World’s Finest #219 (1973)
by Bob Haney & Dick Dillin
cover by Nick Cardy
The cover dares us to solve this issue’s mystery. Which, for once, is not going to be just “what was Bob Haney smoking?”.
No, the mystery is going to be about the mud monster terrorizing a South American town during a massive storm. Let’s call him Swampy.
Don’t feel bad for the locals, because Swampy leaves behind presents for everybody.
This is important because the locals plan to use the gold left by Swampy to buy back the land, which is being exploited by a rich a-hole.
Only one problem with that… it’s Nazi gold.
The Nazi gold bar makes it way to Gotham City, where Batman reveals it’s from the treasure of Martin Bormann, a real-life Nazi. Weird to see a real Nazi being namedropped, comics rarely go beyond Hitler.
If this was Marvel, I guess it would’ve been the Red Skull or something, but at DC I don’t think there were a lot of Nazi supervillains still around. At least not on Earth-One.
So Batman and Superman are tasked with recovering the gold. Which makes sense: either Swampy is just a mindless monster and it’s not doing this on purpose, or it’s some kind of Nazi experiment.
Batman has a lead: Swampy might have been summoned by the locals.
Aaaaaaand then he immediately falls for a trap because Bob Haney.
Then Swampy saves Batman from a giant snake and takes him to his underwater refuge: the Nazi submarine.
This is where we learn that Swampy A) used to be human B) is HUGE
We also learn Swampy’s origin story as the heir of the previous land owner.
The cover promised us a mystery, so I’m keeping my eyes open for one. Strangely enough, the fact that Swampy is a woman is not acknowledged.
Or maybe it’s just the artwork, since the characters talk about a man.
Come on, she is CLEARLY a woman! For a moment I thought that maybe she was pretending to be a man, but you’ll notice the dialogue is being VERY careful to only use gender-neutral words.
In any case, the unjustly arrested… I’m sticking with “woman”… switches places with a fellow prisoner she befriended. Once she escapes into the sea, she’s transformed into Swampy.
Behind the botched mystery there’s still a compelling plot. This is a bit of a grey area: on one hand the gold doesn’t belong to the locals, but on the other it would probably end up in bank if it’s not claimed by the descendants of its original owners.
I’m used to World’s Finest having a Superman story that has to come up with a way to force Batman into doing anything.
This is one of the times where it’s the opposite, because Superman doesn’t get to do much besides trading punches with Swampy.
Look I’m not saying the heroes should let Swampy keep the gold… but at least Batman was somewhat sympathetic. Superman is unnecessarily hostile.
Then Swampy pauses for a snack…
…which is used to reveal Swampy’s secret. It’s a girl!
Yeah no s#it, how COULDN’T she be!?
We are told she crossdressed as a man, so that’s SOMETHING, but…
…they didn’t find out in prison? HOW!?
SOMEHOW we are still not done.
World’s Finest #220 (1973)
by Bob Haney & Dick Dillin
cover by Nick Cardy
You were beautiful, Swampy, but you also just said nobody knew you were a woman… how did you get that giant painting done?
The story treats her as naked when she turns back into human form, by the way. Nothing scandalous, sure, but a bit risqué for 1973’s Superman.
Also, one detail I didn’t mention since it wasn’t very visible in the previous issue: after she transforms into Swampy, she has one arm and three legs. If there’s a reason why I missed it, but at least it makes her design slightly more interesting.
They let Swampy escape, and Batman is unnecessarily passive-aggressive towards Superman not understanding her motives. Superman is even more off-character.
So Batman gives Superman a fake clue to get him out of the way…
…but despite being out of character, FOR ONCE Superman remembers he has super-senses.
Then Batman deals with the rich a-hole who is harassing the locals…
…but he has to be saved by Swampy because, again, Bob Haney.
As sympathetic Batman is towards Swampy, she might be a bit too much into vengeance.
Batman then sneaks back into the ranch that Swampy used to own, once again repeating that nobody knew she’s a woman…
…which I find hard to believe considering there is a GIANT PORTRAIT OF HER IN BOTH GENDERS hanging around!
If this was abandoned I could still buy it, but the ranch now belongs to the rich a-hole: HOW does he still not suspect anything!?
Batman tries to convince Swampy to avoid killing the man who had her arrested.
He does this by pointing out that if she’s ever cured this will help her lead a normal life… weird to see he’s not going the “it’s wrong to kill” route, but I guess he’s adapting the message to his audience. Not a bad decision.
It doesn’t work, AT ALL, but it was an effort.
This leads to a chase, with both Swampy and her target being stuck by an avalanche…
…with Batman, because Bob Haney.
Swampy saves him, but not before a helicopter shows up with her Kryptonite.
This is a truly horrific scene!!!
Also Superman failed to protect the Nazi treasure.
And that’s the end: Swampy died screaming in pain, the rich a-hole died in the avalanche, and the Nazi gold is gone.
The only consolation is that the locals received a bit of the gold… which means the only positive thing that happened was WHAT THE HEROES WERE SENT TO STOP.
There IS a way to sum up this story, Superman: YOU GUYS SUCK!!!
Historical significance: 0/10
This COULD have been significant if a certain character who debuted a couple of years earlier brought “El Monstro” back, but this is her last appearance.
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
Does it stand the test of time? 3/10
What a missed opportunity. There’s a compelling story there, playing on the mystery of the monster’s identity and on the moral dilemma on what to do with the Nazi gold. Or to double down on the body horror. But Haney butches everything.
The fact “El Monstro” is a woman is PAINFULLY obvious the second she starts her backstory, the Nazi gold is barely a footnote, and while Batman DOES have some conflict on whether to follow his heart or the law… Superman is just a dick here.
Did Superman really need Batman?
Not only this is a Batman story… SUPERMAN ONLY MAKES THINGS WORSE!!!
Interesting letters: Bob Rozakis (who will later become a prolific DC writer) writes to complain that Superman was acting out of character in World’s Finest #217, with Bob Haney getting way too defensive.
“Established by whom?”. How about the way Superman has acted since 1938, Haney?
