So here we have something of an oddity, a villainess that I believe may have been created for the show, as I have never heard of her outside of it and can't find any evidence of her existing in the comics previously. This villainess is Anne Baxter as Zelda the Great.
The Date: April the 1st, the place: Gotham national bank, the time: 8:37PM precisely. A mysterious figure is robbing the vault and escapes with exactly $100000; this is the third year running where this has happened and even though Chief O'Hara and his best men have been trying valiantly they must admit that they need help and so they set off the Bat Signal and call on the hotline. On the roof of Stately Wayne Manor Bruce Wayne and his youthful ward Dick Grayson are watching the stars when Aunt Harriet comes out to tell them dinner is ready but then spots the Bat Signal, Bruce quickly comes up with the excuse that they're late to see a political lecture and will have to skip dinner, the two rush to the hotline for the details and soon make their way to Police Headquarters.
Puzzling over a bullet fired at the scene stopped by the unknown criminal's bullet proof vest and they try to figure out who it could be, Chief O'Hara thinks it may be someone taking the money to pay their taxes, Batman and the Commissioner are quick to dismiss this as no honest tax paying citizen would resort to robbery. Batman concocts a plan to plant a headline saying the stolen money was counterfeit, stored at the bank before disposal in an attempt to trick the villain into striking again.
The Date: April the 1st, the place: Gotham national bank, the time: 8:37PM precisely. A mysterious figure is robbing the vault and escapes with exactly $100000; this is the third year running where this has happened and even though Chief O'Hara and his best men have been trying valiantly they must admit that they need help and so they set off the Bat Signal and call on the hotline. On the roof of Stately Wayne Manor Bruce Wayne and his youthful ward Dick Grayson are watching the stars when Aunt Harriet comes out to tell them dinner is ready but then spots the Bat Signal, Bruce quickly comes up with the excuse that they're late to see a political lecture and will have to skip dinner, the two rush to the hotline for the details and soon make their way to Police Headquarters.
Puzzling over a bullet fired at the scene stopped by the unknown criminal's bullet proof vest and they try to figure out who it could be, Chief O'Hara thinks it may be someone taking the money to pay their taxes, Batman and the Commissioner are quick to dismiss this as no honest tax paying citizen would resort to robbery. Batman concocts a plan to plant a headline saying the stolen money was counterfeit, stored at the bank before disposal in an attempt to trick the villain into striking again.
Meanwhile at the Gnome Bookstore we see the workshop of Eivol Ekdol being visited by Zelda the Great. He informs her that the money she stole for him is counterfeit and as such he won't give her his new trick for her magic act, an inescapable doom trap involving a giant padlock, poison gas and an electrocuted floor grate; he only tells her the secret involves Batman and Robin and if she wants the trick she'll have to steal something of equal value to the $100000. She isn't happy with this as she never wanted to be a criminal, just an honest magician. They settle on her stealing the Star of Sammarkand, a large emerald.
Batman comes to a plan to plant a fake emerald with a tracking device and then when the crook steals it they'll give chase in the Batmobile; however Zelda sees this and comes up with a plan of her own. Aunt Harriet receives a call telling her Dick has been in an accident and a taxi is on the way to take her to him. After a supposed attempt to steal the emerald leaves Batman and Robin with no tracker to chase they receive a call on the Batmobile's phone telling them that Harriet Cooper has been kidnapped and the culprit wants $100000 in one hour and Bruce Wayne is nowhere to be found! Aunt Harriet meanwhile is being suspended in a straight jacket over a vat of burning oil.
HOLY BACKFIRE'S RIGHT!
AUNT HARRIET HAS JUST ONE HOUR!
WHAT'LL IT BE??
SPLASH OR SALVATION??
HOLD A HOPEFUL BREATH FOR AUNT HARRIET UNTIL TOMORROW..
SAME BAT-TIME!! SAME BAT-CHANNEL!!
Batman comes to a plan to plant a fake emerald with a tracking device and then when the crook steals it they'll give chase in the Batmobile; however Zelda sees this and comes up with a plan of her own. Aunt Harriet receives a call telling her Dick has been in an accident and a taxi is on the way to take her to him. After a supposed attempt to steal the emerald leaves Batman and Robin with no tracker to chase they receive a call on the Batmobile's phone telling them that Harriet Cooper has been kidnapped and the culprit wants $100000 in one hour and Bruce Wayne is nowhere to be found! Aunt Harriet meanwhile is being suspended in a straight jacket over a vat of burning oil.
