DC Database
DC Database
The DC Universe is here
132,951
pages
in: Joe Orlando/Executive Editor, Rich Buckler/Cover Artist, Dick Giordano/Cover Artist,
and 71 more

World's Finest (1941) #259

Sign in to edit

"Superman & Batman: "Gotham City -- Ghost City"": A mysterious compulsion causes the citizenry of Gotham City to attempt mass immigration to Metropolis, forcing Superman and Batman to work together to find a solution to this enigma.

Quote1 I hope my Muhammad Ali act made an impression on him! Quote2
— Black Lightning

World's Finest #259 is an issue of the series World's Finest (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1979. It was published on July 16, 1979.

Synopsis for Superman & Batman: "Gotham City -- Ghost City"

A mysterious compulsion causes the citizenry of Gotham City to attempt mass immigration to Metropolis, forcing Superman and Batman to work together to find a solution to this enigma.

While Batman does some investigation, Superman has to prevent the chaos and destruction ensuing as a result of the massive influx of people from Gotham to his city. Even Batman's friend, Alfred has decided to leave. Batman finds surprising that neither him nor Commissioner Gordon have feel the need to leave Gotham.

Batman is informed about a petty criminal who wants to cash in on the sudden immigration and he learns that the crook suffers from insomnia. The clue gives Batman the hint that only the people who sleep well are affected, since he and Gordon haven't been able to sleep and have not been affected. His investigation also finds a source for the problem and he tells Superman about a couple of mysterious rocks underground. Superman goes underground and retrieves the rocks, which are apparently from Kryptonian origin and he tosses them into space, ending the sudden compulsion of Gotham citizens to leave for Metropolis. While Superman takes all the citizens from Gotham back to their cities, Batman gets a well deserved sleep.

Appearing in Superman & Batman: "Gotham City -- Ghost City"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • A mineral from planet Sirius-V

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:


Synopsis for Green Arrow & Hawkman: "Stake Out Earth"


Appearing in Green Arrow & Hawkman: "Stake Out Earth"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:

  • The Searcher
  • The Fugitive

Other Characters:


Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:



Synopsis for "Green Arrow & Hawkman: Regarding the Winged Wonder"

Green Arrow comes upon a strange, ghostly apparition emerging from a theater near which he is stopping a mugging. The ghostlike creature coalesces into a man and informs GA that he is being pursued by the Searcher, who has sought him for 5,000 years, but he will not leave his adopted home of Earth. Then the creature vanishes. Later Green Arrow and Black Canary learn of another energy-being coming into being near a Star City electrical billboard. GA learns that the new being is The Searcher, pursuing the Fugitive, whom he claims is a criminal. When Green Arrow questions the Searcher's authority and is attacked, Black Canary uses her cry on the Searcher and gets blasted by electrical force. Green Arrow manages to get Black Canary to the Justice League satellite, where Hawkman, on monitor duty, tends to her. Hawkman takes up the case, finds the Fugitive, and learns he stole a food ship to feed his starving people, for which the Searcher has pursued him for 50 centuries. The Searcher appears, knocks Hawkman aside, and engages in an energy-duel with the Fugitive. But Hawkman overloads their power with electricity from a nuclear power plant and forces them to "another physical plane of existence, where they can finish their battle without harming the Earth".

Appearing in "Green Arrow & Hawkman: Regarding the Winged Wonder"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • The Searcher
  • The Fugitive

Other Characters:


Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:



Synopsis for Black Lightning: "The Last Hideout"

Black Lightning tries to stop a gang of hoods from taking over a welfare hotel in their search for long-lost gangster Bart Toomey.

