Earlier today,we saw that
Batman was ready to retire, psychological paralyzed by an
inferiority complex triggered when he took one measly bullet during a mission.
Superman's "
brilliant" plan--set up a fake crime wave in
Kandor, so Batman could solve it and get all better.
Problem--the plan misfired (
duh), the menace was
real, but Batman found out it was a plan and is now all "
I hate you!"
Ouch!!
Now, surprisingly, Kandor turns out to be a lot like
Vulcan, in that
this advanced scientific society settles their disputes with primitive armed combat rituals:
It turns out that Kandor is not only ripping off classic
Star Trek episode
Amok Time, but also the
Next Generation episode
The Icarus Factor, as we start a round of
anbo-jyutsu:
Well,
Kal-El probably
did deserve that...
Anyhoo,
as we saw yesterday, Batman goes on to whip
Metalloid butt, and apparently, all is forgiven:
So, to summarize: getting shot turns Batman into a giant wuss; lying to a trauma victim, and starting a fake crime spree, is an acceptable and safe treatment for an inferiority complex; beating your best friend at
koon-ut-kal-if-fee works wonders for your ego; and everything is re-set to square one at the end.
Oh,
Silver Age, don't ever change...
From World's Finest #143 (1964), as reprinted in World's Finest #197 (1970)
You know what is the best part of this? Robin and Jimmy making faces at the city of Kandor...and probably getting fingerprints all over the giant glass jar.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, what I hate the most about Silver Age DC is how Superman is the end all and be all. He's got all these powers, Batman has only his fighting skills, and when they fight with Superman sans powers it's only because of Superman's goodness that Batman wins.
ReplyDeleteSheesh.
It's almost like saying that Superman, with all his powers over and above super-speed, has to be depicted as capable of running as fast as Flash, with only the super-speed.
Wait.