Poll: Is Ace the Bathound Named Ace because of ACE Chemicals?

General Discussion
1

Never thought of this until now, but do you think Ace TBH could have been named after ACE Chemicals?

  • Yes, Ace is named after ACE
  • No, that is a dumb idea

0 voters

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2

That’s entirely possible. In the DCAU, I like to think that Ace is named after Ace from the Royal Flush Gang. That might have been confirmed, even. I’m not really sure. And in Rebirth (courtesy of Batman Annual #1 by Tom King) she was named by Joker because, you know, cards and Joker go hand in hand.

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3

In the original continuity, at least, Ace was named by his owner, John Wilker. He wasn’t originally Bruce Wayne’s dog. In a way, he was a precursor for Tim Drake: a sidekick who didn’t live at Wayne Manor. (Of course, that arrangement eventually changed for both characters.)

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4

Never made that connection either. As an open minded free-thinker. I say yes, until someone can ultimately prove otherwise.???

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5

Why’d you have to put “that’s a dumb idea” at the end. I’ll feel bad if I choose it.

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6

No, don’t. I use “mean” language as a sign of endearment and comradery. Just ask any of my friends (i know you technically can’t, but you get the point.) When I call something dumb or someone an idiot, in a light tone, it is playful and friendly. Plus, if I am wrong, I am a little dumb.

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7

But it could be an easter egg by the writers, right?

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8

Maybe the Bat-Hound was on Alan Moore’s mind while writing The Killing Joke. I don’t know of any references to a place called Ace Chemicals in Joker’s origin before that comic. In Detective Comics #168 by Bill Finger, the confrontation occurred at the Monarch Playing Card Company, which included a chemical plant. This name was retained in the 1980 comic The Untold Legend of the Batman #2 by Len Wein.

Untold Legend 2 Red Hood
Untold Legend 2 Red Hood566Ă—632 482 KB

Untold Legend 2 Red Hood 2
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My guess is that Moore was trying to make sense of the strange idea of toxic chemicals coming from a playing card company, so he fudged the details and created a second adjacent location. The “Ace” in the name is most likely a nod to the playing cards, but he included Ace the Bat-Hound in a photograph elsewhere in the comic, so it’s not absolutely impossible for the name to be a subtle double nod.

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9

I love the reasoning. Solid, and theoretic enough to ne interesting.

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