Appearing in Black Lightning: "The Last Hideout"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:

  • Benny Zaff (Single appearance)
  • Levy (Single appearance)
  • Lucy (Single appearance)
  • Mohawk Schuck (Single appearance)
  • Willy (Single appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

  • Benny Haslip (Single appearance)
  • Big Bart Toohey (Deceased)
  • Mister Haslip (Single appearance)

Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:



Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "the Secret of Mr. Tawny"

Mr. Tawny is signing on with Hubb Clothing Company, where he's a model on TV for Hubb's son (who now runs the company.) Hubb is willing to sign him again with Captain Marvel signing as a witness. However, Hubb reveals after he's signed it that he has to stay in shape (so as to fit the suits) and must have an annual physical exam, which he's already made an appointment for. Mr. Tawny is lack to hear this, since he doesn't like doctors. Captain Marvel encourages he follow his contractual obligations and takes him to see Dr. Weldon Ambrose. His secretary, Miss Gresham, is off-put that he's servicing a tiger, but Dr. Ambrose leans out to say that he's “quasi-human” and so he'll see him in Exam Room 3. Mr. Tawny explains his origins where he was a pet tiger to a young boy and a mysterious old hermit gave him a serum he'd invented that “energizes the brain” of the tiger, allowing him to speak and become civilized. In time, he became bipedal, has more human-like hands and is continuing to evolve. Dr. Ambrose points out that he's almost more of an evolved feline, much like if cats had evolved to a quasi-human race. Miss Gresham enters with the part Mr. Tawny fears most, a blood draw (which he doesn't even actually feel.) Dr. Ambrose soon tells him he's in perfectly fine health and the Civilized Tiger leaves, happy that it went better than he'd thought it would.

Later, Dr. Ambrose uses some of Tawny's blood sample to isolate the Hermit's Serum, testing it on himself to see what it would do to help a human evolve and gulps it down, which evolves him almost instantly into a bald, pale creature that he now deems as Superior to humanity and wants to seize his clarified destiny! The next day, Billy Batson and Mr. Tawny are covering a UN session where delegates mostly accuse each other of being run by dictators and Mr. Tawny notes the jungle animals were more civilized sometimes… Suddenly, the Superior charges in and orders them to follow his commands, since he is more powerful and intelligent than mankind. Thus, Billy calls SHAZAM to become Captain Marvel to intervene. The Superior responds by blasting him in the chest with a ray from his hand… which seemingly destroys him! However, Captain Marvel reveals that that was an afterimage due to him moving at the Speed of Mercury. Captain Marvel manages to tackle him from behind, but the Superior uses his newfound powers to teleport away, saying he'll return in an hour and if he sees Captain Marvel, he'll destroy the whole of UN HQ! Mr. Tawny reports that his keen sense of smell tells him… that's Dr. Ambrose! Captain Marvel gets to work to try to replicate the Hermit's Serum, but flying to the jungles of India, they find he died some years ago. They go to his sturdy hut and find a ton of his papers, which Captain Marvel reads in an instant. He soon flies back to the Big Apple and makes an antidote for the Hermit's Serum at Prof. Edgewise's lab.

When the hour is up, the Superior returns to find Mr. Tawny… has reverted back to a normal tiger! He immediately worries that he needs more Hermit's Serum and goes back to his lab, where Captain Marvel replaced the Serum with the antidote, returning him to normal. Dr. Ambrose profusely apologizes and destroys his Superior costume and all his research about it, saying that Mr. Tawny is the only quasi-human the world needs!

Appearing in Captain Marvel: "the Secret of Mr. Tawny"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

  • The Hermit's Serum (Destroyed)

Vehicles:


Notes

Trivia

  • This issue retcons Mr. Tawky Tawny having been born in some non-specific area of Darkest Africa, mostly since tigers don't live in Africa, instead claiming he was a pet tiger to a non-specific young boy in the jungles of India.
    • This issue also shows that Mr. Tawny as evolved from being a tiger with a civilized mind-set and attitude to being a fully bipedal organism, almost more similar to a bear in dexterity.


See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References
Batman 0585
DC Bullet 2024

Summary Needed

This page is missing a well-written and detailed synopsis. If there is already a synopsis here, it might need to be modified or expanded. You can help the DC Database by adding a summary of the story.
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms