The Brave & The Bold Annual #5 - Batman and the Young All-Stars - homage to Hawkeye #4

Latest Golden Age Team-Up Project commission - The Brave & The Bold Annual #5, teaming Batman with The Young All-Stars (and a number of other kid sidekicks and younger heroes), adapted by Bambos Georgiou from Mark Gruenwald and Bob Layton's cover to Hawkeye #4.

Spring 1945 - and Batman is dead! The papers in New York and Gotham City cover the demise of the famed crimefighter in banner headlines, and radio reports carry the news across the coutry and around the world. With Manhunter recovering in hospital following the attack by four members of Axis Amerika, the circumstances of Batman's death are still unclear to many, but it's known that he was killed by those same Axis villains.

Batman's body is laid out in a coffin inside the Perisphere and - after Robin says a private farewell to his mentor and is led away by Superman, Batman's closest ally - other young heroes keep vigil overnight: the six heroes who were the members of the Young All-Stars in 1942, alongside sidekicks Wing and Speedy, two members of the Soldiers Of Victory, Sandy The Golden Boy (young ally of the Sandman), and four international heroes - Russian heroine Fireball, Chinese hero Kuei, Free French hero Phantasmo and British hero The Squire, all of whom have travelled to New York to take part in the planned rally to raise funds for children who have been orphaned by the war.

Although some in the government argue for a postponement of the rally as a result of Batman's death, at Robin's request it goes ahead on the following day, and a somewhat-subdued but still large crowd turn out to watch the teenage heroes travel down one of New York's streets on the back of a flatbed truck, while patriotically-dressed attendants collect money from those who have come to see their heroes in person.

Events take a threatening turn, however, when from out of nowhere the young heroes find themselves under fire from a barrage of arrows launched by Usil, the Italian archer who is part of Axis Amerika, and a swooping attack from Kamikaze, the Japanese member of the same group! Their assault is rapidly backed up by the Horned Owl, Ubermensch, Gudra and Sea Wolf, who charge out of side-streets and leap onto the flatbed! The young heroes fight back - Iron Munro and Kuei teaming up to try and fend off Ubermensch, Speedy, Sandy and Dan The Dyna-Mite battling the Horned Owl; Fireball and Flying Fox taking to the air to tackle Kamikaze; Phantasmo and Fury attempting to restrain Gudra; Tsunami and Neptune Perkins exchanging blows with Sea Wolf; and the Squire and Wing charging at Usil - but they are soon overwhelmend by the Axis villains!

On the back of the flatbed, Axis Amerika hold the youngsters hostage, and announce they they intend to kill the next generation of the heroes in front of the newsreel cameras, before they move on to deal with the members of the All-Star Squadron -- but even as Ubermensch rants, the driver of the flatbed slips from his position at the wheel and ducks under the truck, only to emerge seconds later...

... it's Batman!

Stunned, Axis Amerika release their grip on the Young All_Stars and their compatriots, allowing the juior heroes to regroup, and Batman joins them, telling the villains that although he had been temporarily knocked out whilst escaping from their force-field (in issue #260), he hadn't died - this was just a ruse fed to the press in order to make Axis Amerika think that their plans to attack the war-orphan rally were still a secret and bring them into the open!

Although outnumbered, Axis Amerika believe that they have the upper hand over an unpowered Batman and a group of teenage heroes, so rush back to the attack - but the heroes are prepared for them! Switching opponents, Fury, Fireball and Dan the Dynamite batter Ubermench; Tsunami and Flying Fox take down Gudra; Sea Wolf falls to blows from Iron Munro and Neptune Perkins; an arrow from Speedy and a wirepoon line from Sandy entangle Kamikaze, dropping him from the sky to face Kuei, who incapacitates him; Phantasmo, Wing and the Squire overpower the Horned Owl; and Usil is knocked unconscious by a well-aimed batarang thrown by the Gotham Guardian as he turns to flee!

With Axis Amerika down and out, other members of the All-Star Squadron emerge from the crowd, where they had waited as a second line of defence in case the villains proved too much for the younger heroes (who had insisted that they get first crack), and take the villains into custody to be shipped off to a prisoner-of-war camp -- and Batman and the junior heroes return to the truck to continue with the rally!

Is this the end of the Axis threat? Find out in The Brave & The Bold Special #1 - coming soon!