CREDITS: Written by Kelley Puckett; art by Rick Burchett.
REVIEW: My three favorite Batman Adv. comedy villains are back, and it was worth the wait. For one thing, we get some ridiculous secret origins for them. Mastermind's is definitely bizarre, as it includes a scoutmaster called Bloodkill, but the high school hijinks are kind of fun. Mr. Nice's is the better story, taking us back to his very birth and his crimes as an infant, throwing a wrench in his vocational guide father's plans. From there, he becomes a children's show presenter, but revels in violence that scares the kids, even if he saves them from a terrorist attack. The Perfesser, master of trivia and knowledge, doesn't really remember his, and that's the joke.
Framing these tales is the treasure hunter's quest, and he's a comedy villain in his own right. This is the guy who was unable to undertake the heist for the treasure map because he got conked by old ladies with brass knuckles on account of his uncontrollable rage. So getting stonewalled by the other crooks' tall tales makes him snap some pencils. Obviously, he must succumb to Mastermind's trap, and then get betrayed by his hot girlfriend who gets the better of the trio too. Because they're ALL losers.
A few final twists await! The Perfesser knew the location of the giant pearl all along, because he knows everything, it's just that no one ever asked. They escape prison and race to the cave, and bad luck strikes again, the pearl is still inside a giant oyster, and won't be ready for years. Ergo, the Perfesser's lack of urgency. The final twist is visual - Batman, absent from this story until now, is in the background ready to take them all back to jail...
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