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His apartment is on the third floor. All windows dark. If his blood is cold enough maybe I will catch him.

Source: Batman (1940) Annual 19

What does the bold part mean? The way I get it is if the target is in state of ignorance then he will catch him. Do I understand this in the right way? Can someone explain this to me?

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    In this case batman is the pursuer and scarecrow(the criminal) is the target. Pages are at the bottom right corner
    – Ph0en0x
    Commented May 2, 2022 at 15:22
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    I'm not aware of any association between cold blood and ignorance. I'd go with Old Brixtonian's suggestion of the Scarecrow being metaphorically cold-blooded (unfeeling), and Batman thinking that if he were sluggish at night like an actual cold-blooded animal, he might be easier to catch.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented May 2, 2022 at 15:38
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    That's not the whole sentence. It says, "If his blood is cold enough... maybe I'll catch him... sleeping"
    – user3153372
    Commented May 2, 2022 at 20:42
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    @Ph0en0x They're not trying to communicate using the hardest approach. They're communicating in a way that conveys motion and pacing; to show that the rate of action from panel to panel should match the flow of the sentence just as narration over a series of cuts in a movie would flow. And they specifically used textual indicators, the ellipses "..." at the end of each bit of text is to tell you that the sentence continues in the next panel.
    – Shufflepants
    Commented May 3, 2022 at 14:48
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    @Shufflepants: On top of that, comics in general are subject to very different constraints from most other media. You can't write a wall of text, or it'll look dumb and cover the beautiful art, so dialog is usually very brief. But you still have to convey personality, intonation, etc., so idioms tend to get used a fair amount, just because they're short and expressive. Idioms are usually harder for non-native speakers, so this tends to put them at a disadvantage.
    – Kevin
    Commented May 3, 2022 at 19:28

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The sentence is broken up over multiple panels, and you missed the last word: "If his blood is cold enough, maybe I'll catch him sleeping." A cold-blooded criminal is a criminal who lacks a conscience. A cold-blooded criminal would sleep soundly because he is not troubled by feelings of remorse.

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Without knowing the context it's hard to say what it means.

Is he a murderer? Murderers are often described as cold-blooded. Cold-blooded animals - like alligators, lizards and frogs - get sluggish in cold weather. This makes them easier to catch.

It depends on the context. In a children's story he might BE an alligator, a lizard, a frog or whatever, and any one of them might own an apartment. Once again, if the weather's cold the animal will get sluggish and easy to catch.

That "All windows dark" makes me wonder if it's nocturnal. There aren't many cold-blooded, nocturnal animals but there is a gecko in Tibet.

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  • Thanks for your time explaining this. I am already aware of this information though. I did a quick google research before i post the question and i boldly assert, that it is none of these. Here is the passage where it is from: readcomiconline.li/Comic/Batman-1940/Annual-19?id=48578 Page 13
    – Ph0en0x
    Commented May 2, 2022 at 13:20

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