| Slam Bradley | |
|---|---|
 Interior artwork fromCatwoman Secret Files & Origins #1 (September 2002). Art byMichael Lark. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #1 (March 1937) |
| Created by | Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Gotham City Police Department |
| Abilities |
|
Samuel Emerson "Slam"Bradley is a fictional character that has appeared in Americancomic books published byDC Comics. He is aprivate detective who exists inDC's main shared universe. The character concept was created byDC Comics founderMalcolm Wheeler-Nicholson and developed byJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster, who both later became more well known as the co-creators ofSuperman. As one of the first ever DC characters, the character first appears in theGolden Age of Comic Books in the anthology titleDetective Comics, being introduced in the first issue. He later commonly was associated withBatman and other spinoff Batman characters when revived.
Slam Bradley appears inBatwoman, portrayed by Kurt Szarka.[1]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(March 2024) |
.png)
Conceived byMalcolm Wheeler-Nicholson and developed by Superman creatorsJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster, the character first appeared inDetective Comics #1 (March 1937) and is depicted as a hard bitten, tough private eye who loves working for dames, but prefers the platonic company of his boy sidekick "Shorty" Morgan.[2] The character originally starred in his own stories during theGolden Age, and later was revived in supporting character roles.Slam Bradley was originally outlined by Wheeler-Nicholson in a May 13, 1936 letter to Siegel. The letter stated: "We need some more work from you. We are getting out at least one new magazine in July and possibly two. The first one is definitely in the works. It will contain longer stories and fewer. From you and Shuster we need sixteen pages monthly. We want a detective hero called 'Slam Bradley'. He is to be an amateur, called in by the police to help unravel difficult cases. He should combine both brains and brawn, be able to think quickly and reason cleverly and able as well to slam bang his way out of a bar room brawl or mob attack. Take every opportunity to show him in a torn shirt with swelling biceps and powerful torso alaFlash Gordon. The pages are to run the same size asNew Comics but to contain eight panels a page instead of six."[3]
Reportedly, the character's appearance was based on actorVictor McLaglen.[4] Some[who?] commentators have noted the similarity of Bradley's appearance toSuperman, Siegel and Shuster's most famous creation for DC, who first appeared the following year, although the two had created the earliest version of Superman in 1933, and were shopping the character around the comic industry around the time Bradley was created. Similarities have also been noted between Shorty and future Superman villainMister Mxyzptlk, who first appeared in 1944.[4]
The Golden Age Slam Bradley stories have never been reprinted, except for once onmicrofiche.[4] In September 2018, DC Comics announced theDetective Comics: Before Batman Volumes 1 and 2 Hardcover Omnibus Set, which would reprint stories scanned from original copies from the first 26 issues of the series prior toBatman's first appearance, which would have included several early Slam Bradley stories.[5] However, the omnibus set was cancelled in November of that year,[6] with no official reasons given.[4]
The character first appeared as one of several ongoing features, in the debut issue ofDetective Comics – originally ananthology series – in March 1937. He debuted a year beforeSuperman'sfirst appearance, and two years beforeBatman would become the title's lead feature.[7] InDetective Comics #20, Slam Bradley learned how to use magic, and used it to turn another magician into anape. The character's adventures continued as Batman was introduced in issue #27, continuing as a supporting feature untilDetective Comics #152 (October 1949). According toJess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "He fights ordinary criminals,Yellow Perils, stage magicians, the Human Fly, creatures from the year Two Billion, the Man-Beast, and on at least one occasion space aliens."[8]
Slam was replaced inDetective Comics #153 byRoy Raymond, TV Detective. Bradley would not make another significant appearance for over 32 years and his sidekick Shorty Morgan disappeared completely.[9]
The character was originally operating out ofCleveland, then later inNew York City, Slam and his sidekick "Shorty" Morgan often had humorous, fight-filled adventures, often going undercover in various professions to catch their man. Though most stories had a mystery element, "Slam" was more likely to solve them with his fists than his brains.[1]
The character reappeared inDetective Comics #500 (March 1981). In a story titled "The Too Many Cooks... Caper!", an aging Bradley joined other DC detectives, such asJason Bard,Pow Wow Smith,Roy Raymond, theHuman Target, andMysto, Magician Detective in solving the murder of a fellow retiring detective. The character returned again inDetective Comics #572 (the 50th anniversary issue), teaming up with detectives Batman,Robin,Elongated Man, andSherlock Holmes.
