Cap'n Scum first and last appearance was in Detective Comics #1 - The Murders of Cap'n Scum. He first meets with Speed Saunders when Speed is investigating some suspicious drownings of four Chinamen. Speed spots Cap'n Scum's boat (The Maria) and finding it strange decides to climb aboard. One of Cap'n Scum's men finds Speed and brings him to Scum. Scum then throws Speed off his boat after Speed pretends to be looking for a job. Later that night The Maria meets up with a freighter and they unload cargo. Scum talks to the freighter's captain where it is revealed that Scum is buying Chinamen off of the other captain, Luke. Luke has been drowning the sick chinamen in the sea but he still has two hundred. Just then Speed appears pulling a gun on the two. Speed then turns them into the River Patrol. Even thought he title of this story is "The Murders of Cap'n Scum" Cap'n Scum never kills anybody or is revealed to have killed anyone.