Batman Meets Hawkman

By the time of his team-ups in Brave and the Bold, Batman was tied more to Gotham and fighting human criminals, but, on the other hand, Hawkman was a Thanagarian police officer, observing Earth police habits with his partner (and wife, Hawkgirl)...


...so of course, these two characters would work together....

Brave and the Bold #70

The first team up of these heroes happened in Brave and the Bold #70 (February-March, 1967) with "Cancelled: 2 Super-Heroes" by Bob Haney, Johnny Craig and Charles Cuidera, under a cover by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.

Batman had to stop millionaire collector, Balthazar T. Balthazar, from figuring out that he is really Bruce Wayne, so he recruited Hawkman to help throw him off the trail (but, along the way, the collector things Carter Hall is Batman, with the two heroes battling, then eventually defeating their foe....and giving him other identities for him to believe in other than their real ones).

Sadly, this issue has only been reprinted in black and white, in Showcase Presents (both in Batman Team-Ups and Hawkman's volumes).

Brave and the Bold #139

Next up is Brave and the Bold #139 (January-February, 1978) by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, where Hawkman gets to meet Commissioner James Gordon, in "Requiem For A Top Cop".

This time around, Hawkman has to help protect Jim Gordon from an alien bounty hunter, Vorgon,  who is after Gordon for a crime he committed as a young police officer in Gotham, that of killing an alien named Lan who landed on Earth!  Batman and Hawkman aren't able to stop the hunter, but Gordon is, with the truth of the accident that lead to the alien's death.


This story was reprinted in glorious color in Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 2 hardcover of 2013.

Brave and the Bold #164

"The Mystery Of The Mobile Museum" is the next solo Batman/Hawkman team-up in Brave and the Bold #164 (July, 1980), by J.M. DeMatties, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Steve Mitchell, with a cover by Jim Aparo.

Carter and Shiera Hall had a lot to deal with being Thanagarian policemen, JLA members and curators of the Midway Museum....but being curators of the museum got a lot harder when the museum decided it didn't want to be on land anymore, and tried to fly away.  Batman and Hawkman had to stop the Ma-Prusha, who were making this happen (as well as animating armor and other items to stop the heroes from stopping them).

This tale was reprinted along with a series from Batman: Confidential featuring King Tut, in the Batman: King Tut's Tomb collection of 2010.

Brave and the Bold #186

Last, but not least, is Brave and the Bold #186 (May, 1982), where Batman and Hawkman have to deal with "The Treasure Of The Hawk-God's Tomb" by Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and Jim Aparo.

Batman and Hawkman try to recover a stolen Horus sarcophagus, searching Gotham City, and finding Hawkman's foe, the Fadeaway Man (Anton Lamont, who uses the Cloak of Cagliostro to teleport, become invisible or intangible in his pursuit of items to steal), being the one responsible for its theft....after first dealing with the Gotham underworld (whom the villain tried to sell a fake to), then capturing the thief on a second try (and recovering the real booty, along with the villain).

Sadly, this tale has yet to be reprinted.

But these tales do prove that Batman and Hawkman can work together!

Batman Meets Atom And Firestorm

Batman met the atomic age well, and worked with a few heroes involved with atoms and nuclear power, specifically his fellow Justice League of America members, the Atom and Firestorm, in the pages of Brave and the Bold.

When Batman met them, they were already beginning to be legends in the DC Universe, but the team-ups still proved to be fresh and interesting....

Brave and the Bold #77

Batman first met with Atom in B&B with Brave and the Bold #77 (April-May, 1968), with "So Thunders The Cannoneer!" by Bob Haney, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, with the Darknight Detective and the Mighty Mite facing off against the Cannoneer (a human cannonball) and Lilli De La Pooche (his midget assistant) as they plot to rob the Brotherhood Express train (packed with artistic treasures, passing through Gotham City).  Batman faces off against the Cannoneer while Atom deals with Lilli, eventually prevailing and getting the art back.


This story has only been reprinted in black and white, in Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups #1 of 2007.

Brave and the Bold #115

Batman was "The Corpse That Wouldn't Die" in Brave and the Bold #115 (October-November, 1974) by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo.  Batman was fatally wounded while searching for Debbie Manton, and Atom is called in to stimulate Batman's body, and continue the hunt to find the kidnapped girl.  While keeping Batman's body moving, Batman's brain also is stimulated, eventually restoring the Gotham Guardian to life.

