We all end up in a pit in the ground. But if your legend lives on... you become immortal. By being truly great. 
- — Zelda the Great
Batman '66 #9 is an issue of the series Batman '66 (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2014. It was published on March 19, 2014.
Synopsis for "Zelda's Great Escape!"
Dick Grayson and his new girlfriend Haley attend a performance by master escape artist the Great Griselda, with Bruce Wayne and his own paramour Kathy Kane chaperoning. Almost immediately, Bruce and Dick identify "Griselda" as their old enemy, Zelda the Great; seconds later, much to their horror, Haley becomes an onstage volunteer.
At the first opportunity, Bruce and Dick change into Batman and Robin, confront Zelda before hundreds of spectators, and unmask her. Undaunted, Zelda sends her stagehands against the Dynamic Duo, then flees the stage - with an enamored Haley following along. Batman and Robin pursue, but are quickly outmaneuvered by Zelda, and sedated with ether.
Once unconscious, the crimefighters are taken to the Arizona desert, and immured in sand before hundreds of scorpions. This, Zelda explains to the impressionable Haley, is all for her next escape show; however the duo escapes, she will replicate their method for a paying crowd. Much to her annoyance, however, Batman repels the scorpions with Tuvan throat singing, a technique she judges too obscure (and unsavory) to be worth learning.
The still-bound crimefighters are then taken to another part of the desert, and dangled over a pit of rattlesnakes by a single rope - which is soon lit on fire. As the rope burns away, Haley recalls her date, but is chided by Zelda, who expounds that to be a performer - criminal or otherwise - is to abandon love, abandon all things personal in the name of fame and legacy. Exploiting her distraction, Batman and Robin escape the pit, method unseen.
After refuting Zelda's ethos, Batman and Robin easily apprehend the amoral escape-artist and her henchmen. But Haley, much to Zelda's delight, flees to pursue her own dreams of fame and glory.
Appearing in "Zelda's Great Escape!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Zelda the Great ("The Great Griselda")
- Assistants
Other Characters:
- Haley (Single appearance)
- Scorpions
- Snakes
- Robert Frost (Deceased) (Mentioned only)
- Tuvans (Mentioned only)
- U.S. Marshals (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- United States of America
- Arizona
- Desert
- Gotham City
- Gotham City Music Hall
- Gotham State Penitentiary (Mentioned only)
- Arizona
- Southern Siberia (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Chloroform (Mentioned only)
- Ether
- Flaming Room of Piercing Doom
- Utility Belts
- Walls of Penance
Concepts:
Synopsis for "The Butler Did It!"
Once a night watchman convicted for corruption, Egbert Pennyworth is delivered from a Wayne Foundation halfway house by his cousin Alfred. Thinking Alfred unbearably sanctimonious, and his life unfairly luxurious, Egbert overpowers Alfred and enters Wayne Manor posing as the faithful butler, meaning to burgle "his" master at the first opportunity.
However, while Egbert looks and sounds identical to Alfred, he possesses none of his cousin's knowledge in either housekeeping or Batman and Robin. Thus, he is quickly exposed by the Dynamic Duo, who "enlist" him on a case that requires him to cross a rope bridge hundreds of feet in the air. Terrified of heights, Egbert breaks down and confesses everything, including where he has kept the real Alfred captive.
Alfred is soon recovered, with minimal injury save to his honor - an injury he takes out on his unprincipled cousin.
Appearing in "The Butler Did It!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Egbert Pennyworth
- Yellow Sweater Gang (Cameo)
Other Characters:
- Batman Villains (Mentioned only)
- The Archer (Mentioned only)
- The Minstrel (Mentioned only)
- The Puzzler (Mentioned only)
- The Siren (Mentioned only)
- United Underworld (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Gotham Arms Hotel (Mentioned only)
- Gotham City Police Headquarters
- Gotham State Building
- Terminal Flophouse
- Wayne Foundation Halfway House for the Halfway Corrupt
- Stately Wayne Manor
- Batcave (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Batman's Utility Belt
- Bat-Bridge
- Batrope
- Bat-Phone
- Batpole (Cameo)
- Shakespeare Bust
- Trojan Horse (Mentioned only)
- Universal Lock Defeater
Vehicles:
- Batmobile
- Bruce Wayne's Limousine
Notes
- The contents of this issue were originally released digitally as Batman '66 Chapters Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, and Twenty-Nine on December 24, 2013, January 22, 2014, and March 5, 2014, respectively. Chapters Twenty-Four and Twenty-Five comprise "Zelda's Great Escape" (with Twenty-Five originally titled "Caught By the Cape") and Chapter Twenty-Nine is "The Butler Did It".
- Despite its placement here, "Zelda's Great Escape" explicitly takes place before the Shame story in Batman '66 #8 (originally published as Chapter Twenty-Six of the digital run).
- This issue is reprinted in Batman '66 Vol. 2. The collection restores the chronological order of the stories and places "Zelda's Great Escape!" before "Showdown with Shame!". The collected volume also prints the story "The Butler Did It!" between "King Tut Barges In!" (Chapters Twenty-Two and Twenty-Three of the digital run) from Batman '66 #8 and "Zelda's Great Escape!".
- When (and why) Zelda became a full-fledged arch-criminal is unknown, as her last appearance in the original series established she only turned to crime under duress, and had no tolerance for murder.
See Also