Clark Kent Bruce Wayne unions practically invented the superhero team-ups. These two heroes played a huge role in increasing the popularity of comics in the early days. These two heroes are also responsible for providing a solid foundation to the superhero genre.
The Clark Kent Bruce Wayne duo was quite friendly with each other. And they fought crime together. Clark and Bruce became very close friends in earlier comics as opposed to their modern counterparts. We will look into their relationship since both the character’s debut.
Origin of the Duo
Superman debuted in 1938 and a year later Batman Comics launched. They started to appear on the titles together but did not meet until 1952. After their first meeting, DC banked on their combined popularity.
DC started to feature their adventures more. Their combination was very well-received and the Clark Kent Bruce Wayne team-up was named collectively Superbat. Superbat is one of the most iconic Superheroes to have ever existed.
Their relationship has been portrayed differently in different media. And this article will explore their adventures across different media.
Comics
Both the characters existed in the same universe since their debut but their paths did not converge till 1952. Since then, there have been many classic battles between the duo.
Friends
In their first story, they are trapped on a cruise ship. They even shared the same room on this liner.
They discovered each other’s secret identities and have been fighting crime ever since. After this feature, their friendship further blossomed. A new comic-book series called the “World Series” featured both of them regularly.
Both the superheroes were established as very good friends in the series. They developed this relationship over long years of fighting crime together.
At Odds
Their friendly relations changed once the World Series ended. And Thomas Miller wrote, “The Dark Knight” in which Batman and Superman faced each other for the first time. This new take on their relationship was very well-received by the fans.
This new rivalry was also reflected in the Superman Reboot “The Man of Steel”. From this point, the Clark Kent Bruce Wayne duo was found at odds with each other. This was primarily due to their different working styles.
They teamed up again in 2003 in Superman/Batman monthly series. This series re-imagined their initial encounter on the cruise employing a confrontational approach. This approach has since become the norm in all future comics. Their relationship is not described as a rivalry but as a much more conflicted team-up as compared to their silver-age iterations.
Nonetheless, both the superheroes maintain mutual respect for each other. And, work together against any criminal when needed.
The Animated Universe of DC
This animated universe is also referred to as the “Timmverse” by the fans. This universe featured some of the most memorable TV series of our favorite characters.
Timmverse was kickstarted by Batman: The Animated Series and ended with Justice League Unlimited. This universe was also featured in multiple direct-to-video movies, short stories, and games.
First Meeting in DCAU
Clark Kent Bruce Wayne duo meets in the episode titled “World’s Finest“. This episode was actually a cross-over between Superman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.
Batman comes to Metropolis due to Joker and Luthor working together. Bruce immediately starts flirting with Lois Lane and is disapproved by Clark. When both the heroes meet in costume Superman finds Batman’s identity by looking inside his mask.
And Batman finds Superman’s secret identity by placing a tracker on him and following Superman to his home. After initial antagonism both of them team-up against Joker and Lex Luthor. And are able to defeat the criminals.
Justice League
They are next seen working together in Justice League and Justice League Animated shows. It is established in the show that both the heroes have known each other for a long time. And also refer to their actual names “Bruce and Clark” when talking to each other showing their mutual trust.
Batman is also the most affected League member after the death of Superman in the TV series. Batman even refused to accept that Clark had actually died.
Superman is the closest anybody has come to becoming Batman’s friend. Batman doesn’t trust anybody but still, we can only say that the only exception to this general rule of Bruce is only Superman.
Superman also has shown the ultimate sign of trust in Batman. He has done so by entrusting Batman with a piece of Kryptonite in case Superman goes rogue.
Snyderverse
Zack Snyder launched the DC Extended Universe and released Man of Steel as the first installment of the Universe. Zack followed up Man of Steel by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
In this movie, Ben Affleck was introduced as Batman. Batman blamed Superman for the deaths caused during General Zod’s attack on Earth. Bruce did not trust Superman and saw him as a threat to humanity.
Batman prepared for the fight by arming himself with kryptonite weapons and a new Batsuit to kill Superman. He nearly succeeded in doing so, but both the heroes realized their mistake.
Afterward, we saw Clark Kent Bruce Wayne team-up fight against the actual villain Lex Luthor. Lex succeeded in creating Doomsday. The superheroes fought him and Superman ultimately sacrificed his life in order to protect humanity by killing Doomsday.
Following his death, Bruce realized his mistake and then set out to correct his mistake by uniting other Superheroes in Justice League. Justice League saw the revival of Superman and after fighting Steppenwolf, it is implied that both of them maintain mutual respect for each other.
Justice League was supposed to establish the future of the DCEU. But due to family issues, Snyder had to leave the film unfinished. Joss Whedon took over and completed the film. But the theatrical cut was universally criticized by critics and audiences alike.
This lead to fans rallying in favor of the unfinished cut of Director Zack Snyder. Ultimately, this lead to the release of Snyder cut on HBO max. We will get a better look of the Clark Kent Bruce Wayne story arc according to Zack Snyder’s Vision.
Final Thoughts On The Clark Kent Bruce Wayne Duo
All in all, both the superheroes have always had mutual respect for each other. They have always trusted each other. No matter what the iteration is both the superheroes have supported each other even if they don’t like each other’s methods.
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