MISSING LINKS: "WONDER WOMAN" AND "BATMAN"

Lloyd Moreaux:

"All of Henry's so-called statues are, as you are about to discover, flesh and blood individuals delicately frozen by a minute stream of electrons controlled by a neuro-impulse modulator - developed by that brilliant neurophysiologist, Robert Henderson.

"Presently known to his friends as Henry Roberts....."

'WONDER WOMAN'

"THE FINE ART OF CRIME"

I don't think this was Henry Roberts' first encounter with a costumed crime-fighter.  But he wasn't known as Henry Roberts then.  Nor was he known as Robert Henderson - at least, not during his criminal career.

Back in the mid-1960s, I think he used the alias of Bookworm in a thwarted attempt to steal the greatest trove of priceless books in Gotham City!

Robert Henderson, the nephew of Inspector Bill Henderson of Metropolis, was more inspired by the sordid lifestyle his uncle sought to eradicate rather than by the straight and narrow path Inspector Henderson chose to follow.

But Henderson lacked the human trait of originality and had to borrow all of his ideas from other sources.  Having been a nerdish "bookworm" as he was growing up, young Henderson chose that as his nom de crime and he set about basing all of his crimes on plots from books.

This lack of originality didn't deter him from developing scientific gadgets geared to help his criminal career, but he did have to pilfer from the work of others to get started on the projects (like the many traps he laid out for Batman in Gotham City.)  

After he served his time in Gotham State Prison, Robert Henderson retired the Bookworm persona and continued to pursue his technological creations.  But at the same time, he changed his name to Henry Roberts and by that moniker he became world famous as a sculptor.

The inspiration for his living statues probably came from the myth of Pygmalion in which one of Pygmalion's statues came to life.  The actual technology which he developed was probably first designed by some other scientist and then stolen/purchased by Lloyd Moreaux for his plans to steal the great works of art all around the world.

The Bookworm - er, Henry Roberts - probably welcomed the chance to have a patron like Moreaux so that he didn't have to tax himself trying to come up with ideas for his crimes.  

Not that it did him any good.  Both he and Moreaux were soon captured by Wonder Woman......

BCnU!