The Brave & The Bold #253 - Batman and Dr Occult - homage to The Phantom Stranger #34

Latest Golden Age Team-Up Project commission - The Brave & The Bold issue #253, teaming Batman with Dr Occult, adapted from Jim Aparo's cover to The Phantom Stranger #34, as reimagined by Bambos Georgiou.

1946 - and the question on Gothamite's lips is "Is there an Egyptian mummy loose in the city?". The Gotham police don't think so - and even after blurry photos allegedly showing the giant figure appear in a Gotham scandal-rag, Batman believes it to be an ill-judged publicity stunt to support the upcoming re-release of Basil Karlo's pre-war horror classic, "A Mummy Stalks The Streets".

However, when Batman encounters - and is savagely beaten by - the mummy in the course of one of his nightly patrols, he changes his mind, even though he is sure that it's a criminal plot rather than a real Egyptian relic. Regardless - and even as he tests a fragment of the bindings which he had grabbed during the fight - he seeks out an ally. With the Spectre having vanished, Kent Nelson now working as a medical doctor after losing the Helmet Of Nabu in 1942, Sargon the Sorceror on tour in Britain, Zatara in Europe seeking out relatives displaced after WWII, and Ibis The Invincible at an archaeological dig overseas with Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders, the Gotham Guardian contacts the ghost-busting Dr Occult for assistance.

When the magical hero arrives at the Bat-Cave, Batman has the results of his tests - the fabric bindings really do come from ancient Egypt! Despite that, he continues to think that this can't be an actual mummy - perhaps it's a disguised robot controlled by a criminal scientist, or possibly linked to Professor Wilson, the Nazi spy who battled Captain Marvel in 1942 while disguised as a mummy (in Captain Marvel Adventures #17). However, when Dr Occult tests the fabric with his mystic symbol, he confirms that they come from a genuine mummy - and an image appears showing the Gotham waterfront!

Recognising the area, Batman leaps into the Batmobile, and he and Dr Occult race to the dock area, where they find a cargo ship which has bought goods from Egypt - and when they board it, they are stunned to find the hold contains an open mummy case! Now convinced, Batman follows the footsteps which lead from the case and back to the shore - and the two heroes spy the figure of the mummy shambling through a nearby building site!

Batman swings to attack it, but a huge blow sends him reeling, while Dr Occult attempts to use his mystic symbol to restrain the creature. The mummy is, however, fast enough to avoid being affected, although Occult is able to determine that an ancient evil is animating it - and warns Batman that they need to restrain it for long enough for him to be able to destroy the mummy.

Batman's initial attempt to tie the mummy up with a batrope proves futile, as the creature simply snaps the line - but the Gotham Guardian lures the mummy deeper into the building site and drops a pile of wooden beams atop it! As the creature struggles to free itself, Batman jumps for a nearby silo, and opens it, loosing a stream of liquid - and quick-drying - cement on the imprisoned mummy.

As the cement hardens, the two heroes are able to prevent the creature escaping from the trap, until the now-solidified cement holds it paralysed. Dr Occult is then able to approach the immbobile figure and use the power of his symbol to destroy the mummy completely! The menace is over - although Batman is unsure exactly when he can report to the police department.

Meanwhile, in a tomb in far-off Egypt, the undead priest Khalis slumps back, his energy spent after animating the mummy - but in only a few decades, he knows he will have recovered his powers, and at that point, he will renew his attempt to destroy his ancient enemy, Doctor Fate (which he'll attempt in First issue Special #9, 1975).

More team-up action - next issue!