Harold Allnut

2016 has been a pretty amazing year for people who love obscure and forgotten DC Comics characters (read: me), but this week, the Rebirth era got its most shocking return yet. As Batman and Two-Face continued their road trip upstate in the pages of All-Star Batman, beset on all sides by assassins, arch-villains, and other assorted ne'er-do-wells, they run straight into one of the most unexpected characters in a long time --- and no, I'm not talking about KGBeast. That dude came back last month. This one's even weirder.

Q: Tell us more about Harold, the person with the hunchback who used to live in the Batcave and build new Batmobiles. -- @beeftony1 A: (Heavy sigh.) All right, look. I've been writing this column for over five years now, and in that time, I've written a lot about Batman. I've gone deep into the patterns that have emerged over the past 75 years to form the core of a fantastic character, the relationships with the other characters in his extended family, and how changing attitudes towards superheroes have shaped how he was portrayed in comics and elsewhere. I've even talked about obscure and forgotten elements of his history that are interesting just for how bizarre they are, like the time Alfred died and became a super-powered crime boss. But there are some things that even the most dedicated Batmanologists try to avoid talking about. And now, it looks like I can't dodge this one any longer, so fine. Let's talk about Harold, who used to live in the Batcave and build new Batmobiles.