World's Finest

## Lead-Up

Superman and Batman are both established heroes in their respective cities.

Batman traces gotham villain Magpie to Metropolis crime syndicate Intergang. They fight against Bruno Manheim and Atomic Skull as well as arms dealer Toyman.

## **Chapter One - "A Dark Night in Metropolis"**

Batman tracks former Maroni assassin Magpie down to Metropolis, finding that she has ties to secret organization Intergang; a new wave of crime that worships a sacred text known as the Crime Bible. He goes as Bruce Wayne to a conference with Lex Luthor.

Supes confronts him and they fight. Batman threatens to kill a random civilian who he has placed a bomb on unless superman gets out of his way. Superman can tell he's not lying by his heart-rate and backs off.

Lois does expose with Jimmy on Intergang, and they discover that Intergang is purchasing some kind of nuclear arsenal from Qurac. The two get captured by Intergang agents. Clark panics, but can't risk his identity, and is too late to appear as Superman.

Batman intercepts Magpie's contact, Toyman, but is overwhelmed by his gadgets. He escapes, and Batman arrives at Clark Kent's apartment and reveals he knows he is superman. Clark then reveals he could see through his mask and knows he's Bruce Wayne. They team up.

## **Chapter Two - "The Brave and the Bold"**

In Suicide Slum, Boss Moxie is met by Bruno Manheim, Whisper A'Daire and Kyle Abbot. They inform Moxie that they will be taking over the Metropolis crime scene, issuing him a warning: Join or Die. Moxie laughs, as his men turn their guns on Manheim and co. Manheim unveils a device that renders their weapons useless while Whisper and Abbot activate alien weaponry that kills everyone in the room. As a crippled Moxie reaches for a pistol, Manheim explains his contact with the devil, the god of evil is coming to earth. He grabs moxie and gouges his eyes out.

Clark goes to Bat-cave with Bruce; they devise a plan to save Lois and jimmy from the clutches of Intergang. Bruce reveals that the bomb he placed was on himself. Batman tells Clark to hone his super-hearing and locate Jimmy and Lois based on the frequency of their heartbeats.

Toyman and Magpie intercept the nuclear arsenal for Intergang, with Lois and Jimmy prepped as sacrifices before the dawn. Magpie begins the ritual, the duo arrive and fight the villains. Big fight; Whisper + Abbot arrive and use the alien tech on Superman, hurting him. Lois and Jimmy are freed by Bats, who knock out Magpie and turn a weapon on the Intergang thugs while jimmy pries off the device shackling superman. Manheim fight Batman, ordering Toyman to unleash the weapon. Batman disables Toyman with a batarang, but its too late. The weapon is revealed to be the Atomic Skull, a nuclear powered maniac.

## **Chapter Three - "Super Friends"**

Atomic skull unleashes a shock-wave throughout the compound. He starts killing random people, even the Intergang goons. Manheim and his cronies escape through an alien wormhole, leaving the heroes and metropolis to the mercy of the atomic beast. Jimmy and Lois get Clark clear, telling him that Metropolis needs him.

Batman calls down an arsenal of devices, summoning the bat-mobile to distract the beast. Luthor sees the pandemonium from above, choosing to observe both heroes battling the destroyer. The sun rises and Superman's powers are restored. Atomic Skull tears open the bat-mobile, grabbing Batman and burning through his armor with radioactive touch. Superman severs the creatures arm with heat vision and delivers an epic blow with the power of 100 locomotives. Skull goes flying, but Superman snatches him from the skies of metropolis, taking the battle away from civilians.

Skull emits an atomic wave that knocks the two from the sky, landing on the banks of the Atlantic. They battle on the ocean-side, with Skull frying Clark's brain with radioactive energy. Suddenly, Skull is hit from behind by a bolt of electrically charged water and smoldered by a tidal wave. Superman finds the beast unconscious, and a figure wielding a mighty golden trident submerged in the unknown waters. Clark thanks him, as the unknown ally disappears.

Clark visits Bruce in the Bat-Cave, and the two decide to work together again someday, as neither could have defeated the threat without the other. As Superman leaves, Bruce confides in Alfred that he's been inspired to take a sidekick. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor is met by two unknown individuals; the three agreeing that heroes working together means that they must act soon.

## Timeline

* This event is part of **The Golden Age**
* This event is preceded by **Man of Steel**
* This event is followed by **Batman (S3)**

## Links

* Full Reading Order
* Superman Reading Order
* Batman Reading Order