Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77 Chapter #3 Review

A-Mazing

Written by: Marc Andreyko and Jeff Parker
Art by: David Hahn, Karl Kesel, Madpencil and Wes Abbott
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: December 21, 2016

I am a fan of both Batman '66 and Wonder Woman '77, so this book has to be one of my favorites, right?  Well, the answer is indeed an affirmative, but that's mainly because Jeff Parker and Marc Andreyko take care that it all makes sense for both franchises.  It could be easy to just mail this in, but they don't and I'm glad.  Seeing a young Bruce Wayne's first meeting with Wonder Woman (and others) was great and the story is straight-up television show action.  So, does this Chapter continue the fun?  Let's find out...


The issue begins with young Bruce in the clutches of Ra's al Ghul and while Bruce doesn't know the full importance of what's going on, he knows that Ra's is creepy and gets out of there.  This story is a flashback and the biggest laugh is when we go to the present and Alfred doesn't want to hold his tongue when it comes to call Ra's names.  Behave, Alfred!

Back to the story, Bruce goes to the hiding place of the books everyone seems to be after and while he drops one, he makes off with the other...much to Ra's chagrin.  We then head off and join Talia and Wonder Woman trying to find there way out of the Wayne hedge maze and instead they find the dead end that is Ra's and the League of Assassins.  Oh snap!

After Ra's takes his daughter away, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor battle the League goons and the duo might win the fight, but the League doesn't get taken alive.  In the mean time, Bruce is still on the run...until he runs right into a Nazi after the exact book in Bruce's possession.

Bruce again thinks fast (using his head and his teeth) and although he escapes, he ends up in a very familiar place that will one day be his base of operations.  It's such a cool shout out that turns the story into one filled with first meetings into one of foreshadowing as well.

I had a lot of fun reading this issue.  I was sad to see Talia leave since she was my favorite character in this young series, but seeing Bruce take that well known first step to becoming Batman was great.  Also, you can't go wrong seeing the first meeting of Bruce and Ra's al Ghul.  By the way, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor were great too, but this is a Bruce story and a damn fun one to boot.

David Hahn does a good job making the issue zip along.  It's all about the character work here and he does a really good job.

Bits and Pieces:

I continue to like this crossover and this Bruce-centric chapter was a whole lot of fun.  There are a bunch of big Batman moments here and while I didn't expect them, they were awesome.  David Hahn and the entire art team do a good job and this is an easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys either Batman, Wonder Woman or both.

8.5/10