Batman and Superman, page 1
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1: What’s the Anti-Matter?
Chapter 2: You Can’t Spell “Mxyzptlk” Without the “Why”
Chapter 3: Watch Out!
Chapter 4: Cy-Burger
Chapter 5: Sign of the Apokolips
Chapter 6: Dark Seid of the Moon
Chapter 7: What the Heck
Chapter 8: Goodness and Darkness
Chapter 9: Dropping the BOOM
Chapter 10: Double Double-Crossed
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CHARACTER PROFILES:
Mr. Mxyzptlk
This magical imp loves to prank Super Heroes. The only way to stop Mr. Mxyzptlk is to make him say his name backward—but he may have an extra trick under his hat this time.
Superman
Superman was born on the planet Krypton, then adopted by a loving couple on Earth. Today he defends truth and justice for all as a reporter named Clark Kent—and the superpowered Man of Steel.
Batman
After a tragic robbery left young Bruce Wayne an orphan, he dedicated his mind and body to fighting crime. The Batman now uses his intelligence, gadgets, and vehicles to keep Gotham City safe for all.
The Anti-Monitor
In our universe, there is only one Earth. But in the multiverse, there are many Earths—and the Anti-Monitor will stop at nothing to destroy all of them, triggering a Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Cyborg
When a lab accident gravely wounded his body, Victor Stone was rebuilt with cutting-edge technology, making him a half-man/half-machine hero. Cyborg may be covered in metal, but he is full of heart.
Darkseid
Darkseid rules the war-torn world of Apokolips with a stone fist and his destructive Omega Beams! But controlling one planet isn’t enough, so he now targets Earth and the Super Heroes who protect it.
Parademons
The shock troops in Darkseid’s Apokolips army, Parademons are like overgrown insects—they wear armored exoskeletons, fly in swarms, and destroy everything in their path. A big can of bug spray won’t stop them, but the Justice League can!
Alfred
Alfred the butler raised young Bruce Wayne as if the boy were his own son. Now that the boy has grown into Batman, Alfred still cares for the Caped Crusader by building his Bat-gadgets!
Robin
Robin isn’t just Batman’s sidekick—he’s also Batman’s friend. The Boy Wonder uses his smarts to foil Super-Villains and his fun-loving sense of adventure to bring a little lightheartedness to the Dark Knight Detective.
Batgirl
Batgirl, a martial artist and computer genius, is one of Batman’s partners. She solves mysteries and stops crime, whether in her uniform or in her secret identity of Barbara Gordon.
Granny Goodness
A formidable warrior who trains every soldier in Darkseid’s army, Granny Goodness is a lot like her world of Apokolips—rough, tough, and as hot-tempered as the planet’s blazing fire pits.
Kalibak
Darkseid’s big brute of a son, Kalibak only wants his fearsome father’s approval, even though he secretly possesses something Darkseid does not: compassion. Maybe Kalibak isn’t such a chip off the old blockhead after all.
Chapter 1
What’s the Anti-Matter?
The weather forecast in the Daily Planet for Monday morning in Metropolis called for cool temperatures, scattered clouds, and a slight chance of rain. Instead, the city experienced red skies, anti-matter showers, and an invasion of evil shadows.
“Yep, it’s a Monday, all right,” said Superman, as he soared over his city, slaloming between swirling portals, the mysterious openings to another dimension. Dozens of dark shadow beings poured out of each portal, but their leader—and Superman’s main target—loomed ahead.
The Anti-Monitor, a super powerful adversary clad in armor who had once already tried to destroy the known universe, towered over the Metropolis skyline. His giant hands had built an equally giant machine on top of a high-rise building, and strange, crackling energy surged from it. Far below, people fled in terror.
“ADMIT DEFEAT, KRYPTONIAN,” the Anti-Monitor’s voice boomed. “SOON THIS ANTI-MATTER UNIT SHALL CONVERT YOUR DIMENSION INTO MY NEW HOME!”
Before Superman could answer, another voice, low and gravelly, said, “Uninvited guests are like fish—they stink after a few days.”
Batman flew his Batwing right under the Anti-Monitor’s nose—well, the space where his nose would be if he had one. Superman sidled up to Batman’s sleek jet. “Nice of you to swing by,” he said.
“I would have gotten here sooner, but there was turbulence over Blüdhaven,” Batman explained. “Those weather forecasts between Gotham City and New Jersey are never right.”
Superman rocketed toward the Anti-Monitor, but the interdimensional invader swatted the hero away. The Man of Steel plummeted to the ground, sliding for several blocks. Shadow beings clung to the Batwing, trying to pry away its stealth shielding like gremlins. But Batman flew his jet in a loop-de-loop, shaking off the creepy creatures just as Superman launched himself back into the air.
“I assume you have a plan in mind?” Superman asked.
“Always,” answered Batman. “You box the shadows; I’ll pull the plug.”
“You know, Batman, you’ll make more friends if you say ‘please,’” Superman suggested.
“I have enough friends,” said Batman. “Now get to work. Please.”
Superman smiled, but that smile faded when he spotted a tree below him. A kitten was stuck on the highest branch, shivering as the trunk swayed in the anti-matter storm and more shadow beings gathered nearby. Superman squared his shoulders. “First things first,” he said.
He swooped down and took the kitten into his arms a split-second before the topmost branch snapped. The rescued kitten purred in relief, and Superman scratched her chin as he blew away the shadow beings with his super-breath. More shadow beings closed in—only to disintegrate when a bright light struck them! The Batwing streaked past, Batman’s portable Bat-Signal shining from the top of it.
“Even when surrounded by a shadow squadron, you still find the time to save a cat,” said Batman as he landed his aircraft on the street. “No wonder people call you the Big Blue Boy Scout.”
“They do?” asked Superman as he landed with the kitten.
“I’ll have Alfred sew a merit badge onto your cape,” Batman replied.
As he exited his vehicle, the kitten hissed at Batman. “Eh, I’m more of a dog person anyway,” he said.
There was a rumbling sound overhead—and beneath the Super Heroes’ boots. Superman’s super-hearing instantly told him that the sound wasn’t thunder. Soon the rumbling came from all around them. Deep cracks spread up and down the streets and on the sides of buildings. Whole chunks of pavement and concrete broke off and flew toward the Anti-Monitor’s machine. Powerful turbines vacuumed the chunks into one end, while the other end churned out deadly anti-matter. The Anti-Monitor then drank in this eerie energy and grew even bigger!
“I’ve heard of energy drinks, but this is ridiculous!” said Superman.
“Stick to the plan,” said Batman.
Superman set the kitten safely on the ground, then picked up the Bat-Signal as if it were as weightless as a tuft of cotton candy. He took to the air, aiming the Bat-Signal like a spotlight and blowing up the new wave of shadow beings.
With the brilliant light show drawing the Anti-Monitor’s attention, Batman crept closer to the anti-matter machine. The Caped Crusader was accustomed to the darkness of Gotham, not the sunny streets of this city. But as he turned a corner, a Metropolis man raced by screaming, “Run for your life!”
“Now I feel like I’m at home,” Batman said.
High above him, the sky reddened with another influx of anti-matter. Time was running out. Batman fired his grappling hook, which snagged a nearby building and drew him upward. Landing on the rooftop, Batman approached the Anti-Monitor’s machine.
“STAY AWAY FROM THAT!” the Anti-Monitor shouted.
“You didn’t say ‘please,’” Batman said.
It was time to pull the plug on the machine. Batman spotted so
“NO!” bellowed the Anti-Monitor, swinging his huge fist, about to pulverize Batman.
But something flashed in the Anti-Monitor’s eyes. Batman had just enough time to tuck and roll out of the way before the Anti-Monitor’s fist slammed down, accidentally smashing his own device. The portals began closing, and the shadow beings quickly retreated into them. Only the last vortex—the big one through which the Anti-Monitor had invaded—remained.
“NOOOO!” the Anti-Monitor cried again.
Dusting off his cape, Batman saw that Superman was keeping the Bat-Signal’s bright beam fixed on the Anti-Monitor’s face, forcing him backward. After a few stumbling steps, the Anti-Monitor’s enormous foot caught on the Batwing. He fell into his own portal, which shrank into a tiny black pinprick before closing forever.
“And stay out,” said Batman.
Superman landed beside him, returning the Bat-Signal to the Batwing. “Thanks for the assist, friend,” he said. “Can you stay for coffee?”
“Can’t,” Batman said curtly. “Caffeine makes me cranky.”
They grinned and shook hands—just before everything changed completely.
A pulsing glare, far harsher than the Bat-Signal, lit up Metropolis. When it faded, the laws of gravity had flipped. Superman and Batman watched in alarm as clouds sank to the ground. Cars drifted up to the sky, their drivers jumping out just as the tires left the roads. Even the hefty spinning globe on top of the Daily Planet Building floated away like a hot-air balloon!
But none of that compared to the most startling change of all. Batman and Superman discovered that their uniforms also swapped! Now Clark Kent wore the Batsuit, while Bruce Wayne found himself in the Superman’s red, blue, and yellow uniform. The switch startled the kitten, who jumped back into the same tree, her fur standing on end.
“Great Krypton!” Superman said under Batman’s cowl.
“There’s nothing great about this,” Batman growled, covering his exposed face.
To protect his secret identity, Batman hastily removed his mask from Superman’s head and put it back where it belonged. But when they tried to exchange the rest of their uniforms, not a single article of clothing would budge, as if the garments were magnetized to their bodies.
“This is some serious static cling!” Superman said. “Looks like we’re stuck in each other’s suits—at least until we figure out what went wrong with gravity.”
“Everything that’s supposed to be up is down, and everything that’s supposed to be down is up,” said Batman. “But this inverted gravity affects only inanimate objects, not living things. It doesn’t make sense!”
