Crimesmith
Encyclopedia
Crimesmith I
The first Crimesmith made only one starring appearance, in World's Finest Comics #68 (January-February 1954), in the story "The Secret Weapons of the Crimesmith!" Rand Garrow is a small-time crook sent to prison by BatmanBatman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
. He uses his time in jail to learn how to construct elaborate machines. After his release, he begins calling himself the Crimesmith, and sells his machines to other criminals to use in crimes.
At first stymied by the Crimesmith's inventions, Batman gets a break in the case after catching Patch Parson using one of the Crimesmith's machines. When Crimesmith plans to secretly broadcast images from old monster films and cause a panic in Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
, Batman traces the signal back to the criminal's lair and captures him.
Crimesmith I is seen in a flashback in Batman #101 (August 1956), but does not play a significant role in the story.
Crimesmith II
The second Crimesmith was created by Marv WolfmanMarv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
; his only appearance was in a two-part story in Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
#443 and #444 (January and February 1990). This one was Dr. Jeffrey Fraser, a brilliant scientist and media personality who had recently met Bruce Wayne. This Crimesmith gave detailed plans for robberies
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
to gangs of crooks with the understanding that they would give him a big percentage of the loot, and he would continue to direct them to other big scores in the future. His detailed plans always included maps showing the exact locations of each security camera and instructions on how to subvert them. He used tiny incendiary devices implanted in his underlings to kill them if he thought they were disobeying orders and/or starting to leak information about him to anyone (such as Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
).
In the end, Fraser died as his headquarters was going up in flames, while his "beautiful female assistant" escaped in a fast car before Batman could catch her. It was implied that while Fraser might be a brilliant scientist, the real criminal mastermind who made things happen was his assistant -- or that perhaps "Crimesmith" was a codename for both of them as a team.