586 SPEEDING BULLETS
are murdered. Th e kindly farm couple takes the sullen boy into their home so that
their son Clark can have a brother. Together the boys fi ght crime in Smallville. By the end
of this imaginary adventure, Batman joins the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th cen-
tury, while Superman continues his never-ending battle against evil in the 20th century.
In Superman #353 (November 1980) DC Comics began a short-lived backup series
featuring the exploits of “Bruce (Superman) Wayne.” In this alternative reality, baby
Kal-El is discovered by James Gordon, who gives him to the Waynes. Bruce Wayne
grows up to become Superman and later marries Barbara Gordon (Batwoman). One
of the most unique amalgamations of the characters debuted in Wo r l d ’s F i n e s t #142
( June 1964); the composite Superman was a grotesque shapeshifting villain with
green skin who formed a costume that was half Superman’s and half Batman’s. Th is
rogue returned several times but was always soon defeated by the heroes.
Speeding Bullets continues the tradition of recreating the Superman legend by
infusing it with elements from Batman’s history. Th e graphic novel begins with the
destruction of Krypton and the arrival of Kal-El’s rocket on Earth. Instead of the
Kents arriving at the crash site in their old pickup truck, the alien child is discov-
ered by the Waynes who are being chauff eured by their butler Alfred. Th ey name the
boy Bruce and raise him to be cultured, respectful, and intelligent. As in DC Comics’
established history, tragedy strikes years later as the Wayne family emerges from a
theater when they encounter a hoodlum named Joe Chill. Th e thief brutally murders
the elder Waynes during a robbery attempt. As young Bruce Wayne tearfully stares
at his parents’ killer, heat beams suddenly blast from his eyes and incinerate the
murderer. Th e trauma of that night’s events causes him to forget his unearthly abilities
until years later when Alfred is threatened by a burglar. Bruce saves his faithful butler
and begins to fully remember the facts surrounding his parents deaths. He soon dis-
covers Th omas Wayne’s journals relating how they found their son in the rocket ship.
Again, as in the long-established DC canon, Bruce Wayne becomes the crimefi ghter
Batman, although this Dark Knight is super-strong and can fl y.
Other elements of the Superman and Batman histories are incorporated into Speed-
ing Bullets as Bruce Wayne purchases the Gotham Gazette newspaper and hires editor
Perry White and journalist Lois Lane. To protect his secret identity from Lois he pre-
tends to be a shy, stuttering, klutz. Like the story’s hero, the villain is a combination of
Superman and Batman adversaries. Lex Luthor is presented as a ruthless billionaire,
as had been established by John Byrne’s continuity revamp of the character during the
1980s. However, this Luthor harbors a dark secret. An earlier accident in a chemical
plant had transformed him into the Joker. He also employs a lethal umbrella in the man-
ner of the Penguin, another traditional Batman nemesis. Batman defeats the Joker in a
violent encounter. Eventually, Lois convinces Batman that he could be an even greater
hero if he abandoned Batman’s darkness and instead became a symbol of hope. Th e
story concludes with Bruce Wayne adopting a new costumed identity—Superman.
Speeding Bullets was one of several Elseworlds graphic novels that either combined
the Superman and Batman legends in unique ways or placed the Man of Steel in
