A Death Worse Than Fate
February 10, 1966
"Told that her loot is genuine money after all, Zelda is forced to lure
Batman and Robin into a possibly unsolvable deathtrap, with hitmen
waiting outside to shoot them if they escape."
77 minutes
Holy 10th Show Batman!, RD self-titles. He has issue with the show Russo Swerving a next week appearance by the Joker when it will actually be the Riddler again. However it could actually be confirming his theory that they were shown out of order like a JMS show.
RD: "Everybody hold your breath: Russo's gonna do research."
Aunt Harriet is still levitating and peddling for over half an hour above a fire while the narrator does a Fat Albert impression. (:04) For some reason Robin is by himself when he goes to Police HQ while they try to reach Bruce for his ransom.
O'Hara: "I've called every rich man's club and eating place in Gotham City, and he's in none of them...I bet Mr. Wayne is on some yacht eating sherbet and changing his clothes!"
The two wonder if that line was actually in the shooting script. RD is reminded of Jackie Gleason ad-libbing in Smokey and the Bandit. Vince also has Gleason as Ralph Kramden tattooed on his right arm.
Robin responds to this bad line by getting into a rage. Gordon has to control him by bad touch rubbing his shoulders.
Thankfully Bruce enters before things can escalate further. Apparently there is to be a color notification on TV, interrupting regular black and white programming while Zelda is knitting. Vince's confusion with crochet angers RD. (:12) He is further disturbed by Gordon stealing all the good quality cameras for his debauchery. Vince is further disturbed by the first announcement of:
Gordon: "Hello criminals wherever you are out there! Do you hear me criminals? This is Police Commissioner Gordon!"
Bruce: "I'm Bruce Wayne."
Robin: "And I'm Robin, Batman's aide. I speak for Batman officially."
Cue further bad attempts by the three to reach the criminal underworld without shockingly being prank called for it before Zelda does. (:18) Gordon has a signed sealed and notarized note from the newspaper about the money actually being real using a red ribbon on a newspaper copy. Robin: "Come on, ya crook!"
Zelda drops off Harriet. RD notes his hatred towards Vince due to tracking her lack of bra every time he sees her. He is further confused by the Duo further drugging Harriet at the Batcave. Vince thinks it's to help her cycling fit. (:26) Alfred gives an excuse of being too engrossed watching the television. Vince thinks it's Playboy After Dark somehow showing or recorded in the daytime. RD thinks he was watching an infinity mirror of his boss. But he knows where Zelda is and Bruce knows who Zelda is. As they descend the Batpoles RD wonders how Robin could get changed so quickly.
This is also Batman's first appearance halfway through the episode, by the way.
Robin doesn't know who it is out of the 27 women licensed to be magicians in the city. RD wants to watch them go through the licensing process. Robin figures out it's the one he saw on his birthday due to her straitjacket that braless Harriet was tied up in. (:32)
Baman goes to the bookstore to get trapped - again - while the villains plot to kill him - again - with mafia henchmen in sarcophagi with tiny guns, despite Zelda's second thoughts. Vince takes offense at his Italian heritage being attacked by them signing a contract with a "wink-wink syndicate". RD wonders if Mr. Freeze would have offended his German heritage.
The villains check out things in a "secret control room" with periscopes. Vince saw a golden cat reminding him of Catwoman, reaffirming his theory of out of order releasing as they were scheduled and prepared. Batman enters the trap through a secret bookshelf toggle: "Bizarre! A play without actors!" Robin: "The script could be for us!" "One way to find out - let's step in the limelight!" "Holy fishbowl!"
As expected Zelda falls for the "handsome creatures...can I help being a woman?" (:41)
RD: "At this point it gets kinda wacky."
As Eivol gloats about his trap and Robin tries to humor him Batman forms a Joker smile: "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA, GENIUS?" However his utility belt cannot stop the hydrogen gas "lighter than air", although it could be used on the electrified floor to cause an explosion...while they are inside of. RD is reminded of the Hindenburg. "It was a terrible plan that somehow worked."
Vince is not reminded of Fat Albert since he never watched it. RD asks yours truly to now look for "Brown Hornet escapes", referencing its show within the show and later spinoff where its title character used equally implausible methods to escape.
This also solves the problem of the hiding henchmen (even with Zelda's shouted warning) by dodging them and having them shoot each other, though sadly there is no fight as Batman simply knocks Eivol down with a Batarang. Quote he: "Let's take them to the morgue." He also determines that Zelda's tears are real this time through smelling and licking them, or at least that's what RD might have seen in order to make sense of things. "Perhaps some other lifetime."
Sometime later Bruce meets Zelda at the Gotham State Penitentiary wearing a ridiculous black and white striped prison uniform with a tuna can style hat. (:51) He promises her a job as "Resident Lady Magician" at Wayne Corp after she is released for saving his life after she threatened it. She conjures for him a plastic flower to give to Batman as a trophy.
RD: "Why would anyone live in Gotham City?"
RD wonders what the point of her and her one-off appearance was compared to the rest of the villains, including King Tut. (:57) Even if she was trapped (no pun intended) by Eivol she could have asked one of the other 26 women licensed to be magicians in the city to help her out. Vince wonders if he was doing the same even to them.
Vince: "Let's do some plugs here." (:60)
He complements AEW on broadcasting on Friday nights, and their marketing, which surprises him. RD half-jokingly justifies his current demographic to explain that people may not watch so late and so long due to numerous reasons. He finds their close success after only two years of operation weird. Vince reminds him of the current state of Raw.
RD wrote about something related to Vince. Vince hates reading, despite having written two books. RD can accept his not reading The Death of WCW (yet) due to his personal involvement and chance it may upset him, even though he doesn't regret what he produced and recorded. They also remind of their apolitical natures. Vince wouldn't mind RD to list what he thought his three biggest blunders were so they can discuss them on their next Patreon argument.
- Special Guest Villain: Zelda The Great (Anne Baxter)
- Brown Hornet Escapes: 1. Escaping an electrified trap by exploding hydrogen gas.
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