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 In
Gotham City, wealthy Bruce Wayne and his ward, young Dick Grayson,
look at a certain pet shop with unusual interest.
"Bruce, every time we pass here, I find it hard
to believe that Selina Kyle, a respected shop owner, was once the
notorious Catwoman" comments Dick.
"Well, remember, Dick, Selina was an amnesia victim
during her Catwoman career! She really wasn't a criminal at heart. And
speaking of crime, it's getting late...time we did some crime-hunting
as Batman and Robin!" replies Bruce.
Returning home, the two secretly don a pair of costumes known the world
over...the costumes of Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder. And, as night
falls, the caped crime-busters patrol the dark city streets, ever alert
against banditry.
"Everything seems quiet tonight, Batman."
"Hope it stays that way, Robin," Batman comments.
But at that moment in a nearby jewelry shop a strange incident signals
the start of a baffling new crime wave.
"My goodness, Joe, look at all those cats! Help
me chase them out of here," cries the proprietor. And, while the owner
and his clerk busy themselves with the feline invasion, a claw-like hand
reaches for a display of valuable brooches!
Next, a whistled signal calls the cats to the
big, beckoning claw, and...
"Now to slip these brooches into their bags!"
a mysterious voice says. Then...
"HELP! POLICE! Catch those cats! They're getting
away with the diamond brooches!" screams the store owner.
"Robin, look...cats committing a robbery! Somebody's
using an old Catwoman ruse!" declares the Batman.
"Who did this? Where did the thief go?" asks the
Batman.
"Somebody dressed in a cat costume! Got away down
that alley! Hurry!" shouts the store proprietor.
"A cat crime...done by somebody in a cat costume!
Golly, Batman, do you suppose the Catwoman has gone back to crime?" asks
a puzzled Robin.
"I--I don't know! Maybe her amnesia has returned!
We'll soon find out," replies Batman, as the pair vault over a fence.
But when they turn a corner...R-R-R-R-I-I-P...a pair of claws lashes out
at the dynamic duo.
A sinister voice laughs out into the night. "HA,
HA, HA! At last, Batman and Robin, we've had our first encounter! And
it's turned out to be a CATastrophe for you, eh? HA, HA!" And a dark figure
runs down the alley.
"Batman...that's not the Catwoman's voice! It's
a MAN," exclaims the Boy Wonder.
"Permit me to introduce myself! I am the master
of the cat kingdom...the King of the Cats!" proclaims the costumed figure.
Abruptly, the bizarre figure leaps into an incredible vehicle and...
"Too bad you didn't bring your Batmobile! I would
liked to have matched its speed against my Kitty-Car!" And, with a roar
of its mighty engine, the auto speeds away with the laughing Cat King.
"Robin, there goes trouble! If that man is out
to set himself up as king of the underworld, we'll be a couple of busy
crimefighters!" Batman grimly states.
"Well, at least you stopped him from getting those
diamond brooches! So we've won the first round!" declares the Boy Wonder.
But Robin is wrong! For when they return to the jewelry shop...
"He tricked us! These are the brooches we recovered
from the cats...they're not the real ones...they're clever fakes!" screams
the store owner at Batman.
"Hmmm...He had copies made up beforehand and slipped
them into the sacks, while he palmed the real brooches! A cunning ruse!"
muses the Batman.
That night in the Batcave’s trophy room...
"No sooner do we get rid of a Queen of Crime
than we have a Crime King to worry about!" complains Robin.
"Yes, we might as well be prepared for trouble.
We'll be hearing a lot about the King of Cats!" Batman tells the Boy Wonder
as the two of them resume working on a new trophy case for the Cat King!
And Batman's words are indeed prophetic, as future headlines shout of
the Cat King's escapades!
"King of Cats steals payroll! Cat crimes increase!
King of Cats public enemy!"
And one morning shortly after...
"I think it's time we have a talk with Selina
Kyle, Robin. As the ex-Catwoman, she may be able to give us some tips
about fighting the King of Cats."
"Good idea, Batman!" agrees his faithful partner.
Later in Selina's shop...
"Well, Selina, what do you think about your imitator,"
inquires Batman.
"I suppose if I were still a criminal, I would
be interested in meeting him. You must admit he is a daring scoundrel!"
replies the sultry Selina. Just then...
"Flowers for Miss Selina Kyle. Oh, golly, it's
Batman and Robin, gee whiz!" exclaims the flower delivery boy. And after
the awed delivery boy leaves...
"You look flustered, Selina. Do you have a secret
admirer?" asks Batman.
"Oh!...I...I...uh...would you please go now...I...I've
a headache," Selina stammers out.
"Hmmm, Selina's acting mighty queer. Strange,
her admirer sent her a bouquet of tiger lilies and cat-tails. I wonder,"
muses the Batman. When they leave the shop...
