Metamorpho Pt. 15: The Brave & the Bold #68

Title: The Brave & the Bold

Issue #: 68

Cover Date: Oct.-Nov. 1966

On Sale Date: Aug. 25, 1966

Writer: Bob Haney

Penciller: Mike Sekowsky

Inker: Michael Esposito

Editor: George Kashdan

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Ha! Ha! Ho! Hee! Hee! That fiendish laughter filling the streets can only mean three things… the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin! But hold it! That other sound… brutal, awesome, savage… someone else is giving Batman trouble – the trouble of his crime-fighting life! Which means the caped crusader needs help – in the form of none other than Metamorpho, the famed Element Man, who rises above a terrified city to meet the challenge of…

Alias the Bat-Hulk

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Batman follows the Riddler’s clue to the Diamond Exchange, but the villain gets clean away. He follows the Penguin to the City Museum, but then he’s gone.

That’s the second arch-foe of mine who appeared tonight! Something’s cooking – and it’s not blackbird pie!

Batman become a victim of the Joker’s practical joke and crashes the Batmobile. When he climbs out…

Anything that gets in my way, I eat up! Wood, metal, stone – anything… it’s all candy to me!

Batman recognizes a conspiracy by his arch-foes to turn him into a monster. The Joker succeeded with his gas and, although he’s returned to his original form, he might change into Bat-hulk again at any time. Where can he find help?

Batman soon makes a transformation and battles Metamorpho. The tables are perhaps turned on the villains when Bat-hulk pays them a visit; however, they’re turned again when Batman returns to form and realizes he’s in their lair.

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He begins transforming back and forth more frequently. When Metamorpho finds him…

The fight moves to the streets and rooftops, where Bat-hulk, grabbing an antenna to use as a weapon, is struck by lightning. The Riddler, Joker, and Penguins think Batman is dead, but…

Notes

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Technically, it’s a team-up, but for most of The Brave & the Bold #68, Metamorpho is fighting with Batman. And, for that matter, he’s doing it in only 2/3 of the story. In a way, it’s a squandered opportunity, but it's nonetheless fun.

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In an oddly meta-moment, Sapphire Stagg gushes when she meets Batman:

Oooh! I watch him on TV… he’s so simply super-marv and fab!

I’m sure this happens in other books, but what does this mean? In comic book continuity, is there a show about Batman on TV? Or, does Batman literally star in his own TV show?

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More fun, though, are all the references to other things happening in the DC universe. First, the Batman movie has apparently been, or is about to be released. Sadly, an ad touting the movie being in color is... in black and white.

Later, though, another ad takes advantage of the color, along with a sweet reminder about the daily newspaper strip, which, I imagine was probably... in black-and-white (except on Sunday.)

I also love discovering or re-living key moments in DC comics history through the ads in its comics: