The Man of Steel and the Dark Knight have been teaming up in comic book form since the early 1950s.
First appearing in the World’s Finest series (issue #71) in 1954, the two were best buds while fighting crime for 32 years. This is what io9 writer Charlie Jane Anders dubs the “boy scout” years. You know, when Superman and Batman got along.
In the mid-80s, their relationship took a nasty turn. They were pitted against each other in two different comic series by Frank Miller and Johm Byrne, and it’s been that way ever since.
People tend to write Superman as the all-American hero, the guy with awesome powers who can swoop tall yadda yahs in a single blah blah whatever while Batman is viewed as this crazed vigilante who goes around terrorizing Gotham City (which is a completely false depiction, I must say).
Anders proposes something we’ve all been thinking–let’s reevaluate the relationship between these two American treasures and perhaps make some much needed changes. Anders offers up a Lethal Weapon approach where Batman is the risk-taking yet superpower-free half of the duo and Superman holds a cool head on his Man of Tomorrow shoulders.
This seems more like comic-relief to me. Why can’t Batman just be the Everyman hero that fulfills the desire of every boy at home who wants to strap on a utility belt and go fight crimes? Superman’s got the powers, and Batman’s got the heart. Unless we’re thinking of eliminating the bad guys altogether, we shouldn’t make the heroes fight each other. It’s just not good for their image.
Image: io9
Tags: Superman, Batman, superheroes, superpowers, World’s Finest, DC Comics, The Dark Knight, The Man of Steel, Superman/Batman comics