A late annendum for Batman Day - The Rainbow Batman

[icon_uk]

It seemed an apt choice for scans_daily! :)



This costume has been used a lot by various DC media, it's got it's own Funko Pop, showed up as an extra skin in the DC Lego games and even showed up in a memorable pre-credits sequence in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", though there it was slotted into a story featuring Firefly and the Rainbow Creature. who were Silver Age menaces in their own right

But what IS the original story all this comes from? Well, read on an learn my lovelies... read on and learn...





And so it begins...



Rest assured, a doctor arrives along with a number of reporters who want to make a fuss in the papers about the brave young man who saved the little girl (Either a slow news day in Gotham, or they wanted a human interest story to balance out the insane number of criminal capers this city has. You should SEE them when a kitten is stuck up a tree!) and confirms that Dick's arm isn't broken, but he won't be able to use it for a week or so.

It turns out the thieves, who got away, stole a special sort of camera used for outside broadcast TV (Back in the day when such things were significantly larger and a lot heavier than a smartphone.

Batman, ever the detective, theorises that they must be wanting to infiltrate some sort of major celebrity event where there will be a lot TV repoters.

However, Dick was the only person to get a clear look at their faces as they drove away, and he can't find them in any of the Batcave's crime files... so Batman decides they're going to have to attend all the big events trying to spot them.

So the next day, at a ticker tape parade for someone who... must have done something I guess, but we never really find out what, possibly saving a kitten from a tree?

And the Batmobile is there, along with Batman and Robin, but not as we've seen the Caped Crusdaer before.



And there's hardly any time to process it, before a new emergency summons the Dynamic Duo to a nearby street Gotham City, and then we see...



One remarkable save that the page count limit doesn't let me show, but imagine the most pulse-pounding, eye-popping, high-budget rescue you can possibly imagine!



And things continue apace, at the arrival at Gotham Airport of international film star Marion Marley.



Riiiiiight.... I'll bet you he DID do it on purpose (she might have spurned Bruce Wayne at some point and as countless criminal can attest, Batman can REALLY hold a grudge)



It's a busy city is Gotham, isn't it?

And again, at the launch of a cruise liner, which is NOT AT ALL tempting fate.



Another Michael Bay summer blockbuster rescue later.... (Look, if I'm going to trim this down, the least I can do is give the omitted bits the benefit of the doubt)



And so Gotham City's most unusual costume parade continues



The crooks DO take their chance and take a shot at Batman, but they are stylistically obligated to aim for the centre of the bulls-eye pattern and he's reinforced that with body armour. (Robin, who ALWAYS has a target on his chest too, says nothing, but makes a note to check his life insurance policy when he gets back to Wayne Manor)

And this behaviour is not just baffling the media!



Yes that's right, after all that, Gotham is holding a "Money Show", whatever that is. Showcasing the latest in denominations perhaps? The new colour scheme for the dollar (Hint... it's GREEN.... it's always bloody green! Seriously, America has the most boring looking currency imaginable, but I digress)

Okay, actually, it's a display of actual money from all around the world, including, because Silver Age and it looks cool and different, the stone currency of Yap. Okay, you can't see it in the scans, but if Sheldon Moldoff went to the trouble of drawing it, the least I can do is mention it.

There is also some speculation amongst those setting up the display as to what colour costume Batman will wear, as as the caption puts it...



Amidst meting out dazzling justice, the World's Fabulous-est Detective discovers a gas mask in the crook's pocket (so anyone who was thinking that Batman might have been referring to something else in his pocket, get your mind out of the gutter) and realises that one of the television camera's has been turned into a tear-gas release system and switched with one of the newcasters cameras in the confusion of setting up. Triggering it would have allowed the gang to rob the place at their leisure as everyone else fled.

The Dynamic Duo overcome the gang, with Batman punching two, and Robin tripping up the last one.



So as it turns out, Batman did all this to protect a possible risk to Robin's secret identity by making sure that no one was looking at his sidekick too closely and, given what Robin usually wears, you really need to go some to outdo him!

Comments

[lordultimus]

Yeah, sure, Robin, that's clearly a red costume Batman is wearing on the cover.

[icon_uk]

"Sorry old chum, this is Cherry Passion Pink"

"Are you sure?"

"Do you WANT to see the swatches Robin, because I have the swatches!"

[cricharddavies]

... that's actually rather clever of Batman.

[silverzeo]

... The Brave and the Bold cartoon take of this made more sense... a little...

[crinos]

For the record, the Brave and Bold version of it was Firefly was using a laser weapon that caused weird Silver age transformations based on what color he blasted people with, and so Batman wore different colored costumes because the light wouldn't work on something the same color as it. And he switched to the rainbow costume when Firefly used his machine to create a rainbow monster.

That;s the take on this story that makes more sense than "Batman is making a spectacle of himself so people don't notice Robins football injury."

[icon_uk]

I embedded a link to the scene on youtube in the test, but thanks for the transcription.

And I have to agree that "Firefly uses magic belt to create magic monster which breaks laws of reality and Batman's colour changing rainbow costume is immune" to be just a tad more improbable.... even grading on a Silver Age curve.

[locuatico]

Oh, that is clever. Now to see if the art reflects it as subtle foreshadowing of...... *Robin uses both hands to drive the batmobile* whoops.

[icon_uk]

Steering with his right hand, resting the left on it for effect?

[locuatico]

I want to say that doesn't sound like a good idea...... buuuut then again the scene itself is about Bruce allowing a pre(?)-teen to drive his car. So I guess that I should accept that.

[silverzeo]

That or he had it on Bat-Autodrive and Robin was just a red herring in that panel....

[icon_uk]

If any car is going to have power steering, it's an atomic engined, turbocharged brick with wheels like the Batmobile.

[kamino_neko]

The image attached to the 'busy day in Gotham' caption isn't working for me. (And doesn't seem to be on my end, since it's got a placeholder image.)

[icon_uk]

Thanks for that, now amended, wouldn't want anyone to miss the orange costume, and Batman being asked to leave an event because he's being distracting.

[silverzeo]

Wait... so Bruce deliberately wore a bullseye so crooks would aim at target that is reinforce... so... Frank Miller stole that idea from this story?

[icon_uk]

Well spotted! I was going to put in a reference to that, but I clean forgot so am glad someone else did! :)