This story has been reprinted in black and white, in Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups #3 of 2008, as well as in color in Batman: The Strange Deaths Of Batman of 2009 and in the Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 1 of 2012.

 

 

Brave and the Bold #152

Batman's next solo team-up with the Atom is in Brave and the Bold #152 (July, 1979) with "Death Has A Golden Grab" by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, with Bruce Wayne and Ray Palmer finding themselves labeled as criminals due to a computer mix up, which puts their alter egos on the chase across the country to find out the hackers behind this problem.


This tale should be reprinted in the Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 3 of 2016, though it appears computer hackers have messed with the various listings of this online, as descriptions of this volume have the book starting with Brave and the Bold #151, and not containing #152 (though it appears #151 was in Volume 2, with a team-up with the Flash, which has been covered here).

 

 

Brave and the Bold #172

Batman moved on from the Atom and the 1970s, and had his only B&B team-up with Firestorm in Brave and the Bold #172 (March, 1981) with "Darkness and Dark Fire", by Gerry Conway, Carmine Infantino and Steve Mitchell (under a cover by Jim Aparo, at least).  This tale, written by Firestorm's co-creator, has Batman being called in by the Justice League facing off against Firestorm (a relative rookie in the JLA at this time), who has been taken over by the nuclear reactor that gave him his powers, and Batman has to play detective to find out why Firestorm is a menace, then free his nuclear powered friend.


This tale has been reprinted, in the Tales Of Batman: Carmine Infantino book of 2014, though sadly, the Nemesis back-up contained in the book has not (and that series cries for collection!).

 

Brave and the Bold #129 and #130

With all this excitement, almost missed Brave and the Bold #129 and #130 (September and October, 1976), but Atom was one of a few co-stars there, along with the Joker, Two-Face and Green Arrow....and Green Arrow team-ups with Batman (including this one) have been covered here.....so, go back there to read more on these, and we'll B&B seeing you soon!

The Last Of The Original Brave and the Bold non-Batman Team-Ups

It's getting down to the last of the original Brave and the Bold team-ups without Batman....

....and it's getting pretty interesting, with returning stars and new arrivals!

Only one of the heroes didn't return and if you have read the first and second articles, you'll know who!

Babes Battling

The women took charge for once in Brave and the Bold, with Supergirl and Wonder Woman teaming up in Brave & the Bold #63 (December-January, 1965/1966 by Bob Haney and John Rosenberger, and a cover by regular Supergirl artist, Jim Mooney). Superman editor Mort Weisinger usually didn't allow Superman characters outside of titles he edited, and this tale called "The Revolt of the Super-Chicks"....didn't help much.  Not that was horribly different than tales of the times, but it would NOT be considered a high point of women's lib as Supergirl planned on retiring from being a super-hero, and Superman recruited Wonder Woman to help convince her back into battle...and the two end up dating Frenchmen (Henri for Supergirl, Andre for Wonder Woman) for a time, and fighting the shape-changing Multi-Face!  Eventually the ladies beat the villain and go back to their normal lives (and this issue has an appearance of Wonder Girl between Showcase #59 and Teen Titans #1, establishing her as a separate person from Wonder Woman....).  It also takes a little work to find this issue as it has NOT been reprinted...  

Dark Detour

Brave and the Bold #64 (February-March, 1966) had Batman vs. Eclipso, and that's covered more under supernatural characters (and Batman team-ups).


That said, it was a very good issue, and has been reprinted in color in Super-Team Family #5 (June-July, 1976) as well as in the black and white Showcase Presents The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups #1.


This second team-up of Batman's in B&B is a well done tale!

Super Hero Joins Super Freaks

With Brave and the Bold #65 (April-May, 1966), it was a chance for previous B&B star, the Flash, to return....and meet a new DC Super-Team....the misfits of the Doom Patrol (Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and the Chief) in this Bob Haney story of "Alias Negative Man", with art by Dick Giordano and Sal Trapani.  The Doom Patrol's foes, the Brotherhood of Evil (the Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Madame Rogue, Garguax and General Immortus) captured the Negative Man, and his team recruit the Flash to try to fool the villains into releasing him...it didn't quite work, but the Brotherhood was defeated and Negative Man freed.  A pretty good issue, other than the Flash seemed like an also-ran (as he wasn't much of a part of the story, being more of a device instead of a character).

