Robin in Greatest Mother of Them All (10/5/1966) & Ma Parker (10/6/1966)

 

Robin the Boy Wonder is the eager, youthful sidekick of Batman, the Caped Crusader, the vigilante crime-fighting alias of millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne.  Introduced in 1940 as orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson in the DC comic book series Batman, Robin was played by Burt Ward in the 1966 television series on ABC.

As played by Burt Ward, Robin has a cute, boyish face, clean-cut, brown hair, and a compact, athletic physique which fits perfectly with his character's acrobatic background.  His colorful outfit, with his dark green mask, gloves, and booties, his bright, red shirt, his shiny, yellow cape, his tight, green panties, and his form-fitting, flesh-color leggings, certainly catches the audience's attention.

Due to his youth, inexperience, and smaller size, the Boy Wonder is clearly the weak link in the Dynamic Duo, which their opponents often seek to exploit.  Robin is also cocky, enthusiastic, and overly eager to prove his independent crime-fighting abilities, especially to Batman.  He is often in trouble and in need of rescue.

This week's villain is Ma Parker.  

In the first episode, Batman and Robin proceed to apprehend Ma Parker and her gang and put them in prison.  However, they had already been planning a secret takeover of the penitentiary, which they effectuate promptly upon their imprisonment.  Posing as a prison guard, an inmate then plants a bomb in the Batmobile, which would explode once the Dynamic Duo speed over 60 miles per hour.

Fortunately, Batman does not exceed 60.  However, he deduces that a bomb has been planted and dismantles it.

Favorite shots:

In my favorite scene of the episode, one of Ma Parker's boys strikes Robin with a vase.  The stunned Boy Wonder falls into a chair, where Ma Parker's boy proceeds to choke the colorful sidekick until the Caped Crusader rescues his young partner.

The scene in which an ugly, out-of-shape country bumpkin in blue-jean overalls overpowers the cute, clean-cut, athletic Boy Wonder with his bright, red shirt, his shiny, yellow cape, his tight, green panties, and his form-fitting, flesh-color leggings, in his home turf, no less, appeared to be a stunning upset.  Fortunately, Robin was forced to endure this indignity only briefly, as he was soon rescued by Batman.

Still, this fan of Robin peril would have appreciated if Ma Parker's boys in blue-jean overalls would have brought a defeated and exhausted Boy Wonder before their mother and their sister, who would then notice the prettiness of their young captive and express a desire to keep him.  Meanwhile, the boys would be getting inspired to invent a scene, which would later be depicted in the 1972 movie Deliverance, except that Robin would be made to tweet like a bird, rather than to squeal like a pig.

This blog is intended to promote the appreciation of Burt Ward's portrayal of Robin in the 1966 television series "Batman".  You may purchase both episodes at the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Hi-Diddle-Riddle/dp/B00OLZVMY8/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=batman+1966&qid=1620375265&sr=8-3

Previous blog:  

Robin in Spell of Tut (9/28/1966) & Tut's Case Is Shut (9/29/1966)

Next blog:  Robin in Clock King's Crazy Crimes (10/12/1966) & Clock King Gets Crowned (10/13/1966)