World's Finest #170 is an issue of the series World's Finest (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1967. It was published on September 15, 1967.
Synopsis for "The Star Creatures"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #108.
Two crooks named Midge and Beaver are fleeing from the police outside Gotham City when they suddenly disappear in a could of green fog. Commissioner Gordon calls in Batman and Robin to try and find the two crooks unaware that some alien being is monitoring them, seeking to make a movie of their exploits by using strange alien devices to make their capture of the two crooks more spectacular.
When Batman and Robin arrive in the Batplane, they see a strange creature-building construct that makes a strange runway for them to land on. The alien also lures Superman to the scene and uses more alien devices to keep the three heroes occupied. The alien describes his plan to Midge and Baaver, who he has taken prisoner with the intention of turning over to the police once film is done. However, when Batman and Robin's battle with strange "star creatures" causes an avalanche that threatens Batman and Robin's life, he dissolves his star-creatures and saves them. However he also accidentally frees the crooks who take control of his ship and decide to use his devices to commit spectacular crimes.
After tying up the alien Midge and Beaver steal an indestructible glass ship and a ray gun to commit a bank robbery. As Batman, Robin and Superman fight the villains in vain, the alien frees himself and uses his ships controls to deactivate their devices allowing the three heroes to easily capture the crooks. Learning the whole story from the crooks, the Dynamic Duo and the Man of Steel pay a visit to the alien and learn his true intentions. Realizing he meant no harm, they allow him to return to his world and marvel over the fact that they are going to be movie stars in outer space.
Appearing in "The Star Creatures"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Midge (Single appearance)
- Beaver (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Gotham City Police Department
- Unnamed Alien Movie Producer from Kzotl (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Super-Mystery of Metropolis!"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #84.
When returning to Metropolis after a mission, Superman runs into Thad Linnis a man from his past who has an idea of Superman's secret identity. He tells Superman that he must leave Metropolis for two weeks or risk having his identity revealed. Superman has no choice but to comply and so as Clark Kent he takes a leave of absence from the Daily Planet to go on vacation.
When Lois Lane witnesses a number of near disasters that are not averted by Superman, she begins to suspect that the Man of Steel has gone missing and has the story make front page news. Worried about Superman's whereabouts, Lois and Perry send out a call to Gotham City to bring Batman and Robin to Metropolis to investigate. When investigating a ship that somehow avoided sinking, Batman and Robin find no evidence that it could have been saved on its own and deduce that Superman must be helping the city while in hiding. When a thunderstorm rolls into the city, the Dynamic Duo notice that none of the lightning is striking the city and so they fly up in the Batplane to investigate. There they find Superman hiding in the clouds diverting the lightning bolts. Taking Superman just outside the city, they are shocked to learn that Superman has been hiding because a crook has threatened to reveal his identity if he didn't comply. Superman explains how this happened years ago when he was living in Smallville operating as Superboy...
Back then, Superboy began noticing that Thad Linnis was following him, and when Linnis discovered he was found out he seemingly hired a young man to follow Superboy around and gather evidence to learn Superboy's secret identity. Superboy soon finds out and guesses that the boy is in league with Linnis. He grows more concerned when the boy succeeds in charting down Superboy's flight path and have his home narrowed down to the neighborhood that the Kents live in. After a number of encounters where Clark thinks he has dissuaded any suspicion that he is really Superboy, Superboy is saving a house from fire he discovers that his finger prints were lifted from the side of the home. Before he can do anything about it Linnis tells Superboy that he has the finger prints in his possession and that he can expose him at any time, but tells him he will use it as a blackmailing tool sometime in the future.
With Superman's story explained, Batman tells the Man of Steel that the boy whom he thought Linnis hired was really a young Bruce Wayne. Batman explains to the shocked Superman that years ago his parents took him on a vacation near Smallville and he had decided to go there to see if he could use his detective skills to learn who Superboy really was. When Linnis approached him he refused to work with the man, but compiled enough evidence on his own to prove that Clark was really Superboy. When he had recovered the fingerprints again young Bruce was approached by Thad to try to obtain the prints. Not wishing to betray his favorite hero, Bruce tossed the evidence into a fire destroying it.
Realizing that Thad Linnis was bluffing the whole time, Superman races to Metropolis where Thad is getting ready to terrorize the city with a super-tank. Superman easily smashes that tank and turns Thad and his accomplices over to the police. Later, Lois Lane thanks the Dynamic Duo for using their detective skills to bring Superman back to Metropolis. Overhearing this, Superman muses to himself how little Lois truly realizes how great a detective Batman was, even as a boy.
