Chapter 140: Superman and Batman
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
"One copy of The Messenger..."
Wednesday morning, New York, at a streetcar platform.
A customer took out a two-cent coin and bought the latest issue of The Messenger from a newsboy hawking papers on the street.
"Alright, sir."
Carefully putting away the coin, Little Jimmy pulled a copy from the thick stack of newspapers he was holding and handed it to the customer.
Seeing this, pedestrians waiting nearby to transfer also came forward to buy a few newspapers from him.
As he handed the newspapers, which were tied securely with a rope, to the pedestrians, Little Jimmy noticed the hesitant expressions in their eyes.
He quickly shouted, "Extra edition, extra edition! The Messenger exclusively exposes the Mayor's bribery scandal!"
Hearing Little Jimmy's cry, some of the previously hesitant pedestrians quickly joined the line to buy a newspaper.
The Mayor taking bribes?!
"The Messenger actually reports on this kind of stuff? I thought it was just a comic newspaper."
A customer muttered while flipping through the newspaper.
"Why are they bothering to report on some scandal? Wouldn't it be better to serialize more of the Superman comic?"
Of course, readers had different opinions about The Messenger's actions. Some were surprised, but more of them didn't really care. They bought the newspaper to read the serialized content. As for the Mayor taking bribes, that was the kind of story that newspapers like the World Daily would pursue.
Flipping through the newspaper, the serialized content of Superman still occupied most of the page.
Clearly, even while publishing the Mayor's bribery scandal, The Messenger hadn't forgotten its 'proper job'.
Last weekend's plot in the serialized story had just reached the first appearance of the Mysterious Man, Batman.
Speculation and discussion about Batman had been going on among readers for a long time.
Even radio host Orson Welles on 'The Mercury Theatre on the Air' had posed the question. Everyone was curious about this Mysterious Man who wore a bat-suit and hid himself in the darkness—who he was and what kind of powers he possessed?
And in the new installment of the serialized story, this question was partially answered.
...
Looking at the Mysterious Man in the shadows, an expression of surprise appeared on Superman's face.
Superman: "Batman?!"
Superman: "You're the Mysterious Man from Gotham City?"
Batman: "I am."
As he spoke, Batman stepped out of the shadows, revealing his bat-like mask and enormous black cape, and of course, the huge Bat-Symbol on his chest.
For Batman's design, Colin referenced his most classic look: the black and gray color scheme. At the same time, he made a note about Batman's voice in the comic.
"It was an extremely peculiar voice, deep as colliding metal and with a unique quality. Superman could tell it was a voice altered by a special device."
Having revealed himself from the shadows, Batman asked Superman the purpose of his presence in Gotham.
Batman: "Tell me, Superman, why have you come to Gotham."
Superman: "I heard news of a Mysterious Man, so I wanted to come and see the situation for myself."
Batman: "Now you've seen it. You can leave this city."
At their first meeting, Batman didn't seem to welcome Superman's arrival. However, the situation quickly changed. Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon sought help by projecting the Bat-Signal into the sky above Gotham City.
Superman: "What's that?"
Batman: "The Bat-Signal!"
Superman: "The Bat-Signal? What's it for?"
Batman: "Sending a message."
Superman: "Sending a message? To who?"
Batman: "Me!"
Superman: "Don't you have an easier way?"
Batman: "..."
Because of the Bat-Signal's appearance, both Superman and Batman rushed towards Commissioner James Gordon's location. During this, Batman also showed off his unique vehicle, the Batmobile.
Arriving at James Gordon's location, Batman and Superman learned from him about a murder case that had occurred in Gotham City. A mysterious wealthy man had died in his home, and the police couldn't identify the killer.
In the subsequent investigation, Batman discovered many suspicious points, including the mysterious wealthy man's apparent connections with the Gotham City government before his death. Furthermore, just before the wealthy man died, a newspaper happened to publish rumors of corruption in Gotham City.
Superman: "This is... the news story I published in the Daily Planet?"
As Batman's investigation continued, Superman also sensed something was wrong, realizing that the mysterious wealthy man's death was actually related to his report in the Daily Planet.
Because of the mysterious wealthy man's death, Superman and Batman began to cooperate. They investigated the cause of his death and finally discovered the culprit was the very city government official exposed for corruption. The official, fearing his secrets would be revealed, had hired a killer to silence the wealthy man, who was one of the parties involved.
After identifying the killer who shot the wealthy man, Batman and Superman split up. Batman went after the shooter, whom he eliminated without any hesitation. Meanwhile, Superman caught the government official who was trying to escape in a small private airplane. Superman stopped the small airplane in mid-air and handed the mastermind government official over to Commissioner James Gordon.
For the Batman of this era, Colin obviously hadn't burdened him with the strict 'no shooting, no killing' moral code that came later.
Because during the Great Depression, no one would expect such a thing from a hero. In this era of rampant crime, the public expected criminals to get their just deserts and to be brought to justice.
Therefore, the Batman in the comic never went easy on criminals.
After fighting criminals together, Superman gained a new understanding of Batman, the mysterious man of Gotham City. He believed Batman's existence could bring about better results for Gotham City. After their collaboration ended, Superman changed back into Clark, took a train out of Gotham City, and returned to Metropolis.
Editor: "Kent, have you gotten any results from that investigation I assigned you?"
Superman: "Actually, I've already written the report."
Editor: "You did great, Kent! Wherever you show up, there's always news about a superhero. It's truly amazing!"
The next day, an article titled 'Batman, the Superhero of Gotham City' became the front-page story of the Metropolis Daily Planet.
Meanwhile, over in Gotham City.
In the enormous Wayne family castle, Bruce Wayne saw the report published by Superman. Beside him, Batman's cowl was placed conspicuously on the table.
So, Bruce Wayne, the Gotham City wealthy man, was Batman!
Thanks to Void Heart for the 3000 Qidian Coin donation.
(end of chapter)