After Ed Brown gave a crook twenty bucks to help him get back on the straight and narrow, the story made the newspapers. This led a lot of other crooks to think Ed was an easy mark and they all showed up at his garage hoping to rob him.
One of these crooks, whose name was not revealed, was rather nerdy. And it wasn't the first time he was seen in Toobworld.
His name was Jimmy Ballantine, a professional safecracker whose family was blessed with long, sensitive fingers. In fact, two of his brothers were concert pianists. This was why Jimmy became a safecracker - somebody had to support the family. (He was descended from a cowboy who went by the alias of "Mosquito".)
When Jimmy Ballantine was captured, he had to be welded into hs cell because he was just that good at picking locks. Ballantine was hoping to go straight when he completed his sentence, but when KAOS tried to enlist him in one of their schemes, he knew he had no choice but to inform the authorities. And for his help in training CONTROL agent Maxwell Smart, he was promised a pardon.
But his attempt to go straight didn't last long. Needing money when his plans to become a television repairman fell apart, Ballantine hired himself out as a henchman to arch-villain Lew Rydell*, best known as "The Riddler". He used the alias "Whiskers" during the Riddler's plot against King Boris during his royal visit to Gotham City. He escaped jail before he was tried for his crimes and decided to strike out on his own as a costumed villain, calling himself "Killer Moth". (He was probably influenced by having "Mosquito" as an ancestor.)
His biggest blunder in this scheme was to remain in Gotham City. This time he wasn't just up against the Dynamic Duo (whom he easily subdued in a giant ball of silk), but also Batgirl, who was just beginning her career as a costumed crimefighter.
When he was captured, Jimmy Ballantine was once again sent to prison for almost ten years.
After he got out, Ballantine thought robbing Ed Brown would be an easy way to get back into the only lifestyle he knew. He just didn't realize so many other criminals would think the same thing.....
SHOWS CITED:
- 'Get Smart' - "Maxwell Smart, Alias Jimmy Ballantine"
- 'Bonanza' - "Amigo"
- 'Batman' - "A Riddle A Day Keeps The Riddler Away"
- 'Batman' - "When The Rat's Away, The Mice Will Play'
- 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' - "The Second Verdict"
- "Batgirl" (special presentation video)
- 'Chico And The Man' - "Too Many Crooks"
BCnU!
* In Earth Prime-Time, if the Riddler ever used the name Edward Nygma, it was just an alias.
No comments:
Post a Comment