World's Finest #188 is an issue of the series World's Finest (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1969. It was published on August 7, 1969.
Synopsis for Superman and Batman: "The Super-Rivals"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #85.
When Princess Varina of Balkania decides to go to America to see the legendary heroes Superman and Batman, her prime minister Count Zito opposes the idea, but the princess will not be swayed. When news reaches both Metropolis and Gotham City, both Superman and Batman are summoned to welcome the Princess on her historic visit to the United States. Also attending the arrival ceremony are Lois Lane and Vicki Vale who are there mostly to see their love interests than report the story for the Daily Planet and Vue Magazine.
When the Princess arrives, Lois and Vicki are upset to find that Batman and Superman have completely ignored them and are focusing their full attention on Princess Varina. As the royal visit begins, it becomes apparent that Superman and Batman appear to be fighting over the Princesses favor, when a balcony begins to collapse and the two super-heroes compete with each other to see who can pull off the most spectacular way to save the people trapped on the balcony. Their insistence to stay by the Princesses side and act as her bodyguards also earns the two men the ire of her chief aide, Captain Stefan.
At a press conference, Lois asks the princess if she has a fiancé back home, and both she and Vicki are upset when they hear that the Princess is single and that she could possibly marry someone while visiting America. They are even more upset when both Superman and Batman openly vie for Varina's favor, both men one-upping the other. While Batman's gifts and dates are more modest, Superman takes full advantage of his abilities to bring her more flowers and bigger diamonds and make grander public displays of affection. As the visit carries on, Commissioner Gordon calls on Batman and warns him of an underworld tip that crooks intend to steal the princesses royal jewels. Batman assures the Commissioner that he and Superman will do whatever it takes to ensure the jewels are kept safe.
Meanwhile, Lois and Vicki confront the princess about Superman and Batman's interest in her and the princess tells them that she has no interest in marrying either hero and in fact she intends to marry her guard Captain Stefan, hoping to elope while they are in America. As it turns out, Count Zitu has asked Superman and Batman to try and woo her so that they can avoid a wedding due to the fact that if the princess marries a commoner it will spark civil war in Balkania.
That night when the crooks attempt to steal the royal jewels, Captain Stefan bravely defends the queen until Batman, Superman and Robin arrive to stop the crooks, however doing so in secret so as to make Stefan appear to be the true hero. With this news getting out, the people of Balkania hail Stefan as a hero and are welcome to having him marry the princess.
Appearing in Superman and Batman: "The Super-Rivals"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Pete Kaney's Mob (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Princess Varina of Balkania (Single appearance)
- Captain Stefan (Single appearance)
- Count Zitu (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Metropolis
- Balkania (Single appearance)
- South America
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Superman and Batman: "The Super-Newspaper of Gotham City"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #80.
With sales flagging, the board of directors at the Gotham Gazette are planning to shut the newspaper down. Desperate to keep the paper going, it's editor, John Hall, appeals to one of the directors, none other than Bruce Wayne, to keep the paper going as it is about to crack a major crime story. Bruce agrees to do all he can to help and as Batman he and Robin call in Superman to explain what's going on. Wishing to help keep the Gazette going, Superman mocks the paper in his identity of Clark Kent within earshot of Perry White. Perry, upset that Clark can be so dismissive about the newspaper that Perry first worked at, assigns Clark Kent and Lois Lane to go and help the paper in Gotham City, or risk losing their jobs at the Daily Planet.
When they arrive in Gotham City, they are surprised to find that John Hall has collapsed due to overwork leaving the paper without an editor. Lois Lane decides to take on the position and hires Bruce Wayne as a reporter. Once on the job, Lois becomes quite the demon behind the helm of the paper, worse so than hers and Clark Kent's employer Perry White. Bruce and Clark rush off to break the story, Clark using his x-ray vision to read what notes there are in Hall's desk to learn that the Gazette was trying to expose the operations of a criminal known as the Mole.
