10 Most Inappropriate Superman Storylines

9. Burn The Bat-Witch!

Superman Supergirl Kiss
DC Comics

The casual use of time travel was a recurring story troupe in the Silver Age. Heroes in costume from the present travel back to major events in history, make large-scale changes and assumed that everything will work out. And often, their reason for the trip could have been answered by a trip to the library.

In World’s Finest #186 and #187, Bruce Wayne receives a bust of Revolutionary War General “Mad” Anthony Wayne. The bust looks nearly identical to Bruce and, when the bust is accidentally shattered, Batman asks Superman to repair it as it looked like the Caped Crusader. The heroes traveled to the Revolutionary War era to uncover the mystery. There, they save a woman named Sylvia Ward from being drowned as a witch, and then Clark begins to turn the townspeople against Bruce. He impersonates Batman and performs “acts of witchcraft” that get the World's Greatest Detective arrested and tied to a stake. Only a well-timed entrance of a kid named Robbyn and a convenient piece of kryptonite chased a demon out of Superman and saved the Dark Knight’s life.

Among the odd things in this story is the demon that is not mentioned again. It is also never explained why Robbyn has the kryptonite in his possession. The initial mystery is easily solved but there are so many more that sprang up in the telling.

Contributor
Contributor

John Wilson has been a comic book and pop culture fan his entire life. He has written for a number of websites on the subject over the years and is especially pleased to be at WhatCulture. John has written two comic books for Last Ember Press Studio and has recently self-published a children's book called "Blue." When not spending far too much time on the internet, John spends time with his lovely wife, Kim, their goofy dog, Tesla, and two very spoiled cats.