Origin
Tony Quinn was a militant district attorney until a criminal threw acid in his face leaving him blinded and scarred. Swearing that this would not halt his search for justice, he began to train his other senses and body. Later, radical experimental surgery led to him receiving the transplanted eyes of a slain police officer. His new eyes allowed him not only to see, but for some reason, he now found he could also see in the dark. Pretending to still be blind, Tony called himself The Black Bat and kicked his fight against crime into higher gear.
Creation
In the pulp stories, his last name was Quinn and he called himself The Black Bat, who was known for carrying twin .45s and leaving a bat-shaped mark on the foreheads of his victims, as well as driving a modified car to and from his cases.
When Nedor later decided to transfer some of their pulp characters to comics, the Black Bat was one of the first they picked, although they changed his last name to Colby at this time. While they had created the character first, they worked out a deal with DC and changed his name to The Mask. Gone since 1941 from both pulps and comics, Moonstone Comics brought the character back in 2010 under his original name of Tony Quinn as The Black Bat.
Major Story Arcs
Return of the Originals
In February 1945, an mysterious object appeared in the night sky above Los Angeles. Anti-aircraft artillery fired over 1,400 at the object but nothing was brought down. The Phantom Detective, The Black Bat, Domino Lady, G-8, and Secret Agent X team-up battle a strange new menace.
Masks
Black Bat is a member of Dynamite Entertainment‘s vigilante team Masks. Set in 1938 when The Justice Party has been elected power of New York State, it soon conspires the newly-elected officials are controlled by powerful criminals, who quickly corrupt the law to their own advantage. A fascist police state is instituted and ordinary citizens are brutalised, oppressed and crushed into submission. The only ones who stand up to protect the innocent are masked vigilantes like The Shadow, The Green Hornet, The Spider and The Black Bat.
Powers & Abilities
Black Bat was an adept hand-to-hand combatant and detective, but his main powers are enhanced vision – he can see perfectly in pitch-black darkness. He also carried around twin .45s.
Other Media
Film
Rise of the Black Bat is a movie in 2013 base on the pulp character.