Batman #116

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE CITY OF ANCIENT HEROES Batman and Robin, on the trail of the Gimmick Gang, find a book in the fireplace of one of the gang's deserted hideouts and save it from burning: History of Mythology and Legend. The illustrations of Thor, Cyclops, and Pan are missing. From this Batman deduces they have gone to Legend City, "where, once a year, people dress up like legendary characters"--such as Robin Hood, Ulysses, and King Midas--"and hold a big celebration!" Once there, Batman and Robin go after the disguised trio of crooks, have a brief encounter with them, and are stopped by "Thor's" exploding hammer. When they catch up with the gang again, they are paralyzed at the sight of "Medusa," who has thrown a capsule of paralyzing gas at them. The two heroes are laid within the belly of a prop dragon "Fafnir," which is to be "slain" by "Siegfried" in town's parade. When the paralyzing gas's effects begin to wear off, Batman manages to move enough to reach a flare capsule, making the dragon appear to breathe fire. The maneuver catches the attention of "Siegfried", so that he investigates and frees Batman and Robin. Later, "Zeus" robs "King Midas" of his gold with a "thunderbolt,"and the Gimmick Gang takes off in a jet-propelled Sun Chariot. Batman and Robin follow on a mechanized "Pegasus", drop into the Chariot, and subdue them. The evildoers are placed in the dungeons of the "Sheriff of Nottingham," and Batman and Robin are feted at a Round Table banquet in their honor. BATWOMAN’S NEW IDENTITY After foiling an attempted robbery of an armored car on a ferry by the Funny Face Gang, Batman and Robin trail the last escaping member of the gang to Al Talley's nightclub in Gotham City. They notice a suspicious looking blonde woman emerging from the club, trail her to Kathy Kane's mansion, and, finding she is not in, invite themselves into her Bat-Cave through her secret entrance. There they discover the blonde wig and make-up Kathy had used to pass as the blonde, and, finding a photo she took of gangster Dude Rogers at Talley's club, discover the place and time where she will next try to stop a Funny Face Gang caper. The duo rescue Batwoman from the gang after she had taken a spill on her motorcycle and capture another of the gang. She admits to her "third" identity as a house photographer in Talley's Club, but refuses to give up chasing the gang. However, the captured gang member escapes the police car he was being transported in, and confronts the disguised Batwoman at Talley's club in front of Talley himself. Talley's goon Dude Rogers is convinced she is Batwoman thanks to a camera strap burn left on Batwoman's neck. Talley has Batwoman taken to his waterfront warehouse where he plans to unmask her. However, while she is locked in an office, she signals Batman of her whereabouts by floating carbon paper "bats" through a chimney. Batman and Robin break into the hideout just before Talley could have wiped away her disguise and revealed Batwoman's identity, and the three crime-fighters finish up the rest of the gang. Batman still pleads with her to give up her career, as "crime-fighting is too dangerous for a girl," but Batwoman vows to stay in the game. THE WINGED BAT-PEOPLE Batman and Robin, attempting to track a hurricane in the Batplane, attain Mach 10 and are transported into another dimension. There they are captured by the natives, who believe they are winged "Bat-People" with whom they have been feuding. Batman proves his good intentions by lassoing a squad of Bat-People invaders before the queen of his captors, and by grounding the rest with a burst from his plane's afterburner. Batman, Robin, the queen, and an officer of the court head for the Bat-People's village in the Batplane the next day to parley for peace, but Arko, the traitorous minister of the queen, has tipped them off and the winged people attempt unsuccessfully to net the Bat-Plane. Arko has staged a coup in the Queen's absence, but Batman uses a catapult in the Bat-Plane to hurl him over the city walls into the traitors' midst, followed by Robin. The rebels are soon overcome, and Batman and Robin foil the Bat-people's invasion by igniting a vein of coal with the Batplane's afterburner, creating a permanent updraft that keeps the Bat-People at bay. The coal dust ignited by the jet explodes, catapulting the dynamic duo back into their own dimension. At home, Bruce Wayne expresses to Dick Grayson that the queen to be better off thinking them dead, so that her officer will have a chance to marry her.