Batman #257

Issue Details

Synopsis

HAIL EMPEROR PENGUIN! The Penguin kidnaps King Peeble IV of Swawak, a 12-year-old boy, in order to demand a large sum of money from the emperor's kingdom. Penguin takes King Pebble to his hideout in a remote castle, where he has found a maid, who tries to protect the king from Penguin's foul plays.  Meanwhile, Batman and Robin investigate and locate the Penguin's hideout. The Duo break into the castle and they try to rescue the King, but they are tricked by one of Penguin's pets and they fall for a trap. The maid tries to protect Batman, but she is also overwhelmed by the Penguin and his henchmen.   The Penguin then places the three of them in a deadly trap and Batman realizes that the maid is none other than Talia. Batman and Robin manage to break free from the trap and they finally confront the Penguin, stopping his evil scheme. Unfortunately, Batman also learns that Talia was involved in the scheme because she wanted to steal any treasure from the King and use it to free her father and rebuild his empire. Batman allows Talia to go since she helped them, but in the aftermath, both lovers regret their decisions. HUNT FOR A ROBIN-KILLER! Batman and Robin arrive at a warehouse where the Lemon Brothers are currently hiding out. Batman sends Robin around back while he attacks from the front. While Batman is busy fighting the Lemon Brothers and their thugs, Robin is attacked by an unknown assailant and beaten within an inch of his life. When Batman goes out to find out what happened to the Boy Wonder, Batman is horrified to find that Robin has been savagely beaten and vows to avenge his partner and capture those responsible.   After turning Robin over to the hospital, Batman returns to the scene of the crime and gathers clues, deducing that the person who attacked Robin was wearing sneakers, a corduroy jacket, and was tall and strong. Searching through known criminal hang outs, Batman finds a man meeting these characteristics and savagely attacks him. Although this man denies any responsibility for Robin's condition, Batman knocks him out and drags him to police headquarters. There, Commissioner Gordon regrets to inform Batman that the man is Jim Condors a prize fighter whom Gordon himself witnessed during the fight and even got an autograph. Still unconvinced, Batman asks the man to sign his name and they compare the two signatures, and to Batman's dismay they match. Condors then threatens to sue Batman for the rough treatment he received at the vigilante's hands.   Checking on Robin, Batman learns that the Boy Wonder is in stable condition and will live. Batman then goes back to the Batcave to try and figure out who would have attacked Robin. Looking through the list of criminals that Robin had captured, Batman notices that one of them was a man named Ed Condors, the twin brother of Jim. Batman shows up at Ed Condor's house and confronts Ed on posing as Jim while Jim went to beat Robin. Knocking Ed out, Batman disguises himself and waits for Jim to come home so that Batman can catch him confessing the crime.   "Ed" tells Jim that Robin is still alive and suggests his fear that the Boy Wonder would be able to ID Jim, Jim tells "Ed" that he had a sweet tune of the lawsuit against Batman, and he also wore a mask and while Jim goes out to bring it to "Ed", Batman drops his disguise and once more gives Jim a beatdown when he returns with the mask. With both of the Condors knocked out, Batman turns them and the evidence over to Commissioner Gordon.   Sometime later, Robin is released from the hospital and is fully capable to resume his career as Batman's sidekick. ALLY BABBLE AND THE FOURTEEN PEEVES! A rich man hires Ally Babble, the most annoying and obnoxious person in the world, to do some chores for him, but when Babble's activities become a hazard to society, Batman and Robin put an end to his activities.   CONVERSATIONAL CLUE! By mistake, Alfred has taken a Professor of Criminology's notebook only to discover that the professor is really a safe-cracker. Inside the notebook is a list of places he plans to rob, and Alfred is on the case alone. Without the help of Batman and Robin, Alfred manages to stop the criminals and returns home to keep up with his chores. DIE SMALL -- DIE BIG! One night a party at Wayne Manor is interrupted with the arrival of a statue of Batman with a note stating that Batman will perish in 24 hours. However when they unmask the statue, it is the face of a man nobody attending the party has ever seen before. Turning back the clock we learn that the face in question is that of Herbert Small, a mailman who idolizes Batman, and is stricken with a malady that has made his hearing super sensitive.   One day when doing his regular deliveries, he overhears a plot by a number of crooks who plan on getting revenge against Batman. He notes the faces of those who leave, and after Batman narrowly beats a group of would-be murderers, Herbert decides to get involved. Since his days are numbered, Herbert disguises himself as one of the crooks and reports back to their boss telling him that he's "seen" Batman's secret identity and tells him that it's Herbert Small.   Flashing to the present, Herbert is the one who leaves the statue of Batman with the note, hoping that one of the high profile people at Wayne's party would be able to get word back to Batman who would be able to figure out the clue that he's left in terms of the face on the statue being Smalls. After the party, Bruce Wayne does figure it out when Alfred brings him the mail, and so as Batman springs in and saves Small's life. However, even though Batman breaks up all the crooks he fails to save Small's life who jumped in the path of a bullet meant for Batman. Before passing away, Batman fulfills Herbert's last wish: To see the true face of Batman. Satisfied (and implying that he knew who Batman was) Herbert dies a hero. RACKETY-RAX RACKET! The Joker captures Batman with help from his henchmen and they take the vigilante to their secret hideout. Joker then contacts Robin and forces him to perform embarrassing but apparently harmless feats in order to keep Batman alive. However, Joker is using Robin for his criminal activities and when the Boy Wonder realizes the truth, he prepares a trap for the Joker.   Meanwhile, Batman struggles to find a way to escape and after a long time, he breaks free and follows the Joker to a toy store. The Joker's plan was to steal the jewel store above the toy store, but Robin's preparation for the crime and Batman's timely arrival, foil the madman's plan.