Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context ComicBook / SupermanBatman

Go To

1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/supermanbatman_vol1.jpg]]
2
3''Superman/Batman'' was a monthly series published by Creator/DCComics featuring team-ups of the "World's Finest Duo". The series explored the relationship between the two heroes, featuring a unique dual-narrator approach where both ComicBook/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/{{Batman}} simultaneously narrated the story with their thoughts. The series is also notable for finalising the return to Superman and Batman to being good friends which had been developing since Creator/JohnByrne's ''ComicBook/TheManOfSteel'' series initially rebooted the two as having a respectful, but contentious relationship due to contrasting ideals.
4----
5!!Notable Stories in this series:
6* ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies'' (also known as ''The World's Finest''): ComicBook/LexLuthor, as the [[PresidentEvil President of the United States]], declares the titular heroes as enemies of the state, and the duo go to depose him. This arc received an AnimatedAdaptation: ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies''.
7* ''ComicBook/{{The Supergirl From Krypton|2004}}'' (compiled as ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}''): A Kryptonite meteor that lands in Gotham is revealed to have contained Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-El, and the evil ComicBook/{{New God|s}} {{ComicBook/Darkseid}} targets her as a potential powerful minion. This arc introduced Kara Zor-El to ComicBook/PostCrisis continuity, as she had been previously kept out of use due to a strict "Superman is the last Kryptonian" editorial mandate. The arc also received an AnimatedAdaptation: ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse''.
8* ''Absolute Power'': Three members of [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes The Legion of Super-Villains]] go back in time and raise Superman and Batman to be world dictators, but their actions cause the timeline to collapse and cause the two to restore the timeline to normal.
9* ''With a Vengeance'' (compiled simply as ''Vengeance''): A team of superheroes called [[ComicBook/TheUltimates the Maximums]] come into the DC Universe, looking for Superman and Batman, claiming that they killed one of their own, just as Bizarro meets a Batman-inspired Bizarro called Batzarro. It serves as a wrap-up to Creator/JephLoeb's run, which included this and the first three arcs, as Luthor, Supergirl, and Darkseid appear. [[spoiler: It's also a sequel to ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'' as ComicBook/TheJoker and Mister Mxyzptlk are ultimately the villains of the arc, and introduces an undeniably real version of Bat-Mite into the post-Crisis DCU. (Previous appearances had been explained away to a greater or lesser degree of plausibility, with Batman even insisting that his appearance in ''World's Finest Year Six'' must have been a creation of Mxy's.)]]
10* ''Sam's Story'': A flashback to a young Clark Kent's friendship with a boy named Sam who had cancer. This story was dedicated to Jeph Loeb's son Sam, who had passed away from cancer.
11* ''Nevermind'': A story set on the Earth-Two of pre-Crisis, the Superman and Batman of that reality have their minds transferred into, respectively, ComicBook/PowerGirl and ComicBook/{{Huntress}}.
12* ''Enemies Among Us'': The various alien superheroes of Earth are being turned against humanity, and Superman and Batman must stop it.
13* ''A.I.'': Superman and Batman meet Will Magnus and his ComicBook/MetalMen. Intrigued, Bruce Wayne hires them as security guards, only for them to lose control and go on a rampage.
14* ''Torment'': Desaad and Scarecrow team up to capture, psychologically torment, and mind-control Superman. Batman and Orion's wife Bekka team up to rescue him, but are sidetracked by their mutual attraction to each other.
15* ''Darklight'': The villain Doctor Light steals a Wayne Enterprises satellite that held dark matter. Adding the dark matter to himself to supplement his own light based powers, he invades the Fortress of Solitude.
16* ''K'' (compiled as ''The Search for Kryptonite''): After coming to the realization that KryptoniteIsEverywhere, Superman enlists Batman's help in cleaning the world of Kryptonite. However, their quest brings them into trouble with the government.
17* ''The Fathers'': Superman and Batman uncover evidence that their fathers Jor-El and Thomas Wayne had met in the past.
18* ''Lil' Leaguers'': Superman and Batman are baffled when they encounter goofy, chibi versions of themselves, the Justice League, and their rogues galleries.
