Batman & Superman Are Too Dumb To Launch Their Greatest Team-Up Attack
Warning: contains spoilers for Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1!
The two greatest heroes of the DC Universe, Batman and Superman have a reputation for tackling nearly every threat - but their greatest technique is seldom-used. The "World's Finest" of heroes frequently team up throughout history, and their different tactics, powers and worldview usually results in a victory. But in Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1, the dynamic duo prove once and for all that their fans are correct: they should swap cities (and villains).
The issue begins with massive vines erupting out of the streets of Metropolis, wreaking havoc on the city. Poison Ivy has traded Gotham for the bigger, brighter city across the river and has brought her own special brand of eco-terrorism to Metropolis. Batman and Robin arrive - in the daytime, a rarity for Batman these days - and warn Ivy that "You're out of your league here." Ivy looks up to see Superman, many times more powerful than she could ever be, hovering over the buildings.
"Your villain, my turf. Who gets to take her in? Should we flip a coin?" asks Superman to his allies. Robin, perhaps terribly frightened of Two-Face, warns Superman against coin-flipping in Gotham when another villain attacks: Metallo. His Kryptonite heart prevents Superman from fighting the villain close, so Robin attacks Metallo while Batman deals with Ivy. While Metallo ultimately gains the upper hand in the fight and injects Superman with red Kryptonite, the entire situation could have been avoided if Batman and Superman merely swapped villains...or switched cities they patrol to begin with.
Fans have come to the conclusion long ago that Batman and Superman's villains would easily fail if they went up against different heroes. Superman could easily make short work of Batman's more human villains (many have no powers, and those that do, like Clayface, are nowhere near as strong as Superman). Batman would perhaps have a harder time fighting the likes of Lex Luthor, Metallo and Zod, but his knowledge of electronics and other gadgets could mean Bruce would have working countermeasures for all of the above (for Zod, he could even use his Kryptonite ring, given to him by Superman in case Clark ever turned evil).
Unfortunately, the two don't like each other's cities very much. Superman dislikes Gotham due to many old buildings full of lead, and Batman detests Metropolis for its wide streets and open spaces (preventing him from using stealth in fights). Nevertheless, Batman and Superman should swap cities and villains; they could easily defeat each other's foes in minutes, if not sooner.