World’s Finest #88 (1957)
by Edmond Hamilton & Dick Sprang
cover by Curt Swan
This is a milestone: back in the 50s supervillain team-ups were incredibly rare, but the villains of two different heroes teaming up was basically unheard of.
This is the first Joker-Luthor team-up.
We don’t waste any time with that: after the teaser page, both villains show up immediately.
And I guess “The Joker” is actually his name because his signature is considered valid in the story!
I guess both Luthor and the Joker are not wanted by the authorities at this point? Nobody tries to arrest them, so I guess that’s the case.
It’s not exactly difficult to track them, since they run around in the *sigh* “Jokermobile”.
With the Joker involved, Superman decides to recruit Batman for help. And instead of, you know, CALLING HIM, he crashes through the Batcave!
You might wonder why Luthor decided to team-up with the Joker.
You’d probably guess it’s because Joker is also a super-genius (although of a different kind)… but nope, it’s because of his sense of humor. (WTF!?)
Their evil criminal scheme is to… build indestructible robots to take care of dangerous jobs.
Why are they the villains of the story again?
The world’s greatest detective, ladies and gentlemen.
Superman falls for basically the same trick IN THE SAME NIGHT. Come on, if you’re bringing Batman with you because he’s familiar with the Joker, at least TALK to him!!!
Then again, considering Batman completely fell for the joke, maybe nothing would’ve changed.
Then Superman falls for the same trick, AGAIN, with Luthor.
Look, I’m the last person to defend Silver Age Lois Lane but… kind of a hypocrite there Superman, considering you fell for EXACTLY the same trick.
Also: “I’ll stop butting in, from now on” coming from LOIS LANE.
No comment.
On the other hand, Superman is not QUITE The Worst yet, since at the very least he acknowledges it wasn’t really her fault.
Still EXTREMELY condescending, though.
Then Batman gets a good idea (I’m as surprised as you are!!!): using Bruce Wayne to lure out the villains.
That reference to the “Wayne Mining Company” is interesting. In this period there was almost no attention paid to Bruce Wayne’s business, so it wasn’t always 100% clear where his fortune came from.
In another good idea, Superman disguises himself as one of the Mechano-Men™.
It’s a good thing these things were manufactured with Dick Sprang Male Face #3 and Dick Sprang Male Body Type #1.
Jokes aside, despite the contrivances, this is not a bad plan. It relies on Luthor and Joker deciding to bring the extra Mechano-Man™ back to their base instead of testing it on the spot, but hey, baby steps.
Aaaand Superman gets busted nearly immediately.
So Superman falls for a slight variation of the usual trick.
Notice they got permission to open the wall, not SMASH THROUGH IT, but it’s not brought up.
Plus, the cover scene never makes it into the comic.
We’re at the very last page, so it’s time to reveal what the ACTUAL plan was all along:
Phase 1: create indestructible robots worth millions
Phase 2: create robot copies of Luthor and Joker
Phase 3: have Superman and Batman attend a stadium demonstration of the robots’s capabilities
Phase 4: robbery!
But the reason it doesn’t work is that Superman and Batman have ALSO been replaced by robot doubles.
And that is the end of the first of many, many, MANY team-ups.
Historical significance: 4/10
Luthor and the Joker are a classic, plus it basically introduces the idea that you can mix up the villains without necessarily bringing up the Justice League (which won’t be introduced for another 3 years, but still).
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
Pretty tame for the times.
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
It has a certain kitsch charm, to be sure, but… no, you would basically need to redo the entire story from scratch. Even the villainous team-up is not particularly interesting: the Luthor-Joker dynamic is great when the differences between the two are highlighted, but that doesn’t really work with this particular version of both characters… aside from the Joker having a theme, the two are almost interchangeable.
I vastly prefer team-ups where the Joker really gets on Luthor’s nerves…
…but it CAN work when they’re best buddies, if only you keep them distinct enough.
Did Superman really need Batman? Nope!
The only real contribution from Batman is to have Superman infiltrate the robot factory. While Superman couldn’t see what was inside because it’s protected by lead, I doubt he wouldn’t have figured out SOME way to get some information.
And even if he didn’t… would he REALLY have such a hard time tracking the Jokermobile? He could probably spot it without even leaving the stadium!
Did Luthor really need the Joker? Not really.
The Joker supposedly only brought his “sense of humor”. At least have him contribute SOMETHING to the Mechano-Men™!