World's Finest #80 is an issue of the series World's Finest (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1956.
Synopsis for Superman and Batman: "The Super-Newspaper of Gotham City"
With sales flagging, the board of directors at the Gotham Gazette are planning to shut the newspaper down. Desperate to keep the paper going, it's editor, John Hall, appeals to one of the directors, none other than Bruce Wayne, to keep the paper going as it is about to crack a major crime story. Bruce agrees to do all he can to help and as Batman he and Robin call in Superman to explain what's going on. Wishing to help keep the Gazette going, Superman mocks the paper in his identity of Clark Kent within earshot of Perry White. Perry, upset that Clark can be so dismissive about the newspaper that Perry first worked at, assigns Clark Kent and Lois Lane to go and help the paper in Gotham City, or risk losing their jobs at the Daily Planet.
When they arrive in Gotham City, they are surprised to find that John Hall has collapsed due to overwork leaving the paper without an editor. Lois Lane decides to take on the position and hires Bruce Wayne as a reporter. Once on the job, Lois becomes quite the demon behind the helm of the paper, worse so than hers and Clark Kent's employer Perry White. Bruce and Clark rush off to break the story, Clark using his x-ray vision to read what notes there are in Hall's desk to learn that the Gazette was trying to expose the operations of a criminal known as the Mole.
The two men go off to get scoops for the paper, while Bruce Wayne is driven off by Alfred to cover the new Riverside Park dedication, Clark changes into Superman to save an arctic sailing ship trapped in ice and helped it reach the shores of Gotham City. Radioing Robin to meet up with him there to look into the Mole mystery, Bruce finds that the park is crowded and as Batman he and Robin disperse the crowd with super aerobatics so that the police can better organize them for the park's opening. Alone together, they decide to check the files in the Batcave to see if they have any records about the Mole.
Later, when Batman, Superman and Robin can meet up at the Batcave, they learn that the Mole was a crook who was an expert miner and tunneler. Their investigations are interrupted by the Bat-Signal and our heroes rush off to stop a runaway train. While Clark and Bruce are turning in the story, Robin decides to check out a hunch and pays a visit to the Harrah Construction Company. Finding the owner suspicious, Robin deduces that he is really the Mole and calls in Batman and Superman to help, but is kidnapped while sending out his radio message. Rushing out to find Robin, Batman and Superman soon discover that the Harrah Construction Company has built tunnels under the city that lead to all the major banks.
With his x-ray vision, Superman spots the crooks taking Robin deep into the tunnels and uses his superpowers to close off and redirect one tunnel to a prison cell. Once the criminals have surfaced and Robin is safe, Superman seals the tunnel and the criminals' capture. With the crooks captured, Superman allows Batman to get to the Gotham Gazette first to report the story as Bruce Wayne. Superman then helps distribute the newspaper all over the city, and record sales about the Mole's bust allows the paper to continue publication. When John Hall returns to work he personally thanks Bruce for saving the paper. Meanwhile, Clark and Lois return to their job at the Daily Planet, and Lois gets some poetic justice, being reamed up by Perry White for her sloppy work.
Appearing in Superman and Batman: "The Super-Newspaper of Gotham City"
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- The Mole (First appearance)
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- John Hall (Single appearance)
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Synopsis for Green Arrow: "The Bewitched Bow"
Millionaire Karl Florian takes reporters and Green Arrow and Speedy through the "jinx collection" in his mansion. Among the famous jinxed objects is the Bewitched Bow, said to bring misfortune to its owner after a witch cursed it. Florian challenges Green Arrow to use the bow, and GA accepts. But Green Arrow has dizzy spells the next two times he fights crime, and the crooks go free. The archers return to Florian's mansion, where GA declares he will defy the curse by shooting an apple off Speedy's head, which he does, even though Florian spills water on the bow. Green Arrow reveals that Florian is the secret head of the gang of thieves. The legend and the "Bewitched Bow" are both frauds, and the dizzy spells were caused by chemicals on the bowstring which were activated when wet, and Florian's gang was careful to pull robberies in locales that would get the bow saturated with water. Florian admits that he had hoped to finish Green Arrow's career with the stratagem, and when his gang attack the archers, both they and Florian are defeated and captured.
Appearing in Green Arrow: "The Bewitched Bow"
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- Karl Florian
- his gang
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- Bewitched Bow
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Synopsis for Tomahawk: "The Brave of Fort Fearless"
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.
Appearing in Tomahawk: "The Brave of Fort Fearless"
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Notes
- The Super-Newspaper of Gotham City is reprinted in World's Finest Comics Archives #1.
See Also
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