"Listen to me Batman, we go to Plan High C."
-The Minstrel[src]
The Minstrel was a villain and enemy of Batman in the Batman 1960s TV series. He was portayed by Van Johnson.
He was a lute playing electronic genius who proved to be a dangerous villain, even though he hated physical violence.
Even though he had women swooning over his charm and singing voice including Aunt Harriet Cooper, he is often seen as being jealous of Batman because of his morals, values and most of all women being attracted to his voice and appearance and sees him as a rival.
Batman outwitted the Melodic Fiend and made him face the music.
History
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The Melodic Master of Crime began his schemes by changing the computerized stock quotations at the Gotham City Stock exchange driving the members into a panic.
He later appears and sings on televisions all over the city with a message for the members of the exchange. Unless he gets paid $1000 a week from each of them, he will continue to interfere with quotations that will eventually make the market crash.
Mr Brook Courtland who is the president of the exchange phones Commissioner Gordon who had already seen the Minstrel's demands.
He calls in Batman and Robin to investigate.
When the Caped Crusaders arrive at Police Headquarters, they meet Mr Courtland who tells them all that has happened.
Batman vows to find out about this new criminal and exactly what his next move is.
He asks to be shown the transmission in the exchange building, Mr Courtland agrees.
The Dynamic Duo along with the Commissioner and Mr Courtland arrive at the building and examine the transmitter. When all seems fine Batman asks to check the coding circuits.
While he and Robin are shown where they are and checking them, they are being heard by the Minstrel in his hideout. He inserted a hidden microphone in the circuits to find out what the heroes were up to.
The Caped Crusaders find that the circuits had been tampered with and see the microphone, but act like they don't know so the Minstrel is fooled into thinking that they don't suspect anything.
While talking to the others, they plan to set a trap for the villain.
They return to the Batcave to construct a bug similar to the Minstrel's microphone as part of their plan. Batman then phones the Commissioner
and asks him to ask Mr Courtland to allow him and Robin to return to the corner outside the transition room tonight and find them an isolated office where they can lie in wait.
Back at the exchange the Caped Crusaders hear someone whistling the same tune that the Minstrel sang when he was on television. Suspecting it to be a signal of his arrival, they investigate only to find that it was a only a cleaner whistling the tune.
The Minstrel suddenly appears and uses one of his electronic gadgets which blinds the heroes for him to make his escape.
Later Batman finds out that the criminal was planning to remove another of the hedrodining counter osalator that resembled each circuit which in turn caused the transmiter to go wrong.
At his hideout the barbaric bard suspects that Batman may of discovered his work on the transmiter and arranges a trap for them by appearing on television again using their signal for them to track him.
Back in the Batcave, Batman designs a Batdrone plane to home onto the Minstrel's signal. It works and they track him down to a tv studio at the Willow Street warehouse.
The Minstel sees them on camera and arranges to put his plan into action. The Duo arrive in the building already suspecting it to be a trap and Minstrel's henchmen appear and fight them. Two of them called Treble and Bass escape and they follow them.
Suspecting another trap Batman places two bombs on the wall of the narrow corridor before entering the door.
They are caught by the Minstrel and tied to a musical electronic radar grill that will roast them to cinders.
The Melodic fiend had not wanted to destroy Batman for he admired his genius but was furious when the Caped Crusader tried to reform him and tells his henchmen to switch it on before playing a taunting song.
While the heroes are still revolving on the grill, the bombs that Batman place outside earlier go off distracting the Minstrel and his men long enough for the Dynamic Duo to loosen the pole that is rotating them and free themselves from their restraints.
After finding out that they have been tricked the Minstrel and the others return and the Caped Crusaders attack his henchmen.
The Minstrel escapes and appears on television again singing that he isn't finished with his schemes yet.
While they are distracted his henchmen escape leaving the Minstrel's assistant Octavia behind. She willingly gives up but Batman lets her go after secretly installing a tracking device in her handbag.
They later call Commissioner Gordon vowing that they won't rest untill the barbaric bard is behind bars.
At the Minstel's hideout Octavia arrives and the Dynamic Duo listen in from the Batcave. Octavia describes how kind Batman was to her which completely infuriates him, he then finds the secret tracking device and tells Batman that he will putting his next scheme that he calls "High C" into action.
He wants Batman to gather the exchange members as well as Commissioner Gordon, Chief O'Hara and Mr Courtland to meet in the stock exchange where he will demonstrate his plan in thirty minutes.
The Dynamic Duo arrive at the exchange and wait patiently for the Minstrel. Suddenly the whole building begins to shake with a signal which causes subsonic vibrations by the sneaky singer who once again issues his earlier demands on television again this time with Commissioner Gordon collecting the money, delivering it to his henchmen and issue their agreement by six o'clock or else he will again use his signal to destroy the building in one hour.
Batman plans to switch off the power that is being used by the Minstrel to broadcast his deadly signal by shutting off all the power in the building.
The Minstrel enters the exchange in disguise and broadcasts a pre recording using his own power, Batman finds out and exposes him.
The villain calls on his henchmen to fight and after a fierce battle, they are defeated and the Minstrel tries to use his blinding device to escape but the Dynamic Duo tell him that their Particle Acceleration Units are useless against it.
The musical maniac is arrested and finally taken to prison. He was never shown on the series again.
Final Song
After his arrest the Minstrel sang this memorable final song on television for Batman vowing that he would return:
"Wait till the Jailbreak Batman, you've not seen the last of me.
I'll clobber you and Robin. Wait and see.
You'll vibrate both together, I'll take off your heads.
Oh just you wait till the Jailbreak Batman, you'll be dead."
Weapons and Equipment
Because the Minstrel hated physical violence he used an array of gadgets to help in his schemes and destroy the Dynamic Duo:
- Blinding Device: A device that gives off blinding static volts.
- TV Station: The place where the Minstrel gives off his demands and sends high frequenciy broadcasts to destroy buildings.
- Microphone: A bug like device that was used to eavesdrop on the Dynamic Duo.
- Musical Electrical Radar Grill: An Ordinary grill that plays music and has a spit that rotates slowly over the heat frying it's victims.
Known Associates
- Octavia: The Minstrel's female assistant who constantly infuriated him by saying how moral and kind Batman was, she even wanted to surrender, but was furious when she found out that as Batman was letting her go he installed a tracking device. What happened to her after that is unmentioned except it could be possible that she may have been captured after the Minstrel was arrested.
- Treble: Henchman
- Bass: Henchmen
Appearances
- Season 2
- The Minstrel's Shakedown/Barbecued Batman
Trivia
- Due to lack of respond to the character, the Minstrel made no more appearances.