The Final Gauntlet
Did not see this one coming.
Wait For It
The Joker, The Penguin and Catwoman have assembled a Rogues Convention at Gotham Studios. All the various death-traps that have been used and a Who's Who comprising of every known super-criminal from the Batman Rogues Gallery. It's like a Batman '66 Secret Files & Origins issue. Now, there's an idea...
The Joker commissions Clayface to activate the green screen for The Dynamic Duo's grande entrance.
A green screen. Behind Batman and Robin. As they run a gauntlet through nearly three hundred of their most nefarious adversaries.
Really? Can you see where this is going?
And the story is called, "Main Title".
The Good
This is almost a sequel to the Batman '66 feature film as it is to the series itself.
Another chapter filled with homages and cameos galore. Lee, Mike and Laura Allred wrap up Batman '66 with a bang. Or, more accurately, a punch. Lots of them. This chapter is one long fight sequence. The Batman '66 main title sequence actually. With a story to go along with it.
The Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder crash a criminals convention and bust up the bad guys!
Check out the final panels for cameos galore!
The Bad
The highlight of Batman '66 was the story. Jeff Parker told some great stories. Tom Peyer told a great Bookworm story. This final issue is a pretty good story. It's pretty basic. Batman and Robin slog their way through their rogues gallery. That's the point.
There's really no scheme or finesse here. There's really very little original story or art. That was another hallmark or Parker's work, and the efforts of the artists involved in producing the title. The rogues had a plan. Batman and Robin were tasked with foiling it.
This is a big bang ending, but still - A) it's a shame a title like this has to end; and 2) it's a shame the title is ending this way.
It's a great wink and nod, but still...
It would have been nice to see a '66 version of The World's Finest with Superman. It would have been great to see a '66 Wonder Woman and the Trinity. A '66 version of the Justice League would have been cool. A '66 version of Green Arrow versus The Archer, or Hawkman versus King Tut might have been the thing.
There were so many unrealized possibilities. Villains that could have been introduced. Maybe a relaunched version of the title will give way to unrealized potential.
The Skinny
This is so long. Hopefully just "So long, for a little while".
Batman '66 goes out with a bang. Chapter 73 earns five stars for delivering a knockout punch.