19* ''Super/Bat'': Superman's powers accidentally get transferred to Batman, and the two heroes do not respond positively to this occurring.
20* ''Nanopolis'': The Prankster zaps Superman with a ShrinkRay and reduces him to microscopic size. Batman tries to find him and restore him to normal size. Meanwhile, Superman finds and rescues a microscopic civilization.
21* ''Mash-Up'': Superman and Batman find themselves in a strange world. The Justice Titans, who are all merged versions of a Teen Titans and Justice League member, defend Gothamopolis from a series of villains who are merged versions of Superman and Batman's RoguesGallery. Superman and Batman help the Justice Titans deal with their enemies while trying to find out how they got here and how to get home.
22* ''Night and Day'': Gorilla Grodd saturates the atmosphere with kryptonite, forcing Superman to flee Earth. Grodd mind controls the entire population except for Batman, who becomes the only resistance to Grodd's rule.
23* ''Sidekicked'': Supergirl and Robin (Tim Drake) attempt to deal with a hostage situation in Arkham Asylum.
24* ''The Big Noise'': Batman uncovers a shocking secret about Superman's Kryptonian origins.
25* ''Sweet Dreams'': The innermost fears of Superman, Batman, ComicBook/LexLuthor, and ComicBook/TheJoker are revealed, due to Scarecrow capturing them and putting Fear Toxin in them.
26* ''The Brave and the Bold'': Following Batman's death in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', Superman struggles to cope with his loss.
27* ''Fright Night'': Supergirl teams up with Robin (Damian Wayne) to investigate a series of deaths.
28* ''Who Would Win?'': Two children debate whether Batman or Superman would win in a fight.
29* ''World's Finest'': A tie-in to ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion''. The time traveling villain Epoch battles the Supermen and Batmen of both the 853th century and the present.
30* ''Sorcerer Kings'': While various heroes deal with an invasion of demons, an alternate Batman abducts Superman and takes him to a BadFuture ruled by various magical villains like Felix Faust, Morgan Le Fay, and Brother Blood.
31* ''The Secret'': A journalist uncovers evidence of Batman's secret identity, only to be murdered. When Clark Kent investigates, the murderer targets him, forcing Batman to intervene to protect Superman's secret identity.
32----
33!!Tropes in this series:
34* AbortedArc: Thanks to events both in real life (Jeph Loeb's departure from DC) and in-universe (Mr. Mxyzptlk going into a self-imposed exile between ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'' and ''ComicBook/SupermanReborn'', and Darkseid's own arcs in ''Countdown'' and ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' proper), the possible event involving the Fourth World and the Fifth Dimension that Darkseid and Mxy talk about at the end of "With a Vengeance" never came to pass.
35* AdaptationOriginConnection: Issue #50 had Jor-El befriending a Human he pulled from Earth while studying it before sending him back, cementing his decision to send Kal-El there. That Human? ''Thomas Wayne''.
36* AllJustADream: [[spoiler:The ''Mash-Up'' arc. Unfortunately, even if it's only a dream, the stakes are no less great than usual, given the force behind it is [[RealityWarper Dr.]] [[DreamWeaver Destiny]]. At the end, Superman comments on how real it looked from the inside, and Batman tells him that's exactly why Destiny is so terrifyingly dangerous - ''he makes you believe''.]]
37* AlternateTimeline: In ''Absolute Power'' the Legion of Super-Villains go back in time and raise Superman and Batman to be world dictators in a new timeline. [[spoiler: After, Bruce creates a new timeline when he saves his parents and erases himself as Batman]].
38* AsianAndNerdy: Toyman II, Hiro Okamura.
39* BackToBackBadasses: Superman and Batman show us how it's done in ''Public Enemies''. Complete with CasualDangerDialogue!
40* BashBrothers: Superman and Batman.
41* BigBrotherInstinct: Superman is overprotective of his cousin during ''The Supergirl From Krypton'' arc like learn some amazons.
