Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

Chapter 24 -- Underground Rivers in the Comics
Another rendition of Batman's subterranean complex.. The river is indicated in blue.
Guest appearances of one superhero within another's story (at least between those of the same
comic book empire) are common. Here's an educationalist's assessment of one involving Robin
and Batman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman and an underground river.
By ages 9 and 10 children are able to develop appropriate secondary elements for each of the
new primary functions, so that there are two or more well developed episodes. Thus, in one
fairly elaborate story, Batman and Robin are in a haunted house. Robin falls through a
trapdoor into an underground river, but manages to signal for help and Batman rescues him.
Then they hear a scream, think it is a girl in distress and run up to the attic to rescue her. They
discover that the scream has come from Spiderman, who throws an extra strong spider net
over them, and says that he intends to kill them and run off with Wonder Woman in the
Batmobile and live in the Bat Cave. Batman says that he needs a special key for the Batmobile
and Bat Cave and when Spiderman comes to get it, they overcome him and put him in jail. The
step to embedding true subplots within the primary story structures is not made until later. --
J.A. Appleyard, Becoming a Reader, The Experience of Fiction from Childhood to Adulthood
(1991)
And just as we saved Roy Rogers to close our list of cowboy idols, we've saved the best for last
to close out our superhero list.
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!
The longest-running Superman adventure involving an underground river involved the River
Koehaha, the legendary Stream of Ruthlessness said to be in Colorado whose waters have the
power to wash away the consciences from those who "drown" in it, causing them to become
nefarious.
In "5 Drowned Men," All-Star Comics # 36, evil-doer Calvin Stymes takes revenge on five exfraternity
brothers who traumatized him by immersing them in Stygian waters. Accordingly, the
Justice Society of America must deal with five brand-new master criminals. In a mega-star comic
book spectacular, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman assist the JSA in capturing Stymes,
but there's more to come!
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