Cops Shooting Fleeing Suspects:
The cops send a "shower of bullets" after the Fantom of the Fair as he swings over the densely-populated New York World's Fair. (Amazing Adventure Funnies 001, 1940)
Spider Drawn Without Reference:
Tarantula: a perfect black sphere covered in root structures. (Champion Comics 006, 1940)
Memes of Yore: COWARD!:
The "cowardly and superstitious lot" line that Batman is quoted as saying was not a one-off thing but it was in fact a widely-promoted idea of the time, that criminals were inherent cowards (there was also a frequent emphasis on criminals' gun use being a very cowardly attribute but that fell by the wayside at some point). Crime Does Not Pay was a message hammered into the public consciousness via the Hayes Code and later the Comics Code, and making criminals non-aspirational figures in every way possible was a part of that.
The extrapolation of this into "the more criminal you are the more cowardly you are" in this story is extremely funny, as is the fact that a criminal supposedly meeting his death by electrocution with some stoicism made front page news. Don't worry, it was the old "escape prison by using a death-simulating drug prior to your execution and then have people on the outside wake you up later" gag. Dr Miracle recaptures Nickie Norton in short order and his actual death was without dignity. (Champ Comics 011, 1940)
Honours:
The Flying Trio receive the Sylvanian Order of the Cross and Palms (Crash Comics Adventures 003, 1940)
