Alias

(The) Spook
Nick Name
|
Civilian ID
Val Kaliban
Occupation

Architect

Criminal
Legal Status
Citizen of the United States with a criminal record.
Nation or Planet of Origin
Gotham City
Group Affiliation
None
Base of Operations
Gotham City
Height
5' 10"
Weight
170 lbs.
Eye Color
Blue
Hair Color
Bald
Skin Tone
Caucasian
Known Powers
Normal human with skills as an escape artist and hypnotist.

Fair hand-to-hand combatant.
Accessories
Spook Cloak: Garb used to create a more supernatural appearance by use of inflatable balloons to levitate and grow in appearance.

Various other devices to appear supernatural including; suction cups on shoes for scaling surfaces, smoke to conceal appearance and disappearance and electric currents built into gloves to administer a shock.
Common Enemies
Batman I
Regularly Appearing

Batman: Gotham Knights

Detective Comics
First Appearance
Detective Comics #434 (April, 1973)
Creator
Frank Robbins & Irv Novick
Origin
Architect Val Kaliban designed a series of secret passages for the prisons of Gotham City including the maximum-security prison.  His goal was to arrange the release of prisoners for a fee, but his plan was discovered by a supervisor.  Kaliban murdered his supervisor and was incarcerated for the crime, although his plans remained a secret.

Using his skills as a hypnotist, Kaliban hypnotized a fellow inmate who had a striking resemblance to him, and made his escape with the look-alike left to serve his death sentence.

Years later, Kaliban returned in disguise to capitalize on his plans to sell his services to the incarcerated.  He was eventually apprehended by the Batman, but he continued to escape from prison and return as the mysterious Spook.