Batman #324

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE CAT WHO WOULD BE KING Cat-Man activates a mechanism that begins pulling the cables to and fro, threatening to tear Batman and Catwoman limb from limb, and departs. Batman uses a Batarang to stop Cat-Man, but all he manages is to cut a piece of his boot. The Dark Knight then cuts through his Batsuit and rescues himself before saving Catwoman. As he takes them out of the death trap, Batman picks bit of Cat-Man's boot heel left behind. Batman takes Catwoman to the Batcave, where he analyzes the soil on the boot and learns it comes from the Ionian Islands near Greece. When Catwoman recovers, she insists on accompanying him, since the Egyptian herbs will have to be administered at once to save her life. Reluctantly, he agrees and they take off in the Batplane.  In Greece, Cat-Man is presenting the urns and statuary to Andros Akropolis, a shipping magnate and Egyptian artifact collector who owns the Ionian islands. The loot is hidden in a geyser which erupts at timed intervals, Cat-Man hoping to be awarded the island they stand on so that he may make it a hideout for wanted crooks. Batman and Catwoman, having learned of Cat-Man's whereabouts through an informant, arrive and fight off Akropolis and his men. The magnate shoots Cat-Man six times, but the mystic cloth in his costume saves his life. Akropolis leaves, telling Batman he was only trying to recover the artifacts for the United States and that he will return in an hour with an army to see whether or not they are still trespassing on his island.   Cat-Man grabs Catwoman and threatens to cut her throat unless Batman gives him the boat they used to come to the island. Catwoman fights back and inadvertently pushes him to the mouth of the geyser. Still holding the urns, Cat-Man is engulfed in the steaming waters and Catwoman is left holding part of Cat-Man's cape in her hands. When the steam clears, both Cat-Man and the urns are gone. Catwoman, in pain, faints.   Back in Gotham City some hours later, Dr. Dundee examines Catwoman and informs Bruce Wayne that her disease is in remission. Selina tells Bruce that she owes her life to the magical "nine-lives" property of the Cat-Man's cape. Bruce scoffs, but wonders if it could be true.