Eggcilirating!
For Batman fans, there is nothing more thrilling than seeing the characters and stories "come to life" in either animation or live action. Debate has raged since '66 what impact Adam West has had as "The Bright Knight". There can be no denying how exciting - or eggciting, as the case may be - seeing Batman's rogues gallery come to life on the small screen! Very few might be familiar with the movie serials of the '40's. Fewer still might be interested due to the propaganda and politically incorrect nature of the storylines. Instead of a "yellow menace", how cool is it to see The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin and Catwoman fully realized in full color on television?
On top of Batman's familiar rogues gallery, there were more villains created for the television series. Kung Tut, The Bookworm, The Minstrel and Egghead.
Batman '66 16 features a return appearance by Egghead. "Eggvolution" by Jeff Parker, with art by Brent Schoonover, colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick, and letters by Wes Abbott, sees the criminal genius step up his game to the next level!
The Good
Jeff Parker knows what Batman fans - and Batman '66 fans - want: great stories featuring awesome Bat-villains. The Joker is over-exposed. He is Batman's "Moriarty". Fans of the Batman '66 series want to see Two-Face, The Scarecrow, Professor Hugo Strange, Poison Ivy and maybe even Kirk Langstrom, Killer Croc, The Ventriloquist, Clayface, Talia and Ra's Al Ghul! A diehard Batman fan would wonder why Julie Madison was never introduced to the television series; or if there was a possibility to bring characters like Superman, Wonder Woman or the Teen Titans, as modern series like Smallville, Arrow and The Flash have done. Parker knows this and slowly, meticulously he has been pushing the boundaries and introducing mainstream Batman rogues and original characters into the Batman '66 continuity.
Here, Parker plays off Egghead's pomposity, as the villain takes his villainous game the next logical level. Egghead is very much like a Batman '66 version of Brainwave. Here, he takes a bit of that and amplifies it to a Brainiac level. He hatches his next plot in grandiose fashion from an enormous egg. He has scientifically eggvolved himself! Clashing with the Dynamic Duo, he devolves them to a Neanderthal state! Afterward, he and his henchmen zoom off on their crime wave via flying egg half-shells. Egghead outwits both Mister Freeze and The Riddler before Alfred is able to assist Caveman Batman and Robin toward a solution.
Schoonover's art really carries the grand eggspanse of the story. It's a great story that can only work on the comic page.
The Bad
This is a story that can only work on the comic page. It's a shame that the Batman live action series was a victim of it's own success - or excess. The live action series developed a formula that it never strayed from. From the start it hampered itself in story-telling and quickly wore that formula out after just two seasons. After peaking, it tried desperately to use gimmicks to prop up interest.
Parker, and able editor Jim Chadwick use hindsight to their advantage. While this does stay close to the formula, it takes some liberties. There is no cliffhanger death-trap. There are cameos by other villains. This issue shows that the series is more story-driven than gimmicks for gimmicks' sake. The hook is following along to see how Batman and Robin get out of the pickle and outsmart Egghead. It's a fun romp that makes a Batman '66 fan wish there had been a fourth season for redemption for The Bright Knight.
The Bottom Line
Batman '66 16, like the Batman television series is a fun comic. The Bright Knight is a modern day Lone Ranger. It is eggciting to see a renewed wave of Batmania.
Batman '66 16 earns a full five out of five stars for a fun story eggsecuted with enjoyable art. This is a story where the art does the heavy lifting!