Lex Luthor joins forces with Gotham City's rogues gallery to finally defeat the Man of Steel — but he doesn't count on Batman and Robin coming to the rescue.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Badass: In all other incarnations, Metallo is powered by the Kryptonite in his chest, and can be rendered powerless by removing it. Here, he seems to have his own power source, as removing the Kryptonite doesn’t slow him down in the slightest.
- Big "WHAT?!": Luthor's reaction to Batman foiling his Metallo plan.
- Blackmail: Superman learns about Batman's secret identity and orders him to give him the Kryptonite.
- Car Fu: Batman controls the Batmobile to ram Metallo.
- Chekhov's Gun: While reporting Metallo's failure, Mercy tells Luthor there are only a few pieces and dust samples left of kryptonite. The dust ends up being crucial to making the Mind-Control Device work on Superman.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Superman beats Bane with one punch.
- Damsel in Distress: Lois.
- Deducing the Secret Identity: Batman can deduce Superman's identity by tracking the trail of micro-sonicbooms he makes and notices he frequents two locations in particular; the Daily Planet building, and an apartment building that's home to Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent.
- Didn't Think This Through: Metallo is right that there's nothing two Badass Normal heroes can do to get him away from Superman. It never occurs to him that they could simply grab the exposed kryptonite in his chest and move that away.
- "Eureka!" Moment: With Metallo detained, Luthor remarks there's no one left in Metropolis to help him take down Superman. It then occurs to them that there are several powerful and dangerous supervillains living in Gotham.
- Evil Versus Evil: Poison Ivy tried to control Lex Luthor with her spores. She ends up becoming his captive and he mixes the spores with Kryptonite dust to control Superman.
- Fake Shemp: Owing to actor unavailability, Bane only makes grunts done by Lex Luthor's voice actor; Clancy Brown, Poison Ivy doesn't make a sound due to being trap in a sound-proof tube, and Clayface only speaks when disguised as Clark Kent.
- Great Detective: Batman determines the flight patterns of Superman and finds out any locations that he most frequently visits: the Daily Planet and Clark Kent's apartment.
- Hurl It into the Sun: Superman hurls the lead container with the fake Kryptonite into the sun.
- Hypocritical Humor: After Superman flies off to face Luthor alone, Batman expresses annoyance with the loner mentality.Batman: He's not much for conversation, is he?
Robin: Like you should talk. - I Work Alone: Surprisingly, Superman wants to be this but Bruce advises against the idea since having a friend wouldn't hurt.
- Kneel Before Zod: As the spores overtake Superman, Luthor demands his foe bow before him. He ends up forcing it.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Luthor recruits Gotham's rogues to finish Superman off.
- Little "No":
- Metallo right before the trash compactor immobilizes him.
- Black Mask right before Superman escapes the ice.
- Mind-Control Device: Poison Ivy developed mind control spores but Luthor thinks it's a failure until some bits of Kryptonite are added to it.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Superman when he realizes he's being attacked by Metallo.
- Batman's eyes widen in response to Superman learning his true identity.
- Power Nullifier: Black Mask fires a red kryptonite-enhanced gun to render Superman normal enough for his compatriots to finish him off.
- Riddle for the Ages: Luthor says he had to go to a lot of trouble to re-power Metallo, which is one of the reasons he's pissed about Batman mucking up the attack.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Exploited. All the powerful Metropolis villains have been dealt with, so Luthor recruits some powerful Gotham villains (Black Mask and his organization, Clayface, Bane, and Mr. Freeze) that Superman has no experience fighting. Batman is also quick to make light of this, after the fight.Batman: So, why the sudden interest in Superman, Black Mask? Getting tired of me?
- Shout-Out: Robin make reference to The Terminator since Metallo resembles one.
- Taught by Experience:
- As Earth narrowly survived the Joining's invasion, Bruce tasked Lucius with developing an assortment of new tech and weapons in case aliens ever invade again.
- While handing off the supposed container of kryptonite, Bruce admits to Clark that he had an I Work Alone attitude, too, but he had to learn how valuable friends can be in their line of work.
- Time Skip: One year has passed since the Joining's defeat. In that time, Mayor Grange has been succeeded by Mayor Hill who oversaw the rest of Gotham City's reconstruction.
- Two-Faced: Metallo reveals it's him by ripping off half of his human disguise.
- Villain Ball: Metallo may very well have been able to finish off Superman in short order, but he took his time to enjoy himself. He also just toys with Batman and Robin under the assumption they can't do anything to get him away from Superman.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Clayface escapes after the failed attempt on Superman's life.
- Villain Team-Up: Under Luthor's instruction, Black Mask zaps Superman with a ray imitating red sunlight, leaving Bane, Clayface II, and Mr. Freeze to do the fighting.
