The Brave and the Bold (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1976. It was published on May 31, 1976.
Synopsis for Batman and Green Arrow and the Atom: "The Claws of the Emperor Eagle"
On his deathbed, ruined millionaire Victor Lasher sells the Emperor Eagle to Oliver Queen. Afterwards, the deed is attempted to be stolen by someone, however Queen stops the theft. Running into Batman, he tells the caped crusader the legends of the Emperor Eagle: That it was forged 2,000 years ago and was owned by powerful men: Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte even Adolf Hitler. Because these men met with epic failure while possessing the Emperor Eagle, the bird statue was considered to be cursed. Batman wonders why Oliver could want it, and all Oliver can tell him is that he wants to own the one thing that has defeated so many powerful men in history and conquer the legend.
The next day, Oliver takes a flight to England to pick up the statue from Lasher's castle. On his way back to the States however, along the way by airplane, the plane is hijacked by the Joker and Two-Face. This forces Oliver to change into the Green Arrow and try to fight them off. When this fails, he changes back to Oliver Queen and is taken hostage with the rest of the passengers, recognizing Oliver, the Joker laughs about being with the man who bought the Eagle, the very thing they chose to steal.
Forcing the plane to land in Pathanistan, the Joker and Two-Face deliver the Emperor Eagle to it's ruler General Mahmood Khan, who sought to reclaim the statue for his people, who originally built it centuries before. In a mockery of justice, Mahmood Khan decides to put Oliver Queen on trial for "illegal" possession of the statue. As the Joker, Two-Face and Khan put on a kangaroo court, Batman and his ally the Atom travel to Pathanistan to try and save their friend. As expected, the trial rules Oliver guilty of stealing the statue and he's sentenced to an execution.
The execution in question involves a bunch of Khan's men on horses with javelins, they are challenged to put the end of their javelins in a ring suspended on a rope, the one who successfully does so gets the honor of killing Oliver. However, Batman arrives and offers a counter challenge: If he's the only one who can get his javelin into the ring, Oliver would be allowed to go free.
What everyone doesn't know is that the Atom is hiding on the ring, shifting it in such a way as to insure Batman's victory.
To Oliver's dismay, Batman agrees to let Khan keep the statue, however Batman is later knocked out by Joker and Two-Face who take him prisoner while they steal the statue. Wanting it for himself, Oliver changes into the Green Arrow and with the Atom goes to the rescue of Batman (also hoping to reclaim the statue for himself.) When they catch up with the Joker and Two-Face, the two heroes find that they've rigged Batman to a solar energy collector, which threatens to burn him with the suns rays reflected through it. Green Arrow and Atom only have moments to decide: Save Batman's life or go after the statue.
Appearing in Batman and Green Arrow and the Atom: "The Claws of the Emperor Eagle"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Victor Lasher (Single appearance; dies)
- Alexander the Great (Dies in flashback)
- Napoleon Bonaparte (Flashback only)
- President Gerald Ford
- Horses
Locations:
- United States of America
- England
- Pathanistan
Items:
- The Emperor Eagle
- Trick Arrows
- Two-Face's Coin
Notes
- This issue is the first one in The Brave and the Bold series with Jenette Kahn as DC Comics' publisher.
- The story is reprinted in:
- Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 3
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight - Jim Aparo Vol 2
- The story is divided into three chapters:
- Part 1 Curse of the Black Bird
- Part 2 Flight 311 is Hijacked
- Part 3 The Solar Trap
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Green Arrow Recommended Reading
- More Fun Comics (Volume 1): More Fun Comics #73–107
- Adventure Comics (Volume 1): Adventure Comics #246–269
- World's Finest (Volume 1)
- Action Comics (Volume 1)
- Detective Comics (Volume 1): Detective Comics #521–567
- Green Lantern (Volume 2): Green Lantern (Volume 2) #76–124
- The Flash (Volume 1): The Flash #217–219
- Green Arrow (Volume 1)
- Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters (Volume 1)
- Green Arrow (Volume 2)
- Green Arrow: The Wonder Year (Volume 1)
- Green Arrow (Volume 3)
- Black Canary (Volume 3)
- Green Arrow and Black Canary (Volume 1)
- Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood (Volume 1)
- Justice League: Rise and Fall
- Green Arrow (Volume 4)
- Green Arrow (Volume 5)
- Green Arrow (Volume 6)
- Event Leviathan
- Justice League (Volume 4) #59-75
- Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League - Green Arrow
- Green Arrow (Volume 7)
- Green Arrow: Year One (Volume 1)
- Black Canary (Volume 1)
- Black Canary (Volume 2)
- Atom Recommended Reading
- Joker Recommended Reading
- The Joker (Volume 1)
- The Joker (Volume 2)
- The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing (Volume 1)
- Batman: The Killing Joke
- Batman: The Man Who Laughs
- "Batman: Lovers and Madmen"
- "Batman: A Death in the Family"
- Joker: Devil's Advocate
- Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
- "The Joker's Last Laugh"
- "Superman: Emperor Joker"
- "Superman/Batman: With a Vengeance!"
- The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told
- Joker (graphic novel)
- Two-Face Recommended Reading