World's Finest #236 is an issue of the series World's Finest (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1976.
Synopsis for Superman and Batman: "Killers Come in All Sizes"
At the award ceremony for a Gotham police officer, a gunman attempts to steal the firearm from a nearby officer, thus prompting the officer receiving the award (Ed Farley) to take action. The gunman fires one shot and Farley goes down. He is taken to the hospital by Batman and it is revealed that Farley fell suddenly ill due to a strange fever. The doctors examine Farley's blood to discover that his white blood cells are dying due to a microbe that cannot be seen with an electron microscope.
This prompts Batman to call Superman to help using his microscopic vision. The Man of Steel lears that the microbes are in fact small life forms or "Germ Men" and it is then suggested that someone shrink down to combat the disease with a cure that had been developed. Another victim then comes into the hospital with the same condition as Ed Farley, the hospital's fundraiser poster girl. Batman and Superman decide to call The Atom so he could shrink down and destroy the virus.
Being unable to shrink to the proper size with his "costume controls" alone, the Atom is aided in his endeavor by Superman who claps his hands, with Atom on one of them, allowing the force of the clap to atomize The Atom, allowing him to be injected into one of the victim's blood. Once the Atom is inside the girl's bloodstream, Superman flies the girl to the Fortress of Solitude and puts her under a machine to re-assemble the Atom and then flies back to Gotham City in order to allow further research to be done.
Soon, Chamber of Commerce head Harold Moss falls ill with the disease as well. Inside the girl, Atom is temporarily beaten by the "Germ People". At that moment, Batman discovers that the disease was being spread via kiss from the then current Miss Gotham City. Batman tries to question her, but she refuses and flees, exhibiting super-human abilities in the process. During the final fight, Batman learns that the woman is in fact a parasite that transmits the disease and that the "germ people" are in fact antobodies developed by the human body after it comes in touch with the parasite. The parasite falls to a subway rail tracks and it is pulverized.
After learning the truth from Batman, Superman shrinks himself using the Kandorian Shrinking Ray to enter the girl and warn Atom to not attack the germ people. Afterwards, the people who was affected by the parasite, including Batman, recover slowly but surely.
Appearing in Superman and Batman: "Killers Come in All Sizes"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Commissioner Gordon
- "The Germ People" (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Liza Faraday (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Sergeant Ed Farley (Single appearance)
- Amy Little (Single appearance)
- Harold Moss (Single appearance)
Locations:
Notes
- This story is told in three chapters:
- Part 1 The Germ People
- Part 2 Mission to a Very Small Universe
- Part 3 Shall a Child Live?
See Also