Arkham Idol '66!
#This is it! A full-issue length story!
"The Joker's Big Show" finds Dr. Quinn gathering Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Chief O'Hara, Commissioner Gordon and his daughter Barbara to Arkham Institute's Patient Pageant Night. Catwoman starts the show with a dance performance accompanied by Chandell. King Tut reads poetry. Siren attempts to sing. False Face does impressions. The Joker does stand-up comedy. Every one in the audience starts laughing uncontrollably. He's teamed-up with Catwoman; and they're using a laughing gun to disable every one with fits of laughter! After they make their escape, Batman, Robin and Batgirl arrive and discover the pair have tied up Professor Overbeck and stolen one of his devices!
Catwoman and The Joker next attack the Mayor's foursome at Gothamwood Golf Club!
The Dynamic Duo and Batgirl are alerted by Chief O'Hara of an enormous electronics theft!
The Joker is powering the laughter gun with his own mental energy! Not only are he and Catwoman working together, Dr. Quinn is a willing, but somewhat reluctant accomplice.
Batman, Robin and Batgirl race to a final confrontation in Gotham Park.
Harley Quinn comes to the Batman '66 "continuity". "Timeline" is probably a better word. Originally introduced on Fox Kids' Batman: The Animated Series, she was hopelessly devoted to The Joker. If Twilight's Edward Cullen and Bella Swan is a distasteful, toxic, unhealthy relationship; how distasteful is it that Harley is drawn to The Joker, like a moth to a flame. He's physically and verbally abusive to her. Yet, they are Bonnie and Clyde. Here, Harley conforms to the typical story-telling formula of the time period, she's idealistic to a fault. A good person doing something wrong for the right reason.
Jeff Parker and Jonathan Case are back together for this full-length feature. As much as Parker's script is about The Joker and his partnership with Catwoman, it is more about Dr. Quinn. She undergoes a startling transformation. It is not surprising. It's somewhat predictable, in that from her first appearance it was expected and anticipated. Parker and Case do not disappoint, though. There's a certain amount of predictability from familiar characters. After seventy-five years of Batman and forty-eight years of Batman '66 reruns, there's really very little new territory to explore. The best and highest expectation is a fresh spin on familiar characters. If - or, when - Dr. Quinn returns as Harley Quinn, that will be interesting to see how.
Interestingly, the story ends with the appearance of another Arkham Institute practitioner, Dr. Hugo.
Batman '66 11 does not disappoint. It is enjoyable to step back into the television series timeline and see that it still holds together and functions. It still delivers fun, enjoyable stories, with both familiar characters and new ones. After forty-eight years, it still holds up. What's more, there are still stories there to be told!