Appearing in "The Super-Mystery of Metropolis!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Thad Linnis (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Superboy (Flashback only)
- Pa Kent (Flashback only)
- Ma Kent (Flashback only)
- Thomas Wayne (Flashback only)
- Martha Wayne (Flashback only)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Metropolis
- Smallville (Flashback only)
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Menace of Superman's Pet"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #112.
While out in space, Superman deflects a meteor that is on a collision course with the Earth before returning to Gotham to help Batman and Robin stop a group of crooks known as the Wreckers. However when he meets up with them he finds that he has brought with him an unknown hitchhiker, a cute little creature that also has super strength and can fly. The creature becomes instantly attached to Superman and begins following them on their mission to stop the Wreckers. Despite their best efforts to stop the gang from stealing musical instruments, the crooks manage to escape; after which, Superman finds that he cannot get rid of the creature.
However, when he hears a whistle summoning him to Metropolis to help build a new underground tunnel he speeds off fast enough so that the creature can't follow him. The instant Superman is out of sight, the creature becomes upset, grows to gigantic size and begins to rampage, forcing Superman to return to the creature so it will return to its natural form.
When the Wreckers attack a chemical plant, Superman tries to lose the creature by making a giant underground maze, but when he tries to help Batman and Robin capture the Wreckers, the creature returns to the surface in it's giant form and the Man of Steel is forced to leave the chase to calm the creature down again, allowing for the Wreckers to get away.
Superman has no choice but to try and find the creature's home world and flies off into space with it, leaving Batman and Robin to tackle the Wreckers alone. They manage to capture the crooks and prevent them from robbing a gem store. Superman meanwhile finds his own trouble when he flies too close to a Kryptonite meteor and is weakened to the point where he can't escape. To his surprise, the troublesome creature sacrifices its life to absorb the Kryptonite radiation from the meteor, saving Superman at the expense of its own life.
Returning to Earth, Superman tells Batman and Robin what happened, and they remark that although the creature was nothing but trouble it was still a loyal pet to Superman.
Appearing in "The Menace of Superman's Pet"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Wreckers (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Alien Creature (Single appearance; dies)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Batman and Superman, Swamis Inc."
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #73.
Covering the Gotham City carnival, Clark Kent and Lois Lane decide to check out the fortune telling booth. When Lois goes inside to get her fortune read, Clark is shocked when the swami knows his secret identity. This alarm is quickly allayed when the swami reveals himself to be Bruce Wayne. Wayne explains that as Batman he has been after a mobster named Fang, and that through their detective work and capturing some of Fang's thugs, they learned that Fang is a very strong believer in the super-natural. As the crook has stolen items that were supposedly lucky and roughed up fortune tellers who have given him false predictions, Batman decided to setup his fake fortune telling booth at the carnival in order to bait and catch the crook.
Bruce goes on to tell Clark that he has had Robin spread rumors around the underworld that this particular "swami's" predictions do come true, and he asks Clark if he can -- as Superman -- help maintain the ruse. Bruce gives Superman a spare Utility Belt radio, so he could listen in on the "swami" and help make his predictions come true. The first customer is Paul James, a machinery magnate, whose company is going bankrupt. James has come to see if he should sell the shares of his company. Bruce tells him to not sell, and Superman helps make his business profitable by planting uranium on the property which nets the company quite a tidy sum to keep it afloat. After helping another customer prevent his roof from leaking, Superman next overhears a budding singer ask the "swami" if she should cancel her debut concert that could be her big break due to the fact she has Laryngitis. "Swami Ananda" tells her to keep her engagement, and Superman helps her out by secretly building a device that filters out the harshness of her voice so that she as a stellar performance.
After overhearing that "Swami Ananda" predicted success in this case, Fang decides that the swami garners investigation. The Fang sends his goon Jeff to check it out, as Jeff's horoscope was lucky, but cautions the henchman to be careful as Robin has been spotted in the area. When Jeff goes to see the "swami", thanks to a little trickery from Robin, Bruce is able to convince him that he's the genuine article. When Jeff takes a cab back to his bosses hideout, Robin hitches a ride, unaware that Fang has also sent two more of his goons to watch out for the boy wonder. When Robin fails to report in, Bruce changes into Batman to seek out his ward. He gets a radio communication from Fang and his men from Robin's radio, advising the Caped Crusader that Robin is their prisoner. They order Batman to bring to them the lucky sword that Batman and Robin managed to confiscate after an earlier crime in exchange for his side-kick.
When Batman complies he's taken prisoner as well, but suddenly, to the surprise of Fang and his men the sword comes to life and subdues the criminals and frees Batman and Robin. When Fang and his men surrender, Superman reveals himself as the person manipulating the sword by moving at super-speed and making himself invisible to the naked eye. Superman explains that with the belt radio that Batman had given him, he overheard the crooks order Batman around and was able to follow the Dynamic Duo to the crooks hideout and lend a helping hand.
