Aunt Agatha

The bespectacled, white-haired old lady who is the aunt of Bruce Wayne, the man who is secretly Batman. Basically a "good-hearted" woman, Aunt Agatha tends to b e somewhat motherly and overprotective, and to treat her nephew Bruce as though he were still a small boy.

In February 1955 Aunt Agatha appears at the door of the Wayne mansion and announces that she intends to visit there for "at least a week, possibly two!"

"But you can't," stammers Wayne, fearful that Aunt Agatha's presence in the house will impede his efforts, as Batman, to apprehend the notorious Rotor-Robbers, "--I mean--our cook-and-butler Alfred is on vacation! We've been shifting for ourselves--eating out of cans-­ you wouldn't like it!"

"Indeed!" exclaims Aunt Agatha. "Now I know I must stay! You need someone to look after you--give you some nourishing, home-cooked meals! Where is the kitchen?"

It is not long before Aunt Agatha's presence in the household creates some amusing dilemmas for the Dynamic Duo. For example, when Aunt Agatha falls asleep in a rocking chair positioned directly in front of the grandfather clock that disguises a secret entrance to the Batcave, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are forced to change into their Batman and Robin costumes in the kitchen and then tiptoe out of the house in a vain attempt to avoid waking Aunt Agatha. "So! I MIGHT HAVE KNOWN!" cries Aunt Agatha sternly as, suddenly awakened from her nap, she spies her cos­tumed nephew and his ward sneaking stealthily out of the house. "I might have known you'd try to sneak out to a masquerade party like this! You boys are all the same--never think of the weather!"

"Masquerade party?!?" thinks Batman in panic. caught completely off guard by Aunt Agatha's sudden tirade. "Weather?!?"

"Now you march right back in here and put on your rubbers!" continues Aunt Agatha, undeterred by the look of bewilderment on Batman's face. "Tsk-tsk! Such a cloudy-looking night! I won't have you coming home in the rain!"

"Rubbers?" thinks Batman, still dazed by his aunt's scolding. "Batman and Robin must put on rubbers?"

"Have a nice time at the party!" says Aunt Agatha soothingly, as the Dynamic Duo prepare to leave the house again. "And, Bruce, don't forget your umbrella!"

"Oh, sure," murmurs Batman, "--the umbrella! We mustn't forget the umbrella!"

"We look a little silly!" laughs Robin, after Aunt Agatha has shut the door behind them. "You should see yourself carrying that umbrella!"

"Hal Ha!" laughs Batman. "As long as Aunt Agatha only thinks we are dressed for a costume party, it's worth it!"

As things tum out, Batman is fortunate indeed that he has been forced to carry his umbrella, because later that night, during a battle with the infamous Rotor­Robbers - "flying bandits" who propel themselves through the air by means of special one-man helicopter devices strapped to their backs - Batman is sent plummeting off the roof of the Pyramid Building, and it is only by snapping open his umbrella as he hurtles toward the pavement that he is able to check his fall sufficiently to enable him to land safely on a penthouse awning.

The Rotor-Robbers make good their escape, but Batman and Robin are pleased to learn that the rainy weather has resulted in the last-minute postponement of the masquerade ball which Aunt Agatha had as­sumed they were going to attend, thus providing them with an excuse for wearing their Batman and Robin costumes the following night, in spite of Aunt Agatha's continuing presence in the household.

The following night, after they have left Aunt Agatha at home on the pretext of setting out for the mas­querade party, Batman and Robin make their way to the Rotor-Robbers' warehouse hideaway, only to be taken by surprise and captured in a large net. "Now, Batman", gloats Raven, the leader of the Rotor­ Robbers, "it's going to give me extreme pleasure to put a bullet into your heart!"

Suddenly, however, "a familiar, mocking figure" enters lhe hideout and calls a halt to the gangland execution. The intruder, apparently the notorious Joker himself, points a pistol at the criminals and orders them to release their prisoners at once. No sooner have Batman and Robin been released, how­ever, than their rescuer rips off a Joker-like face mask to reveal the bespectacled countenance of Aunt Agatha. "Are you all right, Bruce?" she asks.

"A dame!" cries the gang leader. "Wh-What is this? How come you called Batman 'Bruce'?"

"This boy-·' Batman '?" exclaims Aunt Agatha, as she tears away Batman's cowl to reveal the angular fea­tures of Bruce Wayne. "Don't be idiotic! This is only my nephew, Bruce Wayne, dressed for the outdoor mas­querade ball!"

For a moment, it appears that the secret of Batman's identity has been revealed at last, but slowly it becomes apparent that Aunt Agatha's ingenuous explanation has fooled even the Rotor-Robbers. "Boss," exclaims one of lhe criminals, "maybe it's a trick! It's gotta be Batman!" "Naw!" replies the gang boss. "If Wayne was really Batman, you don't really think his own aunt would have unmasked him, do you? Naw--we made a mistake, that's all!"

"Then how come they wuz snoopin' around?" insists the henchman.

"Foolish man!" replies Aunt Agatha. "If you were wearing a ' Batman ' costume, and saw a chance to capture a thief, wouldn't you do it? It's simply a case of

my nephew trying to be like his idol--Batman!"

Suddenly, however, the leader of the gang gives Aunt Agatha a shove, straps one of his gang's pinwheel rotor blades to his back, and sails through an open window in a daring bid for freedom, but Batman dons another of the gang's rotor blades, pursues the fleeing criminal through the skies of Gotham City, and swiftly appre­hends him while Aunt Agatha stands guard with her pistol over the Rotor-Robbers at the hideout.

"Now, Aunt Agatha," asks Batman, after the Rotor­ Robbers have been placed safely in police custody, "suppose you tell us the reason for this [Joker] outfit!"

"It's simple!" replies Aunt Agatha with a smile. "I decided to go to the costume ball and surprise you! And since you went as ' Batman and Robin ' I thought it fitting to go along as the ' Joker '! It was to be my joke on you! I followed you, of course! And good thing I did! Imagine you two trying to pretend to be the real Batman and Robin! I hope you learned your lesson!"

Days later, after Aunt Agatha's visit has ended and she has boarded a train for home, Dick Grayson asks Bruce Wayne why Aunt Agatha never suspected that Wayne is actually the real Batman. "She could never imagine me as being the famous Batman!" replies Wayne with a grin. "In my aunt's eyes, I've never grown up! To her, I'm still her young nephew, a boy!".