Defending a planet and cleaning up a city are two very different things. 
- — Batman
The Man of Steel #3 is an issue of the series The Man of Steel (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1986.
Synopsis for "One Night in Gotham City"
Superman and Batman meet each other for the first time. Batman is on the trail of the criminal known as Magpie. He is interrupted in a lead by Superman who regards him as an outlaw. Rather than risk capture, Batman informs Superman that should the latter attempts to come near him, a signal will be activated that will trigger a bomb and kill an innocent person somewhere in Gotham City. The two are forced to work together and eventually capture Magpie. Afterwards, Batman reveals to Superman that the endangered person is himself (the bomb was in his utility belt all the time). Superman departs, cautioning Batman against crossing any further lines. Batman admits to himself a respect for Superman's innate goodness and wonders if, in a different reality, they could have been friends.
Appearing in "One Night in Gotham City"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Magpie (First appearance)
- Bull Carter (Single appearance; dies)
- Carling (Single appearance)
- Gruenbach (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Henry Jarrell (Dies in flashback)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Gotham Museum of Antiquities (First appearance)
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 1, Batman vs. Superman: The Greatest Battles and in Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 1 (2020 Edition).
- This issue re-imagines the first meeting between Batman and Superman, first depicted in Superman #76 (1952) and World's Finest #94 (1958). DC Comics has since retroactively re-imagined their first encounter with one another in Superman/Batman Secret Files & Origins 2003 and Superman/Batman Annual #1 (2006). In Prime Earth continuity, the first encounter of the two heroes is again reimagined in Batman/Superman #1 (2013).
- The events appear to take place early in Batman's career, as the Dark Knight is mentioned as working outside the law. Batman also has no Batmobile at this point, driving instead a two-door dark blue sedan which has a portable crime lab installed in the trunk — which he describes as "One of the most advanced such labs in the state."
Trivia
- Magpie kills one of her henchmen using a re-enactment of the "Happy Birthday" gag from the Looney Tunes cartoon "It's Hummer Time!" in which she puts a dynamite stick right in the henchman's mouth.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
  After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 1985–1986 maxiseries which completely reset the continuity of the entire DC Universe, all of DC's major characters and franchises needed to be updated to reflect the changes in the events of their lives. Multiple story arcs were put out to explain these rebooted versions of popular characters. The Man of Steel #1 • The Man of Steel #2 • The Man of Steel #3 • The Man of Steel #4 • The Man of Steel #5 • The Man of Steel #6 Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #1 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #2 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #3 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #4 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #5 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #6 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II #1 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II #2 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II #3 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II #4 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II #5 • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II #6 Specials
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