World’s Finest #143

World’s Finest #143 (1964)
by Ed Hamilton & Curt Swan

I have skipped a lot of World’s Finest issues that have Superman fighting Batman… A LOT… because quite frankly I found them extremely boring.
This one is… something.

We begin with Superman and Batman working together in a case, with a bullet bouncing off the Man of Steel and hitting Batman.

Kind of weird that Superman doesn’t take out the bullet on his own. We’ve seen him perform surgery multiple times.

Including that one time he completely rebuilt Lois Lane from the waist down.

But once Bruce Wayne wakes up from the operation, he decides he might as well stop being Batman… and Robin should do the same.

You have NO IDEA of the level of restrain I’ve had for not using this meme format for two and a half years, but this time it’s perfectly appropriate.

I would agree that Batman is not in the same league of Superman (except of course he doesn’t NEED to be)… except they are LITERALLY in the same Justice League.

Amazingly, Superman doesn’t try giving Batman superpowers, but instead opts for a visit to Kandor.

Superman, I know you mean well, but that’s as condescending as you could get.

On one hand, it’s kind of sad that the only way to get Batman out of the Batcave is walking his dog.
On the other hand, Ace the Bat-Hound makes an appearance!!!

Who’s a good bat, buddy? Who’s a good bat?

Aaaaand he leaves the dog in the Batcave. Bummer.

So Superman takes the Dynamic Duo and the Simpleton Sigle to Kandor, reminding to give everyone gravity shoes to avoid being crushed to death.
The fact that Krypton has a much higher gravity than Earth is often forgotten (even in many Silver Age stories), so it’s always cool when someone remembers!

I never get tired of the old-fashioned way the bottle is closed.

Not gonna lie, it’s pretty cool to see Batman visiting Kandor. I’m fairly sure this is the first time it happens.

The menace that Superman came here to face is a Metalloid, which is a human (well a Kryptonian) transformed into an indestructible robot. SOMEHOW.

Unless the Metalloids have the same level of super-strength of Superman, I don’t see how they were a serious problem for Kryptonian super-science.

It hasn’t come up often in my reviews, since it mostly happens in good stories, but Superman has a whole second superhero career in Kandor as Nightwing.

Yeah, right. Like “Nightwing” is ever going to stick around as a name for a Batman-themed superhero.

So is Superman’s plan to make Batman feel better is making him believe he’s terrible at imitating him?

Yep!

Batman’s whole deal was that he felt useless without superpowers. I’m not sure giving him the ability to fly and have a telepathic dog really fits.

He even defeats the Metalloid using his flying ability, so shouldn’t this make him even more convinced that he needs superpowers?

However Jimmy Olsen spoils the entire thing (WHAT A SHOCKER) by admitting this was just a hoax, and Batman is now mad at Superman.

Batman is so fed up with this that he even hits Superman!!!

Good thing we’re in Kandor now, or the scene would’ve played out differently.

The solution is, of course, a duel. Wait, WHAT!?

And so we have it, a fight to the death between Superman and Batman.
Well, not really to the death, since the swords are explicitly non-lethal and only capable of stunning the adversary…

…but still. Could’ve been much, much worse.

And as always, Superman really loses to Batman only when he lets him win.

Superman still continues the investigation, ending up kidnapped by THREE Metalloids.

At least THIS time Batman isn’t upstaged by the telepathic dog!!!

Batman even does some detective work, which is surprisingly rare in this kind of story!

As always, Kryptonian history is absolutely bonkers.

While this history lesson is cool, I’m not really sure Batman needed it to figure out the Metalloid’s weakness.

Okay, this was actually pretty funny.

I feel like this should probably shatter a few bones.

Batman’s master plan is to take off his shirt…

…to blindfold a Metalloid.

Now… the entire point of the story is supposed to be that Batman doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero, which is great.
Except the story then goes on to prove it by… giving Batman superpowers.

Also the bad guy turns out to be the brother of Superman’s friend, in case anyone cares.

And that’s the end! Not sure why Batman doesn’t keep the bracelets that turn him into an indestructible robot man.

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Historical significance: 3/10
Just barely missing a 0/10 for the novelty of having Batman in Kandor. Robin DOES canonically refer to Superman’s adventures in Kandor as an inspiration for changing his codename to Nightwing, but since it’s a later retcon (albeit a very minor one) it doesn’t increase the score that much.

Silver Age-ness: 10/10
Just the telepathic dog would be enough, but there’s even the oddity of the Metalloids.

Does it stand the test of time? 4/10
A mixed bag. Superman is actually quite good here; he’s a little misguided but his heart is in the right place, and even Jimmy is more restrained than usual.
Batman developing an inferiority complex is an idea worth exploring, but he gives up WAY too quickly… you mean to tell me he never took a bullet before this story!?
Also, as I mentioned several times during the review, the message seems to be all over the place. He does a little detective work to find the Metalloids, but other than that he’s way too dependent on Kryptonian super-science if the message is supposed to be that he doesn’t need anything extra to be a worthy equal to Superman.
And while I’m sick to death of stories where Batman wins against Superman… having Superman basically forfeit the fight is way too condescending towards the character for my tastes.
Still, kudos to the story for being one of the few where Superman is called out in-universe for pulling a needlessly convoluted hoax!!!

Stupid Jimmy Olsen moment
The second half of the story wouldn’t happen if he knew how to keep his mouth shut!

Did Robin actually do anything?

Did Superman really need Batman?
There are plenty of Superman stories where Batman demonstrates he’s just as important and valuable as his friend.
This is not one of them.