Batman's Best Team-Ups From The Brave And The Bold

It may seem odd for "The Brave and the Bold" to team Batman up with his own sidekick, but not all is as it seems in "The Brave and the Bold" #182. Here, a freak lightning strike transports the Batman of Earth-One to Earth-Two, where he teams up with the Robin of that world. On this Earth, Batman is long dead, and Robin is a mature solo hero, as well as a U.S. ambassador.

A strange storm soon assaults Gotham. Robin and Ted Kord, aka Starman, realize it signifies the return of old foe Hugo Strange. Thought dead on Earth-Two and Earth-One, Strange is somehow revived and promptly takes down Starman, leaving Robin to fight him alone. The arrival of Earth-One Batman gives him an ally. He gets another when he's visited by Katherine Kane, aka Batwoman, here returning to comics for the first time in decades.

What makes this story really shine is the emotional dynamic between the three core heroes. The adult Robin shows contempt for Earth-One Batman, simply because his own mentor has died. Meanwhile, Katherine Kane must confront her romantic feelings for this variant Batman, having been involved with her own world's version before his untimely death.