A new Batman 66 miniseries crossover begins here. There has been a jailbreak out of Arkham Asylum. The Penguin and his henchman, Renny, are on the run with a more devious than normal plan for the Dynamic Duo. On the other side of the world, Napoleon Solo an agent for U.N.C.L.E. is working to infiltrate the criminal empire of Olga, Queen of the Cossacks.
The Positive
Have to admit I really didn’t know anything about The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but thankfully you don’t need to know much about the classic show or the history going in. This issue doesn’t really explain much, but it presents the story in a simple enough way that anybody can pick it up and follow it. I’m sure that long time fans of the series will find plenty of details to pick up on. The Batman 66 creative team has always been good about including nods to the fans.
The Batman half of the story follows the Caped Crusaders as they try to capture Penguin after his escape from Arkham. It’s great to see the villains one step ahead of Batman and Robin, and there is genuine tension as we wonder how they will get out of the trap.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. half of the story is a classic 60’s spy adventure as Solo makes his way into Olga’s organization and soon finds himself captured and placed into an elaborate death trap. Even without knowing much about the franchise it’s a fun story.
The Negative
The title of this miniseries is Batman 66 meets The Man From U.N.C.L.E. but the two stories never connect. Batman is in Gotham dealing with the Penguin while Solo is in Belgium dealing with Olga. I would’ve liked to see some kind of crossover between the stories or at least a common event to link the two.
The Verdict
While it’s less “Batman meets The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and more “Batman and also The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”, this is still a lot of fun to read. You don’t need to be a fan of U.N.C.L.E. to follow along but I’m sure there will be plenty of details for long time fans to enjoy.
