Nov. 1986: Byrne's "Man of Steel"
John Byrne's "Man of Steel" miniseries in late 1986 told the story of how Kal-El came to Earth and became Superman. It's most notable for being the source of what people call the "Byrne reboot" of Krypton--if you see Krypton being discussed as a soulless, sterile place where no-one ever touches, they're drawing from Byrne's reboot. In the Byrne story, Clark is actually born on Earth--he leaves Krypton as a fetus in a birthing matrix--and so Byrne's Clark identifies much more with humans than Kryptonians.
He also really doesn't get along with Batman. Byrne's re-imagining of their first meeting plays along the tropes set in motion in Batman and the Outsiders #1 and refined in The Dark Knight Returns--that Superman believes in the law above all else, and Batman is willing to break the law to achieve justice, and that as a result the two can never be anything but wary allies.
The story starts with Batman patrolling Gotham when "something catches his line":
That first page tells you about all you need to know: Superman is rude and condescending to Batman; Batman is contemptuous in turn.
Batman just consistently pwns Superman in this story.
Yes, Batman just called Clark "super-dense" there. :P
They continue to bicker for a bit, but then their attention is drawn by a super-villain who needs catching.
What kind of super-villain, you ask, is epic enough to justify the first team-up between these two titans? Which super-villain requires the combined might of Superman and intelligence of Batman to capture?
I present to you: Magpie.
A...not very bright nut case with a thing for pretty jewelry.
Ah well, it makes for a funny "How did you meet" story later, I suppose...
I like the first panel of the next page because, thanks to my cutting, it looks like it takes the two of them 20 minutes to catch Magpie, which would usually be about right. Actually, they've had to work together for a whole evening and come to respect each other.
Slightly.
That last panel makes me so sad, as it's Byrne basically acknowledging that their friendship is of another, vanished world.
So that's the official first-meeting of Superman and Batman. Infinite Crisis supposedly rebooted the world again in 2006, but in the absence of a new official story, this is still how the two of them met according to current continuity. It's not a stellar first meeting, but I like to think it makes the friendship the two of them eventually do develop in modern canon that much sweeter.
Back to 1985-1990 summary
He also really doesn't get along with Batman. Byrne's re-imagining of their first meeting plays along the tropes set in motion in Batman and the Outsiders #1 and refined in The Dark Knight Returns--that Superman believes in the law above all else, and Batman is willing to break the law to achieve justice, and that as a result the two can never be anything but wary allies.
The story starts with Batman patrolling Gotham when "something catches his line":
That first page tells you about all you need to know: Superman is rude and condescending to Batman; Batman is contemptuous in turn.
Batman just consistently pwns Superman in this story.
Yes, Batman just called Clark "super-dense" there. :P
They continue to bicker for a bit, but then their attention is drawn by a super-villain who needs catching.
What kind of super-villain, you ask, is epic enough to justify the first team-up between these two titans? Which super-villain requires the combined might of Superman and intelligence of Batman to capture?
I present to you: Magpie.
A...not very bright nut case with a thing for pretty jewelry.
Ah well, it makes for a funny "How did you meet" story later, I suppose...
I like the first panel of the next page because, thanks to my cutting, it looks like it takes the two of them 20 minutes to catch Magpie, which would usually be about right. Actually, they've had to work together for a whole evening and come to respect each other.
Slightly.
That last panel makes me so sad, as it's Byrne basically acknowledging that their friendship is of another, vanished world.
So that's the official first-meeting of Superman and Batman. Infinite Crisis supposedly rebooted the world again in 2006, but in the absence of a new official story, this is still how the two of them met according to current continuity. It's not a stellar first meeting, but I like to think it makes the friendship the two of them eventually do develop in modern canon that much sweeter.
Back to 1985-1990 summary