A Novel Take on Time Travel
I am sure I am in a tiny, tiny minority when I say that I actually liked the goofy old “Batman Time travel” stories. For those who aren’t in the know, Bruce and Dick had a friend named Professor Nichols, who would often use a special kind of science to send the duo back in time, usually on some whim. Once there, our heroes would risk causality and chance to Batman and Robin and basically muck about the time-stream. Apparently it never occurred to them that two slightly oddly dressed people would be far less conspicuous than two people in tights and a mask.
What I like about these stories is not the actual content as much as it is the methodology. Submitted for your amusement… Bat-Time-Travel
That’s right, Professor Nichols would somehow cause Batman and robin to physically travel back in time via hypnosis.
Eventually, someone realized how odd that seemed and decided to “explain”.
I actually liked the original way much better.
Of course, there’s the whole question of how the heck they get back…
March 18th, 2008 at 3:13 am
They aren’t gettin back! They get flushed down the toilet, and professor pulls out their clones from somewhere.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:32 am
“There’s only one thing to do, dick…we must go back in time…20 minutes…and relive the sexual abuse I just put you through!”
“No, Bruce….NOOOOOOOO!”
“Hehe…Poppa Spank!”
March 18th, 2008 at 6:31 am
How they get back? RADIO WAVES! Obviously.
(And here I thought the Fantastic Four had milked hypnotism for all its goofy potential!)
March 18th, 2008 at 7:48 am
I have a feeling we ain’t seen nuthin yet…is this the comic where Batman dresses up as an indian chief?
March 18th, 2008 at 8:37 am
TIME HYPNOSIS?????
March 18th, 2008 at 9:21 am
DC finally tried to define ‘Time Hypnosis’ in a late 70s BRAVE AND THE BOLD, where Batman explains to himself that the whole thing is “scientific hogwash”…that he’s merely imagining the whole thing in his mind, with his subconscious filling in the period details. Of course, during that trip to the Civil War, it doesn’t help explain how Scalphunter saved Bats from being literal cannon fodder. Actually was a pretty good B&tB story for the time, with some gorgeous J.L. Garcia Lopez art.
And given the trend of relating everyone, is it possible that Prof. Nichols is the illegitimate father of Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols?!?
March 18th, 2008 at 10:34 am
The “Time Hypnosis” thing was also used in the Roger Corman film “The Undead.” I think this may have been an actual pseudotheory floating around back then.
March 18th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Time Hypnosis! I bet ole Doctor Who laughs constantly about that while traveling thru time in his blue phone booth that’s bigger on the inside than the outside cuz it’s another demension or whatever…..
March 18th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
# Dierna Said:
“Time Hypnosis! I bet ole Doctor Who laughs constantly about that while traveling thru time in his blue phone booth that’s bigger on the inside than the outside cuz it’s another demension or whatever…”
Hahahahaha! Bill & Ted also traveled through time in their very excellent phone booth, but the time travel guru guy was called Rufus instead of Doc Who. I still remember Gengis Khan breaking havok in the mall armed with a bat, hilarious movie, oh those were the times…
Party on dudes!!
March 18th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
This may be based on the actual hypnotic practice of “regression”, which involves imagining that you are traveling back in time. Either to an earlier point in your current life, or, sometimes, to a “past life”.
I’m a hypnotherapist, and I use the first kind (which can help people come to terms with past events) but not the second (because I don’t believe in “past lives”).
March 18th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
It’s clear how “Time Hypnosis” works: Magnetically!
March 19th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
That’s how Christopher Reeve went back in time in Somewhere in Time. Ok, it was actually some sort of meditation technique, but close enough.
October 15th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
“Somewhere In Time” is the first thing I thought of, too–but why do you need meditation or hypnosis, or any other convoluted comic book acid-dropping pseudo-sci-fi-physics, WHEN YOU’VE GOT A FREAKIN’ TIME MACHINE!