The first crossover comic of Batman and Superman featured DC heroes sharing a bed

Batman and Superman have met many times for the first time. They met for the first time in films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice And world’s finest, Where they fought each other before deciding to become friends. Like they have met in alternate universes Superman: Red Son, And battled with each other before deciding to become enemies. DC met in 2011 after rebooting their universe (for the first time, then Friends), and in 1986 after rebooting their universe.

But what would happen if Batman and Superman met each other immediately without shaking hands? This is what happened, in first of all For the first time the Dark Knight and the Man of Tomorrow knew each other.

How do you make Meat Cute among Titans?

Nine times out of ten, when you see the first thing of a superhero, it’s not particularly interesting. At best, these moments are less important in an ironic way, given how important they later became. In Wolverine’s first appearance, he was just a Canadian operative trying to take down the Hulk. Darkseed’s first appearance was in an issue Jimmy Olsen of Superman’s Pal. The space building had a zenome symbiosis for an alternate costume from the strange head dome.

Like Wolverine’s debut, the original first does not reflect their later significance because no one could have known that they were going to be important in the first place. The original First Appearance, like the first appearance of Venom Symbot, does not reflect their later significance because they were intended to be mundane, and their significance was created later by other creatives.

Jim Shooter, Mike Jake / Marvel Comics

It is easy to assume that these rules would also apply to the original first meeting between Batman and Superman. We have seen this in movies, and in modern comics. It is probably very pedestrian. Apart from that there is nothing to report that Superman and Batman made sure that they meet each other, and they made sure that there was some kind of crime.

Yes, that’s wrong.

The time when Batman and Superman met on a double booked cruise

The thing about Batman and Superman is that they infer the idea of ​​a shared superhero universe. And they were both vast Before thoughts started forming. DC doubled her popularity by giving her a whole extra book to share, world’s finest, And yet, each issue was an anthology featuring a single Batman story and a single Superman story.

So when writer Edmund Hamilton and artist Kurt Swann (also a duo responsible for the Batman slapping Robin Meme) took it upon themselves to produce a supermate in the 1952s. Superman # 76, they knew it was a moment.

And yet he created a story in which Batman and Superman are double booked in the same room on a cruise, That is hilarious

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Hamilton and Swann cut the whole thing off with Batman and Superman going on vacation at the same time. The Dark Knight is running out of time! what a shock! But as the first two panels of the comic point out, Batman and Robin leave the last culprit on Gotham’s wanted list. Batman did it! He ended all crime in Gotham!

So he goes on a cruise.

And this crowd Cruise. So crowded that lighthearted reporter Clark Kent and the well-off, but notably famous bachelor Bruce Wayne, don’t have to share a double.

The tension of the situation cuts off almost immediately when a crime occurs at the dock outside the ship, and the two superheroes … well, let’s let Hamilton and Hans know:

The issue then becomes a classic fars. Batman and Superman must board the ship as their superheroes to take out the diamond thief – but also have to pretend that their civilian identity is on board – all under the investigative eye of Lois Lane, who if he Shall Be Cursed allows Clarke to walk away with a title while on vacation.

Things get messed up between Superman and Batman as Batman manipulates Lois to distract her, and Lois realizes that Batman is manipulating her with a distraction – so that To make Superman angry, he decides to fake an interest on her. But the crime is eventually thwarted, the instant super-bros help each other maintain their secret identities, and Lois gets her headline and even Robin’s night instead of either of them. Also gives revenge for taking out to eat.

This is good! This is cute! It is strangely mundane, and clearly intended for a child audience. But can we do better? Can we revive this story for a more modern audience?

This is comics, so, of course we can. In 2006, writer Joe Kelly (Dead pool, Spider Man, Superman) And a team of artists (Ed McGunnies, Ryan Ottley, Sean Murphy, and Carlo Barbieri got it for Superman / Batman Annual # 1, retreat from a bombardment Superman # 76.

This time there was only one bed

Ironically, Superman / Batman Annual # 1 doesn’t hold up as well Superman # 76. It is littered with off-color jokes, which were also fatigued in 2006. But Kelly and Otley are visibly improving in 1952, with Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent discovering their superhero identity as they both try to get the other. In college leave So they can spring into action.

And so is the weirdest thing Superman # 76 Not that this is an exception to the law’s anachronistic comic book first, but it was, by complete accident, a shocking modern conceit.

Most readers of Superman / Batman Perhaps it didn’t put together that the series’ first annual pick up directly from the 54-year-old storyline (not to mention that the average fan didn’t have a simple way to track 54-year-old issues, from the digital back issue An era before). “There was only one hotel room” is such an established romance trope – of course it would be fun to enforce many pairs of masculine friendships. This is not the sort of thing that was expected in a mid-century story that first met these two giant characters.

And yet it is. Cannally, the first time he met Batman and Superman, was because they were double booked in the same hotel room.

Your move, Hollywood.