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Remember Batman and Superman's first meeting? Turns out you don't, as DC is revealing it this fall in a retcon centered on a "secret loss"

August's #18 of the fan-favorite series will reveal the first time Batman and Superman met

Batman/Superman: World's Finest #18 — Image credit: DC

Published on Wed May 17 2023

Comic book history is about to be rewritten one more time, with the August 2023 issue of DC’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest revealing the never-before-seen first meeting between the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight, apparently undoing the (multiple) other times fans have had the chance to see a similar scene in their shared, eight-decade-plus history.

The do-over will be part of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18, according to the publisher. DC’s official description of the issue reads, “Think you know how Superman and Batman met and became friends? Think again! Read the untold tale of how their worlds first collided—and the stunning, secret loss that nearly destroyed their partnership before it even began!”

To be fair, revising the origins of the Batman/Superman team is practically a tradition at this point: the 'first' meeting of the two has been shown as entirely different situations in 1952’s Superman #76, 1956’s World’s Finest Comics #84, 1958’s World’s Finest Comics #94, 1960’s Adventure Comics #275 — which retconned their first meeting into a Superboy/teen Bruce Wayne team-up — 1986’s Man of Steel #3, 2003’s Superman/Batman: Secret Files & Origins #1, and 2013’s Batman/Superman #1. We’ve seen the two cross paths on luxury cruises, on Gotham City’s rooftops, and in Smallville’s open fields — so where will their latest first-ever meeting take place…?

For now, only series writer Mark Waid and guest-artist Travis Moore know for sure… although Dan Mora’s cover for the issue shows what appears to be an adult Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne shaking hands, suggesting that we’re moving away from any suggestions that the two met before their superhero careers began. Beyond Mora, additional covers for the issue come from Darick Robertson and Diego Rodriguez, Ariel Colón, Megan Hetrick, and Rafael Albuquerque, with the latter providing a Blue Beetle movie cover.

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18 will be released August 15. Check out the cover gallery below.

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Attribution

Mark Waid talked about returning to DC and launching the new World’s Finest series last year.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.