Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Batman and Scooby-Doo! Mysteries #3!
Batman has reversed Scooby-Doo's classic unmasking technique in a new DC comic. The Batman and Scooby-Doo! Mysteries #3 combines the best of Batman and Scooby-Doo as they all tackle a strange mystery in Gotham. With the series. Ace the Bathound has made a triumphant return, taking a classic Mystery Inc. technique and flipping it on the book's villain.
For fifty-two years, Scooby-Doo and his mystery crew have been unmasking culprits of strange crimes and shenanigans. Basically every episode of the iconic show starts with a mystery, has a search for clues, and ends with his friends taking off a mask to reveal the hidden tricksters and plotters. Now, this sort of unmasking is happening in Gotham, but not in the way that fans are used to seeing. This time, Scooby is the one wearing a mask.
The Batman and Scooby-Doo! Mysteries are created by the team of Ivan Cohen, Dario Brizuela, Franco Riesco, and Saida Temofonte. "Double Dog Dare" features both celebrity canines investigating an increase in crime that coincides with the Gotham City Dog Show. The increase in crime is revealed to be due to a bigger plot by Batman's famous foe Two-Face as he tries to kidnap Ace. While Batman was fairly easily able to deduce Two-Face was behind the scheme, every Scooby-Doo story needs a surprise unmasking.
Two-Face eventually nabs a dog that looks just like Ace and thinks he has succeeded, up until Batman spills an important secret - the dog he has isn't Ace at all. It's Scooby-Doo dressed up to look like Ace. Once Batman and Mystery Inc. found out what Two-Face was after, they decided to trap him using the one thing they usually set out to remove: a mask. To help his friend, Scooby put on a full-body dog suit to appear as Ace, while Batman's canine companion disguised himself as Scooby-Doo. This results in a very humorous switcheroo of expectation. Instead of a group of heroes unmasking a villain, the villain unmasks a meddling mutt who is a hero in his own right.
This is also particularly funny since it isn't often that Scooby wears a mask. In the classic show, he is seen wearing wigs, fake mustaches, and human clothes. He isn't shown wearing a full-body costume to dress as another dog. Usually, most episodes don't even have another dog since humans tend to cause the most trouble. This story not only switches who wears the mask, but what kind of mask is worn. This shows how much fun it can be when Batman's dog, Ace the Bathound, and Scooby-Doo team-up, since classic gimmicks can be given a whole new twist.