World's Finest #242 is an issue of the series World's Finest (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 1976.
Synopsis for Superman and Batman: "Town of the Timeless Killers"
Bruce Wayne, Jr. and Clark Kent, Jr. stumble upon a ghost town called Dry Gulch in a hidden valley during their cross-country trip in an All-Terrain Vehicle (A.T.V.) and Clark Jr. suddenly loses his powers. As their vehicle is damaged, they are forced to go inside the town and find help, but all they find are abandoned tombstones and three killers from centuries past, Kid Bowie, Jack Slade and "Lever" Monroe, who threaten them and attack the young heroes. The town is surrounded by a weird impenetrable force field, released by a cave-in at the local lead mine one hundred years before, trapping everyone in the valley. The three gunmen then showed up and wiped out the townspeople, and have killed everyone who has entered the valley ever since.
Bruce Jr. and Clark Jr. are forced to retreat and hide in a water tower, where they meet with a girl called Susie Wells. She had also stumbled upon Dry Gulch while backpacking and is now helpless. Bruce becomes Batman Jr. and comes up with a plan to defeat the bandits. After a long confrontation, the young heroes manage to defeat their enemies, but they soon learn that Susie Wells is in fact Belle Dubois, the Bullwhip Queen and the leader of the bandits; the real Susie is long dead, having entered the valley and been killed by the bandits.
While fighting Belle, Superman Jr.'s powers return and they manage to defeat the evil woman. It is then that the Super Sons realize that the tombstones they first stumbled upon, have magical properties that take away Superman Jr.'s powers. However, one of the tombstones belongs to a Mr. Hawkins, Dry Gulch's richest citizen, and this enables Superman Jr. to regain his powers while standing on it: the earth from the grave is not that of the valley but of Hawkins' birthplace, shipped to Dry Gulch so Hawkins could be buried in it after his death.
The mystery having been solved, Superman Jr. uses the tombstone as a 'springboard' to enable the young heroes to take their four prisoners in an old covered wagon from the valley to face long delayed justice — but before they depart, Superman Jr. fills in the valley, burying Dry Gulch forever so no other innocent travelers can wander into it.
Later, the sheriff finds it hard to believe the Super-Sons' story about a bewitched valley and bandits over a hundred years old — until he looks in the wagon and is shocked to see that the four bandits are now only skeletons. Having lived well beyond their normal human lifespans in Dry Gulch and remaining as young as when they first arrived, due to the force field's side-effects, the bandits aged to death after being taken beyond the valley's special aura.
After another successful mission, the Super-Sons continue their adventures across the country.
Appearing in Superman and Batman: "Town of the Timeless Killers"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Belle Dubois, the Bullwhip Queen (Single appearance)
- Kid Bowie (Single appearance)
- Jack Slade (Single appearance)
- "Lever" Monroe (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Dry Gulch (Single appearance)
Items:
Notes
- This is the last canon story in the Super-Sons saga.
- The story is divided in three parts:
- Part 1 - Trio of Fear
- Part 2 - He Whom Evil Fights
- Part 3 - The Epitaph That Saved a Superman
- This story is reprinted in Superman/Batman: Saga of the Super Sons.
- The letter section of the issue, "From the World's Finest Fans", announces Dennis O'Neil as the recently assigned Story Editor for World's Finest as well as other comic series.
Trivia
- Jack Slade says he is 124 years old.
- This is the first issue in the World's Finest Series to feature a coloring credit in the credit box.
See Also