Ebony & Ivory
One of the most tragic losses to the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths was that in the single DC Universe books like The New Adventures of Superboy (not to be confused with the late '80's series tie-in book), DC Comics Presents and The World's Finest all were cancelled. Story-telling changed after that Crisis. Books with multiple stories and characters, like Adventure, Batman Family and Superman Family and The World's Finest were a thing of the past. Until Wednesday's Comics. Action Comics tried the concept for a while as a weekly, but that didn't last long.
Over the years since, Superman and Batman had crossed paths. In The Man of Steel by John Byrne. Batman guest starred in a few issues of Action Comics and Adventures of Superman. There have even been a few World Finest style mini-series and one-shots. John Byrne even took a stab at playing out Superman and Batman across the generations. But no one had tried to bring back The World's Finest. Until Jeph Loeb.
I'd never read any of his work before Superman/Batman. You might be familiar with his work. I only know them by name. Or, by color. I just never felt compelled to pick any of it up. I've not been prejudiced against his work either. Mostly...ambivalent. Until I saw Ed McGuinness' art. There's just something distinct about the round, ripped Schwarzenegger/Stallone look. There's no way Christopher Reeve could pull off that look as Superman; or, either Michael Keaton or Christian Bale as Batman. It's an exaggerated Perez or Jimenez look. The anti-Alex Ross-realistic look. It's Rob Liefeld, only with talent. That's a cheap shot, but for effect. The legs and feet and hands are all properly proportioned.
What I appreciate about this first issue is that McGuinness and Loeb give me the opportunity to see the world and Batman/Superman through their eyes. Right from the start. Side by side. That's the gimick here and it works really well. at the same time that Kal-El is placed in the rocket and it hurtles toward Earth; Bruce and his parents are walking home from the theatre.
Our story begins with Superman facing Metallo at S.T.A.R. Labs, while President Luthor announcing his re-election campaign. Later, The Man of Steel catches up with Batman at Gotham City Cemetary, where they find the man with the Kryptonite heart looking for a body - his own. Metallo shoots Superman with a Kryptonite bullet and escapes, burying the pair in a grave. In his ready room, President Luthor is alerted that the Kryptonite meteor from Armageddon/Deep Impact is headed toward Earth and he assembles a team of heroes led by Captain Atom with Major Force and (SPOILER ALERT!!!) Starfire, Katanna, Black Lightning, Green Lantern John Stewart and Power Girl.
The World's Finest was a great book in it's day. Superman/Batman feels the same only different. The same characters, the same concept, from a different point of view. Another example of an over-exposed Lex Luthor and Kryptonite. Series regular on Smallville, Superman: The Animated Series, Lois & Clark, Superboy. Villain of nearly all of the Superman films, including Superman Returns. Wasn't he the director of Supergirl? No? I thought he was...hrmmm. I never cared for the President Luthor idea. (Vice-President Pete Ross almost makes my head burst from the pain.) Look at every mini-series or one-shot with Superman and Batman and at some point they face either Luthor or The Joker. It's inevitable. Any one that goes up against Superman is going to have to have Kryptonite. Or magic. Or a magic Kryptonite bullet. It's a staple. It's just how fresh a writer and artist can make the journey. Putting John Corbin in Gotham the night the Waynes were murdered is an interesting twist. Having Superman and Batman tell the story and tell it about each other is a nice new device. Makes me wonder if it wouldn't be worthwhile to go back and catch up on Loeb's past credits.
