The Tobacconists' Club is a famed gentleman's club in Gotham City. The club was used by plainclothes mobsters of Gotham City to progress their criminal operations.
History[]
The Tobacconists' Club was an elite gentleman's club in Gotham City, run by gangster/city-councilman Rupert Thorne. Thorne and many of the club's members used the club to manage their operations on Gotham's criminal-underworld. At one point, Rupert offered fellow club-member Dr. Alexander Sartorius the opportunity to run a nuclear power-plant built off Gotham's coast. Unknown to Sartorius, this plant was highly negligent and caused an accident which transformed Sartorius into the monstrous radioactive meta-human, "Doctor Phosphorus" who sought vengeance on Thorne only to be defeated by Batman and locked away in Arkham Asylum.
After Batman as Bruce Wayne went to a clinic to treat his radiation burns, his secret-identity was found out by physician and longtime enemy Professor Hugo Strange. Strange tried to auction off the secret-identity in a bidding-war between Rupert Thorne with the Tobacconists' Club, the Joker, and the Penguin. Ultimately, Thorne and his men kidnapped Strange to try and torture the information out of him, only to seemingly kill the professor. However, Strange secretly survived and began using his mad-science devices and psychology knowledge to torment Thorne with visions of his, "Ghost", until the councilman confessed to his crimes and was arrested.
With their club leader gone, the members of the club began seeking new mafioso leadership. Their preferred candidate was spy-turned-gangster Clement "The Squid" Carp only for said mobster to be iced by Gotham's new super-criminal Waylon "Killer Croc" Jones. Killer Croc tried to assert himself as new leader of the Tobacconists' Club to which the prejudiced club members forced him through various trials. When the club hoped imprisoned gangster Tony Falco would overthrow Croc, they learned he was also murdered by Jones.
The club would be stripped of power by The Batman and Robin who learned of the club's ongoings from his battles Killer Croc.
Members[]
- Rupert Thorne:
- Doctor Phosphorus:
- Filbert Hughes III:
- Doctor Bell:
- Peter Pauling