"When Selina turned her back, I took this card
from the flower box. Look at the signed initial, Batman!" Robin hands
the card to his mentor.
"`K!’ This confirms my suspicions! The King of
the Cats is courting the former Catwoman!" shouts Batman.
That night, a mewing cat strolls into a room
in a great chemical plant,
"Well, here now, little pussy cat. How did you
get in here? You are a pretty one, aren't you?" the night watchman guarding
the plant comments. Affectionately, the guard strokes the soft silky fur.
A few moments later the door opens and...
"Huh? Th-the Cat King!" exclaims the guard. But
as his fingers dart for his gun...
"OUCH!" cries out the watchman!
"HA, HA!...Too bad you didn't know that when you
stroke a cat's fur, it gives off static electricity!" gloats the Cat King.
"The instant you touched metal, you got a shock!"
"When I learned from a friend that you love cats,
I figured this trick would work!" the Cat King brags as he knocks out
the guard.
Meanwhile high above the city...
"Let's hope we'll be able to spot the Kitty-Car
tonight!" Batman tells Robin.
"At least the Batplane allows us to cover a lot
of territory. That's to our advantage," Robin adds. Soon...
"Look, Batman! The Cat King!"
"Our sky-patrolling paid off! Take over, Robin.
I'm going down the rope ladder." Like a striking eagle, Batman drops to
his quarry.
"Well, well...I wasn't expecting YOU!" mocks the
Cat King.
"Just dropping in for a social call! I find your
company very stimulating!" retorts the Batman.
"Sorry, but I just can't stay!" coyly says the
Cat King.
"I don't know why, but I get a feeling you dislike
my company," Batman replies. The chase leads to a water pipe where...
"I can make better time this way," the Cat King
reasons.
"If I ever catch you, you'll be serving time,"
promises the Batman. And as the Cat King reaches the edge of the heights
on which the building stands...
"STOP! Don't be a fool. The river is over 200
feet below! No one can make that dive and live!" warns Batman.
"You forget, Batman, I've got nine lives like
a cat. I'm willing to risk one of them!" Grabbing a huge block of loose
stone, the cunning criminal steps into open space.
"Of course. He used an old circus trick! The heavy
block of stone acts like a plummet, carrying his body down straight, so
that it cleaves the waters neatly," Batman grimly notes. And when Batman
rejoins Robin...
"Slippery, isn't he?" Robin wryly asks.
"Very much so, Robin. We've got to make Selina
work with the law again as the Catwoman! Maybe she can be bait that will
trap the Cat King," says Batman.
Awhile later...
"Well, Selina, have you heard from the Cat King
again? Don't be so surprised. We know who sent you that bouquet of flowers!"
"You know?...Ohh!" replies Selina. And after Batman
explains his mission...
"Oh, Batman, I don't know what to do. I want to
work with the law but...this makes things different. Please go and let
me think this out. I'll give you my answer tomorrow," pleads the former
Catwoman.
"Good grief! Look at her weeping. Why...I think
she's actually fallen in love with the Cat King!" Batman thinks to himself.
Moments later, as Batman and Robin leave the store...
"Hold it, Robin!...Selina's getting company."
"The King of the Cats! Let's double back and hear
what those two have to say to each other," Robin suggests to Batman. Returning
cautiously, they listen in on a strange conversation...
"Karl, why don't you give up this life of crime
before it's too late? Why don't you get yourself an honest job?" pleads
Selina.
"NO, Selina! I want big money, and this is the
way to get it. I'm tired of working for peanuts. Selina...quit this little
shop. Become the Catwoman again. Don't you remember when you were the
Queen of Crime?" asks the Cat King.
"I remember only too well!" replies Selina.
The Cat King tries again.
"Think of it...the Crime Queen and the Cat King!
You and I...together! We could rule the underworld! The King and Queen
of Crime! What do you say?" But before Selina can reply...
"This time, Cat King, you’re going to get your
claws clipped!" quips Batman as he lands a powerful blow knocking the
Cat King down and out!
"No, Batman! You can't send him to jail. I won't
let you!" screams Selina.
"Sorry, Selina...I can understand your feelings,
but this man is a criminal. He must pay for his crimes!" states Batman.
Abruptly...
"I...won't...let...you arrest him! I'm sorry!"
as Selina breaks a big vase over Batman and Robin's heads, rendering them
unconscious.
"Nice going, Selina! Now I know you're on my side"
The Cat King purrs to Selina. And, when the crimefighters recover, their
limbs securely bound...
"I saved you only so you would have a chance to
come to your senses. I want you to return what you've stolen and go straight!
Promise me!" begs Selina.
"Well, I'll think about it. That's all the promise
I'll make," Cat King responds. Then suddenly ...
"Sure, Selina...I'll sleep on it! Matter of fact...it'll
be a CATNAP! And when I decide it will be the CROWNING achievement of
my career! HA, HA!" laughs the Cat King as he exits.
