Catching up with BATMAN/SUPERMAN
Author: Chris Clow
Wednesday, October 11, 2006

From 1941 through 1986, fans of the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel were treated to regular adventures teaming the two titular heroes in a comic book entitled World’s Finest. The name stuck, as any team-up of Superman and Batman refers to the team as the World’s Finest heroes. But then, something big happened. Something REALLY big. That was the Crisis on Infinite Earths. After that happened, Superman was relaunched by John Byrne, Batman by Frank Miller, and they would occasionally appear in the same pages in one of their high profile stories. For seventeen years, there wasn’t a book quite like World’s Finest. Flash forward to 2003.

A high profile Batman story that you may have heard of, called Hush, was seeing immense popularity and was providing a great cash inflow for DC. Of course the art in that story was incredible, and Jim Lee deserves all the credit in the world for that. But what intrigues people beyond the art? What usually keeps people interested?

Yep, the writing.

Jeph Loeb was no stranger to the DCU. He had a very successful run on Superman, and gave what many consider to be definitive Batman stories with The Long Halloween and Dark Victory. So, who does DC go to when they want to launch another World’s Finest title? Of course! The man who gave them the best selling Batman story since all of No Man’s Land COMBINED.

Superman/Batman #1 premiered in August of 2003 (While Hush was still burning up the charts) and introduced the characters that we all know and love by giving them individual thought boxes. While the two are friends, their methods are very different and they still judge each other to an extent. Clark might view Bruce as too aggressive, while Bruce might view Clark as too naïve.

The first six issue story arc was first called “World’s Finest,” but when the collected edition came out the story was dubbed “Public Enemies.” It involved a meteor coming to Earth that could destroy the Planet. Where does President Lex Luthor say it’s from? Krypton. Who does he blame? The Man of Steel. So, he issues a reward for his capture.

The next five issues are fast paced and action packed when Superman is declared the number one most wanted man in the country. Since Batman attempts to help him and refuses to leave his friend’s side, he is also hunted. In the end, Batman and Superman must remove Luthor from office in order to save not only the U.S., but the world from the madness that is slowly engulfing Luthor. (Well, more than normal.) We see the Batman and Superman family, the new incarnation of Toyman, and the infamous purple suit Luthor dons. All in all, it was an extraordinary introduction to the new monthly series.

The next story is called “The Supergirl from Krypton,” in issues 8-13. Guess who’s being reintroduced to continuity? Not a shape shifting alien, but Kara Zor-El herself. Her introduction is handled very well, and Batman’s suspicion of Kara really makes the story seem more intense. We see the Amazons of Paradise Island, an army of DOOMSDAYS, and eventually the big man from Apokolips himself.

We then move on to “Absolute Power”, which floats on the edge of being an Elseworlds tale. It took place in issues 14-18. Baby Kal-El is taken from his ship just before the Kents find him, and Bruce Wayne is taken immediately following his parents’ murder. The World’s Finest then grow up to be the World’s Tyrants based on the upbringing of their new “parents”. After they realize what’s happened, they’re on a race through many different timelines in order to set things straight. We see the Daily Star, a desire to kill from Superman and…Batman saving the Wayne’s from their own murder. Pretty cool story, with many interesting twists.

Then, we move on to Jeph Loeb’s final hurrah as head writer of this monthly title, in “With a Vengeance!” This arc took place in issues 20-25. We see a new superhero team, The Maximums, as well as The Joker gaining godlike powers with some help from Mr. Mxyzptlk. We also get a peek at an alternate dimension where females are dominant, with a Batwoman and a Superwoman. It seems that in this world, Helena (either Bertinelli or Wayne, not sure) has the mantle of the Bat. This was Jeph Loeb’s last story on this book before his jump to Marvel.

With Issue #26, Sam Loeb, son of Jeph, was working on writing duties with artist Pat Lee. Unfortunately, Sam died of cancer before he could finish. So, in an unprecedented move of the comics industry, 26 different people contributed to finish issue #26, with the proceeds going to a charity dedicated to Sam’s memory. Contributors include, but aren’t limited to Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Paul Levitz, Michael Turner, Joss Whedon, and Ed McGuinness.

Now, with Mark Verheiden penning the latest story called “The Enemies Among Us,” it seems that the aliens of the DCU are going rogue. Batman was attacked by the Martian Manhunter in the Batcave. Or was he? And if all the aliens are going berserk, what does that mean for one of the title characters in the series?

Overall it’s been a strong series that’s worth a look. Verheiden’s run is just starting out, so we’ll have to see whether his run matches up to one of the living legends of contemporary comics. The next issue that’ll be out is the first annual of the series. That’ll be the first issue I’ll review followed by issue #30 in about a month and a half. In the meantime, The first four multiple issue story arcs are collected in trade paperbacks, so check them out! I highly recommend this series, and hope you enjoy it. See you later this month for Superman/Batman Annual #1!