HOLY BACKFIRE'S RIGHT!
AUNT HARRIET HAS JUST ONE HOUR!
WHAT'LL IT BE??
SPLASH OR SALVATION??
HOLD A HOPEFUL BREATH FOR AUNT HARRIET UNTIL TOMORROW..
SAME BAT-TIME!! SAME BAT-CHANNEL!!
he second episode opens with Robin in police headquarters as they try to track down Bruce Wayne over the phone while Batman is out looking for him, he arrives with over half an hour left to meet the demands and Bruce, the Commissioner and Robin head to a TV studio where they deliver a message to the criminal who tells them over the phone exactly what a position Aunt Harriet is in. They let her know the money she stole was never counterfeit and plea for her to release Aunt Harriet; having a conscience Zelda relents and agrees to release her.
With Aunt Harriet safely returned Batman has deduced the identity of Zelda from the straight jacket she mentioned Aunt Harriet was in (they took Dick to see Zelda's magic act for his birthday and the straight jacket escape was her finale) and they deduce the whereabouts of the villain's lair from a match book in Aunt Harriet's pocket and after laying Alfred's mind to rest that he is not to blame for Aunt Harriet's kidnapping the two head there.
Eivol has come up with a plan to trap Batman and Robin in his inescapable trap so they can find the solution to it. Of course once they escape he plans to have them killed with two thugs hiding in nearby sarcophagi. Upon entering the shop Batman and Robin follow clues leading them into the trap as Eivol taunts them they find a way to escape by blowing up the gas using the electric charge in the floor grate and the buckles on their utility belts to create a spark. Then before the two thugs can get them Zelda warns the dynamic duo and they duck out of the way just in time for the two crooks to shoot each other. Eivol tries to escape but is stopped by a Batarang and Zelda willingly hands herself over. Later in Gotham penitentiary Bruce Wayne tells Zelda that in light of her saving Batman and Robin she will be allowed to perform magic at Gotham's children's hospital upon finishing her sentence.
With Aunt Harriet safely returned Batman has deduced the identity of Zelda from the straight jacket she mentioned Aunt Harriet was in (they took Dick to see Zelda's magic act for his birthday and the straight jacket escape was her finale) and they deduce the whereabouts of the villain's lair from a match book in Aunt Harriet's pocket and after laying Alfred's mind to rest that he is not to blame for Aunt Harriet's kidnapping the two head there.
Eivol has come up with a plan to trap Batman and Robin in his inescapable trap so they can find the solution to it. Of course once they escape he plans to have them killed with two thugs hiding in nearby sarcophagi. Upon entering the shop Batman and Robin follow clues leading them into the trap as Eivol taunts them they find a way to escape by blowing up the gas using the electric charge in the floor grate and the buckles on their utility belts to create a spark. Then before the two thugs can get them Zelda warns the dynamic duo and they duck out of the way just in time for the two crooks to shoot each other. Eivol tries to escape but is stopped by a Batarang and Zelda willingly hands herself over. Later in Gotham penitentiary Bruce Wayne tells Zelda that in light of her saving Batman and Robin she will be allowed to perform magic at Gotham's children's hospital upon finishing her sentence.
This was a really good pair of episodes, it varied from the usual formula by not having a big fight at the end, having an actual mystery for Batman and Robin to solve and putting Aunt Harriet in the death trap at the end of the first part. Lorenzo Semple Jr.'s writing proves why he was the head writer on the series, it's funny, clever and full of a certain amount of actual pathos from Zelda who is a nice little character and a welcome change to the usual over the top campiness, there's some of that of course, but mainly she gets to be a bit more remorseful with Eivol being more of the actual villain of the piece.
Next week sees the first return of a villain for the series and even though the episode promised the Joker it is in fact the other giggling supervillain with a fondness for the colour green. The Riddler!
Next week sees the first return of a villain for the series and even though the episode promised the Joker it is in fact the other giggling supervillain with a fondness for the colour green. The Riddler!