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If you've been on the Internet, you've probably seen the following comic panel, shown devoid of context:

Batman's leather thong with teethmarks

Was the context ever provided, and if so, what is the story?

Theories I've heard:

  • Biting down on a leather strap to endure pain
  • Some escapade involving an Iron Jaw acrobatics routine (hanging off of something gripped in your teeth)
  • Actual underwear...
Gallifreyan
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FuzzyBoots
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1 Answers1

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The second theory seems to be the case. In the complete page (provided in this reddit post), you can see that he used it to swing down on a clown when his hands were tied, also referenced in this chronology as "Batman defeats Mad Clown, keeps thong as trophy (fb from Batman #83, Part 1)".

B&W reprint of Batman #83

It appears in Batman #83, from April 1954 (although this picture seems to come from a black and white reprint). In the original panel, the man Robin is talking to is not actually Batman at all, but rather someone who was first impersonating Batman and later got hit on the head, suffering amnesia, and thinking he actually was Batman... Robin was also fooled into thinking it was Batman who had amnesia. It is Batman in the flashback, and as the last part of the page suggests, the teeth marks have a purpose in the story beyond simply making a panel for us to snicker over decades later.

FuzzyBoots
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starpilotsix
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    The guy Robin's talking to about the thong isn't Batman. I'll reword to try and make it clearer. But yeah, it's actually remotely possible that the guy listening to Robin, for a second, thought the exact same thing as modern readers. – starpilotsix Feb 06 '17 at 18:38
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    HAH! Could you imagine... OMG I'm the Batman AND kinky? – Skooba Feb 06 '17 at 18:40
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    Did they even have underwear smaller than board-shorts in the '50s? I don't recall ever heard the word thong applied to an article of clothing until the '80s or so. – Seeds Feb 06 '17 at 19:14
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    I'm sure someone had smaller underwear in the 50s, but it might not have had a readily-known name that comic authors could be riffing on. So, okay, maybe alt-Batman wouldn't be thinking the EXACT same thing modern readers would, but they still might have thought it along the lines of S&M-gear (that is, a thong being a leather strap you bite down on during particularly kinky sex). – starpilotsix Feb 06 '17 at 19:36
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    The primary definition of thong (even today) is a narrow strip of leather. True, the modern colloquial definition is practically non-existent underwear, but in the original context that wasn't the intent. – kettch Feb 06 '17 at 19:43
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    And actually I wonder whether the use of "thong" as a sandal might have preceded the "underwear" usage. – FuzzyBoots Feb 06 '17 at 20:14
  • Yup, my initial confusing on hearing someone talking about wearing a thong, when they were talking about underwear/swimwear, was thinking they were talking about footwear. – Seeds Feb 06 '17 at 21:02
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    The earliest attestation the OED has for thong as a skimpy garment is 1975: "Rudi Gernreich['s]..new bathing suit, also available as an item of lingerie..is called the Thong." — The Times (London) 22 Apr. 9/1. Possibly some folks were using it for g-strings a little earlier, but in 1954 it seems unlikely that very many folks would have seen any double entendre. – 1006a Feb 06 '17 at 23:26
  • @Fuzzy You may want to take a look at this question, which discusses the word (though from a somewhat different angle). – Janus Bahs Jacquet Feb 06 '17 at 23:51