Batman '66 #12

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE QUEEN OF DIAMONDS' BIG HEIST Batman, Robin, and the police find a bizarre robbery at Pourtin Jeweler's, where both proprietor and robber stand utterly still. After a few moments, Batman realizes the "robber" is actually the store clerk drawing a gun on the real robber(s); both she and her employer are victims of some device which slows metabolism to a crawl. Bioanalysis reveals this to be the work of rogue chemist Hilda Lundegaard - aunt to Marsha, Queen of Diamonds.  Indeed, the Queen of Diamonds and her quasi-magical aunt have returned with a brand-new arsenal, headlined by the massive subterrene known as the Crystal Express. In addition to unmatched tunneling power, this machine boasts a state-of-the-art detection unit; when fed the single diamond Marsha had stolen from Pourtin's, it becomes capable of tracking any diamond on Earth, even the legendary Bat-Diamond powering the Batcomputer.   By pure chance, the Crystal Express brings Marsha and her gang into a completely empty Batcave (Batman and Robin pursuing further investigation in the city, and Alfred monitoring the police band from his study). While her men "liberate" the Bat-Diamond, Marsha begins searching for hints to the crimefighters' true identities, as the Crystal Express lacks any mapping system; however, her aunt warns her the cave may sit below police headquarters, prompting the whole gang to leave without disturbing anything else.   Meanwhile, Batman and Robin are alerted to the break-in by their utility belt alarms, but return to the Batcave too late - the thieves have left with the diamond, and caved their tunnel in, to boot. Thinking quickly, the Dynamic Duo re-bore a small section of the tunnel and send a miniature drone through to Marsha's hideout; using the Batmobile to track its signal, they find Marsha's entire gang just as the ersatz Queen is about to flee the country.   Unwilling to surrender the Bat-Diamond, Marsha's gang fights to the last, even loosing Hilda's experimental sea serpents on the Dynamic Duo. In response, Batman shatters Hilda's chemistry lab, paralyzing everyone with the metabolism-slowing gas - save himself and Robin, protected by nose filters. The duo then apprehend the thieves, wondering aloud if Marsha - gaze now frozen onto Bat-Diamond - has been granted her fondest wish. TO BE OR NOT TO BE Bruce and Dick find Stately Wayne Manor burgled of exactly one item: the Shakespeare bust which unlocks the Batcave. Though Bruce quickly deduces their secret identities are still safe, the Batcave - and by extension, their costumes and the Batmobile - remains inaccessible, forcing the duo to improvise with older prototypes.   In truth, the bust had been stolen by the Minstrel, as a means of luring the Dynamic Duo within reach of his latest invention: the De-Composer. With this monstrous machine, he can produce the exact frequency needed to vibrate the Batmobile to pieces - with fatal results for anyone inside. To his dismay, however, the crimefighters confront him in a prototype Batmobile of completely different composition, leaving the frequency useless.   Moments later, Batman and Robin bring the Minstrel and his whole gang to justice, neither side aware that the Minstrel had actually sown his own downfall.