Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "team-ups"

Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents: Superman Team-Ups by Len Wein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Superman and Batman had a team up book together, World's Finest dating back to the 1950s. Batman had a team up book with everyone other than Superman joining him beginning in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s, DC had experimented with turning World's Finest into a comic featuring generic Superman Team ups with characters other than Batman, but that didn't work out. Giving Superman an additional was a better idea and that's why DC Comics Presents was born. This book collects Issues 1-26 of this series spanning issues from 1978-80.

Superman in this era is fun, but no longer the goofy Silver Age hero. I like this version of Superman and there's a lot of fun to be had in this book. The first six issues are the best as it opens with a Flash team-up. No, it's not a round the world race, but a nice science fiction opera where the two heroes are forced to fight. The story with Adam Strange, a Silver Age favorite is also beautifully done in Issue 3 as Superman and Adam Strange have to stop a threat to Rann and to Earth.

The book features team ups with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (twice), the Legion of Superheroes, Superboy, Swamp Thing, Hawkman, Mister Miracle, and more. The book starts out with mostly A-listers, but B-listers dominate the second half with characters such as Black Lightning, Firestorm, Deadman, and Phantom Stranger getting to play opposite Superman.

The stories of variable quality. The 18 page limit often led to head scratching stories like Issue 19. Issue 18 was interesting for its exploration of magic as science. The only on-going story arc was of aliens kidnapping the son of his old friend Pete Ross, the Legion of Superheroes urging him not to rescue the boy since he was fated to lead their Army and Superman deciding not to do so when he failed in his first rescue attempt. Then Pete Ross turns evil. This occurs in Issues 13 and 14 and is then revisited in Issue 25. Issue 26 with the Green Lantern is also a solid story with the Green Lantern's power ring being taken by an evil shapeshifting alien.

Overall, this an enjoyable comic and if you like Superman, with a bit of a lighter touch, this is a great book.



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