BATWOMAN (1968) ***

A mad scientist is running around Acapulco sucking out the pineal glands of Mexican wrestlers.  Stymied, the police call on Batwoman (Maura Monti) to help catch the madman.  Not only is she a crack shot with a pistol, an equestrian, and a scuba diver, she’s also a top-notch wrestler!  Batwoman finds the killer by infiltrating the local wrestling scene.  From there, she follows the mad doctor back to his laboratory (aboard a yacht!) where she finds out he’s created a killer fish man!  Naturally, he wants to create a fish woman too, and thinks Batwoman is perfectly suited for his diabolical experiments.

Directed by Mexican exploitation legend, Rene (Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy) Cardona, Batwoman has some serious lulls in between the good stuff.  Things particularly bog down during the long underwater scenes.  Stick with it though, because this movie contains some of the funniest Mexican monster mashing outside of an El Santo movie.  

What I liked about Batwoman, was that it wasn’t just a straight rip-off of the old Batman TV show.  Sure, the fights are similarly staged, but they don’t feature the trademark cartoon bubbles that say “BIFF!” and “POW!”  (Although I’m sure they would’ve if the budget was bigger.)  Although Batwoman wears an Adam West-inspired costume while she’s in the wrestling ring, when she’s out fighting crime, she only wears her cowl and a blue bikini (!), which helps set her apart from the Caped Crusader.  

There is one thing that makes Batwoman like the Batman of the comics, although it was probably accidental.  In one scene, Batwoman escapes the mad doctor’s lab by throwing acid in his face.  It leaves him looking like Two-Face, who of course wasn’t in the old show, but was a fixture in the comics. 

If the scene of Batwoman presiding over an autopsy in a skimpy bikini doesn’t sell you on this movie, the creation of the fish man will.  The mad scientist has his scuba divers plant an action figure at the bottom of the ocean.  He then blasts it with radiation, and it turns into a Creature from the Black Lagoon-inspired monster!   The creature, dubbed “Pisces”, looks like a Sleestak from Land of the Lost, painted red and his fights with Batwoman are a lot of fun. 

Speaking of fighting, there’s only one scene of Batwoman in the wrestling ring, which is kind of disappointing.  We do however get a few scenes of her practicing her moves in the gym, so there’s that.  Monti, who rarely is seen without her mask, is quite sexy, and it’s a shame she didn’t return for Batwoman’s further adventures.