World's Finest, or Worlds Finest Comics, is an anthology series by DC Comics, published from 1941 to 1986, spanning a total of 323 issues. The series was initially entitled World's Best Comics, but changed to World's Finest Comics after issue #1.
Debuting in the 1940s, the series originally featured stand-alone solo stories involving Superman, Batman, and Robin, along with other heroes including Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Captain Marvel, Green Arrow, and Hawkman. With issue #71, the series switched formats to its now-familiar "Superman/Batman" team-up stories, with anthology stories being relegated to backups. The series (which featured the first appearance of Scarecrow and Clock King) was canceled in 1986.
The series would later gain a modern-day Spiritual Successor with Superman/Batman.
Worlds Finest (1941) story arcs with their own pages include:
Tropes found in other issues of Worlds Finest (1941) include:
- All Your Powers Combined: Issue #142 introduces the Composite Superman. While he has the combined powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes, his usual opponents were the Superman/Batman team (making him "all their powers combined"). In the Post-Crisis continuity, he was replaced by the Composite Legionnaire, who did battle the Legion and was a Durlan with the unusual ability to copy powers in addition to shapeshifting.
- Anthology Comic: Originally featured separate solo stories of Superman and Batman (being DC's two most popular superheroes), plus a few other characters. Eventually taken over by Superman & Batman team-up stories.
- Anti-True Sight: In issue #159, Superman runs into two cowled villains who go by Anti-Superman and Anti-Batman. When he tries to discover their identities, Superman finds out that their masks are lead-lined.
- Best Friend: Superman and Batman are portrayed as best buddies, early issues often depicting them enjoying leisure activities together like shooting hoops or going swimming.
- Bitch Slap: In issue #153, Batman slaps his protege Robin in mid-conversation.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In issue #145, in which Batman is lured by aliens to a prison in space and hypnotized into thinking he was a sadistic warden for Superman, has him reflect that hypnotism cannot make anyone do something against their nature, before the narration explains "But this is super-hypnotism, of a kind never before experienced by anyone on Earth!" (It's almost a shame that this was written in the days of simpler storytelling, as a modern telling of the story would have it revealed that Batman would certainly be a warder on Superman's prison if he thought Superman went rogue...)
- Call to Agriculture: The cover
for issue #11 (September, 1943) displays Superman, Batman and Robin gardening and growing vegetables in their "Victory Garden". - Captured on Purpose: Issue #245 had Wonder Woman fake being injured to be captured and taken to the Iron Claw, a Nazi who kidnapped Steve, only for him to use her Magic Lasso against her and really capture her.Wonder Woman: "I want to get inside the Schloss Falke, don't I? And what easier way to do that—than as a prisoner?"
- Chase-Scene Obstacle Course: In issue #159, Batman and Robin are driving the Batmobile along a winding old road as chasing the Anti-Batman's car. Obstacles include trees, low branches, poor visibility, cloud dusts, and a big statue which the Batmobile ends crashing against.
- Clone by Conversion: In issue #173, the villainous Dr. Arron tricks Batman and Superman into drinking a potion which physically and mentally transforms them into two of their enemies: Two-Face and Kralik, respectively.
- Coincidental Broadcast: In issue #142, Superman, Batman and Robin simultaneously listen to a radio broadcast about five missiles accidentally taking off and heading for their cities.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: In issue #142, a high-diver called Joe Meach tries to become famous by climbing a skyscraper and jumping into a water-filled tank, but he is caught by Superman. When the man complains about Superman ruining his big performance, Superman points out that Joe was not careful enough to not use a plastic tank, and the water has leaked out. Instead of thanking Superman for saving him from his own stupidity, Joe blames him for ruining his career-jumpstarting feat.
- Conflict Ball: In issue #323, Superman gets in trouble and is saved by Batman. Nothing unusual per se, since Clark and Bruce have saved each other hundreds of times by this point. However, the higher-ups had decided to cancel the series and "reformulate" the World's Finest relationship; so that Batman all of sudden gets mad, forgets all instances of Superman saving him from his own mistakes, and rather than asking his buddy what happened, assumes that Superman flew into a situation without thinking, berates him for his supposed stupidity, and breaks off his partnership with him.
