Johnny Witts
Encyclopedia
Johnny Witts, "the crime-boss who is always one step ahead of Batman," is a supervillain
in the DC Comics
Universe
. He first appeared in Detective Comics #344 (Oct. 1965). He is also known as the Swami.
Johnny Witts appeared next in Batman #192 (1967), disguised as a new crime boss, the Swami, who had the power to see when and how Batman would try to capture him. As the Swami, Johnny Witts set the Fearsome Foursome loose on Gotham City with carefully prepared crimes that would bring Batman to him. With Batman captured, the Swami revealed himself to be Johnny Witts, the "criminal who is always one step ahead of you." Johnny Witts left Batman to die in a complex trap, so when Batman showed up soon afterwards alive, Witts was taken by surprise. He didn't bother to think ahead of Batman this time, because he thought Batman was dead. Johnny Witts was arrested once again.
In Batman #201 (1968), Johnny returned alongside several other members of Batman's rogues gallery: The Joker
, Catwoman
, the Mad Hatter
, Cluemaster
, and the Getaway Genius. These villains were called together by the Penguin
, who plotted against a new crime syndicate who had come to town. The Penguin feared that if the newcomers defeated the Batman, they would come after other villains next. So, to save their own skins, they plotted to save the Batman from a series of traps behind the scenes. What the Penguin didn't know was that the time and location of the traps were "super-whispered" to him by another villain, Mister Esper. Once the villains had helped Batman bring in the crime syndicate, a path had been cleared for Johnny Witts to take another crack at Batman.
Johnny Witts would finally reemerge in Superfriends #26 (1979). Witts had disguised himself as Batman and hired a group of specialized criminals to masquerade as the rest of the Super Friends. The disguised criminals approached the Wonder Twins and asked them if they wanted to have lunch at Batman's place the following day, ultimately hoping to trail the pair's secret identities (whom Johnny Witts had uncovered) and uncover Batman's secret identity. Fortunately for the Wonder Twins, they noticed that Johnny Witts had platform shoes to make himself appear Batman's height. And so when Johnny Witts and his gang trailed the Wonder Twins' secret identities to a stately manor, they ended up attacking not Bruce Wayne, but Superman in disguise. After Witts was once again carried off to jail, the Wonder Twins' secret identities were revealed to have been played by Wendy and Marvin.
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
in the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. He first appeared in Detective Comics #344 (Oct. 1965). He is also known as the Swami.
Fictional character biography
In Detective Comics #344, "out of the dark recesses of Gotham City" came Johnny Witts, who, along with his mobsters, sought to prove he could outwit the Batman at every turn. Witts made his existence known through a cascading series of events. "Apple Alice," a kindly old woman who would routinely offer Batman and Robin apples, was acting strangely. It was later revealed that "Apple Alice" was really Flo Murcell, a woman who worked in Johnny Witts' mob, and Batman's suspicions were tailored by Witts himself in a plan that led Batman straight to the scheming mobster. As Batman dangled from a rope outside Johnny Witts' window, Witts told the Caped Crusader that he would always be one step ahead of him; indeed, one of Witts' gang was on the roof above, ready to cut Batman's rope. Batman eventually cornered Johnny Witts by tailing Flo Murcell to his hideout. Witts had anticipated this, having removed the tracer on Murcell early in the day, but still the police came. Batman had placed a tracer on himself as well. Johnny Witts was taken to prison, where he took solace in the fact that he knew exactly how he could have gotten out of that situation, though he arrived at the solution too late.Johnny Witts appeared next in Batman #192 (1967), disguised as a new crime boss, the Swami, who had the power to see when and how Batman would try to capture him. As the Swami, Johnny Witts set the Fearsome Foursome loose on Gotham City with carefully prepared crimes that would bring Batman to him. With Batman captured, the Swami revealed himself to be Johnny Witts, the "criminal who is always one step ahead of you." Johnny Witts left Batman to die in a complex trap, so when Batman showed up soon afterwards alive, Witts was taken by surprise. He didn't bother to think ahead of Batman this time, because he thought Batman was dead. Johnny Witts was arrested once again.
In Batman #201 (1968), Johnny returned alongside several other members of Batman's rogues gallery: The Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
, Catwoman
Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
, the Mad Hatter
Mad Hatter (comics)
The Mad Hatter is a fictional supervillain and enemy of Batman in the DC Universe. He is modeled after the Hatter from Lewis Carroll's novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a character often called the "Mad Hatter" in adaptations of Carroll. He made his first appearance in Batman #49 in October...
, Cluemaster
Cluemaster
The Cluemaster is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain and enemy of Batman. A failed game show host, he became a criminal who left clues to his crimes, though unlike the Riddler's, they were not riddles....
, and the Getaway Genius. These villains were called together by the Penguin
Penguin (comics)
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot III is a DC Comics supervillain and one of Batman's oldest, most persistent enemies. The Penguin was introduced by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, making his debut in Detective Comics #58 .The Penguin is a short, rotund man known for his love of birds and his...
, who plotted against a new crime syndicate who had come to town. The Penguin feared that if the newcomers defeated the Batman, they would come after other villains next. So, to save their own skins, they plotted to save the Batman from a series of traps behind the scenes. What the Penguin didn't know was that the time and location of the traps were "super-whispered" to him by another villain, Mister Esper. Once the villains had helped Batman bring in the crime syndicate, a path had been cleared for Johnny Witts to take another crack at Batman.
Johnny Witts would finally reemerge in Superfriends #26 (1979). Witts had disguised himself as Batman and hired a group of specialized criminals to masquerade as the rest of the Super Friends. The disguised criminals approached the Wonder Twins and asked them if they wanted to have lunch at Batman's place the following day, ultimately hoping to trail the pair's secret identities (whom Johnny Witts had uncovered) and uncover Batman's secret identity. Fortunately for the Wonder Twins, they noticed that Johnny Witts had platform shoes to make himself appear Batman's height. And so when Johnny Witts and his gang trailed the Wonder Twins' secret identities to a stately manor, they ended up attacking not Bruce Wayne, but Superman in disguise. After Witts was once again carried off to jail, the Wonder Twins' secret identities were revealed to have been played by Wendy and Marvin.