Religion: indeterminate
Name: unnamed chauffeur
Classification:
supporting character
First Appearance: Detective Comics (vol. 1) #39 (May 1940): "The Horde of the Green Dragon!"
Creators: Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson
Number of Appearances: 1
Enemy of: The Green Dragon Tong
Occupation: chauffeur
Worked for: John Cobb
Gender: male
An unnamed chauffeur worked for millionaire John Cobb. Chinese criminals working with the Green Dragon Tong attacked John Cobb late at night while he walked toward his car. The criminals wanted to kidnap the wealthy man and hold him for ransom. Cobb's chauffeur approached the scene where the criminals were grabbing his employer. The chauffeur demanded, "Hey! What's going on here?" Unfortunately, one of the Chinese criminals murdered the chauffeur by tossing a hatchet into his head. The driver died instantly. Later, the fact that the chauffeur was killed with a hatchet was the one clue that led Batman and Robin to the kidnappers. Batman knew (as he said on page 12) that "only the Chinese hatchet man would use that type of weapon!" Batman wasn't referring to a specific criminal. He meant Chinese people in general are the only ones who kill using a hatchet. Earlier (page 3)he had said something similar, telling Robin, "A hatchet! There's only one kind of people that kill with a hatchet..."
The chauffeur certainly didn't intend to do so, but he ended up dying in defense of his boss. Perhaps sadly for him, he seems to have been little remembered by the kidnapped millionaires once they were rescued by millionaire super-hero Batman.
Suggested links for further research about this character:
- https://www.comics.org/issue/798/
- http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=34493