- Cool Gate: In issue #198, Superman and Flash find a glowing, golden rift in the black void of space as fleeing from an exploding super-nova, fly into it and land on a strange world which orbits around a doughnut-shaped sun.
- Death by Secret Identity: In issue #173, "The Jekyll-Hyde Heroes!", Dr. Arron develops a Psycho Serum that turns the drinker into their most feared enemy and doses both Batman and Superman. He's hit with his own serum at the end, and since he fears both heroes equally, he turns into a half and half version of them. He's also learned their secret identities, but overexposure to the serum leaves him a raving lunatic.
- Dig Your Own Grave: The cover of #195 had Batman and Superman forcing Robin and Jimmy Olsen to dig their own graves. In context, it was Superman playing along with Batman's delusion that he was the crime lord he'd been posing as while getting him to snap out of it.
- Disposable Superhero Maker: Issue #77 had Mad Scientist Professor Pender invent a device that would give anyone a copy of Superman's powers for one day, and a second device that would negate Superman's powers. Naturally, Batman ends up getting the superpowers while Superman is Brought Down to Normal. In a subversion of No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup, the criminal works on building another copy of the superpower machine after the first is accidentally destroyed... but it's still never mentioned again after that story.
- Doing In the Wizard: In issue #176, movie star Ronald Jason pretends to be two different aliens in order to fool both Superman and Batman because he wants to pull off his career's best performance before dying.
- Duel to the Death: Issue #261 shows Superman challenging Batman to a duel to the death.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- The magazine wasn't born as a Superman/Batman crossover series, but as an Anthology Comic, wherein Superman, Batman and other heroes like Zatara, Sandman, the Star-Spangled Kid, Green Arrow, Lando or Red, White and Blue lived solo adventures. Initially, Batman did not even have top-billing, his strip usually having the last slot. Superman and Batman's first joint adventure appeared thirteen years later in issue #71 (July, 1954).
- Judging by the covers, the World's Finest were Superman, Batman and Robin, who was featured in all covers until issue #85 (December, 1956).
- Engineered Heroics: In issue #142, the Composite Superman sneakily uses his powers to set up several disasters -triggering several rockets' launching, weakening a building's foundations...-, making sure that Superman and Batman to fail when they try to save the situation, and then he shows up, fixes everything and is hailed as the hero of the day. It does not take long for Clark and Bruce to figure out their rival is behind everything.
- Everyone Went to School Together: Retconned. Adventure Comics #275 has Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne go to school together in Smallville, accompanied by his parents. Worlds Finest #271, retconned that it was Bruce's guardians.
- Evil Duo:
- Lex Luthor and The Joker often teamed, with Luthor being the clever, calculating, even-tempered Evil Genius and the Joker being the violence-prone, Laughing Mad, Ax-Crazy maniac.
- In issue #166, Muto, an enemy of the 25th century Superman, teams up with the latest Joker.
- Falsely Reformed Villain: In issue #88, Lex Luthor and the Joker team up with this gambit, building nigh-indestructible industrial robots as a front for their actual plan.
- Flashback: Issue #71 -the point when the series became a Superman/Batman team-up rather an Anthology Comic- opens with a flashback to the time both heroes discovered each other's identity in Superman (1939) #76 (published two years earlier).
- Gaslighting: In issue #142, Batman and Robin enter the Batcave and find out an anonymous sign saying "I know your Batcave's secrets and all your secrets!" and setting a date and time for a private meeting. Robin utterly denies that is his idea of a prank. Meanwhile, Superman arrives at his Fortress of Solitude, and finds out that someone broke in. The intruder did not steal anything, but they left the door open so that Superman knew that some had trespassed, and left another sign saying "I know all your secrets!" and demanding a meeting. At the time and place appointed, Superman and Batman find out that they are being blackmailed by someone who calls himself Composite Superman, who has used telepathy to learn their secrets.
- Go Fetch: In issue #159, Superman is chasing after a villain who calls himself the Anti-Superman. The man then lifts a museum's dome and tosses it away, shouting "Go get it, Superman. Fetch!". Superman is aware that his adversary is trying both to distract him and humiliate him, but he cannot let the dome crash on the streets.
- High-Speed Hijack: In issue #159, as they are chasing the Anti-Batman's car, Batman asks Robin to take the steering wheel so that he can jump into their opponent car as soon as they get close enough. Before Batman can act, though, the Anti-Batman bumps his car against the Batmobile and off the road.
