Action Comics #654 (June 1990)
Action Comics #654 (June 1990)
“Dark Knight Over Metropolis,” Finale! Or: the issue where Superman and Batman learn to play nice, and then one gifts the other a ring.
As seen in Part 1 and Part 2, Batman came to Metropolis to investigate some kryptonite-related deaths (yes, kryptonite is deadly to earthlings too, as Lex Luthor’s hand found out) but his fun vacation got a little sidetracked when he found himself involved in Intergang’s vendetta against Superman’s friend, Cat Grant. Superman and Batman go to Cat’s apartment, but find that: 1) she’s been kidnapped, and 2) an Intergang operative called Shockwave singlehandedly demolished an entire building in her street. They find Shockwave playing in the rubble and have a little chat with him.
Meanwhile, Cat has been taken to Doctor Moon, an old Batman villain specialized in screwing up people’s heads, to brainwash her into saying nice things about Intergang during the trial of their former boss, Morgan Edge. But, just as her brain’s about to fry, a couple of visitors drop by:
Superman and Batman (and the somehow still alive Gangbuster) save Cat and stop Intergang’s plan, but there’s still the little matter of the kryptonite deaths. Fortunately, the woman who had the kryptonite ring, Amanda McCoy, was considerate enough to write down her whole story in a diary and leave it in her apartment for Batman to find. Batman explains Amanda’s entire plotline to Superman (more details below) and then admits that he actually found the kryptonite ring a while ago but didn’t mention it. Since the mystery is solved, Batman gives the ring to Superman and goes back to his mansion to have some tea in his slippers.
Superman, however, has realized that Batman is actually a pretty cool dude while working with him, and later stops by the Batcave to hand him the kryptonite ring back – because if he ever goes insane (again) and someone has to kill him, he wants that someone to be Bats.
Aww. The beginning of a beautiful friendship!
Plotline-Watch:
This issue closes down several loooooong running plotlines that John Byrne started back in the day but didn’t stick around to finish:
The Amanda McCoy Mystery: McCoy was introduced in Superman #2 when she figured out Superman is Clark Kent while working for Lex Luthor, but Lex refused to believe it and fired her. In Superman #5 Clark received a mystery package – when he finally got around to opening it in Superman #11, it turned out to be Ma Kent’s Superman scrapbook, which Luthor’s goons had stolen while digging dirt on Clark. Now we find out it was Amanda McCoy who returned the scrapbook. After that, she hired a private investigator to follow Clark and prove he’s Superman, but he was killed when Intergang mistook him for Kent (in Superman #28). Undeterred, she decided to break into her old job and steal Lex Luthor’s kryptonite ring to confront Clark, but unfortunately she misplaced the ring when she got killed in a random mugging last issue (as you’ll see, “getting randomly killed” is something that tends to happen to minor characters who learn Superman’s identity). Anyway, a hobo found the ring, took it to Gotham City, and Batman found the hobo. The end!
Superman Hates Batman: Superman and Batman have had an awkward relationship since that time Superman went to Gotham to arrest Bats for his “criminal methods” in Man of Steel #2. Later, Superman helped Batman against a sexy vampire (Action Annual #1), so in order to pay him back for the favor, Superman asked Batman to use his detective powers to find out who sent him the mystery scrapbook mentioned above (Action #594). Batman didn’t find out who it was, but he did use the scrapbook to figure out Superman’s identity (Adventures #440), which of course only made things more awkward. In this storyline Superman officially retires his “I don’t agree with his methods” bitching, and they’ll be pals from now on. (Except that one time in the future when Batman kills Superman, but that’s another story.)
Superman Is Insane: The famous Superman/Batman kryptonite ring scene works well on its own, but it's especially meaningful when you consider its context: Superman has just overcome another mind control/split personality episode (during “Day of the Krypton Man”) and, despite the character growth, he knows it could happen again and needs to be prepared. Giving Batman the kryptonite ring as a contingency plan is a good way of signaling that this Superman is capable of learning from his mistakes.
Morgan Edge Is An Asshole: Yes, he’s finally going away! Edge was introduced in Superman #16 as the owner of WGBS-TV, but soon we found out he was also running Intergang. In Superman #28, the Daily Planet started running an expose of Edge’s shady activities by Clark Kent and a secret informant, who turned out to be Edge’s girlfriend/employee Cat Grant. Intergang has been trying to kill or silence Cat so she doesn’t testify against Edge since Adventures #456, but after this issue’s defeat, new Inter-boss “Ugly” Mannheim says “eh, screw it” and just lets Edge go to jail. We won’t see Morgan again for a long time, though that doesn’t mean we’re completely rid of the Edge family. And last but not least…
The Misadventures of Jose Delgado: Poor Jose/Gangbuster is the unluckiest comics character ever: he’s been beaten up, shot at, crippled, dumped by Lois Lane, turned into a zombie, buried in rubble, dumped by Lois Lane (again) and kicked out of his apartment, but in this issue his luck finally turns around. In Part 2 of this storyline, Shockwave seemingly dropped a building with Jose inside, but he managed to escape and didn’t even break his spine this time. Then he joins Superman and Batman during the Intergang raid, and it’s him who saves Cat Grant, who seems very grateful. Jose’s misadventures are over!
(Just kidding, his unluckiest moment is coming soon.)
Excuse-Watch:
Sorry for the infrequent updates this month! I’ve been busy with work and, uh, Mario Kart 8. I thought about making the entries shorter to make more of them, but judging by this post, I don’t think that plan’s going very well. There’s just so much to talk about in these issues. We’ll eventually reach a point where they’ll cut back on the plotlines and I’ll have less to say, though.
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