The two men go off to get scoops for the paper, while Bruce Wayne is driven off by Alfred to cover the new Riverside Park dedication, Clark changes into Superman to save an arctic sailing ship trapped in ice and helped it reach the shores of Gotham City. Radioing Robin to meet up with him there to look into the Mole mystery, Bruce finds that the park is crowded and as Batman he and Robin disperse the crowd with super aerobatics so that the police can better organize them for the park's opening. Alone together, they decide to check the files in the Batcave to see if they have any records about the Mole.
Later, when Batman, Superman and Robin can meet up at the Batcave, they learn that the Mole was a crook who was an expert miner and tunneler. Their investigations are interrupted by the Bat-Signal and our heroes rush off to stop a runaway train. While Clark and Bruce are turning in the story, Robin decides to check out a hunch and pays a visit to the Harrah Construction Company. Finding the owner suspicious, Robin deduces that he is really the Mole and calls in Batman and Superman to help, but is kidnapped while sending out his radio message. Rushing out to find Robin, Batman and Superman soon discover that the Harrah Construction Company has built tunnels under the city that lead to all the major banks.
With his x-ray vision, Superman spots the crooks taking Robin deep into the tunnels and uses his superpowers to close off and redirect one tunnel to a prison cell. Once the criminals have surfaced and Robin is safe, Superman seals the tunnel and the criminals' capture. With the crooks captured, Superman allows Batman to get to the Gotham Gazette first to report the story as Bruce Wayne. Superman then helps distribute the newspaper all over the city, and record sales about the Mole's bust allows the paper to continue publication. When John Hall returns to work he personally thanks Bruce for saving the paper. Meanwhile, Clark and Lois return to their job at the Daily Planet, and Lois gets some poetic justice, being reamed up by Perry White for her sloppy work.
Appearing in Superman and Batman: "The Super-Newspaper of Gotham City"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Mole (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- John Hall (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Superman and Batman: "The Negative Superman"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #126.
Lex Luthor is about to rob the Willis Gem Co with his new molecular rearranger device, while at the same time above the gem company in a laboratory a new invention for splitting neurons is being tested for the first time. When Superman arrives on the scene and Luthor attempts to blast him with his new invention, the combination of the two devices causes a strange twist of fate: It creates a duplicate of Superman that is a complete negative of him. When Superman attempts to stop Luthor's getaway, his duplicate prevents him from doing so by colliding with him causing them both to repel each other. As the story hits the airwaves, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson hear the news and rush to Metropolis as Batman and Robin to help their friend.
Back in Metropolis, when Superman attempts to use his x-ray vision to blow the tire on Luthor's getaway car, the Negative Superman uses his super-breath to freeze it back shut. Before Superman can go after either Luthor or his duplicate, he is called back to the lab to help put out a fire, allowing his enemies to get away. The Negative Superman flies to the Metropolis jail and breaks all the prisoners free. However, before all the crooks can escape, Batman, Robin and the real Superman arrive to thwart the jailbreak.
When Luthor plots to rob the box office receipts of the Sportsman Show, Batman and Robin get in his way and rope up his hirelings. However, the Negative Superman helps free them and flies off. Batman, Robin and Superman pursue the Negative Superman, and are shocked when he changes into a Negative Clark Kent and threatens to expose Superman's secret identity. They force the reverse being to change back into it's Superman costume and clash with them again, however it escapes again.
Attempting to see if Superman's weaknesses work on the creature, Batman and Robin track it down as it attempts to rob the Metropolis Bank. When the Kryptonite seemingly fails to work, Superman tells Batman and Robin to fall back while he handles his duplicate. When the Negative Superman attempts to fight Superman, he is surprisingly absorbed into the Man of Steel's body, ending his threat. When Luthor attempts to use his molecular rearrangement device on Superman, it turns out that it never truly worked, and Superman easily disarms him and turns him over to police custody.
Appearing in Superman and Batman: "The Negative Superman"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Lex Luthor
- Negative Superman (Single appearance)
Locations:
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Vehicles:
Synopsis for Green Arrow: "The World's Worst Archer"
This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #262.