42* BookEnds: Near the beginning and the end of the ''Absolute Power'' arc, as Green Arrow stops a robbery, someone near him says: "Look up in the sky...", to which he mutters "Aw, hell. I hate it when anybody says that..." and turns to face Batman and Superman. [[spoiler:The first time, in an altered timeline, he refers to them as "the Hitler twins", and later, after everything's fixed, he calls them "Literature/TheHardyBoys".]]
43* BrainwashedAndCrazy:
44** In the ''The Supergirl From Krypton'' arc Darkseid brainwashes Kara and commands her to attack her cousin.
45** In issue #77, Scarecrow's fear toxin makes Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} believe that Robin is her parents' killer Reactron and attack him.
46* ContinuityNod:
47** In an early issue, Superman asks Batman if he's seen anything of the villain Magpie lately. Magpie was the villain they fought in ''ComicBook/TheManOfSteel'' #3, their first meeting in Post-Crisis continuity.
48** ''Public Enemies'' opens right after the events of ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'', which Loeb had just finished writing at the time. As such, events in that storyline are mentioned in passing both here and throughout his other arcs.
49** There are also additional nods back to Loeb's two-year stint on ''Superman'', culminating in ''With a Vengeance'' which as noted earlier, [[spoiler:is ultimately a sequel to ComicBook/EmperorJoker]].
50* CrazyPrepared: Batman as usual.
51* DatingCatwoman: During ''Absolute Power'', Superman and Batman's supervillain parents try setting Bruce up with a bunch of women but he finds it hard to care about them. Only Selina Kyle, aka ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} herself, is able to grab his interest.
52* DealWithTheDevil: Supes and Bats are forced to make one with an alternate timeline's Darkseid in ''Absolute Power''. The warlord provides the necessary technology to travel through time in exchange for a unnamed price. [[spoiler: Supes is forced to honor the deal in ''With a Vengeance'' by freeing Darkseid -- who retains his memories of the alternate timeline -- from the Source Wall.]]
53* DemonicPossession: The Black Rock does this to several heroes in ''Enemies Among Us''.
54* DisasterDominoes: Kara's introduction involved crashing the Batboat, having a dock worker come onto her, her breaking his fingers, one of his co-workers get smacked when he tried to defend to the man, Kara disrupting traffic, having the GCPD fire at her, and accidentally trashing a blimp.
55* DistractedByTheSexy: In the issue 26 Superman and Batman send Superboy and Robin (Tim Drake) to visit the Toyman in Japan because he has not been heard from in a while. In Toyman's secret base, Conner is really happy when he find a hot tub with Raven, Starfire and Wonder Girl fembots. And very pissed when Tim destroy all the robots!.
56* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: One issue in the "Search for Kryptonite" arc introduces silver kryptonite, which causes Superman to hallucinate and get food cravings.
57-->'''Arsenal:''' Is it just me, or does he seem kind of h--\
58'''Batman:''' Highly unstable.
59* DumbMuscle: Batzarro, who ''kills other couples'' to solve the murder of Batman's parents, and then has trouble finding out who murdered them (Bizarro can't help him either).
60* EvilCostumeSwitch: Skin-tight red and black pants with a black bra and CombatStilettos? Is it supposed to be a ''surprise'' that Kara ends up temporarily evil?
61* EvilDetectingDog: Played with in "The Supergirl from Krypton" arc. Batman, who is distrustful of the newly discovered Kara Zor-El, tries to point out to Superman that his dog Krypto doesn't like Kara. Superman retorts that the dog doesn't like ''anyone''.
62* EvilMakeover: Kara's costume becomes more revealing and metallic post-brainwashing in "The Supergirl from Krypton".
63* EvilMentor: Darkseid to Supergirl in "The Supergirl from Krypton".
64* EyeScream: In the "K" arc, Superman gets some Kryptonite lodged in his eye.
65* FakingTheDead: In ''The Supergirl of Krypton'', Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman stage Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'s death so Comicbook/{{Darkseid}} -who had previously kidnapped her and brainwashed- leaves her alone.
66* {{Fanservice}}: Power Girl in ''The World's Finest'' and to absolutely ''ridiculous'' levels with Kara in the ''Supergirl'' arc.
67* {{Foil}}: The two heroes to each other: Superman as the light one, Batman as the dark one.
68* ForcefulKiss: In '' Superman Batman'' #19 -- later reprinted as ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 2005}} Supergirl Vol 5]]'' #0, Supergirl runs into Comicbook/PoisonIvy, and the super-villain plants a kiss on Supergirl's lips to poison her.
69* FusionDance: The Joker merged the Maximums into one being, Maximum Maximum.
70* GallowsHumor: Batman once chastised Superman for this while trying to remove a kryptonite bullet from his heart.
71-->'''Batman''': The Kryptonite's near your heart. I don't know if I'll be fast enough to get it before the wound closes.\
72'''Superman''': Where's ComicBook/TheFlash when you need him?\
73'''Batman''': Do me a favor, and lose the sense of humor.\
74'''Superman''': Do us both a favor and buy one.
75* GenderFlip: Issue 24 has Batman appears on Earth-11, a gender reversed Earth, and encounters Batwoman, Superwoman, and Superlad.
76* GodivaHair: Lampshaded somewhat: one of the enemies of The Maximums(an [[ComicBook/TheUltimates Ultimates]] parody that Batman and Superman face) is a parody of Enchantress named Godiva and she is depicted as nude except for her ridiculously long hair, which manages to keep her bits covered, even when she's fighting.
77* GodzillaThreshold: When Superman falls victim to the alien influence turning alien heroes against Earth, Batman exposes himself to the dangerous black rock to gain the strength to oppose Superman directly in the hope of snapping Superman out of its influence.
78* GovernmentConspiracy: The government had an arsenal of Kryptonite weapons hidden away in case Superman went rogue, which was overseen by [[Comicbook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]].
79* HeroWithBadPublicity: The duo in ''The World's Finest'' when ComicBook/LexLuthor, as the [[PresidentEvil President of the United States]], declares them as enemies of the state.
80* HumongousMecha: All through Toyman's base.
81* IBrokeANail: When a small team of different ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} incarnations break ComicBook/{{Superman}} out of the Source Wall in issue #25, Comicbook/PowerGirl mutters this, then quickly adds she was kidding.
82* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: Accidentally done by Superman in ''Nevermind'', when he gets information from a hotel manager while he is trapped in Power Girl's body. Lampshaded:
83-->'''Superman:''' I wish all my interrogations went so easily.\
84'''Batman:''' Appears there are more effective techniques than a rubber hose.
85* ImStandingRightHere: In ''Superman Batman #10'' Superman and Wonder Woman argue because Clark wants to take his cousin back home whereas Diana argues that she must remain in Themyscira. Kara breaks in to remind them that she is standing there.
86-->'''Supergirl''': Hey. Can I say something? Not that I mind you two talking about me like I'm not here... Well, actually, I do...
87* IntoxicatedSuperpowerSnag: During "The Search for Kryptonite" arc, Silver Kryptonite makes Superman hallucinate, gives him the munchies, and enhances his superhuman senses to the point where he can smell someone baking brownies in North Dakota... while on the Watchtower, ''which is in orbit around the Earth.''
88* IsTheAnswerToThisQuestionYes: In ''Public Enemies'' when Superman question about the Toyman's HumongousMecha.
89-->'''Superman''': Are you sure this thing can do the job?
90-->'''Toyman''': Does Power Girl have big-
91-->'''Batman''': Just input the codes!
92* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Discussed InUniverse. In ''With a Vengeance'' [[spoiler:Joker demands to know why Superman and Batman don't remember the events of the ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'' crossover from several years earlier. Mxyzptlk explains that he's blocking everyone's memories -- then also adds that the issues haven't been collected yet. Ironically -- and probably because of fan demand -- that arc was collected shortly afterwards.]]
93* KickTheDog: In "The Supergirl from Krypton", Superman blames Batman and Wonder Woman for Kara getting kidnapped by Darkseid when she should have remained in Metropolis with him. Wonder Woman reminds them her sisters nearly sacrificed herself to protect her. Then Superman said if it was Jason Todd or Donna Troy, they wouldn't even be arguing about this. Batman tells him Kara isn't dead. The three of them got quiet. Superman realized he crossed the line mentioning Jason and Donna. Near the end of the story arc, he apologizes for it. Ironically, a year later both Jason and Donna [[DeathIsCheap came back]].
94* KryptoniteIsEverywhere: A story involve a Kryptonite asteroid hurtling towards the Earth which showered Kryptonite all over the planet when it was destroyed. The size of the asteroid was never precisely determined but it was conservatively estimated to be the ''size of Brazil''. A later story in the series, ''K'', has Superman decides to clean up the world of Kryptonite and enlists Batman's help, but their efforts bring them into conflict with the government and [[spoiler:Lana Lang, who provided the government with Kryptonite weapons.]]
95* KryptoniteRing: After collecting and destroying all the kryptonite on Earth, Superman saves one piece for Batman. Batman is seen bringing it to a lead-lined room which is already filled with multiple kinds of kryptonite.
96* LivingAphrodisiac: Orion's wife Bekka is able to induce love and lust with her touch. It works both ways, since she also falls in love with the men she affects and is unable to control it herself, and it only becomes stronger when men in question are love-starved individuals that deny themselves any relationship like Batman.
97* MindControlEyes: In issue #77, Kara gets glowing red eyes when she is under the influence of Scarecrow's fear toxin.
98* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: In the ''Nevermind'' arc, The Earth-2 Batman and Superman are in danger of falling to this when their minds are respectively transferred to ComicBook/{{Huntress}} and ComicBook/PowerGirl.
99* MotifMerger: The page illustration is the logo for the series, Superman's shield logo inside Batman's bat logo. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Superman-batman_8_cvr_-_large.jpg For example, the cover of issue 8.]] The first arc of the series was adapted into the direct-to-video ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies'', mentioned below.
100* MuggingTheMonster: In ''Superman Batman #8'', a naked [[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} Kara Zor-El]] wanders confused into an alley, having just woken up from her rocket, and is spotted by three workers. One of them mistakes her for a prostitute and decides to play Lothario only to have his hand crushed and be slammed through a wall. The second tries to help his friend. The third wisely proclaims he's not with the other two and offers her his coat.
101* MythologyGag: The ending of "Absolute Power" is similar to the ending of ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''. After the RippleEffect ends, Future!Superman looks like Jordan Elliot. Lois, "Jordan" and Jonathan are apparantly living on the Kent Farm in this version.
102-->'''Lois:''' Hey, are you okay? You've been standing out there all by yourself for a while. I was starting to wonder ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow.\
103'''Clark:''' [[ArtifactAlias "Man of Tomorrow."]] Lois, nobody has called me that in years.
104* NightAndDayDuo: Superman gets his powers from the sun and Batman mostly works at night.
105* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: {{ComicBook/Darkseid}} gives this to Batman [[spoiler:when he reveals that he has rigged Apokolips ready to explode.]]
106* NoIndoorVoice: Batzarro speaks all his thought bubbles out loud.
107* OddballDoppelganger: In ''Superman/Batman Annual #1'', a crazy Earth-3 version of Deathstroke appears, who is very similar to be Creator/MarvelComics' ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}.
108* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
109** During a fight against Mongul and Solomon Grundy in ''Public Enemies'', Supes and Bats realize both villains are acting differently. The normally boastful Mongul is silent and as an interstellar conqueror, Luthor's bounty should mean nothing to him. Likewise, the normally bestial Grundy has become almost refined and articulate. [[spoiler: Our heroes deduce that a telepath is controlling the pair and the other attacking villains.]]
110** Happens again in ''The Supergirl from Krypton''. During the fight against the Doomsday clones, Batman notes that something's wrong. Before Luthor handed the beastie over to Darkseid, Doomsday had finally displayed some degree of sentience -- yet the clones are almost mindless and bestial. [[spoiler: He realizes that the cloned army is imperfect and easily destroyable. This in turn gives way to the realization that the clones were merely a distraction while Darkseid's agents nabbed Kara.]]
