[net.comics] Does anyone remember Superman and B

mcewan@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (10/06/85)

> 	I seem to remember a few years back a few stories about Superman and
> Batman Jr.  who were supposed to be the sons of Supes and Batman.
>   Does anyone else remember this, and if so, in what
> Earth did these characters live?  How do the fit in with the rest of the D.C.
> Universe?

Sure, I remember them. There was a short series in WF with these 2 characters,
and if I remember correctly, the writer (Bob Haney?) made a point of saying
that these were not imaginary stories or anything like that. After a few
issues, they vanished without a trace and were not mentioned again for several
years. Finally, Denny O'Neil (I think) wrote a story explaining that the
super-sons stories were actually generated by Superman's computer, because
he wanted to see what it would have been like if he and Batman had kids.
(Since the kids were about 15, Supes and Bats are permanently 27, and the
super-sons stories took place in the present, Superman must have been wondering
what it would have been like if he had had a kid when he was 12.)
In this last story, the computer-simulated Superman Jr. suddenly realizes that
something is wrong - for one thing, neither he nor Batman Jr. has a mother.
So, apparently through sheer force of will, he transports himself and
Batman Jr. to Earth-1, where, after a few disasters, Superman decides that
their presence is causing the disasters and asks them would they please
destroy themselves. (By the way, am I the only one who thinks that Superman
is the world's mightiest hypocrite? I mean, the guy has this big "oath against
killing" that prevents him from killing even microbes, but he has no qualms
against destroying intelligent, sentient beings who happen to be artificially
created, or even naturally evolved beings who don't happen to fit his narrow
definition of "life".) In any event, the super-sons jumped into the
disintegration pit in Superman's fortress of solitude, so they're not on
any Earth.

			Scott McEwan
			{ihnp4,pur-ee}!uiucdcs!mcewan

"I know what you are. Nut. Screwball. Flake. Lunatic. Fruitcake.
 Bats in the attic. Psycho. All your dogs aren't barking."

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