Batman #10 - Story 1

February 11, 1942

"The Isle That Time Forgot"

Ok, so I'll admit, this may not be the most fair look at a Batman story to date. The front cover is gorgeous and it bright a smile to my face seeing our two heroes holding pens as they stood atop a drawing board, but then you turn the page and you are hit with an image of Batman swinging toward a T-Rex as you read the title, "The Isle That Time Forgot".

Ugh.

Honestly, this is not Batman. And I know we're going to get a slew of these stories over the course of the next twenty or so years as Batman tries to find its footing in an industry that is losing its audience while also dealing with attacks from those who are trying to portray Bruce and Dick as homosexuals, but this is ridiculous.

Mind you, this issue probably gave those homophobes ammunition as Dick is awoken from his sleep by Bruce and given a birthday spanking. Yeah. And from the looks of it, if you follow the counting Bruce does, Dick has turned 8. He was 7 when Bruce took him in and trained him to be Robin. In this past year he has operated on Bruce, driven a roadster, and been knocked out more times than most people have in their lifetime.

Yeah.

Oh, and Bruce gives him his very own Batplane - an eight year old.

Yeah.

That night, they take it for a spin and get caught up in a storm which blows them off course. Robin spots a dinosaur on a nearby island to which Batman replies, "Don't get gay."

Why shouldn't Robin be happy?

Yeah.

They land when Batman spots a group of cavemen threatening a couple. They are captured by the cavemen and brought to Professor Moloff who seems to have the cavemen under his control. He wants no one else to take credit for his great discovery of the island.

The two get free though and attack the cavemen, but all have to scatter when a T-Rex shows up. Batman is able to bring it down by weaving a rope around its legs. The woman of the couple is grateful, but she faints. The man knocks Batman and Robin out, claiming they are getting in the way. He calls for other men who are worried the "Big Guy" isn't going to be happy about the situation.

Batman meanwhile is left tied up with a giant snake coiling around him. A shot rings out and kills the snake, but no one steps out to take the credits.

Meanwhile, Robin is placed in a cage with a saber-tooth tiger. Robin calls for Batman on his radio, but Batman is momentarily delayed by the reappearance of Moloff who wants to kill him. Batman knocks him out and races to help Robin where he wrestles with the tiger and is easily able to pull out some of its teeth.

Quickly, we learn that this is all a setup for a movie. The director of the film saw the Batplane land and told the crew to ad-lib the story of their attempt to capture Batman and Robin. The problem was the male part of the couple was jealous as he and his female counterpart were supposed to be the stars so he went out of his way to remove the Duo from the scene.

In the end, it was a phony setup, but it still left a lot of questions regarding Robin and Batman working with a kid at such a young age.

What will the second story bring? Stay tuned, Citizens!