In this role, Lando once more ran afoul of Doctor Fate during a case involving the Justice Society (All-Star Comics #16). Lando/Krishna/Fortune would nevermore return to menace mankind.
These confrontations with his arch-enemy reflected those between the Fate’s evil doppelgänger Felix Faust, the Earth-One version of Doctor Fate, and the Phantom Stranger. But with their roles reversed those of their doppelgängers, as to good and evil. Stranger and Faust first fought when Stranger was made an honorary member of the Justice League during a case (Justice League of Ameria #103). Later, the two opposing forces came to blows (Blue Devil Annual #1).
Other stellar themed criminal charlatans were Doctor Zodiac aka Cash Carrigan and his cosmic twin Aba Raja. Zodiac quarreled with the Caped Crusaders and their pal Superman of Earth-One on more than one occasion, while Raja had the same modus operandi when he confronted Superman and Lois Lane of Earth-Two.
Doctor Zodiac returned later to battle the World's Finest Team, almost defeating Superman and Batman, their Earth-Two doppelgänger Aba Raja apparently did not... unless under fraudulent aliases to conceal their later crooked capers, as had Lando. A couple years prior to his conflict with Superman, Raja as “Meera Kell” had partnered with the Joker in the Crime Clown’s scheme to trick greedy investors into buying into his fake time machine. When the gullible men discovered they weren’t being sent to either nor the past but rather an elaborate movie set, the pair repent while Batman and Robin capture Aba/Meera and the Joker, although this scheme was the genesis of Raja’s later caper.
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