Batman and The Incredible Hulk, on the other hand, were an odd pairing, not only a particularly unbalanced match-up physically, with Hulk being one of comics' most powerful characters while Batman didn't even have any superpowers, but seemingly having nothing in common with one another aside the first name "Bruce."
So how was it that the two became the focus of the third DC/Marvel crossover, the first to not feature Superman and Spider-Man...?
The answer is, apparently, quite simple: They were, according to Paul Levitz in his introduction to the DC Versus Marvel Omnibus, "perceived at the moment to be the next most familiar characters to the general public."
In other words, it was basically a popularity contest, with Batman and the Hulk both coming in second behind Superman and Spider-Man.
However it came about, it worked, a fact for which we can probably credit the book's creative team.
This one was a DC in-house production, being officially published in 1981's DC Special Series #27 in an over-sized, "treasury" format, the same larger size afforded to the two DC/Marvel crossovers that preceded it.
DC's Julius Schwartz had apparently approached writer Len Wein to handle the script, a smart choice given that Wein had by that time written runs on both characters (In fact, in his introduction to the crossover, reprinted from the pages of 1991's Crossover Classics, Wein says that his two longest regular runs were on those particular characters, and he counts them as his favorite from each publisher).
As for the artist, DC chose the incomparable Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, an artist so good that, the following year, DC would have him draw their official style guides. He would be inked by Dick Giordano (who also served as editor on the book). Giordano had previously inked the initial Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man crossover five years earlier, a task he was chosen for because, in the words of Levitz, he was "regarded by both companies and most of his peers as the premier inker in the field."
Obviously the book would look good then, and, with Wein at the helm, the two lead characters should be accurately depicted and feel true to their past characterizations...however it was that Wein ultimately decided to bring them together.
Just as integral to these crossovers as the heroes and creators are, of course, the villains, and for a Batman foe, Wein chose the most obvious one, The Joker. As for a Hulk antagonist to feature, Wein went with a far less likely choice, The Shaper of Worlds, who first appeared in the pages of the Incredible Hulk in 1972.
If you're wondering why Wein didn't choose a more popular Hulk villain, like The Abomination or The Leader, do note that both did in fact appear briefly in the proceedings; the Shaper's particular powers seem fairly integral to the plot, and his status as a godly cosmic being made him somewhat more compatible with The Joker...or, at least, their alliance made sense in this story, and it's not always easy to make sense of The Joker as a team player.
As with the previous crossover, the book opens with two parallel columns of text with black and white illustrations, here detailing the origins of the two Bruces (I thought it odd that a sentence of Batman's origin was devoted to his proficiency with disguises, saying "He devoted himself to the art of disguise, until he was virtually a human chameleon who could assume a thousand different faces--", but throughout the story Batman adopts several disguises).
After the title page depicting the characters facing off, with the villains in the background and the title ("The Monster and the Madman") and credits below, the 64-page story officially began, opening with two bizarre scenes.
In the first, a Gothamite is thinking cool thoughts to help himself fall asleep on a 90-degree summer night, only to awaken to find his apartment was now full of snow and his nightclothes replaced by the sweater, parka and boots he was previously wearing in his fantasy. (Look closely at his walls, and you'll see a Superman poster hanging on one, and a Captain America on the other; this story, like the first two DC/Marvel crossovers, apparently takes place in a shared world, rather than either of the respective universes, the borders of which have apparently not yet solidified.)
And then the scene shifts to a movie theater, where two young lovers are occupied by making out and completely ignoring the monster movie playing on the screen in front of them...only to disengage and find themselves surrounded by bizarre monsters.
It's an intriguing beginning, and one that will eventually be made clear to the reader, but not for some time.
Meanwhile, The Joker, wearing a purple overcoat and wide-brimmed hat over his classic ensemble, is gathered in a waterfront warehouse with his gang, negotiating with someone kept off-panel, the tails of the unseen character's dialogue bubbles terminating in darkness ("You must act quickly--the pain is growing unbearable!", the voice says and, later, "Go quickly, Joker--Time is running out!")
