Signalman (Phillip Cobb) is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. He is a member of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

's rogues gallery.

Publication history

Signalman first appeared in ''

'' #112 (December 1957), and was created by

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – ) was an American comic book writer who co-created the DC Comics character Batman with Bob Kane. Despite making major (sometimes, signature) contributions as an innovative writer, visionary mythos/world ...

and Sheldon Moldoff.

Fictional character biography

Phillip "Phil" Cobb was a gangster with big ideas. He came to

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

intent on hiring a gang of his own and making it big, only to be laughed at when he tried to recruit the gang because he had no reputation. Steaming with anger, he vowed to prove himself to Gotham's mobsters, and when he noticed how modern society was regulated by signs, signals and symbols, he found the inspiration for his criminal career. As the Signalman, he went on a spectacular crime spree using those signs and symbols as his motif. Ultimately captured by Batman and Robin, he returned for a rematch a year later and became the Blue Bowman, a copycat of

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

. After that, he remained unseen until 1976, when he resumed his Signalman guise in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #466. In the years since then, Signalman has also been a member of the

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League, Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #1 ...

and, in that capacity, battles the

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

and the Justice Society.

Powers and abilities

Signalman has no superhuman powers but he is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant. He also carries items such as a knockout-gas gun, miniature flares that cause fires, electric "sparks" capable of controlling the signals to the human brain, and a remote-control device in his belt that alters signals of an electronic nature.

Other versions

* Signalwoman, a character based on Signalman, makes minor appearances in '' Kingdom Come''. * An elderly Signalman appears in ''

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future'' in Europe) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and serving as the sequel to both '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' The New Ba ...

'', where he is released from prison and reforms before being murdered by an unknown assailant.''

'' (vol. 2) #1 (November 1999)

In other media

Signalman makes non-speaking cameo appearances in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold''. Additionally, Blue Bowman appears in the episode "Deep Cover for Batman!" as an evil alternate universe version of

and member of the Injustice Syndicate, voiced by James Arnold Taylor. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

References

External links

DCU Guide: Signalman

{{DEFAULTSORT:Signalman (Comics) Batman characters Characters created by Bill Finger Characters created by Sheldon Moldoff Comics characters introduced in 1957 DC Comics male supervillains Fictional gangsters