WORLD’S FINEST 142 (1964)
by Edmond Hamilton & Curt Swan
Composite Superman, one of the most ridiculous and overpowered Silver Age villains.
You know this guy is a serious threat if he can infiltrate both the Batcave and the Fortress of Solitude.
Okay I get how Superman is able to figure out how Composite Superman has the powers of Invisible Kid and Lightning Lad, but Chameleon Boy’s powers? How!?
He just wants to be their partner. And he has a lead-lined mask… that already covers only half of his face, so I have no clue what Superman thinks he can see beneath it.
Somehow I never thought that Composite Superman has green skin because he has “the powers” of Brainiac 5. Mostly because his power would then have to be “being really really smart”.
But yeah, Composite Superman has more powers than Superman and Martian Manhunter combined, and those two have more superpowers than most teams!
Considering he also has the powers of Element Lad (in addition to everything else!!!), it’s pretty clear that if he wanted to harm Superman he wouldn’t have any trouble.
But no, he just wants to humiliate Superman and Batman.
And when you can do a better job then them by copying the powers of Jimmy Olsen… yeah, it’s pretty humiliating.
Turns out Composite Superman was once Joe Meach, a failed stunt diver whose career was ruined by Superman.
Yes, I know he says that he saved his life, but I say he sabotaged the act because he’s The Worst.
He gets a job at the Superman museum, where Superman shows him the Legion statuettes given to him when he was Superboy.
Apparently they are more than simple action figures!
In addition to being a copy of Superman, Batman and the entire Legion of Super-Heroes, Composite Superman also has the Flash’s origin.
Maybe he should’ve called himself Captain Ripoff.
Despite being the most powerful being on the planet, Composite Superman uses his new powers to humiliate Superman and Batman.
No clue on what he has against Batman, but remember: this guy is supposed to be a super-genius now.
At first he was only pranking them, but then he starts to take things a little more seriously.
Well, I did say “a little”.
He then declines to help Superman when he’s the target of Kryptonite missiles…
…which seems to kill Superman, except it’s all a plot by Batman.
Which turns out to be useless.
He threatens to destroy them unless they agree to stop being superheroes, AND IT WORKS.
At least to the rest of the world; they still continue to investigate, finding the Composite Castle.
They say that Composite Superman has been stealing silver and gold to build the castle, and we even see him do that… but why, if he has the powers of Element Lad!?
Once Composite Superman finds them (thanks to Saturn Girl’s telepathy), he beats them with extreme ease.
He does, however, have one weakness: he starts to lose his powers and needs to recharge.
He plans to use Lightning Lad’s powers to replicate the Flash part of his origin, but he’s already too weak for that.
And that’s it! He loses his powers and his memory, and even a desperate attempt to warn himself fails.
“Hey, remember that guy who almost killed us? The one who had like fifty super-powers? I wonder what happened to that guy”.
Composite Superman will obviously return, because why would you throw away something that crazy?
Historical significance: 5/10
Not only Composite Superman will have a few more appearances, but there will be more than one Composite Superman! Plus a great deal of analogues, homages and parodies.
Silver Age-ness: 20/10
Composite Superman has all the Silver Age of Superman plus all the Silver Age of Batman combined.
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
As entertaining as it is… the story doesn’t make any sense. It’s also clear that Hamilton wrote himself into a corner and couldn’t find a way to defeat Composite Superman!
The issue also teases a story featuring President Kennedy, written before he was killed.
I wonder if Johnson really did talk to DC about it? It sounds made up, but who knows.