“Maybe not,” giggled a high-pitched voice as a floating imp in a purple bowler hat magically appeared, but it sure is fun!”
Chapter 2
You Can’t Spell “Mxyzptlk” Without the “Why”
“I just flew in from the Fifth Dimension, and, boy, are my arms tired!” Mr. Mxyzptlk—a Super- Villain who was small in stature but big on buffoonery—laughed so hard at his own joke, he almost lost his hat. Wiping away a tear, he sauntered past the mixed-up Superman and Batman and found a cloud that had settled on the sidewalk. With a snap of his fingers, the cumulus molded into a comfortable lounge seat. Mxyzptlk even pulled a cloud lever and comfortably propped his feet on an extending footrest!
“Seriously, though, it sure was grand of the Anti-Monitor to attack this dimension,” the reclining imp said. “If he hadn’t opened those portals, I couldn’t have sneaked through!”
Superman had dealt with Mxyzptlk’s antics several times in the past, with each encounter leaving the hero both exhausted and annoyed.
“We have to get Mxyzptlk to say his name backward,” he whispered to Batman. “It’s the only way to stop him, and—”
Superman’s voice trailed off. He grew concerned. “Wait. If Mxyzptlk can make clouds fall from the sky—then what about airplanes?” he said.
Mxyzptlk broke into shrill laughter again, and Batman felt a headache coming on. His vision went blurry before it snapped into clear focus. Batman’s eyes saw farther than ever before, like twin telescopes. He spotted a LexAir cargo plane plummeting toward the earth!
“Incoming!” Batman shouted.
Superman squinted in the direction where Batman was pointing, but, strangely enough, he didn’t see anything. Nevertheless, the Man of Steel leapt into the air, saying, “This looks like a job for Super—”
To his utter surprise, instead of rocketing up to the sky, Superman fell flat on his face. Mr. Mxyzptlk doubled over laughing.
Batman saw his Batwing floating away with every other parked vehicle and bounded toward it. Amazingly, Batman’s jump took him so high off the ground, he nearly overshot the Batwing! Batman managed to grab a wing, climb inside his jet, and stomp on the gas pedal—but his foot punched straight through the bottom of the hull as if it were made of paper.
“Whoops!” said Mxyzptlk. “I’m so sorry! Did I forget to mention I swapped your superpowers?”
“Batman!” Superman said, when he finally spotted the falling cargo plane. “You need to fly! I’ll teach you. Just clear your mind!”
Batman had some difficulty doing that, with the cargo plane sinking like a stone. But then he noticed the gentle pull of air currents over, under, and around his body.
“It…tickles,” Batman said. “I don’t like being tickled.”
Superman cheered. “That means it’s working!” he said. “Keep it up!”
Channeling those invisible tides, Batman concentrated…concentrated…and floated off the Batwing! But Batman wasn’t the world’s most graceful flyer. His backside was higher than his shoulders, and his red cape draped over his head.
“No one in the League can ever hear about this!” barked Batman.
Despite his ungainly start, Batman straightened out. He picked up speed, streamlining his body to reduce wind resistance. Superman then remembered the grappling hook in Batman’s Utility Belt. He aimed it at Batman’s red cape, which had been his red cape only moments before, and fired, hoping to hitch a ride. But Superman miscalculated, and the hook broke against Batman’s hard head.
Batman finally, fitfully reached the front of the plane and righted it, using his newfound strength to slow the nosediving aircraft. On the other side of the windshield, two grateful pilots waved at Superman—at least, they thought it was Superman, but…in a Batman mask?
As the pilots blinked in confusion, the plane’s rear large cargo door malfunctioned. It swung wide open, and several bags of feathers, pillows, and biodegradable packing peanuts spilled out.
“Traveling light, I see!” Batman quipped while bracing the plane on his back.
Hundreds of feet below, Superman saw the plunging cargo. With Mxyzptlk’s inverted gravity, even lightweight materials would do untold damage if they collided with the ground at that velocity. Superman latched another grappling hook onto the rudderless Batwing. The line retracted, drawing him to the jet’s control panel, where he flipped a switch. A crash foam cannon at the front of the Batwing swiveled out. Superman had seen Batman use it before and knew he’d have to gauge his shot just right. The cargo kept changing course as it whistled through the wind, blowing this way and that. If Superman fired foam at one spot too early, and the cargo wound up making impact somewhere else, the crater would be big enough to swallow Metropolis. The cargo hurtled ever closer, going from one hundred feet away to fifty feet to five!
At the last second, Superman fired the cannon, discharging gallons of crash foam—a white goop that expanded and thickened, looking like a huge marshmallow. The feathers, pillows, and packing peanuts hit it dead center, bull’s-eye, then sank into the insulated foam, safe and sound. A moment later, Batman eased the plane onto the street, and the pilots evacuated down an inflatable yellow slide.
