The Mightiest Mortal! The Caped Crusader!

 

I believe it may have been John Byrne who once remarked that the difference between DC Comics and Marvel Comics was that DC had the better characters, but Marvel had the better stories, going on to add that Marvel's approach to a story was better suited to do more with DC characters. The fact that writers and artists have at times left one company and gone to work for the other (as well as indulging in do-si-dos in that respect) may muddy those waters a bit--but it occurred to me that you can put that assessment to the test when the companies agree to feature their characters in joint stories, either as foes or dealing with a shared threat or crisis. One such gem could be found as early as 1981, as two characters as dissimilar as they come face each other for the first time.

This story takes place in the final issue of the DC Special Series* books, written by Len Wein (who had long since moved on from his stint on Incredible Hulk) and with art by José Luis Garcia-López and Dick Giordano. Having worked my way backward with these kinds of inter-company team-up issues, it was interesting to see that in earlier years the DC and Marvel characters were of the same world and had simply never crossed paths with each other. In this case, Bruce Banner has come to Gotham City and found employment (under forged credentials) doing odd jobs in a Wayne Research lab where we find a team of scientists working on the Gamma Gun, a device which Banner feels could be the key to his salvation for obvious reasons. Enter the Joker, who arrives to steal it for none other than the Shaper of Worlds, whom the pasty-faced criminal has struck an agreement with; but an altercation with the Joker's men triggers a transformation that has them dealing instead with a very angry man-monster.

*A catch-all series of mostly one-shots begun in 1977, published irregularly throughout a given year. I don't recall seeing the series title formally appearing on any cover (e.g., Marvel's Greatest Comics, Marvel Super-Heroes, et al.)--as far as I know, it only appeared in the indicia of its issues. Equally hard to pin down was its pricing, which ranged from 75¢ to $2.50.

In the confusion, the Joker and his crew try to escape with the Gamma Gun, only to run into another roadblock barring their way. (I doubt that introductions as to the new player will be necessary at this point.)

As Batman fears, the wily Joker manages to turn the Hulk against him--which, in turn, effectively and literally hands the Joker the Gamma Gun, leaving Batman's hands full with stopping the Hulk's attack. Nevertheless, the Joker declines for the moment to flee with his prize in order to enjoy what's to come.

As we've seen during the Hulk's initial battle with Wolverine, brawn doesn't always have a clear advantage over a smaller, less powerful foe--yet in this confrontation between Batman and the Hulk, Garcia-López depicts the two in roughly equal stature. As Batman quickly learns, however, he cannot match the Hulk in strength--but clearly he knows who and what he's dealing with, and, unlike the Hulk, can think faster on his feet.

But how does the Shaper fit into this story? And how did he end up striking up a deal with the Joker? From what we learn, the Shaper's problems began when he was caught in the heat and radiation of a rogue star going nova, which had the effect of causing the loss of his ability to absorb the dreams of others--resulting in progressive, eventual madness which could eventually also consume the entire universe. Seeking a cure led him to Earth, where he sought a mind unique in the universe whose dreams went beyond the norm--i.e., the Joker, who agreed to help him in part to prevent the Shaper's madness from running its course and turning everyone mad. ("Everyone in the universe will be as crazy as I am... and we can't have that, now can we? In the valley of the sane, it's the insane man who's King!") But there was also another agreement made between the two, which we'll learn of shortly.

And so when the Joker returns, the Gamma Gun is used in the hope that its power could alleviate the Shaper's unstable condition. But the attempt fails.

In the interim, once the Hulk reverted to Banner, Bruce Wayne offers him a job to replace the stolen Gamma Gun prototype, which Banner accepts. And while the project is underway, Batman searches for information on the Joker's whereabouts; but the Joker beats him to the punch (so to speak), when Banner again reverts to the Hulk and escapes, and the Joker ends up meeting with and securing Batman's help in tracking him down (in accordance with the Shaper's decision to tap the power of the Hulk directly for his cure).

Once located, however, we see that the Hulk isn't exactly in a receptive mood to deal with Batman again. And unfortunately, Round Two doesn't swing in Batman's favor this time around.

Later, Batman is as good as his word, taking a softer approach in their next meeting and appearing to the Hulk in disguise as a more trustworthy older gentleman who convinces the Hulk to see the Shaper; and after a struggle that sees both Batman and the Hulk fighting against a group of their respective enemies due to the Shaper's madness, the Hulk's power is successfully transferred, resulting in the reappearance of Banner.

But just as it seemed that the danger had passed with the restoration of the Shaper's sanity, the moment arrives when we learn just what the Joker bargained for in exchange for his assistance to this powerful alien--and a more deadly battle begins, this time against a foe whose own insanity was never in question.

The resulting madscape (there's no other word I can think of for it) of the Joker's creation which Batman and the Hulk find themselves trapped in makes for an impressive display of Garcia-López's talent, five full pages which make for one of the most bizarre battles ever. But in the end, the true victim turns out to be the Joker, when even his mind becomes taxed to its limit.

Setting their copy down when all is said and done, the reader may have likely felt they received their money's worth for sixty-four pages of story which did its job. (And in 1981, with comics selling at about 1/5 of that price, they invested a good chunk of their change here.) As a non-DC reader, I'm unaware what the status was of Batman's partner, Robin; still, he doesn't receive billing, and the story doesn't appear to take him into account, nor, frankly, does it really require his presence. (That's probably a tactful way of saying he wasn't missed.) As for the Hulk, he went on to trade blows with DC's heaviest hitter, on several occasions.

And speaking of the Man of Steel vs. the rampaging Hulk:
BONUS! Animator Michael Habjan has them meeting for one hell of a knock-down drag-out. (in 4 parts)