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The Black Bat (II). The Black Bat (II) was created by "G. Wayman Jones," a Better Publications/Standard Magazines pseudonym which in this case was used by Norman A. Daniels (Scott Cameron, Candid Camera Kid, Dan Clark, Crimson Mask, John Doe (II), Dynamite Dolan, Stephen Duane, The Eagle (III), Masked Detective, Guy Peyton, Renouf, Skipper, Val Stewart), and appeared in sixty-two stories in Black Book Detective Magazine, from 1939 to 1953, beginning with “The Brand of the Black Bat” (Black Book Detective Magazine, July 1939).

The Black Bat (II) is a Superhuman Costumed Avenger. Tony Quinn is a wealthy young bachelor and District Attorney who grows increasingly upset with crime and the number of criminals who manage to escape the law's punishment. When crooks throw acid in his face, blinding him and leaving him with a number of scars around his eyes, Quinn resolves to get his revenge. He embarks on a training program to develop his other senses, so that his hearing and sense of touch become superhuman. He trains until he is in top-notch physical condition. And then, by means of a secret operation, Quinn receives the eyes of another man and regains his sight. An unexpected benefit of the operation is a new ability to see in the dark. Quinn does not make this news public, choosing to inform only a few close friends. Instead, he puts on a black cape, black hood, black shoes and gloves, black mask and cowl, and becomes the Black Bat, a crime fighter universally feared in the underworld. Quinn’s vow:

We'll use whatever means we think best in our fight against crime. We'll fight them with their own weapons--with treachery, intimidation, theft. We'll worry them until they are as jittery as a one legged man on a tightrope. We'll work with the police or against them if need be. We'll make our own laws and we'll enact our own judgments.

Quinn is assisted by two men, both reformed criminals. Silk Kirby, a slick confidence man, and Butch O'Leary, a tough former boxer, help Quinn, as does Carol Baldwin, the daughter of the murdered policeman who gave the Bat his new eyes. Captain McGrath acts the police adversary of the Black Bat. The Bat's opponents are German spies and Mad Scientists, rather than costumed criminals. The Bat uses .45 automatics on his enemies and leaves a bat-shaped scar on the foreheads of the criminals he has slain. The Bat has a secret crime lab, a large estate on the city limits, and a powerful roadster. He is wanted by the police as well as the underworld.

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