Even more annoying is that this story, which read like it could have been in an issue of Doom Patrol, was NOT reprinted (even in the Doom Patrol Archives or Showcase Presents the Doom Patrol).

The Doom Patrol also never returned to B&B (but being labeled freaks in the ad for this issue might have hurt their feelings...).

Flash would return many times to work with Batman...

Interesting Alloys

Brave and the Bold #66 (June-July, 1966) let Bob Haney team his own creation (Metamorpho) with one of his favorite B&B co-stars (the Metal Men) in the Mike Sekowsky drawn "Wreck of the Renegade Robots" (with a cover by Ramona Fradon, Metamorpho's co-creator).

Both sides get interesting things to do as Metamorpho approaches Doc Magnus to try to cure him of his condition of being the Element Man.  While doing this, Prof. Kurt Borian takes control of the Metal Men, turning them against their creator, and Rex Mason has to have the Doc turn him back into Metamorpho to save the rogue robots (as Prof. Borian plans to go after Simon Stagg) and might put Rex's love, Simon's daughter Sapphire, in danger.  Back as Metamorpho, Rex fights the Metal Men, destroying the device that controls them....and losing his one time cure.

Sadly, this story has only been reprinted in black and white, in both Showcase Presents Metamorpho #1 (and only) and Showcase Presents Metal Men #2,  as I answer the question posed on the cover that this is a team-up, and a great one at that!  Both Metamorpho and the Metal Men would return repeatedly, and even team-up with Batman and other B&B co-stars like Plastic Man and Green Arrow.  "According to E. Nelson Bridwell, Metamorpho's pairing with the Metal Men in B&B 66 was one of the book's best-selling team-ups ever" according to John Wells' American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969.  

Batman Takes Over

Batman more or less becomes the regular star of Brave and the Bold (thanks of the success of Batman's 1966 TV Show) with Brave and the Bold #67 (August-September, 1967), working with the Flash, then Metamorpho in Brave and the Bold #68, Green Lantern in Brave and the Bold #69, Hawkman in Brave and the Bold #70, and Batman's first team-up of many with Green Arrow in Brave and the Bold #71.  Great fun, but to be covered later...as we still have a couple of team-ups left without the Darknight Detective....

A Ghost of A Chance

Brave and the Bold #72 (June-July, 1967) saw Bob Haney written work with Flash artist, Carmine Infantino, on "Phantom Flash, Cosmic Traitor".

Flash took a trip to Earth-2, and end up being caught by some criminals, who gave the speedster to the Ghost Ace (the spirit of Luther Jarvis, a World War I fighter ace) who wanted revenge against his fellow squad members.

The Ghost Ace turns Flash into a spectral being, and the Spectre gets involved in the case, preventing the murder of the pilots, and eventually frees the Flash and defeats the Ghost Ace.

This title also served as the transition book for the Spectre, as he went from his three Showcase try-outs to his 1960s Spectre book, and can be found reprinted in the Showcase Presents: the Spectre #1!

A Little Underwater

Brave and the Bold #73 (August-September, 1967) was a meeting of two previous stars in B&B, with the Atom and Aquaman facing off against the evil mutant plankston monster in "Hail, Galg the Destroyer!" which, in this story by Bob Haney and art by Howard Purcell (and cover by Carmine Infantino).

The story had Aquaman, Aqualad, Mera, Vulko and Aquababy, so even though Atom was there, it did read like an Aquaman story (so much so that it's only reprint is in Showcase Presents: Aquaman #3)...

....but at least the little man got a kiss from Aquaman's wife, Mera, so it all work out pretty good in the end for Ray Palmer! 


Guess she doesn't think bigger is always better!

With that happy note (and Brave and the Bold #74 of October-November, 1967), Batman took on the regular star role of Brave & the Bold, "a post that he held until the book ended in 1983" (quote also from the American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969).  All but Eclipso and the Doom Patrol returned to team with Batman...but it was still possible to have some fun without the Caped Crusader, as Bob Haney and others showed so well!

More Early Brave and the Bold Team-Ups

The mid-1960s was a time of change at DC Comics!  Showcase was featuring more teams of adventurers (like the Challengers of the Unknown and the Sea Devils) and even robots (the Metal Men), and while Brave and the Bold dabbled in that, uniting various DC solo stars (including Flash and Green Lantern who got their start in Showcase) in the Justice League of America, Brave and the Bold went one step further with its 50th issue and started to team-up even more members of the DC Universe!  Picking up where we left off...

