Batman – Page 2 – Comics Archeology

World’s Finest #323 (1986)
by Joey Cavalieri & Jose Delbo
cover by Denys Cowan

After 45 years, the original run of World’s Finest comes to an end. This was published the same month of Crisis On Infinite Earths #10.
The series was canceled both because of the new relationship between Superman and Batman (more on that later), but more importantly because it wasn’t selling well: there were multiple attempts to revitalize it over the years, and the fact I didn’t cover ANY of them should probably tell you something on how good they were.
So the issue does have historical significance, but… is it any good?

We begin in Metropolis, where despite being morning it’s dark as night.
I like the effect used to do this, very moody.

Like I said this was published during Crisis, so people should’ve been more prepared for apocalyptic scenarios.

The blackout means Superman has to intervene to stop a few crimes.

I don’t think he really needed to break a streetlight to stop a couple of random thugs, though.

I’m fascinated by this way of depicting the darkness.

Superman stories rarely have anything to do with horror, but when they do it can totally work.

This is a nice premise: Superman fighting ghost wolves!

Aaaand the setup is ruined when the villain shows up because I just can’t take Nightwolf seriously with that “Masters of the Universe” design.

Now… he COULD still work with the goofy design. We probably can’t do horror anymore, but there are multiple angles that still fit.
If he was a demon, or an evil sorcerer, or a conqueror from another dimension… not some dude hired by an evil corporation.

Nightwolf works for Powerbroker, who I don’t think appeared before this issue but don’t quote me on that one.

So if I understand this correctly, Powerbroker’s plan is:

A) hire Nightwolf to create permanent night
B) cause the destruction of crops
C) ?????
D) the “agricultural community” agrees to do business with Powerbroker
E) profit!

I can’t believe I’m agreeing with THIS GUY.

It’s also night in Gotham City, because Nightwolf’s power is apparently working worldwide.

Which is bad because if it’s always night, when is Batman going to sleep!?

Kind of weird that Batman’s first scene has him rescue a civilian from ghost wolves while Superman’s first scene was about him stopping street criminals, because normally it’s the other way around.

Alfred then informs him than an archeologist he met in a previous issue could have news about Nightwolf.

Smooth secret identity save, Batman.

The archeologist (no relation) tells Batman about her former love interest, who stole a magical belt that she uncovered.

And that’s the origin of Nightwolf. For the last villain fought by the World’s Finest, he’s just meh.

Dude, you’re 7 years early for the death of Superman!

This looks like a job for…

…some guy we haven’t met yet! Wait, what?

This fight lasts FOUR PAGES, by the way.

Okay, so what’s going on? First of all, while the ghost wolves are magical in nature and can hurt Superman… they’re not tougher than ordinary wolves.

Second, Nightwolf could EASILY be defeated by an ordinary human…

…if he also happens to be Batman in disguise.

And then Superman wakes up in a farm.

I’m not sure why Superman is there. Since Nightwolf knocked him out in the middle of the mystical night there was basically no background, but he WAS in Metropolis immediately before.
If Batman brought him there while he was unconscious… WHY!?

More importantly, Batman chastises Superman for attacking Nightwolf without thinking, WHICH IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED!
Superman was investigating the darkness when he was AMBUSHED by the ghost wolves, which knocked him out… that’s it. What was he supposed to do?
Also: the “backstreets and back alleys” might be your territory, Batman, but this happened because someone obscured the sun of (at the very least) half a continent… how is that NOT Superman’s territory!?!?

This conflict between the two feels VERY forced, and not only because it’s still technically a pre-Crisis story. But more on the Superman-Batman dynamic later.

Because, after 45 years: how it started, versus how it ended.
(also consider World’s Finest #1 did not show both Superman and Batman in the same story)

The cover:

The first page:

The last page:

Historical significance: 0/10

Silver Age-ness: 3/10

Does it stand the test of time? 3/10
Nice artwork, but nothing else.

Did Superman really need Batman? For some reason apparently yes

The idea of Superman and Batman not working well together gets both too much credit AND too much criticism.

I defend the post-Crisis approach for one reason: I think the two should START by disliking each other, but slowly become close friends.
Which is exactly how things were done at the beginning of the post-Crisis era, where it took a long time before they reached the same status they had pre-Crisis: by that point it felt EARNED.
Whereas, at least to me, the fact they were best friends before Crisis felt like it was simply taken for granted.
I think that, after 45 years of sharing a title (although having team-ups there less often), the duo was due for a pause.

Of course it didn’t take THAT much for the two superheroes to share the title “World’s Finest”: there were two 3-part miniseries, one in 1990 and one in 1994.

A 12-part limited series ran from 1999 to 2000, by which point the dynamic between the heroes was basically back to what it was pre-Crisis.

But for whatever reason, DC was a bit allergic to the title “World’s Finest”.
Two series effectively took its place with the Silver Age formula: “Superman/Batman” which ran for 87 issues between 2003 and 2011, and “Batman/Superman” which ran for 32 issues from 2013 to 2016.

VERY confusingly, there’s also the series “Worlds’ Finest”… not the same thing, check where the apostrophe is… which is a series running for 32 issues from 2012 to 2015 and featuring Power Girl and Huntress.