Team-ups: The World’s Greatest Super Heroes Part 2
November 1963 – November 1967
1966
#63: Supergirl
& Wonder Woman, “Revolt of the Super Chicks”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: John
Rosenberg. George Kashdan is back as
editor. By this time the once proud
Brave & Bold banner has been shrunk down to two inches.
A huge step back for the
suffragette movement: Supergirl
renounces her heroic lifestyle to live with the jet set in Paris . Wonder Woman, sent to convince Supergirl of
the error of her ways, also falls into the sway of the jet set, and renounces
her super-do-good lifestyle. With their
new boyfriends they head to the Ile D’Amour, not knowing the island is also the
hide-out of the evil Multi-Face! Will our
girls go back to their super life or remain “frail and feminine” and keep their
boyfriends happy?
A small tag line on the last panel
warns us that “the Spectre is coming!”
Cool!
#64: Batman vs.
Eclipso, which was also the story title.
March 1966.
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Dick
Giordano and Sal Trapani . Hey, where’s the Spectre? This issue (March 1965) begins National’s
checkerboard design (“Go-Go Checks”) along the top of all their comic covers.
They get an “A” for a great idea:
the first villain as a co-star! Batman’s greatest love and one-time
crime-fighting companion, Marcia Monroe returns (Who!? You probably won’t find her listed in any
Batman sourcebook)! But she frames
Batman for the theft of the cat emerald.
While he sits in stir, Marcia, as the Queen Bee (not the JLA foe) and
Eclipso take over Gotham ’s crime cartel.
Saints preserve us! Chief O’Hara
debuts in B&B, having been broadcasting his befuddlement of the most
dastardly assortment of criminal minds the likes of which Gotham City has ever
produced lo these past ninety days (translation: he had already been on the
Batman TV show for three months).
#65: Flash &
Doom Patrol, “Alias Negative Man”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Bruno
Premanini. An ingenious idea: team up a
new, lesser-known DC character with an established one – introducing fans to
the Doom Patrol who might otherwise not buy their comic. This was also done the previous issue, but
more was made about the fact that is starred a villain rather than a newer more
obscure DC character.
Negative Man is kidnapped by the
Brotherhood of Evil (no, not Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, just Brotherhood of
Evil. Hey, give the Doom Patrol a break;
they predated that other superhero group led by a man in a wheelchair by
three months – June 1963 as opposed to September 1963)! The Flash disguises himself as Neg Man and fills
in, fooling the Brotherhood into thinking, “If that’s Negative Man, who’s in
this lead-lined coffin?” Creek! Whoosh!
“Aargh!”
Flash and
Doom Patrol were a featured team-up in the revived B&B in 2007 as an
obvious (and admitted) homage.
#66: Metamorpho
& Metal Men, “Wreck the Renegade Robot”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Mike
Sekowsky, legendary JLA artist, who last appeared in these pages six years ago
in issue #30 and does an excellent job in this story! His artwork looks almost Kirby-esque.
Doc Magnus cures Metamorpho and
turns him back into Rex Mason! What a
bad time for someone to take over the minds of the Metal Men and order them to
destroy Simon Stagg!
#67: Batman &
Flash, “Death of the Flash”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Carmine
Infantino, who last appeared in these pages three years earlier with his
masterly work on Strange Sports Stories.
Here he does a very good job on the two superheroes for which he is best
known.
The Flash discovers that his super
speed skill is slowly killing him – he must stop running or he will die! Bad time for the Speed Boys to start a
super-speed crime spree in Gotham !
In January of 1966 the TV show
“Batman” debuted on ABC. By this issue
(September 1966), the show is a runaway smash and anything with Batman’s image
on the cover would become a huge seller!
Flash has starred in more issues of B&B than any other character
(during the team-up or even try-out years).
Batman has starred in only three issues.
Flash’s reign as most popular B&B character will end shortly.
#68: Batman &
Metamorpho, “Alias the Bat-Hulk”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Mike
Sekowsky, in another excellent job! Why
didn’t he do this well in Justice League of
America?
The Joker, Penguin and Riddler all
make their B&B debut. Metamorpho appears
for the second time in three issues.
Batman is the first character to star in two consecutive issues with
different stars. Ads in the comic
explain why: the Batman TV show, the Batman movie, the Batman syndicated
newspaper strip, Batman Aurora models and, oh yes, Batman comic books are
advertised in this issue. Metamorpho
tells Batman in the final panel that he’ll see Batman “on the TV”. Subtle, isn’t it?
