DETECTIVE COMICS #674 - May 1994

Outgunned

Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Graham Nolan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), John Costanza (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Assassins Gunhawk and Bunny target a millionaire at a social event, killing him from a mile away.  Harvey Bullock solicits Batman’s help, and after quickly identifying the man who hired the hit, Batman investigates anyone who could’ve made the shot.  He suspects a former Marine named Liam Hawkleigh.  Meanwhile, Gunhawk and Bunny return to Gotham to steal an experimental gun from a gun show.  Batman is unable to stop them, but after Bunny is hit by one of the audience members, Gunhawk carries her away.

I Love the ‘90s:  Bullock lectures Batman about not checking his "E” mail.

Review:  I have no idea what the inspiration behind Gunhawk and Bunny is.  I suspect it might come from an old movie, but have no evidence to back it up.  The concept of a husband and wife (or boyfriend/girlfriend) assassin team, the man an aggressive alpha male and the wife a flighty blonde, just sounds like one of the old romantic pairings from the 1940s transposed to modern times.  And I guess nothing said “modern” in 1994 like Cyclops visors.  Regardless of the origin, they’re played as joke characters, although slightly more deadly than the Killer Moth or Calendar Man.  There’s a good joke about them being dumb enough to rob a gun show, but other than that, I’m not sure if they’re particularly engaging.  The rest of the issue merely consists of the new Batman beating up criminals and continuing one of his monologues about the animals of the city that must be tamed.  Nothing new, making me wonder again why stories like this are reprinted in place of ones that actually advance the main plotline.