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Batman Day 2019: Who is Ace the Bat-Hound?

ByWesley Coburn|
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 13: Dachshunds dressed as Batman and Robin compete in The Best Dressed Dachshund Costume Competition during the annual Teckelrennen Hophaus Dachshund Race and Costume Parade on October 13, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. The annual 'Running of the Wieners' is held to celebrate Oktoberfest. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 13: Dachshunds dressed as Batman and Robin compete in The Best Dressed Dachshund Costume Competition during the annual Teckelrennen Hophaus Dachshund Race and Costume Parade on October 13, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. The annual 'Running of the Wieners' is held to celebrate Oktoberfest. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Batman Day 2019 was yesterday, which we thought was a good time to spotlight a lesser-known sidekick of the Caped Crusader: Ace the Bat-Hound.

Batman Day 2019 was Saturday, September 21, and here at Dog O’Day we thought that the only way the DC Comics superhero could be cooler was if he had a dog. And then we remembered Ace the Bat-Hound existed.

While Krypto the Superdog is DC Comics’ top dog, Ace is a close second.

With the assistance of Michael Johnson, a contributor for our FanSided Network sister site Bam Smack Pow, we dug up some facts about the guard dog of Gotham.

In some continuities, Bruce Wayne has a son named Damian (whose mother is Talia al Ghul), and in one of those, Damien was given a dog named Titus, who was quickly renamed Ace.

In other continuities, Ace was a stray dog that Batman and Robin found and adopted during a patrol.

According to Ace the Bat-Hound’s Wikipedia page, the character was introduced as a German Shepherd in 1955, which was retired around 1964. He reappeared in 1991 as a Mastiff with guide dog training, sticking around until the late 1990s.

During the New 52 reboot of the DC Comics universe, a third Ace was introduced, this time a Great Dane. This was the version given to Damian.

Finally, a fourth main Ace appeared during the Rebirth reboot of the DC Comics universe in 2016, this time as a rescue after serving as a vicious fighting dog for the Joker. His breed is unknown, but he has been tattooed with the ace playing card symbol. This dog has bonded with Alfred Pennyworth, becoming extremely loyal and obedient to him.

Many of the Dogs of Instagram who enjoy cosplaying as superheroes opt to go as Ace the Bat-Hound, often calling him “Batdog,” as this Blue Heeler named Booker demonstrates.

He has not appeared in live-action films or TV shows yet (though with Krypto the Superdog coming to DC Universe’s Titans this season, there’s hope), though he has appeared in a number of animated TV series.

Ace the Bat-Hound has appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Batman Beyond, Justice League Unlimited, and Krypto the Superdog.  He is also a playable character in the video game LEGO Batman 3, and has been mentioned in several other video games

With the upcoming Batwoman series joining The CW’s Arrowverse in a few weeks, possibly Kate Kane (Bruce’s cousin on Earth-2) will find herself with a canine companion. We can hope, right?

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