The three dastardly bad guys spray
Batman with a chemical that changes him into Bat-Hulk: a huge lumbering bad guy
whose hands destroy everything they touch!
He can even throw chemical fireballs.
In a moment of lucidity, Batman goes to Simon Stagg and Metamorpho to
try to find a cure. Before they do,
Metamorpho must stop Bat-Hulk and his three allies during their criminal
rampage on Gotham .
Unabashed
plug department: This is Batman’s fourth starring appearance in B&B, and in
the last three he mentions Robin being away at a Teen Titans meeting to explain
his absence.
1967
#69: Batman &
Green Lantern, “War of the Cosmic Avenger”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Win
Mortimer.
The Time Commander (from issue #54)
returns and again tricks Green Lantern and Batman into giving him some of GL’s
power. Time Commander then uses the
power to summon Cosmo: “A humanoid recalled from the limbo of the past …” but
now imbued with cosmic “star power”.
#70: Batman &
Hawkman, “Cancelled: Two Super-Heroes”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Johnny
Craig.
The Collector decides to start
collecting super-hero secret identities.
When Batman realizes what is going on, he tricks the Collector into
thinking Batman is Carter Hall and Hawkman is Bruce Wayne!
#71: Batman &
Green Arrow, “Wrath of the Thunderbird”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: George
Pepp. This is Green Arrow’s second appearance
in B&B and his first team-up with Batman (of nine – the most frequent guest
star in the series).
Batman and Green Arrow help train a
friend to win the chiefdom of his Native American Kijawa tribe. His opponent cheats to win and releases the
Thunderbird, who attacks everyone in sight!
Native American slurs abound in this pre-politically correct story!
#72: Spectre &
Flash, “Phantom Flash, Cosmic Traitor”,
Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Carmine
Infantino, who we saw last in issue #67 also featuring the Scarlet
Speedster. This is the last issue
starring the Flash without Batman. Issue
#63 told us that “The Spectre is coming!”
It’s about time! Actually, they
were talking about his silver age debut in Showcase. This issue of B&B is the Spectre’s 4th
silver age appearance.
The ghost
of a World War One squadron fighter wreaks vengeance on his surviving comrades
(he was the only fatality); and he’s brainwashed the Flash into aiding him!
This issue
mentions Earth Two, the alternative world in which the golden age heroes live,
for the first time. It sets up some
strange scenes – One, the Flash from Earth One is there to visit the Spectre
(who visits the Spectre?); and two, when crooks spot a crimson blur
racing toward them they shout out, “It’s the Flash!” What they don’t shout out is, “Wait, what’s
with the different costume?”
#73: Aquaman &
Atom, “Galg the Destroyer”, Writer: Bob Haney, Artist: Sal Trapani .
Galg the
Destroyer is out to conquer the universe.
The catch? He lives in a
microscopic world in a drop of ocean water!
The Go-Go
Checks are gone in this issue. So is Batman. As far as Brave & Bold is concerned, the Go-Go Checks will never return,
and Batman will never leave. Next issue, Batman will begin his 127-issue run as the star.
These last
two issues of Brave & Bold (#72
and #73) were the lowest-selling in some time.
The reason was obvious – they were the first issues in a nearly a year
that did not feature Batman on the cover. Issues before the Batman TV show were selling
from 249,000 to 279,000. Issue #69 (for
example) sold 398,000 copies. As the TV
show would say, “Zap! Pow! Ka-Ching!!” Seeing
the dollar signs in front of their eyes (and the many zeroes before the period
in their sales reports), the editors of Brave
& Bold vowed never to make that mistake again! World’s
Finest aside (that was always considered a Superman book at worst and a
comic co-starring Superman and Batman at best); from here on, Brave & Bold becomes the third
Batman book.
When did
National finally decide this? The comic
itself doesn’t say. Despite Batmania
being in full bloom, #68 tells us that “we’ll be seeing more team-ups of DC’s
fabulous heroes in the very next issue of The
Brave and The Bold!” But not Batman
specifically! Besides, limiting B&B
to one star and a guest would limit its scope, wouldn’t it? Hardly, the best was yet to come!
Next: Lo, There Shall Come a Dark Knight!
Copyright (c) 2012 Michael G. Curry
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