World's Finest Comics #76 (May-June 1955)
"When Gotham City Challenged Metropolis"
Script: Edmond Hamilton
Pencils: Curt Swan
Inks: Stan Kaye
Colors: ?
Letters: Pat Gordon
Grade: D+
There is a certain stilted predictability to some of these 12 pagers, and less than a dozen reviews in, I think I already pretty much have it worked out:
Step 1: Build a mystery on the front cover
Step 2: Echo/amplify that mystery on the title page
Step 3: Spend the first two pages of story FURTHER amplifying that mystery, and then flash-back to explain what's going on.
Step 4: Immediately introduce a second mystery now that the first one has been alleviated.
Step 5: Have the characters work through their goal.
Step 6: Reveal the solution to the second mystery. This is the only part that seems to fluctuate from story to story. Sometimes it is revealed before the climax and sometimes after. In this case, the reader learns the answer just before the climax while Superman learns it after.
It's really tedious, especially as that second mystery always ends up having a totally nonsensical solution. Why is Batman so desperate to win this contest? Is it because he's jealous and secretly mean-spirited? No, it's this completely far-fetched and illogical thing instead:
There were a million easier solutions to this problem, all of which involved TELLING Superman.
Besides, the very premise of this storyline is faulty -- how in the world is Batman expected to keep pace with Superman, let alone surpass him? Heck, the very first problem Superman solves while crimefighting in Gotham is one Batman would have been totally helpless to solve in time:
Additionally, while Hamilton tries to show how effective Batman and Superman are at keeping crime at bay, gangsters in both cities only making an attempt once they believe their city's protector is away,
this implies that neither hero has actually driven away any crime; they've just deterred it so that criminals wait to strike when they're away or (ya know) participating in pointless contests that take up all of their time JUST to determine the location of an upcoming electronics convention.
Once again, Edmond Hamilton is proving to be my least favorite Batman writer of this era. Fortunately, Curt Swan is quickly proving to be my favorite Batman artist of this era. He's the only one to give Batman a more real, less-boxy/cartoony shape:
And his action and perspectives are pretty great as well.
Minor Details:1. Don't pass over this sequence too quickly, or you'll miss it:
Okay, I fully accept the idea that The Batman of this era was softer and hokier than his later counterparts, but how many songs did Batman just perform as an ice-skating bear, solely for the sake of taking some low-grade thugs by surprise?
How much time did he have to spend in rehearsal, and how awkward were those conversations with the rest of the cast during breaks?
2.
Didn't we just spend an entire issue of Batman watching the dynamic duo force the Bat-Plane into every one of their adventures? Hamilton wrote at least two of those stories himself!
3. There is now a monument that commemorates the city's founders standing on the outskirts of Metropolis. Any chance this will EVER be shown or mentioned again?
4. I guess Hamilton had to justify that cover, but in what way was this a logical means for Batman and Robin to get in some more civil service points before the deadline?
First off, it takes time to set up the ropes, rehearse the moves, etc, and someone needs to get the word out, rope off the area, and hire people to take admission money too. Batman and Robin could have just stopped a burglary and helped a stranded motorist in half that time, earning twice the points for this contest. And, best yet, onlookers can clearly watch this show for free by standing just a block away.
5. Okay, so Superman and Batman end up tied, meaning the convention will switch back and forth between cities each year. Fine, but then why the heck was this part necessary?
We're outright told earlier on that both cities have perfectly good convention centers, and did anyone notify the water, gas, or electric companies before Superman decided to pull this stunt?
Bad, bad issue, even if the ideas that shaped it were pretty fun. I guess that was the thinking of the folks at DC at the time -- come up with a fun enough idea to slap on the cover, build a mystery, and follow the standard format. Kids will buy it anyway.
