1983 (August): Breaking up is Hard to Do
July 1993 finds Superman and Batman still very close, five months after their clinch in "A Kryll Way of Dying." They're even going out on dates having dinner together after chatting about their mothers in World's Finest #293:
Those two guys are, of course, criminals running a scam. Also, the art on that is just awful. Still, Clark and Bruce out to dinner together is massively adorable.
But alas, trouble was brewing on the horizon! For whatever reason, their friendship has its first serious test just a month later, when Batman and the Outsiders was released in August 1983. Because of the events of that title, Batman leaves the JLA; he and Superman will not be on a team together for more than thirteen years. The cover sums it up:
The split comes when Lucius Fox is kidnapped in Markovia and Batman discovers that Superman has forbidden the League from interfering:
OH THE DRAMA. Batman goes out and forms a new team that is less beholden to international law, and he and Superman embark on their first major quarrel, which they proceed to tediously re-encapsulate every single time they run into each other in World's Finest for the next six months, starting right away in #294:
Clark and Bruce's reactions to this quarrel are--forgive me, DC--not quite perfectly calibrated to be not-slashy. They alternate between 1. fits of violent fury (I'm not sure what that crystal Bruce is holding is, but would like to think it's a Kryptonian crystal from Clark):
2. Gazing mournfully at photographs of happier times while being miserable:
3. Crying.
But when Superman is captured by the villain of the month, Batman does not hesitate:
In fact, he's perfectly willing to die to save Superman's life:
Superman battles the villain, defeats him, and snatches Batman from the exploding building.
Look at them in that first panel! They're just shaking hands, I know, but...there's no real reason for them to be doing so: "Congratulations on saving my life, Batman!" So it just looks like they escape the explosion and then they stand there holding hands until Bruce remembers he's not speaking to Clark and storms off. *sigh* Boys, boys...
Back to 1982-1985 summary
On to bickering and reconciliation in World's Finest #295-300
Those two guys are, of course, criminals running a scam. Also, the art on that is just awful. Still, Clark and Bruce out to dinner together is massively adorable.
But alas, trouble was brewing on the horizon! For whatever reason, their friendship has its first serious test just a month later, when Batman and the Outsiders was released in August 1983. Because of the events of that title, Batman leaves the JLA; he and Superman will not be on a team together for more than thirteen years. The cover sums it up:
The split comes when Lucius Fox is kidnapped in Markovia and Batman discovers that Superman has forbidden the League from interfering:
OH THE DRAMA. Batman goes out and forms a new team that is less beholden to international law, and he and Superman embark on their first major quarrel, which they proceed to tediously re-encapsulate every single time they run into each other in World's Finest for the next six months, starting right away in #294:
Clark and Bruce's reactions to this quarrel are--forgive me, DC--not quite perfectly calibrated to be not-slashy. They alternate between 1. fits of violent fury (I'm not sure what that crystal Bruce is holding is, but would like to think it's a Kryptonian crystal from Clark):
2. Gazing mournfully at photographs of happier times while being miserable:
3. Crying.
But when Superman is captured by the villain of the month, Batman does not hesitate:
In fact, he's perfectly willing to die to save Superman's life:
Superman battles the villain, defeats him, and snatches Batman from the exploding building.
Look at them in that first panel! They're just shaking hands, I know, but...there's no real reason for them to be doing so: "Congratulations on saving my life, Batman!" So it just looks like they escape the explosion and then they stand there holding hands until Bruce remembers he's not speaking to Clark and storms off. *sigh* Boys, boys...
Back to 1982-1985 summary
On to bickering and reconciliation in World's Finest #295-300