Though Wein and Garcia-Lopez play coy about who the voice belongs to, with one of Joker's men referring to the character as "that freak in the warehouse" once they're outside, a blurb on the cover has already spoiled readers to the fact that The Shaper of Worlds would be in this story, and the character is briefly depicted, if not named, on the title page.
A splash page then introduces us to "Dr. Robert Bruce Banner", working undercover doing grunt work at the Gotham branch of Wayne Research, where the scientists are working with an experimental gamma-gun, which Banner hopes can be his "ultimate salvation!"
Though working under an assumed name and wearing a uniform shirt and security badge, that shirt is tucked into a pair of Banner's signature purple pants, so perhaps it's not the greatest disguise in the world.
Suddenly, everyone starts laughing uncontrollably, and the quick-witted Banner dons a radiation suit with its own air supply, curing him of the sudden urge to laugh himself. In strolls the Joker and his men, intent on stealing the gamma-gun, and Banner manages to sound an alarm before he's tackled and wrestled to the ground, violence which, of course, summons his worse half.
Hulk's emergence is followed two pages later by the arrival of Batman—a svelte, athletic, dynamic figure under Garcia-Lopez's pencil—and Joker is able to talk The Hulk into smashing Batman. "If anyone around here is your enemy, Hulk," Joker says pointing, "it's HIM!!"
That, of course, brings us to the The Two Heroes Fight One Another part of the crossover ritual. The Hulk vs. Batman should not be a very interesting fight, as Hulk could and should crush Batman the second he gets his big, green mitts on him. And, remember, this is the 1981 Batman, not the 2024 Batman; this is a version of the character that far predates the prepared for any eventuality, master-planner version of the character who seems to have always manage to pak his utility belt with whatever he'll need to take on any character he might have occasion to throw hands with, including some Kryptonite should he need to take on Superman.
Of course, the one-sidedness of the fight is exactly what makes it so fun, as Batman is clearly facing an opponent he can't overpower. It only lasts about four pages, but they are fairly panel-packed pages, with Batman's racing thoughts appearing in clouds above his head, narrating about just how much trouble he's in.
He dodges Hulk's assaults ("You are fast, Pointy-Ears-- --But Hulk is strong!"), throws a few useless punches as he searches for Hulk's non-existent weak spot and, after an exceedingly close call, ultimately resorts to sleeping gas from his utility belt, a surprise kick to Hulk's solar-plexus forcing the jade giant to breathe it in. That knocks him out...for a few moments, anyway.
As to why The Joker wanted the gamma-gun at all, it is because The Shaper of World requested it, thinking it could heal him, as he is currently losing his dream-absorbing powers, and his mind. The Shaper, a character I am meeting here for the first time, is a pretty weird character, especially for a Batman narrative.
In appearance, he looks something like a giant vampire from the waist up, although some of his body parts seem mechanical. From the waist down, he's a big square of mechanical parts, perhaps meant to resemble the 1970s idea of a giant, high-tech super-computer...?
He explains his powers, origins and current predicament in a three-page sequence; the gist of it is, he has the power to manipulate reality, but he personally lacks any form of imagination, and thus siphons off the dreams of others to power his creations (The weird fantasies that became realities at the beginning of the book? That was obviously his doing). Caught in a supernova, he found himself losing his ability to absorb dreams properly, and thus a way to guide his creation powers. He struck a bargain with The Joker—who has "a mind unique in all the universe!"—to help him, in exchange for...well, we'll find out.
The next attempt at a cure for The Shaper's condition is to kidnap The Hulk, who also possesses potentially healing gamma energy. The Joker's men eventually succeed, finding Banner working in a special lab on a boat three miles offshore of Gotham, a lab outfitted to him by Bruce Wayne, who is funding his search for a cure for The Hulk (Wayne has even lent Banner the aid of Alfred, who is present on the boat to help police Banner's temper and keep him from Hulk-ing out.)