Mighty Mite Meets An Alloy

The Atom was the first return star (and the mighty mite also got a rebirth in Showcase, leading to his own title and a membership in the Justice League), and he came back to meet Doc Will Magnus’ robots…the mighty Metal Men (Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Tin and Platinum aka Tina!).  With Brave & the Bold #55 (August-September 1964, by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon) the links in the DC Universe just grew, and we learned of Doc Magnus’ first robot, Uranium (and the robot that it created, Agantha…who was the element Silver) in the “Revenge of the Robot Reject”.  Battling menaces that Doc Magnus created just seemed to be something the Metal Men did, but this time, the Atom was a part of the mix…and both Atom and the Metal Men would return for one more non-Batman team-up, as well as many team-ups with Batman (in fact, they both even returned for team-ups with Batman and Green Arrow, a distinction they share only with the heroes Green Lantern, Robin and Black Canary!).

Return of the Scarlet Speedster and Manhunter from Mars

With Brave & the Bold #56 (October-November 1964, by Haney and Bernard Baily), it’s the first return for two stars (but neither had teamed with each other in B&B).  Flash and the Martian Manhunter had both been growing in popularity (with J’onn J’onnz moving from the back of Detective Comics to a lead feature in House of Mystery at this point), and these two faced the “Raid of the Mutant Marauders”.  It was actually a mutant android, who had the ability to become a morphed version of heroes (like half-Batman, half-Green Arrow; half-Aquaman, half-Hawkman, and even half-Martian Manhunter and half-Flash…and, he gets a little extra coverage as Batman and Green Arrow ended up being one of B&Bs most popular team-ups, foreshadowed here) who was exiled to Earth by Queen Tatania because he fell in love with her.  And the two heroes weren’t even totally responsible for its defeat…they pulled in Hawkgirl!  Irony abounds here…because of all the members of the JLA (up to and including Firestorm) only Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter never shared a cover billing with Batman!  This, along with B&B’s first Batman/Green Lantern team-up in #59 ends where the Brave and the Bold Team-Up Archives…but not the end of the story!

The Element of Change

Change was in the air…for Brave and the Bold and for its format (at least for a bit); starting with Brave & the Bold #55, George Kashdan was the solo editor of the book (having shared that title with Murray Boltinoff through issue #54), and for Brave and the Bold #57 (December 1964-January 1965) and Brave & the Bold #58 (February-March 1965), the book had a solo star whom George Kashdan came up with the basic idea of…that of Metamorpho, the Element Man!

From John Wells‘ American Comic Book Chronicles 1960-1964 - “Working from Kashdan’s formative concept, Haney named the character and wrote the script for the origin.  In the process, he developed one of the 1960′s most sharply-defined superhero casts: sarcastic adventurer Rex Mason, transformed by the mysterious Orb of Ra into Metamorpho; his wealthy blonde girlfriend Sapphire Stagg, torn between her love for Rex and her devotion to her daddy; scheming magnate Simon Stagg, whose lust for power was equaled by his desire to prevent Mason from marrying into his empire; and Java, a resurrected caveman who gleefully joined in Simon’s plots while secretly coveting Sapphire for himself”.  Kashdan and Haney brought Ramona Fradon out of maternity leave to illustrate the adventures…who graduated to a 17 issue series of his own…as well as coming back to Brave and the Bold frequently…and even being a founder of Batman’s own super-team, the Outsiders!  Sadly, these two issues have only been reprinted in black & white recently in Showcase Presents: Metamorpho, but #57 was in Super-DC Giant S-16 (1970) and #58 was in World’s Finest Comics #228 (March 1975).  Brave & the Bold #59 (April-May 1965) was also by Haney and Fradon, and introduced the Time Commander (but more on this when covering the Batman team-ups of Brave & the Bold).

The Kids Are Alright

Brave & the Bold #60 (June-July 1965) also gets a quick mention, as it was technically a solo feature, introducing the Teen Titans in a story by Bob Haney, with art by Bruno Premiani…and a cover by Nick Cardy with the kids facing the menace of the Separated Man!  This idea was capitalizing on the success of B&B #54, where the sidekicks originally met, and this made a more formal team of them, adding Wonder Girl to mix (more on that here...).  The Teen Titans came back to team with Batman four times over the history of the Brave & the Bold, as well as one team-up with Superman in World’s Finest Comics and 43 issues in their original run…and then a run from #44-53 in the 1970s, and the wild success of Wolfman and Perez‘s New Teen Titans starting in the 1980s.

