Stalemate!
There are only a couple of things that happen in this issue. The Green Hornet and Kato try to use the cover of a bank robbery to plant a tracking device on a set of coins to follow The Joker and General Gumm back to their hideout. This plan is foiled by the arrival of Batman and Robin. They have a non-fight. The Hornet uses his gas gun. The Dynamic Duo put on their re-breathers. Batman and Robin throw Batarangs. The Green Hornet counters by shattering them with his sonic hornet sting. Kato tries darts. The Caped Crusaders pull out the Bat-shield. The idea is that they are so evenly matched that the battle is automatically a stalemate.
Unfortunately, the quartet is so busy not fighting each other that the real robbers, The Joker and Gumm make off with Signor Bollo's coins. While The Hornet and Kato make good their escape - or beat a hasty retreat, as the case may be - Batman and Robin follow the clue that leads them to The Joker and Gumm's hideout - which turns out to be the abandoned World's Fair. Only a year earlier, it was bustling with fairgoers; now it stands idle. After a short Bat-fight, The Dynamic Duo find that they are outnumbered and outgunned by Gumm's army.
It was a trap!
Even though very little seems to be happening this issue, things still move along pretty briskly. Through flashback, it is revealed why The Green Hornet decides to plan a bug on Bollo's coins. It's hilarious that The Hornet and Kato, and Batman and Robin get so wrapped up in trying to best each other that they completely forget about why they're all at the bank in the first place. This is the brilliance and wit of Garman and Smith's script. A script that is flawlessly executed by Ty Templeton. The cover by Alex Ross is superb.
The Good
This is a very well thought out and plotted story. There are nice homages to the original episodes and the classic series. There's the cool sequence where The Hornet and Kato summon The Black Beauty. The signature, "Let's roll, Kato!" There's also the reappearance of the Gotham City World's Fair, a year later and now abandoned. The last time it was seen was in the series pilot during The Riddler's plot.
The Bad
The only drawback is that Batman and The Hornet fight to a standstill. Neither has any leverage or edge over the other. That's a hint that there are boundaries to this story. However, at the halfway mark, the story is now heading toward a conclusion. Robin and Kato have already had their confrontation in the previous issue and that resolved smoothly.
The Skinny
Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet is an enjoyable landmark. It is fantastic to see the series make a comeback. This sequel is like a comic book version of The Wrath of Khan for Star Trek's Space Seed episode.
Five stars to Ralph Garman for pulling together such incredible talents to produce each issue of this mini-series.