Capturing Hulk and holding him are two different things though, and Hulk escapes, with The Joker eventually turning to Batman to help him track down the green goliath (Their teaming up here reminded me of the recent-ish miniseries Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo, and I wondered if its creator Marc Silvestri had read this crossover before...although Batman and The Joker have of course teamed-up on several other occasions, too).
This leads to another, brief Batman/Hulk battle, one which the Dark Knight manages to survive but not win, before Batman and The Joker eventually resort to trickery to get The Hulk to return to The Shaper, this time with Batman at his side.
On the way, The Shaper's out-of-control powers summon manifestations of the pair's villains, which appear to fight them for the space of two pages. It is here we see The Abomination and The Leader, as well as Marvel's The Rhino and Batman villains Two-Face, Scarecrow and...Killer Moth? Huh.
Anyway, this time The Shaper is able to absorb enough of Hulk's gamma radiation to restore his powers and mind, and to fulfill his bargain with the Joker. "Whatever The Joker now dreams," The Shaper intones, "I shall make live!"
That's right, The Joker gets the power to alter reality to suit his whims. "From this moment on--," he screams as his attire transforms into that of particularly fancy court jester, "I'm KING OF THE WORLD!!" (For a second time, I found myself thinking of much later comics and wondering if the writers were inspired by this one, in this case the Jeph Loeb and company Superman story arc from 2000, "Emperor Joker," wherein The Joker acquired near omnipotent reality-altering powers from Mr. Mxyzptlk.)
Though brief in terms of page-count, the sequence is a bravura one, allowing Garcia-Lopez to cut loose with some really fun artwork, as The Joker sails above our heroes on a magic carpet, turning them into clown versions of themselves. And then, responding to Batman's attempts to manipulate him, he gives the world an Alice's Adventures in Wonderland-inspired look, complete with "Tweedle-Bats" and "Tweedle-Hulk." Then there are a few pages of art-inspired transformations that homage Escher, Dali, surrealism and cubism, with a Batman and Hulk that look like they could blend into the crowd of characters in Guernica.
Finally, Batman's goading the Joker on and on forces the madman into a brief enough fit of creator's block that Batman is able to punch him out.
"It is over," The Shaper declares, "The bargain has been fulfilled!" He then leaves Earth, The Joker and our heroes behind. Forever. (Or, perhaps, forever-ish, as I guess it's possible he met The Hulk in some future story I have never read.)
The Joker ends up in a straitjacket in a padded cell, and Batman tells Commissioner Gordon that he decided to let Banner go, to face his "living nightmare!"...which he will, but not in this or any other DC comic book.
The final panel contains a little orange block containing the words "The End-- For Now!", which might have made 1981 readers hopeful that there might be a sequel, but this is the last time Batman and The Hulk would appear in the same story, at least until the '90s, when both would be players in the DC Versus Marvel miniseries (Although they, obviously, wouldn't be opponents in that series of inter-company match-ups).
Beautifully illustrated by Garcia-Lopez and Giordano, this book features what must be the Platonic ideal of Batman art, and I can only imagine how it must have blown minds all those decades ago, appearing on over-sized pages. (My favorite image is probably that on page 29, where Batman strokes his chin and thinks out loud, his other hand on his hip and his foot resting on the pile of criminals he has just knocked out...although those pages at the climax where the Joker is control of reality sure are something).
Their Hulk ain't too shabby looking either, although the Gotham setting and the appearances by Batman's supporting characters Alfred and Gordon make this read a bit more like a Batman comic book, or at least a Batman team-up, then it does a true DC/Marvel crossover (Hulk supporting characters General Ross and Doc Samson do appear as well, but only for a panel).
Overall, this is a pretty great comic, one that, perhaps, feels even greater given how random the very idea of a Batman/Hulk crossover feels...and must have felt at the time.
For the next DC/Marvel crossover, which would come the very next year, the publishers would choose two teams of heroes that seemed to have a lot in common in terms of make-up and their place in the comics market of the time.
Next: 1982's Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1
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