- Kryptonite Ring: Subverted in issue #176 in which Batman appears to have Kryptonite gloves, but in reality they are fake. Curiously, before he reveals that they are props, no one -not even Supergirl- questions why he owns something that can kill his best buddy.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Doble subversion in issue #176. A movie star called Ronald Jason wants to pull off his career's best performance before dying, so he poses as an alien called Dur and begs Superman to save him from a hitman called Tiron; later, he poses as an alien law-enforcer called Tiron and asks Batman's help to apprehend a dangerous criminal called Dur, who has fled to Earth and has tricked Superman into aiding him. Batman recruits Supergirl to help him hold Superman back, Superman asks Batgirl's help, and both teams fight each other. However, Superman had figured out Jason's gambit, and his reasons. He warned Batman, and the duo decided to humor him so he died happy. And still, they did not let Supergirl and Batgirl in on the secret, so they fought each other for real.
- Missing Time: In issue #142, as Joe Meach's powers fade, his memory of his time as the Composite Superman also vanishes. Eventually, Joe returns to his janitor job, with no memory of what he did over the past few days, and assuming that he wandered away for a while after getting shock-induced amnesia.
- Multilayer Façade: In issue #176, Superman meets up with actor called Ronald Jason, who takes off a full-face mask, revealing a scaly, white face, and claims to be an alien called Dur impersonating the real Mr. Ronald. However, Dur's alien face is another head-mask worn by the real Ronald Jason, who is trying to pull off his best performance ever.
- My Brain Is Big: Issue #166 features the second appearance of Muto, a yellow-skinned, big-headed, hairless mutant. His vast psychic powers include telekinesis and matter-transmutting.
- Nighttime Transformation: In issue #256, Lar-On, a Kryptonian werewolf, automatically and unwillingly changed shape at night until he learned how to control his transformation.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Issue #248 revealed that Bruce Wayne's old girlfriend Julie Madison, last seen as an actress under the name Portia Storm, had married the prince of a Medeterranian microstate and was now Princess Portia of Moldacia, obviously inspired by Grace Kelly becoming Princess Grace of Monaco.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Lar-On is a Kryptonian werewolf. His lycanthropy is a sickness caused by Red Kryptonite poisoning (Red-K does weird things to Kryptonians as opposite to the lethal and most famous green type). He turns into a muscled, huge, purple-red, humanoid wolf with fiery Eye Beams.
- Powers as Programs: In issue #142, the Legion of Super-Heroes uses a Duplicator Machine to create perfect figurines of themselves and donate them to the 20th century Metropolis Superman Museum. Unbeknownst to them, the machine also duplicated their powers, and when the exhibit is hit by a lightning bolt, part of their powers is released and transferred into janitor Joe Meach, who becomes a supervillain, calling himself the Composite Superman.
- Remember the New Guy?: In issue #173, Superman had a one-page flashback to a battle with Kralik the Conqueror, who he claims is the one foe that he fears most. This is Kralik's first and only appearance - not only did he never appear again, but he didn't even appear again in the story that introduced him, despite seemingly still being alive! His only influence to the plot is that Superman is given a potion that makes him look and act like Kralik by a completely unrelated villain.
- Riding into the Sunset: The final issue's cover features Superman flying towards the setting Sun (in which is written a giant "THE END") while Batman turns around and walks away, with both characters saying goodbye to each other.
- Rubber-Forehead Aliens: In issue #176, Superman meets Dur, an alien from the Sirius solar system who looks like a human, if humans had scaly, chalk-white skin and large bulging black eyes. At the same time, Batman finds an alien called Tiron, who looks like an earless, blue-skinned, black-eyed human. Justified because both aliens are really an extremely well made-up and disguised human actor.
- Schmuck Bait: In issue #72, a gang of criminals use special weapons to shoot and rob an armored car. When they try to steal another armored car, they find Superman inside and realize too late that it was a trap.
- Second Super-Identity:
- Issue #89 revolves around a new superhero named Lightning-Man who keeps showing up Superman. Eventually, the heroes realized a small piece of Green K gave Clark amnesia, so he constructed the new identity himself to help people.
- Issue #119 revolves around a superhero named "Tigerman", who turns out to be...Superman acting as a clumsy new hero so bad guys will capture him and take him to their hideout.
- Issue #155 revolves around a new hero named Nightman who teams up with Superman instead. It turns out Superman had hypnotized Batman into taking the identity to give him a challenging case to solve.
- Secret Chaser: In issue #71, Lois sees Clark Kent switching too Superman by chance. Clark and Bruce Wayne swap secret identities in order to mislead her, and they are so effective that Lois goes from thinking that Clark is Superman to believe that Bruce is posing as Superman to guess that Superman is posing as Bruce to decide she couldn't care less.
- Space Base: Issue #166 reveals the Superman of the 25th century decided his invisible fortress orbiting Earth was not safe enough, so he moved it to the center of the Sun.
- Superdickery:
- In the cover of issue #54, Batman and Superman are calmly sitting on the back of a tandem bike as Robin is the only one who is pedaling.
- The cover of #195 has Superman and Batman force Jimmy and Robin to dig their own graves. In context, Batman had deluded himself into believing he was a crime lord, and Batman was playing along while tried to snap him out of it.
- The cover◊ of issue #169, The Supergirl-Batgirl Plot, features Supergirl and Batgirl gloating about ruining both Superman and Batman's lives. The scene happens in the inside, but both "women" turn out to be Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-mite, who are posing as Kara and Babs.
- Superpowered Evil Side: In issue #98, astronaut Brice Rogers became the Moonman after passing through a comet's tail while traveling to the Moon. During the day he was Brice, but exposure to moonlight forced the emergence of his criminal alter ego.
- Take the Wheel: In issue #159, as they are chasing the Anti-Batman's car, Batman asks Robin to take the steering wheel so that he can jump into their opponent car as soon as they get close enough.
- Tandem Parasite: In issue #54, Superman, Batman and Robin ride a tandem bike. However, Robin is the only who is pedalling as his mentors are calmly sitting cross-legged and arm-folded on their seats.
- Team-Up Series: While most of the series focused on the regular team of Superman and Batman, there was a period at the beginning of the 70's where Batman was phased out and Superman teamed up with various DC heroes such as The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, the Teen Titans, and even the Vigilante in addition to the Dark Knight. Batman eventually became Superman's regular partner again after a year and a half.
- Third-Person Flashback: In issue #166, Future Batman's flashback includes the Joker murdering his whole family during a public ceremony, even though Batman says he did not personally witness that tragedy because he was too young to attend the event.
- Ungrateful Bastard: In issue #142, Superman saves the life of a stuntman called Joe Meach and gets him a job when Joe grumbles about being incapable of finding one. Far from feeling grateful, though, Meach hates and resents Superman for ruining his high-diving stunt (refusing to acknowledge that Superman saved his life because Joe carelessly used a plastic tank which had a leak), getting him a job as a "lowly sweeper" (since Joe feels he is obvious entitled to be wealth and fame) and, worst of all, being popular. When Joe has powers by sheer chance, he calls himself the Composite Superman and sets out to humiliate Superman and Batman for being more famous and well-loved than him.
- Vehicular Assault: In issue #159, the Anti-Batman wins the car chase against Batman and Robin by bumping his car into the Batmobile until driving them off the road and into a statue.
- Villain Team-Up:
- A strange example in issue #169, The Supergirl-Batgirl Plot. It looks like Supergirl and Batgirl are teaming-up to take Superman and Batman down. However, Batman unmask both women, who turn out to be Catwoman and Supergirl's enemy Black Flame. But then the real Supergirl and Batgirl arrive just in time to save both heroes from a dimensional trap, and both villains transform back into their real selves, Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite. It turns out both Imps were teaming up to see if they could trick Superman and Batman into trapping themselves in another dimension.
- Issue #166, "The Danger of the Deadly Duo!", set in the 25th century, has psychic super-villain Muto and Joker XX teaming up against Superman XX and Batman XX, descendants of the original heroes.
- Younger and Hipper: As of issue #215 (January, 1973), the series ran some stories about the "Super-Sons," Clark Kent Jr. and Bruce Wayne Jr. They looked to be in their twenties and sported the hippest clothes and slang.
- You Killed My Father: In issue #166, set in the 25th century, the current Batman Bron Wayn wants to capture the current Joker to beat out of him the identity and location of the former Joker, who murdered Bron's whole family when he was a baby.