This story was reprinted in the Silver Age Teen Titans Archive #1 and in Showcase Presents: Teen Titans #1.

Back To The Past

The DC Universe was growing by leaps and bounds in the mid-1960s…and helped along by the reintroduction of the original DC super-team…the Justice Society of America!  Brave & the Bold #61 and #62 (August-September and October-November 1965) cashed in on that phenomenon with a team-up of Starman (Ted Knight) and the Black Canary (Dinah Drake Lance)!  Golden Age characters like Flash, Green Lantern and Atom were reinvented in Showcase, and Hawkman modernized in Brave & the Bold, as was the idea of the Justice Society, becoming the Justice League.  Flash #123 (September 1961) brought back the original Flash, and then with Flash #137 (June 1963), the whole Justice Society was acknowledged as living on Earth-2 (a separate world away from the current heroes, but one they could interact with).  In Showcase #55 & #56 (March-April and May-June 1965), Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson had two issues featuring Dr. Fate and Hourman (two heroes who didn’t have modern counterparts) and with B&B #61 and #62, had Starman and Black Canary (with stunning art by Murphy Anderson on both issues).  The first issue had the pair fight Starman’s old foe, the Mist, and the second put them up against original Green Lantern foe, the Sportsmaster, and Wildcat foe, the Huntress. 

This was even the first Silver Age appearance of Wildcat (who would be no stranger to Brave & the Bold….but, it ended up being the Earth-1 Wildcat teaming up with Batman, in a kind of accidental creation…one of those little details that Bob Haney occasionally overlooked in his zeal to tell great stories, not unlike the creation of a modern day Wonder Girl).  For more on the 1960s appearances of the Justice Society of America, check out Alter Ego #94, which also has part of a great interview with George Kashdan by Jim Amash that gives more details on this era including on Metamorpho, and for reprints of these tales, B&B #61 is in Crisis on Multiple Earths: Team-Ups #1, B&B #62 is in Crisis on Multiple Earths:Team-Ups #2, and both are in the Black Canary Archives #1.

That’s all the space left for now, but there are still some non-Batman B&B adventures to cover, and they even involve most of the people here with a few new surprises…so, come back soon and they’ll be here.

B&B seeing you!

Early Brave and the Bold Team-Ups

Before Batman, Brave and the Bold had team-ups, starting with issue #50 (October-November, 1963) with the magazine “You ask for” (though one wonders if readers weren’t asking for more Suicide Squad, Justice League of America, Cave Carson or Hawkman…a few series who had tried out in Brave and the Bold before this team-up idea…).

It was really the magazine writer Bob Haney asked for, and was a chance to spotlight some of DC’s stars who were back-up features in other comics at the time….but soon grew into more!

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

In Brave & the Bold #50 (written by Bob Haney, with art by George Roussos), it was Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) and the Manhunter from Mars (John Jones, or J’onn J’onnz in his native Martian) working together (along with Ollie’s partner, Speedy/Roy Harper) to fight evil Martian Vulkor and his men…Michael Uslan had this to say in the Brave and the Bold Team-Up Archives (March, 2005) “It was the first time either a Green Arrow or a Manhunter from Mars logo appeared atop a comic book. One reason these two characters may have been selected for the first B&B team-up is the success of Batman and Superman in World’s Finest. What DC hero was most like Batman? With his red-clad sidekick, Arrow Car and Arrow Cave, wealthy playboy Oliver (Green Arrow) Queen was certainly at the time being presented as an imitation Batman. And what super-hero was most akin to Superman? But for the fact that his weakness was fire and not Kryptonite, the Manhunter from Mars best qualifies. More likely, this was a way to promote the Martian Manhunter, who would shortly gain his very own cover-featured series beginning in House Of Mystery #143.”

While it might have helped J'onn, it didn’t seem to help Green Arrow and Speedy, who were nearing the end of their run in World’s Finest Comics…and Green Arrow would only have the JLA he joined to appear in for a time.