111** Loeb goes for the hat trick in ''With a Vengeance'' when the Atomic Skull breaks into Wayne Enterprises. Bats knows that such brazen snatch and grab is ''not'' the Skull's MO. Combined with the Skull's improved armor, he correctly deduces that the Skull is working for [[spoiler: Lex Luthor and that Luthor survived the events of ''Public Enemies''.]]
112** During the "Torment" story arc, Batman (who has fought against a seductress like ComicBook/PoisonIvy on regular basis) ''succumbs'' to [[LoveGoddess Bekka's]] [[LivingAphrodisiac charms]] and is quite disturbed at having fallen in love with her and being willing to throw it all away to be with her.
113* PatrickStewartSpeech: Superman is able to convince a group of TheSocialDarwinist alien invaders to call off an invasion through one of these. Notably, he actually gave it ''mentally'', by convincing the invaders to read his mind and see his thoughts on the matter.
114* PetTheDog: While manipulating the events surrounding Superman and Batman becoming their adoptive sons, the Legion Super-Villains maintained Superman's marriage to his wife ComicBook/LoisLane, feeling it was appropriate for him and [[InSpiteOfANail something better left untouched]], while also arranging for Batman to have a relationship with Catwoman's civilian identity Selina Kyle, [[DatingCatwoman the closest thing Batman has ever had]] to a stable LoveInterest.
115* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: Issue #19 picks up on Kara Zor-El's story after the events of ''The Supergirl from Krypton''. It mainly, however, serves a staging ground for the ''Supergirl'' spin-off series. It was even republished as ''Supergirl'' #0.
116* PowerCreepPowerSeep: Happens sometimes as the two contribute equally to battles. In one case, they were attacked by Hawkman and Captain Marvel. Hawkman and Batman start fighting, as do Marvel and Supes. Then Batman and Superman do a move they call "castling," in which they throw their opponents off balance by rapidly switching who they're fighting. This mean it was actually part of their plan for Batman to fight ''Captain Marvel'', who is roughly as powerful as Superman ''without'' a Kryptonite-like weakness. (And the move starts with Superman throwing Marvel at Batman, who then kicks Marvel into a mountain. How this impact with a FlyingBrick did not shatter every bone in Batman's body is never explained.)
117* PrecisionFStrike: During "The Supergirl from Krypton", Superman yells at Darkseid, "Shut the hell up!" This moment is currently the trope picture.
118* PresidentEvil: ComicBook/LexLuthor, who ascended to the presidency shortly after ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand''. In fact, the first arc of the book and its AnimatedAdaptation end on his removal from office.
119* RetCanon:
120** Metallo's disguise in "Public Enemies" resembled how pre-Metallo John Corben looked in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''.
121** Likewise, the post-Crisis Kara Zor-El inherited Kara In-Ze's AgeLift of being a teenager who was put into cryogenic suspension while Clark was a baby instead actually being younger than him.
122* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: The first two arcs were setting the book up to be a fairly serious, event-heavy series, featuring pivotal events like the ousting of Luthor and the reintroduction of Supergirl. After that point, the series began to embrace its Silver Age roots, moving into one-and-done stories with crazy concepts and high-concept adventures largely confined to itself.
123* SequelHook: The end of "With a Vengeance" ended with [[spoiler:Darkseid talking with Mr. Mxyzptlk about a possible future event involving the two. However, this became an AbortedArc as it was never followed up on with Loeb's departure from DC, Mxyzptlk going into exile after ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'' and Darkseid's own arcs in ''Countdown'' and ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' proper.]]
124* {{Sexbot}}: Issue 26 shows us sexbots of the female ComicBook/TeenTitans, belonging to the teenage Toyman. And Superboy clearly enjoys them... until Tim Drake (Robin) destroys them!
125--> '''Superboy''': I hate you. I hate you more than anyone I have ever known.
126* ShoutOut:
127** Issue #75 pays homage to ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' with their own version, ''"[[ComicBook/TheJoker Joker]] and ComicBook/LexLuthor."''
128** A previous ''Superman'' story showing "WhatIf... Lois and Clark had a kid?" had six-year-old Lara as Calvin and Mr Mxyzptlk as Hobbes.
