Ace the Bat-Hound is a superhero dog appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is commonly featured as the canine crime-fighting partner of Batman and as an ally of other animal superheroes, such as Krypto, Streaky and the Legion of Super-Pets. Kevin Hart voices the character in the animated film DC League of Super-Pets, which was released in the United States on July 29, 2022. Publication history Ace debuted in Batman #92 (July 1955) and was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff. Ace's introduction followed on Krypto the Superdog's debut in Adventure Comics #210 (March 1955), and by German Shepherd Dogs from detective films and serials, such as Rin Tin Tin and Ace the Wonder Dog. Ace, along with Batwoman, Batgirl and Bat-Mite, retired from the comic in 1964, when editor Julius Schwartz instituted a "New Look" Batman that shed some of the sillier elements in the series. Fictional character biography Pre-Crisis Ace was a German Shepherd Dog originally owned by an engraver named John Wilker. He was found by Batman and Robin after his master was kidnapped by a gang of counterfeiters. Batman used Ace to try to locate Wilker. Because he had already placed a large number of "lost dog" announcements for Ace in his civilian identity of Bruce Wayne, he was concerned that anyone recognizing Ace (who had a prominent star-shaped marking on his forehead) might make the connection between Bruce Wayne and Batman. To forestall that problem, he hastily improvised a hood-like mask for the dog that incorporated the bat-emblem as a dog tag dangling from Ace's collar. Ace was subsequently christened the Bat-Hound by a criminal that the dog helped Batman to apprehend. Wilker later took a new job that made it difficult for him to take care of Ace, so he left the dog to Bruce Wayne. Wilker was never aware that Ace was the Bat-Hound or that Bruce Wayne was Batman. An early case involved Ace tracking down a mentally unhinged ancient weapons expert who was using his own weapons to commit crimes. At one point, Ace acquired superpowers thanks to Bat-Mite, but this was short-lived. He did have his own training. For example; his specialized radio collar, when activated, told him to don his own mask (via a hands-free device) and track down Batman and Robin. Ace was used less and less over time, and for