Air and Water Mix

Next up…was Aquaman (Arthur Curry) and Hawkman (Katar Hol, or Carter Hall on Earth) in Brave & the Bold #51 (December-January 1963-1964, by Haney and artist Howard Purcell) that had the two (as well as their partners of Aqualad/Garth and Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol) facing off against Tyros, a man cast out of Atlantis who found a gem that gave him power that he would use to try to take over Aquaman’s home! 

Aquaman was losing his space in World’s Finest Comics, but had his own magazine at this time, and Hawkman was a half-feature in Mystery In Space, but soon to get his own comic as well (and soon after that, the Thanagarian would join the Atlantean in the Justice League as well…).

Brave and the Bold Goes To War

For something a little different, Brave & the Bold #52 (February-March 1964) featured a trio of DC’s war heroes…Sgt. Rock, the Haunted Tank (led by Tankman Stuart) and Lt. Johnny Cloud (the Navajo Ace).  Written by Robert Kanigher with art by Joe Kubert, these 3 battle stars had to work together to save an important agent (codenamed “Martin”) from the Nazis (and, this agent was someone whom they had worked with before!).

Sgt. Rock would come back to Brave & the Bold quite a few times in stories by Bob Haney (but, they weren’t exactly Robert Kanigher‘s favorites, as they featured Sgt. Rock AFTER World War II, which Kanigher didn’t approve of…).

DC’s war titles had characters meet all the time, so this wasn’t quite as special as it was for the other DC heroes…who rarely crossed over at this time.

A Quick Little Story

Back to the superheroes, with Flash (Barry Allen) and the Atom (Ray Palmer) in Brave & the Bold #53 (April-May 1964) where these two scientific heroes had to deal with “The Challenge of the Expanding World”…that is, a micro-world that was to expand into and destroy our world!

Written by Haney, with art by the incredible Alex Toth, and a cover by Bob Brown, this story was also reprinted in the Greatest Team-Up Stories Ever Told (1989) and it’s two heroes already had two successful titles of their own, as well as being fellow JLA members!

(A little ironic, that this team up could also happen live, as the Flash TV show ties in with Arrow on the CW, and Atom is a character on the TV show Arrow....where they had Arrow and Flash team up!)

Kids Come Together

Flash (Barry Allen), as well as Aquaman (Arthur Curry), were back for a little cameo in the next issue, Brave & the Bold #54 (June-July 1964) as well as Batman making his first team-up appearance in B&B (outside of the JLA premiere in B&B #28-30), but they were just there to advise their sidekicks of Kid Flash (Wally West), Aqualad (Garth) and Robin (Dick Grayson)…who were the stars of the issue!  The kids of Hatton Corners were kidnapped by Mr. Twister (Brom Stikk) and it was up to these three to save them!  Thought by many to be the first appearance of the Teen Titans, it just isn't so…even though Bob Haney wrote this issue (with art by Bruno Premiani),  the Teen Titans didn’t get a formal name until later in the Brave and the Bold run…it also seems odd that Speedy wasn’t there…

All of these issues are reprinted in the Brave and the Bold Team-Up Archives (as well as a few more), and those will be coming soon!

B&B seeing you!

Batman Meets Green Arrow

Green Arrow was one of the first two heroes in a team-up in Brave and the Bold when the title became a place for DC heroes to meet starting with Brave and the Bold #50 (October, 1963)...and Batman was so popular (thanks in part to the 1966 TV Show) that he became the regular star of the title (so awesome, he teamed with himself in the last issue of the series (Brave and the Bold #200, July, 1983, though, sadly, never with the Manhunter from Mars, at least in B&B).

So, it seems obvious that Batman and Green Arrow would be the most frequent team-up of the B&B era!  Let's take a look at these meetings....

The First

Brave and the Bold #71 (April-May, 1967) has the first B&B teaming of these two heroes, in a story by Bob Haney (who started the team-ups in B&B #50), with art by George Papp (the co-creator of Green Arrow), all under a cover by Carmine Infantino (who was the artist who started Batman's "new look"...which included the yellow oval). 


"The Wrath of the Thunderbird" was a pretty simple story of Batman and Green Arrow facing off against a crooked promoter and save an Indian tribe..

...a reflection of what the average team-up was like at the time, but boy was that to change!

The Times Are A Changin'

Brave and the Bold #85 (August-September, 1969) was Bob Haney's second Batman/Green Arrow story, but the first for new artist...Neal Adams, who got to redesign Green Arrow's look for the issue (as Green Arrow had no individual feature of his own at the time).