129* ShowSomeLeg: In ''Public Enemies'', ComicBook/PowerGirl (MostCommonSuperpower incarnate) is told to distract the new Toyman, a thirteen-year-old boy. She asks how on earth she is supposed to do that before saying "Oh", with a slight glance downward.
130* SideBet: In issue #7 ''Protégé'', Superman gets Batman to make a bet on how Tim and Kon would react to their arrival, though Bruce isn't at all surprised he lost the bet:
131-->'''Superman:''' We have a situation–\
132'''Superboy:''' It wasn't our fault!\
133'''Superman:''' ''(to Batman)'' You owe me five dollars.\
134'''Batman:''' Already?\
135'''Superman:''' I ''told'' you if we didn't explain why we were coming out here, they'd think they'd done something wrong.\
136'''Robin:''' Wait a second. You two ''bet'' on our reactions?\
137'''Superman:''' It was really more about how ''he'' was wrong than how ''you'd'' react.
138* SpecialEditionTitle:
139** Issue #22 replaces the merged logo with one that combines Bizarro's reversed S-shield with Batzarro's upside-down bat logo.
140** Issues #66-67 has Bizarro's logo within a more realistic bat symbol representing Man-Bat.
141* SpiritualSuccessor: To the pre-Crisis ''World's Finest Comics'' series.
142* StaringDownCthulhu: When Superman and Batman go to Apokolips to save Supergirl. Batman threatens to blow up Apokolips if Darkseid doesn't give up Kara. Even though the New God pummels him Batman still threatens him. Darkseid later concedes.
143* StealthHiBye: Superman intentionally does this to Batman on occasion, usually to Batman's annoyance, simply because he loves to surprise Batman like that, as well as mocking Batman's own tendency to do it.
144--> '''Superman''': (''thinking'') I have to admit, I love being able to do that to him.
145* StealthSequel: Again, as noted, "With a Vengeance" in addition to being a cap on Loeb's run on the book is [[spoiler:also a sequel to ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker''.]]
146* SuperDeformed: In issues #51-52, an entire s-d League (called Li'l Leaguers: Li'l Superman, Li'l Wonder Woman, Li'l Flash, Li'l Supergirl...) make an appearance, hailing from a lighter and softer universe.
147* SuperheroSobriquets: The duo is nicknamed as "The World's Finest Duo".
148* TeenGenius: Hiro Okamura, the young Japanese Toyman.
149* ThouShaltNotKill: After Batman infects himself with the blackrock to snap Superman out of an alien influence, Superman gets the blackrock to abandon Batman by convincing the consciousness controlling the Dark Knight that he's willing to compromise his usual stance against killing in this moment, stating that he knows Batman would rather die then be used like this.
150* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: The Maximums learn that Joker and Mxyzptlk just made them up. Then they disappear.]]
151* WhatDoTheyFearEpisode: The ''Sweet Dreams'' one-shot.
152* WhatYouAreInTheDark: With Batman as the tempter. Superman was pushed to his limit after Luthor as the president placed a bounty on his head and trashed his and Batman's proteges. He was even ready to fry Luthor for what he has done. Batman told Superman that he won't stop him and would even help make it look like an accident or "better yet, as if he'd vanished without a trace." Needless to say, Superman didn't go through with it.
153* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Happen to Batman when he get Superman's power during a battle with the Silver Banshee. Batman revels in his new powers and uses them to bring complete fear and order to Gotham's criminal underworld and eventually sets his sight to the world, but he became increasingly aggressive. With the aid of the Justice League, Superman is able to bring himself and The Dark Knight back to normal.
154* WorthyOpponent: Darkseid considers Batman as one, after learning he's rigged Apokolips to explode unless he frees Kara. Darkseid comments Superman and Wonder Woman wouldn't be bold enough to do it.
155* YouDidntAsk: In ''Superman Batman #9'':
156-->'''Superman:''' You noticed the lead, hmm? I didn't know your X-Ray vision had kicked in.\
157'''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}:''' You didn't ask.

Top