The World's Finest 2.0
I was just asking my buddy Mark in June is Dick Grayson and Linda Danvers had ever teamed up in the Silver or Bronze Age. He spends some free time behind the counter at one of the Local Comic Stores. I'm remember Dick and Babs (Barbara Gordon) were an item in Batman Family among other places. But I don't think Robin and Supergirl ever teamed up. I think that's kinda odd. What made DC think that Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Wonder Girl would work? And why didn't anybody think that since Superman and Batman were The World's Finest that Robin and Supergirl couldn't click? (If you know of a time when Robin and Supergirl teamed up, I'd sure like to know.) I remember Tim and Connor teaming up not too long ago as the next generation World's Finest, and the Plus issues that featured the Titans characters were enjoyable.
Right after I asked Mark about Dick and Linda, I saw the cover for Superman/Batman 62. I hadn't read an issue since Jeph Loeb wrapped up his run with The Joker and Mxyzptlk. That seems like so long ago - May of '06. Wow. The cover of Tim and Kara in Arkham Asylum surrounded by psychos looks too cool!
The story starts with Supergirl flying to Gotham to meet Tim for lunch as "Linda Lang". She finds Tim dozing, dreaming of "...Penguins?..Penguins with missiles..." Nice Batman Returns reference! Dick swaps a story about encountering Two-Face with the Dark Knight, "Linda" swaps a story about facing Solomon Grundy with the Man of Steel. They both share with us their first time together. As you can imagine, Supergirl is blonde and robin is intense. The Joker, as well as the other residents of Arkham are pretty batty. The story by Michael Green and Mike Johnson doesn't have many surprises. The art by Rafael Albuquerque carries the issue. His Superman and Batman are perfectly stoic. His Supergirl is bright and charming. His Robin reminds me of Dick Grayson. This could be Dick Grayson and Linda Danvers. This could be a Silver Age story. except for how horrific Batman's rogues gallery looks. Delightfully, wickedly horrific. I like Kara's approach to The Scarecrow and Poison Ivy. Perfect.
The ending seems a bit predictible - both the flashback and the present - but I'm not disappointed by either one. I'd like to see more of these two together. I'm kinda old school. Call me Superboy/man Prime, but I'd love to see a Silver or Bronze Age Robin and Supergirl team up. Maybe here on the fanfiction page...