This led to Green Arrow getting paired with Green Lantern (and Neal Adams getting the art assignment there as well with writer Denny O'Neil, creating the very famous pairing and socially relevant comics...) .


But it all started here with "The Senator's Been Shot!" in a story that's been reprinted more than a few times as well!

More Co-Stars

Brave and the Bold #100 (February-March, 1972) had a story by Bob Haney, and art by Jim Aparo (with a stunning cover by Nick Cardy).  For the anniversary issue of B&B, Batman was nearly killed by a gangster's bullet, and met with Robin, Black Canary, Green Lantern and Green Arrow...

...and the lot of them gathered to prevent a shipment of drugs from being dumped in Gotham and make sure Batman recovered from his wounds.


"The Warrior in the Wheel-Chair" has been reprinted in color, in the first volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover.

A Mystery

Brave and the Bold #106 (March-April, 1973) had Batman and Green Arrow face off against a mystery villain that was defrauding people in a double your money scheme...and that might suggest which Batman villain that was the ?. 


This story was by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, and was the first time Jim Aparo got to draw Green Arrow on a B&B cover...but it wouldn't be his last.


"Double Your Money...And Die" also made it into the first volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover, and Green Arrow would face that mystery villain again in the pages of B&B!

Double Your Pleasure

Brave and the Bold #129 and 130 (September and October, 1976) was Green Arrow's only two-parter with Batman...and added additional hero, the Atom, as well as two Batman villains (the Joker and Two-Face, both of whom had been in B&B before) to the mix in a story by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, wherein Oliver Queen gets the Pathanistanian Emperor Eagle, and has to return it to its homeland, all the while fighting with Joker, Two-Face and General Mahmood Khan (with the help of Batman and Atom).  Wonder if some variant of this story might show up on the CW's Arrow as Atom will be a guest there this year?

These stories are also reprinted in color in the second volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover.

More Group Fun

Brave and the Bold #136 (September, 1977) was a real milestone for B&B fans. 

True, it was just another story by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, but along with Green Arrow, it featured the Metal Men (robots of Dr. Will Magnus that fought evil and exhibited the properties of the metals they were made of), as well as reoccurring Batman B&B foe and femme fatale Ruby Ryder - who was previously in B&B #95, 123 and 135, menacing Batman, Plastic Man and Metamorpho).



"Legacy of the Doomed" (along with all but Ruby's first appearance) all made it into the second volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover.

One Last Time

Brave and the Bold #144 (October-November, 1978) featured Bob Haney's last Batman/Green Arrow tale (with art by Jim Aparo) but it was a chance for him to return an old villain as well, the Gargoyle (whom had been a foe for Robin in two issues of Teen Titans, #14 and 35, for those that want to know, in two stories written by Bob Haney, who was also the co-creator of the Teen Titans).


This time Batman and Green Arrow faced the Gargoyle over an enchanted arrow..."The Arrow of Eternity".

This story also ended up in the second volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Brave and the Bold #168 (November, 1980) began with adding a new writer to the Batman/Green Arrow pairing, that of Cary Burkett, but at least Jim Aparo was still providing the art. 


This time around, Batman was helping Green Arrow by introducing a friend's escape artist act...

...an oddly friendly thing for the "grim and gritty" Batman to do.  Still, it was something for this B&B team to do to while away the time...


...and, sadly, "Shackles of the Mind" has yet to be reprinted.

One Last Hurrah

Brave and the Bold #185 (April, 1982) was the last time Batman and Green Arrow met in Brave and the Bold...and it was with new writer and artist (Don Karr and Adrian Gonzales).  This time around, Batman and Green Arrow faced the Penguin (whom Green Arrow had fought before in issues of the Justice League of America), as well as Penguin's new ally, a trained falcon.


"The Falcon's Lair" has not been reprinted, but at least the cover featured the newer Green Arrow logo...which had made it onto Green Arrow's first mini-series as well.



Batman and Green Arrow weren't done teaming up either, still working together in the Justice League, and even in more than a few issues of Detective Comics.

Green Arrow ended up as a back up feature there for a time, and some notable appearances include #468 with Atom and Black Canary, and #559 with Black Canary and Catwoman)....but those team-ups can be covered at a later date, as can Batman's B&B team-ups with "Team Arrow" members Black Canary and Speedy (though Speedy was with the Teen Titans).

B&B seein' ya!