He appeared in theSuperman titles in the 1990s, working for theMetropolis Police Department.[10] However, this incarnation of the character was short-lived.[11] When an older Slam Bradley later appeared inDetective Comics, it was explained that the Metropolis character was Slam Bradley, Jr.[12]
In 2001, writerEd Brubaker and artistDarwyn Cooke revived the character in the four-part serial "Trail of theCatwoman" inDetective Comics #759-762.[13] In this story, he investigates the death ofSelina Kyle and in the process runs afoul of the Batman.[14] This incarnation of the character is a formerpolice officer in his late 50s who has always worked in Gotham City (contradicting the previous Cleveland, New York, and Metropolis settings). Bradley then became a supporting cast member in theCatwoman ongoing series. He reveals that he has a son named Sam Bradley Jr. who is a detective on theGotham City Police Department.[15] Sam Jr. also worked when detectives James Lenahan and Carl Worth in getting close toBlack Mask when posing asSmart Bomb.[16] Sam Jr. and Selina Kyle engaged in a romantic relationship that produced a child,Helena Kyle.[17][7] Slam made an appearance during a flashback in the story arc "Heart of Hush", where he was the primary detective in the murder ofThomas Elliot's father.[18]
Bradley is the main protagonist in the 2022Tom King/Phil Hester miniseriesGotham City: Year One, a story set in 1961 Gotham involving Slam with Bruce Wayne's grandparents.[19]
The character appears in Darwyn Cooke's 2003/2004DC: The New Frontier as a private investigator working alongsideJohn Jones,[20] and in Cooke'sSolo #5. He also appeared inLegends of the Dark Knight #5, in which he had to team up with Batman to clear his name of a murder charge. This story was released digitally asLegends of the Dark Knight #11-13.[1][21]
Slam Bradley's comics have a long history of racism, in which the character is juxtaposed againstYellow Peril caricatures.[23][24][25][26] This is explored in-universe inNew Super-Man #16, whereKong Kenan is horrified to see Bradley attacking Chinese-American civilians.[27]
Criticism has also been directed towards the portrayal ofwomen in the Golden Age Bradley stories. They have been described as "often feisty but exist in a very objectified way to be ogled, rescued, kissed, then discarded forever to the limbo of single-issue appearances."[4]
It has been speculated that the plannedDetective Comics: Before Batman omnibus set was cancelled due to the stereotypes in the stories featuring Bradley and other early Detective Comics characters that would have been reprinted.[4][6]
Certainly those early issues of Detective Comics had quite the obsession with Yellow Peril. and a few of this panels will show. Siegel and Shuster's Slam Bradley is always finding some 'inscrutable' East Asian person to punch – maybe DC Comics didn't want to advertise that as from the creators of Superman quite so much?;Johnston, Rich (March 27, 2019)."Slam Bradley in Detective Comics #1000 - a Grand Tradition of Anniversaries, Get-Togethers and Insensitive Language".Bleeding Cool News And Rumors.Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. RetrievedAugust 27, 2019.
Slam Bradley is also notable for a number of blatantly racist stories back in the day, [...]
While even today Slam Bradley is known as a classic detective in comparison to DC's "World's Greatest Detective", Batman, his and other figures within the pages of Detective are seen today as having racist and sexist tendencies, such as throwing around the term "Chinks" when fighting Chinese gang leader Fui Onyui and his henchmen in both of their very first appearances.
Siegel and Shuster's white hero proves his manliness by defeating ethnically defined "others." Indeed, Siegel and Shuster create an environment that conforms to racist depictions of Chinese American neighborhoods as described even by well-intentioned early twentieth-century reformers.
Siegel and Shuster fully embraced anti-Asian racism in a 1937 issue of Detective Comics that included their Slam Bradley, the epitome of white courage and strength, taking on a "horde of evil Chinese."
| Incarnations | |
|---|---|
| Supporting characters | |
| Antagonists | |
| Publications | |
| In other media | |
