World's Finest vs. Super-Robots

World's Finest Comics was an odd duck of sorts. When it began its run in 1941, it featured Superman and Batman in seperate stories--it was an outlet to showcase two enormously popular characters in addition to their solo books. Stories featuring other DC characters rotated through the book, but comic book readers at the time could not get enough of the Man of Steel or the Dark Knight.

In 1954, the two began teaming up in every issue. This was a tricky proposition. Batman is a great character in his own right, but he's still a mere human. Finding a way to make him useful while working alongside one of the most powerful superheroes in the universe occasionally led to some pretty contrived stories.

But good writers managed to come up with clever plots over the years that made the team seem viable and World's Finest had a successful 45-year run.

World's Finest #272 (October 1981), written by Cary Burkett and drawn by Rich Buckler, is a particularly entertaining example of how good writing can make Supes/Bats a viable team.

It begins with Superman worried that his friend is overworked and in need of a break. He invites Batman to the Fortress of Solitude to see his new hologram projector (a neat way to get in a Chekov's Gun). Batman tries to beg off, but Supes flies him there at superspeed before he can really object.

But they don't get much of a break. Superman is called away to rescue some scientists from the effects of an earthquake. The quake turns out to have been caused by an as-yet unidentified super-villain, who then teleports robots into the Fortress to steal the super-weapons that the Man of Steel keeps stored in his armory.


Batman, though, is an unexpected factor. Though the robots are much more powerful than he is, he uses clever tactics to at least delay them. Superman returns only to get zapped with kryptonite, but a clever use of the new hologram projector allows Batman to save his friend.

This is the way a Batman/Superman team up should be written. Batman is presented as a non-powered hero, but uses his skill and his brains to realistically hold his own during the fight with the robots and eventually save Superman. The fact that he could not completely stop the robots until Superman was able to help is also a strength of the story--adding to the realism (well, realism for a Comic Book Universe) and allowing the bad guy a chance to get away with the weapons even after the robots are destroyed.

This also sets up the events of the next issue--and since it seems rude to review only one issue of what will be a 3-part story, we'll return to World's Finest in two week. Next week, though, we'll visit a microscopic world with the Thing and Ant Man.