World’s Finest #173 (1968)
by Jim Shooter & Curt Swan
Despite the long-standing tradition of creating the cover first, I don’t think this was the case.
Or at least the original concept didn’t involve Kralik; you’ll soon see why.
We begin with a scientist doing some VERY ethically questionable experiments with fear.
And yet this is not a Scarecrow story, weirdly enough.
Superman and Batman arrest him, but the scientist is sure no prison can hold him thanks to his serum.
And yet this is not a Mister Hyde story, weirdly enough.
Then we cut to days later, when Metropolis is having a State Fair dedicate to Superman and Batman.
I guess they get some variety, because at this point I’m half convinced Metropolis has 365 holidays per year dedicated to Superman.
Not exactly sure the fair really needs a hall dedicated to the criminals they arrested, though.
The story is by Jim Shooter, who I guess can’t resist hyping Parasite since he created the character. Admittedly it makes sense in the story: Superman HAS fought plenty of villains as strong as he is, but the vast majority of his regular villains at the time were not physical threats.
I’m a little bummed Superman doesn’t namedrop Validus, considering Shooter was the regular Legion writer at the time (this shares the same cover date month of Adventure Comics #365, the first Mordru story EDIT: see the comments) .
Some guy asks the heroes if there’s a specific villain they fear, and Batman gives an explanation we’re very used to hearing about why the Joker is his nemesis…
…but in a VERY surprising twist, he’s talking about Two-Face!
Why is it surprising? Because while these days Two-Face is constantly fighting the Riddler for the position of Batman’s second worst enemy, this was definitely not the case in 1968.
I briefly mentioned this when I covered the Two-Face origin story from 1942, but he has one of the longest gaps in publishing history for a Batman villain.
He had only FIVE stories between the 40s and 50s. The last time he was seen before this story was in 1954 in Batman #81; he won’t get a proper re-introduction as a Batman villain until 1971 thanks to Denny O’Neil.
Jim Shooter was three years old the last time a new Two-Face story was published (!!!), so it’s quite impressive that he tried to rescue him and give him a prominent role in Batman’s rogues gallery.
The biggest surprise, however, is the revelation of which villain Superman actually fears.
Is it Lex Luthor, because his genius knows no bounds?
Is it Brainiac, because he’s kind of Krypton’s greatest villain as well?
Is it Mr. Mxyzptlk, because he can do anything?
Is it Metallo, because he’s both heartless and has a heart of Kryptonite?
Is it one of the Phantom Zone villains, because they have all his powers and none of his mercy?
No, the one villain Superman fears is… Kralik the Conqueror.
Well I can definitely see why, Superman is hyping Kralik as if he was a combination of General Zod and Luthor.
Now… outside a few series, I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of DC Comics… I’m more of a Marvel guy. So while I have read a ton of Golden and Silver Age Superman stories, it’s such a vast territory that I figured: surely this Kralik must’ve had an important fight with Superman in a story I haven’t read yet.
So I went one of my main sources, dc.fandom.com, curious to see where Jim Shooter recovered Kralik. He brought back Two-Face, so where DID he take Kralik from?
So I went to their page for World’s Finest #173 and… here’s what they have to say about Kralik.
Usually they give a link listing all of a character’s appearances, but Kralik has no link.
Well… dc.fandom.com is by no means a perfect source, so… I had to double check.
And they’re right. This is the ONLY appearance of Kralik.
Which means the only villain Superman fears… is A GUY WE’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
See why I said this is one of the cases they didn’t think the cover first?
Would you rather have a Bat-Cola or a Super-Cola?
I can’t say about the taste, of course, but I have to admit Batman hired the better designer. Then again, he’s rich.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, is when the story turns bonkers.
Because Superman changes into Kralik!
And Batman turns into Two-Face!
This is of course the work of the scientist: he was the one asking the heroes which villain their feared the most, and the soda was actually full of “hyper-hormones”.
Sounds legit.
If he had given them different hormones this would’ve turned into a completely different story!
(yes, of course there’s an Earth with gender-bent heroes, did you expect otherwise?)
This is really making the case that Two-Face needs to come back…
…and that not all Jim Shooter villains can be the Parasite.
Seriously, why couldn’t Kralik be an evil Kryptonian we know, like General Zod or (more likely given the era) Jax-Ur?
The two “villains” end up fighting each other. There’s no explanation for why Batman gets evil henchmen once he becomes Two-Face, but I figured he simply hired someone.
But apparently these guys are from “Intercrime”, which pre-dates regular Superman foes Intergang! They won’t debut until 1970 on Jimmy Olsen #133.
The fight is inconclusive because both “villains” flee, only to transform back into the heroes and forget everything that happened.
And that was all a plan to give them bad publicity!
At least this time we get a reasonable explanation for why Robin didn’t participate: he has his own team now!
So do Batman and Superman with the Justice League, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Then once Superman leaves, Robin witnesses Batman turning into Two-Face.
About time someone FINALLY decided to call other superheroes when the two protagonists go rogue!!!
Too bad this isn’t Robin’s finest hour.
And now the fight nobody asked for: Kralik versus Two-Face! For real this time!
Well, relatively speaking.
The fight ends up expanding to the scientist’s laboratory…
…until the “villains” are defeated in THE most unexpected way possible.
And now, ladies and gentlemen… I actually lied before.
NOW is when the story turns absolutely bonkers.
Yes.
NOW.
I never thought I would EVER say this, but… if this was the real Composite Superman the story would’ve made SOME sense!!!
I really need to stress this, because I’m not showing every single panel… but not only this resolution comes out of nowhere, we don’t see ANY of the scenes Not Composite is talking about!!!
And so now we’re going to have a raving lunatic laying around the DC Universe who has all the powers of Superman AND knows everything about the two heroes.
At this point I don’t think I have to say it, but we never see this guy ever again.
Historical significance: 1/2
As improbable as it sounds, this MIGHT have contributed to Two-Face coming back.
Silver Age-ness: 2222/2
Does it stand the test of time? 0/2
Creating a new villain who already met the heroes in a story we’ve never see is not a new concept. Jim Shooter in particular seemed to love the idea in this period: I mentioned the first Mordru story, which ALSO featured an incredibly powerful villain who already met the Legion in an unpublished story. But at least Shooter did SOMETHING with Mordru!!!
Even leaving aside the Kralik nonsense… as much as I can praise the idea of resurrecting Two-Face, and it’s a rare chance to see Curt Swan draw him… man was this all over the place!!!
Did Robin actually do anything? He gets taken out by a civilian, so…
Did Superman really need Batman? They both need better agents