Later, as Selina frees Batman and Robin...
"Selina, you sure love that guy, don't you?"
asks Robin.
"Well, isn't it natural?" returns Selina as she
unties the Boy Wonder.
"Natural? I suppose she thinks it's natural to
love a criminal who is so much like she used to be. It's so eerie...a
Catwoman...in love with a Cat King!" Batman ponders to himself.
"You understand why I let him escape, don't you?
I want him to give himself up voluntarily. I want him to make his own
decision. That's the only way he'll ever reform," explains Selina as Batman
and Robin leave. Afterwards, back at the Batcave...
"Robin, I can't forget the Cat King's parting
words. Why did he put so much emphasis on `catnap’ and `crowning’? It's
as if he were taunting us...defying us!" Batman exclaims.
"Maybe they're clues to his next robbery, Batman,"
offers Robin. Then, as Batman's eyes rest on the morning paper..
"Of course! ‘Catnap’--‘Crowning’...He was punning.
Don't you see? He's going to kidnap the king of the beasts...‘CATNAP’
that fabulous lion!" Batman explains as they both stare at the newspaper
picture of the black lion.
Hours later, a figure moving with curious catlike
grace approaches the private zoo...
"I have two knockout pellets in this gun. I hope
they're powerful enough to do the job!" Cat King thinks. Accurately he
lobs a pellet from his air rifle at the lion's head, and...
"HA! One pellet did the job! Now I'll open the
cage and take the unconscious lion to my truck!...They'll pay a fat ransom
to get him back," gloats the Cat King. At that moment...
"Take a good look at that cage, Cat King! A prison
cell is pretty much like it!" yells the Batman as he and Robin pounce
on the King of the Cats!
"BATMAN!" exclaims the Cat King in horror. But
suddenly, the unforeseen occurs. Robin trips and..."CLUNK!" goes the rifle
butt against his head.
"Sorry to do this...but you've got to expect an
off day once in a while!" the Cat King shouts with glee as he runs away!
"Robin!" Batman shouts. Then with the vengeful
Batman in hot pursuit, the bandit king flees down the ramp leading to
the lower cages. The two finally lock in savage battle, their fists trading
hard blows. But, at that instant, the faulty fence support weakens. The
two combatants drop into the high open cages..."KERASH!"...landing in
front of two jungle beasts in two separate cages! Helplessly the two dazed
men watch the snarling animals approach, while up above another figure
watches with worried eyes--the Catwoman!
"OH! I've arrived too late! It's impossible for
me to save one without sacrificing the other!" Catwoman ponders her dilemma.
"There's one gas pellet left in here...only one!...If I gas Batman's tiger,
Karl will die!...If I gas Karl's tiger, Batman will die! Whom shall I
choose! WHOM?" Catwoman wonders. Grimly the Catwoman makes her decision,
aims the rifle...and FIRES! With precise accuracy the life-saving gas
pellet strikes the beast stalking the King of the Cats! Is it possible?
Has the Catwoman returned to a life of crime--and MURDER?
But suddenly, she leaps into the cage of the
tiger that's about to maul Batman!
"Oh! I only hope I have the courage to carry
this through!" frets the Catwoman. Whipping off her cloak, the Catwoman
snaps it in the face of the surprised beast!
"BACK!! GET OFF!!!" commands the Catwoman!
"Great Scott! The Catwoman deliberately risked
her own life to save me!" a surprised Batman exclaims. "Must work fast!"
A flip of his wrist, a tug of his powerful muscles...and Batman's silken
lasso winds like a tight web about the snarling beast!
"That's what I was counting on. I gassed the tiger
after Karl because I knew you'd survive if you got the chance to use your
rope!" explains Catwoman.
"Oh...that explains it! Fast thinking, Catwoman...and
thanks!" Batman replies.
Later, it is a surprised group that finds the
Cat King humbly awaiting arrest...
"Selina, you saved my life...It's only fair that
I give it to you to do with as you choose. If you want me to, I'll give
myself up and take my medicine!" the humble Cat King tells Catwoman.
"Oh, Karl! Now I'm really proud to be your sister!"
Catwoman tells her brother.
"Your...sister??" both Batman and Robin chime
in unison.
"Of course! I thought you knew, that's why I had
to help him; he's my brother! It's only natural that I should want him
to reform as I did!" Catwoman tells the Dynamic Duo.
"That explains a lot of things now that I think
back! Well...let's hope your loyalty to your brother pays off...Karl,
you can learn a useful trade in prison...and with time off with good behavior,
you can be a free man in a short time!" Batman tells him.
"For Selina's sake, I'll try to go straight! If
Catwoman can reform, then so can the man once called the King of the Cats!"
Karl offers. And the four of them depart.
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