A Villainous Guest Star

I know the DC Universe has a lot of superheroes scattered about a lot of U.S. cities, but they aren't everywhere.  So when a villain decides to take a break from battling his usual arch enemy and visit another town, one wonders why he doesn't pick a spot that's not regularly patrolled by another super hero.

Well, when the Weather Wizard visits Gotham City, he actually gives a brief and not-completely unreasonable justification. At one point in the story, he mentions that the workout he's getting matching wits with Batman will sharpen him up for a future encounter with the Flash. Though he doesn't overtly say so, we can assume that he thought the non-powered Dark Knight would be easier pickings.

This occurs in Detective Comics #353 (July 1966) in a story written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Carmine Infantino. The Weather Wizard announces his arrival in Gotham by ending a four-year drought and refilling the city reservoirs, but this is simply to get everyone's attention as he announces his intention to steal the three greatest treasures in the city.

It's actually a clever plan, as he doesn't necessarily have an specific treasures in mind. But the worry his announcement brings actually opens up an opportunity for him to steal the valuable Golden Cup of Ur.

This is a great start to a strong story. The Wizard actually acts in a clever manner throughout the story in what becomes a battle of wits with Batman. Both characters are shown to act intelligently and use careful planning, so Batman's eventual victory is well-earned.

After Wizard's opening gambit, it's Batman's turn to be clever. As Bruce Wayne, he owns a valuable ruby. He fakes a robbery of Wayne Manor, leaving a difficult-to-follow trail away from the crime scene afterwards. Robin is ordered to sit this one out, since he's recovering from a sprained wrist.

 The police suspect the Wizard and he is indeed nearby. But this is because he sees an opportunity to rob the original thief. Using ice crystals to reveal light footprints, he follows the trail to a cave. Batman, though, expected this and is waiting to trap him. Unfortunately for the Dark Knight, he loses the fight.

The next bit is interesting, though. Weather Wizard leaves Batman in a block of ice with enough air to last the two hours it will take for the ice to melt. It's a nice touch that the Wizard isn't psycho killer and that Fox remembers that he has no grudge against Batman as he would with Flash. He now just has to steal one more treasure, so he just needs to keep Batman out of the way for a few hours.

But its never a good idea to assume that Batman can't escape from any sort of prison much quicker than you would otherwise expect. He figures out a way to melt the ice quicker.

Then comes the next round of the good guy and bad guy being alternately clever. As a back-up plan, Batman coated the ruby with an infra-red chemical to allow him to trace it. But then Wizard deduces that Batman would try something like that and transfers the chemical to a taunting note he leaves in a phone booth. But Batman had in turn deduced that the Wizard might deduce that. So he had Robin stationed near the cave (with orders to not take direct action against the Wizard because of his injury). The Boy Wonder had simply followed Wizard to the scene of his next crime. So a quick radio call lets Batman know where the bad guy is and this time the Caped Crusader wins the ensuing fight.

As I said above, I really enjoy the story construction here. The opponents are both shown to be smart. Both come up with clever plans that make perfect sense in the context of a Comic Book Universe. Batman's eventual victory is indeed well-earned, with Infantino's art adding enormously to the overall fun of the story.

Next week, Ben Grimm and Bruce Banner switch minds, which is one of the least unusual things that ever happened to either of them.