World’s Finest #100 (1959)
by Bill Finger & Dick Sprang
cover by Curt Swan
The idea of giving significance to the 100th issue is a surprisingly recent idea: you wouldn’t really notice this was anything special from the cover.
But this one DOES have something unusual for the times: continuity!
This was published seven months after Action Comics #242, so we have a brief re-telling of Superman’s first encounter with Brainiac and the debut of Kandor.
I’m sorry, Krypton City. That’s how we’re going to call Kandor throughout the story.
You might think this is a Brainiac story, but nope, the villain is going to be Lex Luthor.
Who reverse-engineers Brainiac’s shrinking technology by reading about it the Daily Planet (!!!!) and ends up pre-dating the Silver Age Atom by two years!
To lure Superman into his trap, he sends a message to a charity athletic show.
Okay, first of all: is that really the most impressive thing Superman can do at a charity?
Second, we’ve seen last issue that Superman can generate MASSIVE amounts of wealth whenever he wants, so is this really the best way he can help the charity?
This is a cool detail that is unusual to see in an early Silver Age story. Nice!
When the heroes reach Luthor’s hideout, however, he’s nowhere to be seen. All he’s left behind is a weird machine.
So Superman takes the gadget to the Fortress of Solitude, which even at this point was already full of junk.
This is actually quite clever: the gadget is actually just a Trojan Horse for Luthor and his gang! Today you’d probably need to clarify that it’s made of lead to prevent Superman from noticing, but still, this is a great idea!
Less great: Luthor infiltrating Kandor Krypton City with his cork-plane.
So naturally Superman immediately and completely falls for Luthor’s plan.
Superman is eventually captured, but Luthor’s goons discover that even without his powers he’s still extremely tough. Which… yeah of course he is, he’s built like a brick house in this period!
The only part so far that would not fly today (other than the goofy cork plane) is Luthor not even considering the idea of killing Superman. But it does make perfect sense for him to rob Kandor Krypton City blind.
This time Superman REALLY needs Batman. Who shows up and manages to sneak into the Fortress thanks to Luthor’s shrinking technology (he confiscated it from one of the goons).
The Phantom Zone won’t be invented until two years later, so the “Kryptonites” don’t have any way to stop Luthor from immediately taking over the city.
Throughout the 50s and 60s, Batman was basically DC’s version of the Chameleon.
So Batman and Robin sneak into Luthor’s new headquarters, saving Superman. Who, despite having lost his powers plenty of times before, STILL has trouble remembering when he’s not invulnerable.
Kryptonian technology is WEIRD.
In another surprisingly well-thought moment, Luthor decides to leave Kandor Krypton City and stranding the heroes there.
Good news: Luthor didn’t know Batman arrived via Batplane, so they manage to leave the city.
Bad news: this.
The smartest man in the world, ladies and gentlemen.
The heroes are returned to full size, and the secret of Krypton City is safe forever.
Mostly because it’s going to be called Kandor.
Historical significance: 0/10
As forgotten as Krypton City.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
Mostly in the setting and the looks of technology, but Luthor coming up with the shrinking technology works in any era.
Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
Is this a masterpiece? Not by any stretch of the term. Could you do like 95% of this plot today? Absolutely! This is one of the little gems of the period: it doesn’t do anything groundbreaking or spectacular, but it’s a solid and competent little superhero story.
Did Robin actually do anything? A little
He keeps the goons busy long enough for Superman and Batman to figure out how to end the fight, literally two panels later. That’s still his most important contribution so far.
Did Superman really need Batman? Definitely
While Superman could’ve probably figured out a way out of the situation on his own… he’s still Superman after all… having Batman around certainly made things easier.