Trained in archery by Brave Bow, an Indian his father once rescued, Roy Harper attempts to impress Green Arrow with his archery skills. However, every time he tries to show Green Arrow his abilities, the arrows seem to veer away from their appointed targets. Not giving up, and helping Green Arrow stop some robbers, both soon learn the reason why Roy's arrows never hit their targets: The non-flit arrows were vulnerable to the magnets inside the Arrowcar. Afterward, Green Arrow accepts Roy as his new partner, Speedy.
Appearing in Green Arrow: "The World's Worst Archer"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Brave Bow
- Roy Harper, Sr. (First appearance) (Dies in flashback)
Locations:
- Unknown
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Batman: "The Batman Nobody Remembered"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #136.
Batman is returning home in the Batplane during a terrible storm, when his craft is struck by lightning, and is forced to make a crash landing. Returning to Gotham City on foot, Batman is shocked to see the Joker brazenly driving around out in the open and tries to apprehend him. Bringing this Joker to Commissioner Gordon, Batman is shocked to learn that Commissioner Gordon doesn't recognize him, and the Joker is really a TV personality named Fred Forbes. When Gordon attempts to have Batman arrested, the Dark Knight manages to escape, troubled by what's happened he happens out into the street and sees Superman flying toward him. When he realizes that Superman is attempting to capture him, he flees the Man of Steel as well, causing an accident with an oil truck the Superman must deal with while the Caped Crusader gets away.
Trying to gain access to the Batcave, Batman is shocked to find that it's gone and so decides to enter Wayne Manor through the front door. He is shocked that neither Alfred or Dick recognize him and, even more surprising, that Clark Kent is in his home and is calling himself Bruce Wayne. When they try to capture him, Batman flees into the night, wondering what could have possibly happened and why people don't remember him.
Wandering the streets of Gotham City, Batman spots the headquarters of View Magazine and goes up to see his friend Vicki Vale. However, he is in for another shock once more when the woman who calls herself Vicki Vale happens to resemble Lois Lane. Vicki signals Superman and Robin who come and capture him. They take the Dark Knight back to Commissioner Gordon's office, where they force him to take off his mask. Nobody recognizing his face, they make him get his fingerprints taken and lock him up when reports of the Red Raven Gang being on the loose.
Superman, Gordon, and Robin neglect to remove his Utility Belt, so Batman uses it to break out of his jail cell and goes to help Superman and Robin stop the Red Raven Gang. Batman then accidentally weakens Superman with a chunk of Thulium, his only weakness, and then he's forced to use his detective skills to track the gang back to their headquarters. Signaling Superman to come, the two heroes easily round up the crooks and turn them over to the authorities, rescuing Robin in the process.
Afterward, playing on a hunch, Superman flies Batman in his damaged Batplane high over the Earth, and when Batman notes that the Atlantic coast is very different and proves Superman's theory that Batman has come from a parallel world. Realizing the lightning storm must be how Batman ended up being transported to this world, Superman and Robin help Batman travel back to his reality. Upon his arrival, he goes to Commissioner Gordon's office and is delighted to find his friends the Commissioner, Robin, Batwoman and Vicki Vale all waiting for him.
Appearing in Batman: "The Batman Nobody Remembered"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Red Raven (Single appearance)(alternate reality)
- The Red Raven Gang (Single appearance)(alternate reality)
Other Characters:
- Joker (Freddy Forbes) (Single appearance)(alternate reality)
- Alfred Pennyworth (Single appearance)(alternate reality)
- James Gordon (Single appearance)(alternate reality)
- Superman (Bruce Wayne) (Single appearance)(alternate reality)
- Robin (Single appearance)(alternate reality)
- Vicki Vale (Single appearance)(alternate reality)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Earth-136
- Gotham City
- GCPD Headquarters
- Wayne Manor
- View Magazine
- Gotham City
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also