Appearing in "Batman and Superman, Swamis Inc."
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Fang
- Jeff (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Paul James (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Wayne Steel (Flashback only)
- Wayne Manor
- Gotham Auditorium
Items:
- Batrope
- Gotham Gazette
- Utility Belt
- Chinese Lucky Sword
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Boy from Outer Space!"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #92.
Superman, Batman and Robin are putting on a show for the Metropolis air-show when suddenly they spot a rocket from space that has been struck by a meteor. With the rocket smashed to bits, it's passenger -- a young boy -- is at risk of falling to his death when he is saved by Superman. When they question the boy, they find that he has been stricken with amnesia. After Superman dubs him "Skyboy" for the time being, they are shocked to find that he has similar powers to Superman, so Superman takes him under his wing, setting him up at Clark Kent's house (but not revealing that he and Clark are the same person) and fashioning him a cape and "S" emblem to act as his sidekick while Batman and Robin examine the wreckage of his rocket to determine his origins.
Sometime later, the power goes out in Metropolis and while Superman and Skyboy construct a giant mirror to reflect sunlight on Metropolis to dissuade looters, Batman and Robin go to the Metropolis hydro dam to see what they can find out. There they learn that the dynamos were ripped apart by some super-strong being's bare hands. Examining fingerprints found at the scene of the crime, and on the controls of Skyboy's rocket, Batman and Robin grimly consider the fact that the one responsible could be Skyboy. When they meet up with Superman and Skyboy, Batman decides not to tell Superman right away as the Man of Steel is happy that he now has a sidekick with powers that match his own.
While investigating why the copper wire was stolen out of the power plant our heroes come across an alien ship and attempt to stop it but it gets away. Later when someone breaks into a coin manufacturing plant, Batman, Robin and Superman find that the vault has been broken into and all the pennies have been stolen. Once more, Batman finds Skyboy's fingerprints on the crime scene and finally takes his concerns to Superman. When they confront the boy and try to force him to remember his past, he can't remember a thing and so Superman decides to try everything he can to restore the youngster's memory.
It's not until Superman tosses the very same meteor that grounded Skyboy at Skyboy does he remember who he is: He is really Tharn from the planet Kormo, who was sent to Earth by his father to capture the crook known as Rawl and his men. He explains that they came to Earth to steal its copper, a mineral that is worth more on Kormo because it's rare on that world. They also learn that the reason why Skyboy's fingerprints matched those at the crime scene is because the people of Tharn's planet all have the same fingerprints. With his memory restored, Skyboy, Superman, Batman and Robin work together to stop Rawl and his minions.
With the villains defeated, they are loaded up in a rocket and Skyboy leaves to return them to his home planet.
Appearing in "The Boy from Outer Space!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Rawl (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Skyboy (Tharn) (Single appearance) (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
- Tharn's unnamed father (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
Locations:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Duplicate Man"
This story is reprinted from World's Finest #106.
Batman and Robin are attending a science exhibit when they spot a criminal stealing a valuable telescope. This villain is called Duplicate Man due to his ability to make a duplicate of himself, and he easily trips up Batman and Robin, and Robin ends up injured. The criminal flees the scene and vows to steal the most powerful scientific devices and use them to become the most powerful criminal in the world.
Meanwhile, the story hits the Daily Planet and Perry White sends Clark Kent to Gotham City to cover the story. Clark goes there instead as Superman, and after another unsuccessful attempt by Batman to capture the Duplicate Man the three heroes (Robin finding that he didn't hurt himself too badly) agree to work together to stop the Duplicate Man.
The three heroes find that this is easier said than done as the Duplicate Man steals various other scientific devices. Each time he manages to get away by letting one of his duplicates melt away into the other and increasing his arsenal of weapons to trip up the heroes.
However, Batman, Robin and Superman come up with a better solution: Instead of going after the Duplicate Man, they will have the Duplicate Man come to them. With Superman posing as a scientist who has created a teleportation device, they bait the hook for the Duplicate Man to come and steal it. When the Duplicate Man seemingly steals the device, he falls into their trap. It's not a teleportation device at all, but a device that hypnotizes the Duplicate Man into calling back his Duplicate so that he can be captured.
With Duplicate Man in police custody, Batman, Superman and Robin recover all his stolen items and destroy his notes, believing that they were too complicated for the Duplicate Man to memorize and recreate his invention.
Appearing in "The Duplicate Man"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Duplicate Man (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
See Also