Cover: Curt Swan & Stan Kaye

World's Finest Comics #87

Mar 1957 · DC · 0.10 USD

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About this Issue

World's Finest Comics #87 (April 1957) is a crisp example of the Silver Age's fondness for flipping superhero power dynamics: the lead story, 'The Reversed Heroes,' sees Batman and Robin temporarily wielding Superman-level abilities while a de-powered Superman must manage without them — a narrative device the title had already been refining since its shift to team-up format in 1954. The Kryptonian power-capsule introduced here by Jor-El proved durable enough to drive two subsequent issues (#90 and #161), making this a rare World's Finest story whose plot elements enjoyed genuine serialized follow-through. The issue also exemplifies the mid-1950s DC anthology format at its most varied, packing a public-service announcement, a western backup, a Green Arrow adventure, and a humor strip into a single 36-page package — a snapshot of how DC built reader loyalty across wildly different genres in one purchase.

In "The Reversed Heroes," a mysterious twist flips the tables on DC’s most iconic heroes: when Elton Craig discovers Kryptonian capsules and gains superpowers, he uses Green Kryptonite to subdue Superman—only for the Man of Steel to counter by taking one of the pills, losing his abilities. With his powers gone, Superman turns to Batman and Robin, who also ingest the capsules and gain powers of their own, launching a desperate effort to stop Elton’s escalating crime spree. Written by Bill Finger and illustrated by Dick Sprang with inks by Ray Burnley, this 1957 classic features a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye that captures the surreal stakes of a world where heroes become ordinary—and ordinary citizens become extraordinary.

Contains 4 stories

The Reversed Heroes

12 pp · Superhero

The New Superman [Elton Craig]

In "The Reversed Heroes," Elton Craig, a man who discovers Kryptonian capsules, takes one and gains superpowers—only to use them to capture Superman. When Superman takes a capsule in turn, he loses his powers, forcing him to team up with Batman and Robin, who also take the pills and gain abilities of their own. The trio must now stop Elton Craig’s escalating crime spree before the balance of power is lost forever.

The Green Sword

6 pp · Superhero

Untitled Humor story

1 pp · Humor

The Retirement of Tomahawk

6 pp · Historical, Western-Frontier

Emmett Wilks

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VG) $58

CGC 9.4 · 1 in census $2,412*

CGC 9.2 $2,412

CGC 9.0 none in existence

CGC 8.5 · 3 in census $435*

CGC 8.0 · 4 in census $335

CGC 7.5 · 1 in census $266*

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CGC 7.0 · 3 in census $220

CGC 6.5 · 4 in census $154

CGC 6.0 · 2 in census $154*

CGC 5.5 · 4 in census $129

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 · 4 in census $98

CGC 4.0 · 2 in census $98*

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 · 2 in census $66*

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $58*

CGC 2.0 · 2 in census $45*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The lead story was scripted by Batman co-creator Bill Finger, penciled by Dick Sprang, and inked by Ray Burnley, a creative trio that was the backbone of the Batman feature in World's Finest through much of the Silver Age. The cover was drawn by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye, Swan being DC's premier Superman artist of the era. Editor Jack Schiff — who also wrote the Brotherhood Week public-service page himself — oversaw the anthology mix that characterized the title at this stage of its run, having championed the Superman-Batman team-up formula since its formalization in 1954. The Green Arrow backup was drawn by George Papp, Arrow's regular artist, while the Tomahawk closing strip featured art by Nick Cardy, an artist who would go on to become one of DC's most celebrated cover designers.

Trivia · 8 facts

Cover date: April 1957 (March-April 1957 on the indicia); published by DC Comics at a cover price of ten cents, running 36 pages in full color.
Lead story 'The Reversed Heroes': scripted by Bill Finger, penciled by Dick Sprang, inked by Ray Burnley; cover penciled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
First appearance of villain Elton Craig, a criminal who discovers Kryptonian power-capsules invented by Jor-El as a contingency for Superman; Craig reappears in World's Finest #90.
The Jor-El capsule plot carries directly into World's Finest #90 ('The Super-Batwoman'), where a hidden capsule from this story's events is used by Batwoman, and is revisited again in World's Finest #161.
Green Arrow backup 'The Green Sword' (art by George Papp) features Oliver Queen abandoning his arrows in favor of a sword as his primary weapon.
Tomahawk backup 'The Retirement of Tomahawk' (art by Nick Cardy) features frontier hero Tom Hawk (Thomas Haukins) and his sidekick Dan Hunter; Tomahawk ran as a World's Finest backup from issue #33 (1948) through issue #101 (1959).
Issue includes a 'Brotherhood Week' public-service announcement starring teen character Buzzy, scripted by editor Jack Schiff with art by Ruben Moreira, reflecting DC's mid-1950s civic outreach tradition.
'The Reversed Heroes' was reprinted in World's Finest Comics Archives Vol. 2 (2005) and is collected in Batman & Superman in World's Finest: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (2016).