Superman & Batman Generations: An Imaginary Tale - 1939; The Vigilantes

• John Byrne - Artist, Writer, Letterer:
• Trish Mulvihill - Colorist:

• Name:
The Bat-Man
• Secret Identity:
Bruce Wayne
• Costume Design:
Black and grey costume with a gold utility belt and extra long bat-ears on the cowl

• Name
Superman
• Secret Identity:
Clark Kent
• Costume Design:
Blue and red costume with thin gold utility belt, the "s" insignia is red inside a triangle with a red border and yellow fill, and the cape reachs to just above the knees with very little pleating, extra cloth, or flourish.

• Name:
Electrox
• Secret Identity:
(Controlled by the Ultra-Humanite)
• Costume Design:
Gigantic clunky robot

• Name:
The Ultra-Humanite
• Secret Identity:
Unknown
• Costume Design:
Old Bald guy in a green trimmed white jumper with a brown blanket over his legs, sitting in a wheel chair.

• Name:
Ell
• Secret Identity:
Alexander "Lex" Luthor
• Costume Design:
Black pants, shirt, and cap with a black Zorro-style mask over his eyes.

• Name:
Lois Lane
• Costume Design:
1st - A green and white skirt suit, 2cd - A blue sailor suit/utility outfit with a white tee underneath.

• Name:
Richard "Dick" Greyson
• Costume Design:
1st - Yellow and orange trapeeze outfit, 2cd - Jeans and a yellow tee.

Just as the "7th richest man in the world" Bruce Wayne lands his KN-17 Helicopter at the site of the Metropolis 1939 world fair, The Giant Robot Electrolux - under the control of The Ultra-Humanite - begins wreaking holy heck all over the fair grounds. It seems The Ultra-Humanite had previously threatened the city of Metropolis that it would "pay dearly" if they didn't deliver one million dollars to him. Bruce was not in a position to affect a change into his Bat-Man persona, so he like the other civilians had to be saved by Superman, who promptly crushed the Electrolux and tossed it off scene.

The Bat-Man later returns to the scene of the crime to do some investigative work, only to encounter Clark Kent and Lois Lane on the scene. After a brief argument, The Bat-Man swipes some unidentified clue, a scrap of metal, out of Clark Kent's hands and is off.

Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane all return the next day to do some more investigation, and the first mention of Dick Greyson is made. He is pictured in an ad for the Flying Greysons family of acrobats, and referred to as "some sort of boy wonder". Naturally the three encounter thugs in the employ of The Ultra-Humanite, most notably a red-haired thug who will later be identified as "Ell". This time however, both Clark and Bruce are unable to draw upon their super-hero resources, and must be bailed out by Dick Greyson.

Later on that night Bat-Man returns to the scene and acquires some useful information by employing the "hang the thug over the side of a very tall building until he spills the beans" technique. Superman shows up, and the two decide to combine their efforts to capture The Ultra-Humanite. While they do ultimately find The Ultra-Humanite, like any good villain, The Ultra-Humanite has built a get-away rocket in some nearby architecture.

This episode ends with more questions than answers, particularly about the red headed thug Ell, whom they have not exactly identified by this time - even if Superman has a hunch about his identity.