World's Finest Podcast

A former stuntwoman gets the hots for Batman ("The Ultimate Thrill"), while the Legion of Super-Heroes visit a young Clark Kent ("New Kids in Town"). Then Batgirl dies... sort of ("Over the Edge"), Toyman creates himself a lady-friend ("Obsession") and a scorned model seeks revenge ("Mean Seasons").

Supergirl debuts ("Little Girl Lost"), the Killer Croc / Baby Doll relationship is creepy ("Love is a Croc"), a fiery redhead gives Superman a bit of trouble ("Where There's Smoke"), Firefly plans to destroy his ex-girlfriend and Gotham City ("Torch Song") and Superman dons a new (yet familiar) costume in his second meeting with Batman ("Knight Time"). All that, plus lots of e-mail!

In "Never Fear" Batman nearly murders the newly redesigned Scarecrow, and Superman has the chance to wed a queen in "Warrior Queen" -- but neither man pulls the trigger, so to speak. The Joker is duped in "Joker's Millions," leading to his attempted suicide. "Apokolips... Now!" sees the shocking death of a major character. And Robin comes to realize that the good guys can't always win in "Growing Pains."

As always, James and Mike discuss five episodes this week ("Prototype," "The Late Mr. Kent" and "Heavy Metal" from Superman: The Animated Series, and "Double Talk" and "You Scratch My Back" from Gotham Knights), but one of them is so bad it's described as being "Superman's 'Terrible Trio.'" Thankfully two of the other episodes are masterpieces.

From Gotham Knights the guys discuss "Holiday Knights" (crime never sleeps in Gotham City, not even during the holidays), "Sins of the Father" (the debut of Tim Drake as Robin) and "Cold Comfort" (the shocking return of Mr. Freeze). Then from Superman: The Animated Series they cover "The Hand of Fate" (Doctor Fate does a whole lot of nothing as Superman battles the demon Karkull) and "Bizarro's World" (an ever-confused Bizarro returns to reshape, then destroy Metropolis).

In their longest show yet, James and Mike thoroughly dissect "World's Finest," the epic three-part Superman / Batman crossover!

Lois Lane visits an alternate reality, one where her death caused the rise of a dark empire ("Brave New Metropolis"). Once home, she's greeted by a long-lost friend of the monkey variety ("Monkey Fun"). After that, Brainiac returns ("Ghost in the Machine"), and Superman finally meets Darkseid ("Father's Day").

First, Superman is introduced to several new adversaries in "Target" and "Mxyzpixilated," then a handful of powerful villains reemerge in "Action Figures," "Double Dose" and "Solar Power." Plus, while James and Mike sort through listener feedback, Mike reveals a big surprise.

Like a dummy, Superman lets two criminal Kryptonians out of the Phantom Zone ("Blasts from the Past"). He then has to stop a giant creature from feeding on all of the world's energy ("The Prometheon"). And then three DCAU mainstays are introduced: Livewire, The Flash and Bizarro ("Livewire," "Speed Demons" and "Identity Crisis," respectively).

Poor Superman. His life is never easy. In this batch of episodes, the intergalactic bounty hunter known as Lobo is hired to abduct Superman ("The Main Man"). Then Clark discovers that his high school sweetheart, Lana Lang, is now dating Lex Luthor ("My Girl"). Darkseid is supplying mob boss Bruno Manheim with advanced weaponry ("Tools of the Trade"). And someone has taken control of the Parasite's body ("Two's a Crowd").