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Continuity Catch-Up: Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong - Part 1

In Robin #179 one Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong has been hired by Spoiler to push Robin to his limits and make him a better hero.�
Could Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong be the man behind the cowl of the Red Robin as this issue suggests?�
Who is Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong?

Continuity Checkup

Welcome to the first ever edition of Continuity Catch-Up where I present part one of two that looks back at continuity at the of Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong.

According to Wikipedia:

“Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong was a psychotic child with the mind of a military genius. Feeling bored of his life at a military school, he read books about military history. Ulysses later scares the bullies that picked on him into helping him to escape the school, and work as his henchmen. He goes to Gotham City to recruit gang members into his “army”, uses his military planning to grow his gang, and has taken on Black Mask’s gang. His reputation has gained him the nickname “The General”. He dresses himself and his henchmen, primarily gangs he has conquered, in historical attire as they act out crimes based on military history.”

Ulysses’ origin begins in Detective Comics #654 and ends in issue #656, just a couple issues before the Knightfall saga. Because of the lead into Knightfall an exhausted Batman is featured throught these issues, but does not play a role in Ulysses’ origin.

Ulysses’ origin begins with the stereotypical troubled youth who’s parents shipped him off to boarding school, Valley Pines Military Academy to be exact. Continuing the stereotype Ulysses was picked on and bullied by the other students forcing him to seek companionship elsewhere. Because of the bullying Ulysses spends most of his time in the school’s library reading, studding, and memorizing military history. After taking in a plethora of military history and knowledge he finds himself bored with the school and decides that it is time for him to go out and conquer, just like the military figures he idolized. Ulysses burns down Valley Pines Military Academy in the middle of the night taking revenge on those who had bullied him while providing him with a way for him to escape with everyone thinking he had died in the fire too.

Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong traveled to Gotham City and determined that here he would conquer the crime filled city stating that it is “ripe for the taking.” Ulysses begins his conquest of Gotham City by preying and taking over the weakest street gang.

Ulysses convinces this “small” gang that it would gain more respect with the larger gangs only after committing a big crime and upgrading their arsenal. The gang agrees and Ulysses leads them into battle at the National Guard Armory. During the robbery Ulysses murders the leader of the gang and takes his place as the new leader.

With a successful coup d’etat under his belt Ulysses decides to unite all of Gotham’s gangs together and wrestle the power away from Gotham’s mobs followed by the destruction of Gotham’s police department.

Batman has his first run in with Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong, now called The General, during an attept by Ulyssesto unite the gangs and mistakes him for a helpless kid. Batman believes that Ulysses is being held hostage by the gang and sucessfuly saves him only to be knocked out by Ulysses immediately after being rescued.

With the mob bosses out of the picture and Ulysses seeing Batman as weak and no longer a threat, he and his followers begin their conquest of the Gotham Police Department. The General takes a similar approach to overthrowing the police as he did with the gangs - prey on the weaker precincts first.

The General and his gangs attack Gotham’s Forty-Third Precinct and successfully forces the police officers to retreat into the holding cells for safety. Right on cue and before Ulysses and his followers can raid the impound room Batman shows up and begins to take out each thug one-by-one until he works his way to confront Ulysses.

Batman proceeds to tell Ulysses that he is not a General, but instead a scared little boy. Ulysses breaks down and beings to cry and begs Batman not to hurt him. Batman promises that he will not harm the boy and as a reslut Batman lets his guard down allowing Ulysses to thrust a knife into his ribs. Ulysses escapes Batman and retreats to the rooftops.

Batman quickly catches up with, and captures, Ulysses quickly learning his lesson from being duped earlier. Exhausted, hurt, and emotional Batman tells Ulysses that he is a murderer and will be tried as an adult.

The issue ends with the Armstrong family receiving a phone call informing them that Ulysses is in jail for murder. His mother, in denial, freaks out while his father and siblings hopes that Ulysses gets the electric chair.

I know that this article does not explain why Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong has a hatred for Robin, or may be the new Red Robin, but this is only the Part 1 of Continuity Catch-Up: Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong: Origin.

Check back next Thursday for Part 1 of Continuity Catch-Up: Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong: Robin vs. The General.

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Posted by Fred, on 10/23/08 6:23 PM Bookmark this post Digg Reddit Blogg-Buzz StumbleUpon