Parker, Jeff
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3 out of 5
(1 book)
Batman '66 Meet The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
(Art by David Hahn, Pasquale Qualano and Karl Kesel)
A crossover of two iconic 1960s TV series, here the Adam West version of Batman (and Burt Ward's Robin) teams up with international secret agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin. Their efforts have been combined to defeat a plot by the sinister group T.H.R.U.S.H. which involves a number of escaped inmates from Arkham Institute including the Penguin, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and Mister Freeze.
Although I grew up in the 80s, I watched a lot of repeats of old TV series, with the 60s Batman being a particular favourite. I also used to watch The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with my mum and dad, who'd watched it themselves when it had originally been on (in fact, my mum freely admits to a crush on David McCallum's Illya Kuryakin). This crossover then is a nice bit of nostalgia for anyone who loved those classic TV shows.
I'm not so sure that there's anything particularly interesting here for anyone who hasn't seen those shows, however. The plot is a fairly straightforward mash-up of the James Bond-esque plots of The Man from... mixed with the outlandish villainy familiar to the Batman series. It's not bad, but it also doesn't break any new ground (the villains even have a cliche underwater base).
One thing which I did enjoy (and was missing from the other 'Batman '66' book I've read so far) was seeing 60s versions of Batman characters who never appeared on the actual TV show, such as Poison Ivy and Scarecrow. It adds a dimension to the conceit of the 'Batman '66' series which I feel it really needed to be fresh.
3 out of 5