Batmen of All Nations facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Batmen of All Nations (also known as the Club Of Heroes)
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #215 (January 1955)
Roster
See: Members

The Batmen of All Nations are a team of superheroes from different countries. They were inspired by the famous hero Batman to fight crime in their own homelands. This group first appeared in a comic book called Detective Comics #215. Later, they were renamed the International Club of Heroes, or simply the Club of Heroes. After a big comic book event called Crisis on Infinite Earths, they were known as the Dome and were inspired by the Justice Society of America instead of Batman.

The comic book writer Grant Morrison brought them back in his Batman stories from 2007.

How the Team Started

In the 1950s, the legend of Batman spread across the world. Many people in other countries were inspired by him to become superheroes themselves. Years later, Batman decided to bring these heroes together for a meeting in Gotham City.

Batman met many of these heroes individually before the team officially formed. For example, he met the Knight and the Squire in England. He also trained a hero named Wingman. Later, in Detective Comics #215, Batman invited the Knight and Squire, the Musketeer, the Gaucho, the Ranger, and the Legionary to form a team.

A rich person named John Mayhew later invited Batman, Robin, Superman, and other international heroes to join his "Club of Heroes."

Recent Adventures

Left to right (top row): The Musketeer and Dark Ranger. Middle row: El Gaucho with Raven Red and The Legionary. Bottom row: Man-Of-Bats, and Wingman. From Batman #667.

A story in Batman comic books (#667-669) showed what happened to the Batmen of All Nations:

• The Knight (Cyril Sheldrake) is now the adult Squire. He took over from his father, the original Knight, who was sadly killed. Cyril now has his own sidekick, a young lady named Beryl Hutchinson, who is his new Squire.
• The Musketeer had a tough time after an accident. He later became rich by writing a book about his experiences. A new hero named Bilal Asselah, also known as Nightrunner, later became Batman's representative in Paris, France.
• Man-Of-Bats and his son Little Raven (now called Raven Red) are a father-son duo. Man-Of-Bats is a doctor. They protect an Indian reservation in South Dakota and are known heroes there. They later joined a bigger team called Batman Incorporated.
• Wingman changed his look to be even more like Batman. He pretended he didn't work with Batman. He worked with John Mayhew to harm the other heroes. Wingman was later killed by John Mayhew. A new Wingman appeared later, who was revealed to be Jason Todd.
• El Gaucho became a very important superhero in Argentina. He was hurt in a fight but still managed to capture the bad guy, Wingman. He also joined Batman Incorporated. His secret identity is Santiago Vargas, a horse breeder.
• The Ranger changed his costume and became the Dark Ranger. He used new gadgets like a jetpack. He was killed by Wingman, who then pretended to be him. His former sidekick, the Scout (Johnny Riley), then became the new Dark Ranger.
• The Legionary didn't stay in shape and loved to talk about his past as a hero. He was injured by John Mayhew.

In this story, the group met again on John Mayhew's island. They faced a challenge from a mysterious group called the Black Glove organization. This group wanted to prove that evil could win against good. The heroes were attacked in ways that reminded them of their old enemies.

A sad secret was revealed: the Club originally broke up because the first Knight found out that Mayhew had caused harm to his wife and falsely blamed someone else for it. This discovery shattered the team's trust.

Batman, the Gaucho, and Dark Ranger seemed to be the only ones left. But Batman realized that "Dark Ranger" was actually Wingman, who had faked his own death. Wingman was working with Mayhew for the Black Glove. Wingman was defeated by El Gaucho and Batman. John Mayhew, who had also faked his death, was revealed to be the leader of the villains. He was later killed by the Black Glove organization.

Team Members

• Batman and his sidekick Robin (United States)
• Man-Of-Bats and his sidekick Little Raven (USA–Sioux Indian)
• El Gaucho (Argentina)
• The Knight and his sidekick the Squire (England)
• The Musketeer (later replaced by the Nightrunner) (France)
• The Legionary (Italy)
• The Ranger (later the Dark Ranger) and his sidekick the Scout (Australia)
• Wingman (Sweden)

Club of Villains

In a story called "Batman R.I.P.", Batman and his allies fought against the Club of Villains. This group was created by the Black Glove Organization to try and destroy Batman and the Club of Heroes. The Club of Villains included:

• Dr. Simon Hurt: A strange doctor who led the Black Glove.
• Le Bossu (Guy Dax): A French villain who looked like a hunchback.
• Pierrot Lunaire: An enemy of the Musketeer who dressed like a mime and never spoke.
• King Kraken: A masked deep-sea diver who used an electric rifle. He was an enemy of Wingman.
• Charlie Caligula: A villain whose plans were inspired by ancient Rome. He was an enemy of the Legionary.
• El Sombrero: The main enemy of El Gaucho. He was a villain in a luchador mask who created deadly traps.
• Jezebel Jet: A rich woman who pretended to be in love with Batman.
• Scorpiana: A dangerous assassin who used a blue scorpion as her symbol. She was an enemy of El Gaucho.
• Swagman: A gunman from Australia who dressed like a famous Australian bandit. He was an enemy of Dark Ranger.
• The Joker also briefly joined the Club of Villains.

Other Hero Teams

Other comic book teams have been created in a similar way to the Batmen of All Nations.

Green Arrows Of The World

The International Delegation of Masked Archers (also called The Green Arrows Of The World) was a group inspired by the hero Green Arrow. They appeared in Adventure Comics #250. Their members included:

• Ace Archer (Japan)
• Bowman of Britain (United Kingdom)
• Bowman of the Bush (Africa)
• Green Arrow (America)
• Phantom (France)
• Other Green Arrows from Austria, Italy, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Spain.

International Sea Devils

The International Sea Devils were a team inspired by the Sea Devils. Their members included:

• Miguel (South America)
• Molo (Africa)
• Sikki (India)

In Other Media

The Batmen of All Nations appeared in the cartoon show Batman: The Brave and the Bold in an episode called "Powerless!". The Musketeer, El Gaucho, and Legionnaire had speaking roles. The Knight, Ranger, Wingman, and a new Batman from South Africa also appeared. In the episode, they fought against the "Jokers of All Nations," who were villains inspired by the Joker. Some members of the Club of Villains also made a brief appearance in another episode called "The Knights of Tomorrow!".