Super Hero Partnerships

When I was a kid, I loved Captain America and the Falcon. It was a team-up book with two partners. It helped a lot that the art was by Jack Kirby, my personal hero of a comic book artist. But there was something more to it. I really liked the idea that they were partners.











You don't find that often in today's comics. But in the late sixties and early seventies, it was kind of a thing. The format was that you would take one headliner, a hero that could hold his own book, and match him up with one second stringer. A hero that the publisher felt couldn't sustain his own series.


The two most notable examples are Captain America and the Falcon, and Green Lantern and Green Arrow. These two titles were among my favorites as a kid.





That simple premise has two alterations. The first is two enormously popular heroes jammed together. Superman and Batman headlined World's Finest for years. And the disparities of their partnership was what made the team up interesting.


There's a guy at work that insists that "Batman is not a super hero". He's not a comic book reader, and is basing his argument on the fact that Batman has no powers. It's a good premise, but really.... this is a character routinely lumped in with other 'super heroes' in the Justice League.

In the 1940's, the distinction was more clear cut. Superman was seen as a 'super hero' that would respond to any situation that couldn't be handled by normal man. Batman was more of a masked crime fighter. This explanation seemed to please my co-worker.


The other alteration to the team-up premise is to match up two heroes whose solo books aren't doing all that great. Maybe the readers of both heroes would each buy the new title and double sales. The approach has had limited success. Hawkman and the Atom were squeezed together in the late sixties, and their book was cancelled soon after.





The pairing of Power Man and Iron Fist gave both characters a needed boost and they successfully held their book for years, until finally falling under the ax. But the team-up is well remembered by fans and they keep popping up paired together in the Marvel universe because of these fond memories.


There are many things about comics that I wish they would bring back. Team-up books are high on the list. But that wish still falls far behind 'good stories' and 'younger readers'.

Thanks,
DCD