Batman and Superman - World's Finest - The Silver Age - Volume One and Two

 

Although the original run of the comics compiled here are before the start of my comic-reading days - these are all from the 1950's, not 60's - I still recall some of the stories from reprints, or at least gotten the feel of the time. World's Finest was still quite popular in the 60's (does it still run? I have no idea, although obviously the heroes still run into each other frequently), though, so I was certainly familiar with the concept.

I'm not sure if this was always the story, but here, in a 1950-something tale, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne discover each other's alter egos because they happened to book the same cruise and due to room shortages, they were forced to share a cabin. Seems unlikely that millionaire Bruce Wayne would have to share any room, anywhere for any reason, but apparently his millionaire status is ignored in a number of these stories.

Their partnership started with that cruise but continued as they crossed paths and commuted from Metropolis to Gotham City and back, whether following villains (mostly human-types in these days, but some robots and a few fantastical creatures, as well) or simply performing good deeds. 

Of course, the plots tend to be fairly simplistic and outlandish, with time-travel in unlikely ways (hypnotism, in one case), aliens - lots of aliens with incredible powers, and plenty of scientific gadgets that perform amazing stunts - and the gadgets usually end up being destroyed and unable to be replicated. Kryptonite appears regularly - quite a lot of it came to Earth, apparently, and floats throughout the universe - and, of course, the villains come up with clever ways to use it against Superman, who then requires Batman and Robin's help. Supes also requires the Dynamic Duo's sleuthing skills habitually and sometimes just needs extra hands - or at least appears to in order to not seem quite as almighty and he eventually would. Superman regularly loses his powers - quite often, actually - and Batman and Robin both routinely gain the same super powers as Clark, a trope that must have been popular with the readers as they repeat it so much. Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk make appearances (not their first, but their first together) and, of course, there are innumerable oversized props - something of a staple for Batman, especially - and improbable solutions to wild'n'zany problems.

While certainly nothing spell-binding or anything, these tales are silly fun and nice nostalgia - something that is definitely needed in today's world!