History Recap / SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E16To18WorldsFinest

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Invoked by Mercy.
-->'''Harley:''' ''(on TV, being shoved into a padded wagon)'' I want a lawyer! I want a doctor! I want [[TheTriple a cheese sandwich]]!
-->'''Mercy:''' ''(recovering from injuries in bed)'' Now ''that's'' funny! [[LaughThemselvesSick Ha ha ha... ow!]]

* BondOneLiner: As Batman and Harley parachute out of the [=LexWing=] 5000, they realize the Joker is still aboard.

* BoundAndGagged: Lois is subject to this after being kidnapped by the Joker. At one point, the gag is briefly removed, only for Lois to [[DefiantCaptive immediately start mouthing off at the Joker,]] causing Harley to shove it back in.

** This after she was caught in the middle of an attempted hijacking of Air Force One earlier in the movie.
--> '''Superman''': I hope I didn't shake you and the others up too bad.
--> '''Lois''': I have to say... I've gotten used to it.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Lex agreeing to Joker's proposal to kill Superman with the Kryptonite he's discovered. In his greed and excitement, Lex doesn't stop to consider Joker's infamous reputation and history over in Gotham -- and that, when taking all this into account, means any kind of collaboration with him ''probably'' won't end well. Lex even lampshades to Mercy in Part II -- not that it stops him from trying (and failing) to cut him loose until Part III.
--> '''Luthor''': What could have ''possessed'' me to trust that Clown?!

* ExplosiveDecompression: Weaponized; Superman rips a hatch off Air Force One to enter. The terrorists are blown towards the door by the escaping air (while the hostages have been strapped to their seats) and right into Superman's fist. It's not revealed how he sealed the hole afterwards, but he ''is'' Superman.
--> '''Lois''': [[DeadpanSnarker Thanks for strapping me in.]]

* HitchhikersLeg: {{Gender Flip}}ped when The Joker pulls this on ''Harley'' (who is kidnapping Lex, sorta).

* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman: Lois falls in love with Bruce Wayne, but greatly dislikes Batman. She was upset to find out they're one and the same. As a result, Lois breaks up with him. Between that, and before their last confrontation with Joker and Luthor, Bruce inverts and lampshades this with Clark.
-->'''Batman''': It's ironic, you know. She likes Bruce Wayne and she likes Superman. It's the other two guys she's not crazy about.
-->'''Superman''': Too bad we can't mix-and-match.

-->'''Bruce''': Blame it on me, Lex. Tell your pals at the Pentagon I just don't have the imagination.

* [[MrExposition Ms. Exposition:]] Following the capture of Harley Quinn, Angela Chen delivers the following news-report the day after:
-->'''Angela Chen:''' Hello, this is Angela Chen. ''[Scene changes to aerial view of Lex-Wing wreckage]'' Though the search for Joker's body continues the Coast Guard reports it is extremely unlikely that Gotham 's most notorious criminal survived the crash. ''[Scene changes to Luthor walking stoically by a mob of reporters]'' In related news, billionaire Lex Luthor was again rigorously grilled by the DA 's office over his alleged connection to The Joker's rampage. His statements have been questioned both by local law officials, and industrialist Bruce Wayne who announced the immediate termination of his partnership with Lexcorp. ''[Scene changes to Maggie Sawyer and Dan Turpin holding Quinn in a straight jacket]'' And on a lighter note Joker accomplice Harley Quinn was returned to Arkham Asylum for another round of rehabilitation.
-->'''Harley Quinn:''' I want a lawyer. I want a doctor. I want a cheese sandwich! ''[Sawyer and Turpin throw Quinn into a paddy wagon that drives her away]''
-->'''Mercy:''' ''[Watching [=TV=] while bandaged] ''Now that's funny!''Hahaha--'' Ouch!

** The crossover's title is an homage to ''ComicBook/WorldsFinest1941'', which was published between 1941 and 1986. The book was best known for teaming up Batman and Superman for the first time in the DC Universe.

* NeverFoundTheBody: The Joker is left for dead in a falling airplane; with explosions going on all around him, Joker simply laughs as the aircraft plummets into the water. A news reporter says that it is unlikely that Joker survived.... yeah right. (Curiously, this was one time even Batman seemed to have doubts whether he had survived. When Harley - whom Batman had managed to rescue - shouted, "Puddin'!" in anguish, he replied, "At this point, he probably is.") Joker is later confirmed to have somehow survived thanks to his continued appearances in ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries New Batman Adventures]]'', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and flashbacks in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker''.

** In Part III, Superman struggles against the big robot, due to the kryptonite, but then it picks up the factory's door.
-->'''Superman:''' Lead-lined door. I'll have to thank Luthor.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Joker does this as part of his sales pitch to Lex in Part I. Lex clearly dislikes the comparison.
-->'''Joker''': I sense we are kindred spirits, you and I. Oh, there are differences, to be sure, like hair. Heh heh! But underneath it all, we're both entrepreneurs, men of vision. We see an opportunity we grab it. Am I right?

* OhCrap: One of the most memorable OhCrap moments in the entire Animated Universe.
-->'''Mercy:''' Joker took [Luthor] in the [=Lexwing=]! He said he'd make him lose everything he ever built!\\

** An earlier one happens in Part One, when terrorists hijacking Air Force One learn that [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl Lois Lane]] is on board.
-->'''Terrorist''': Let's make an example of this hero. A very tragic example, I'm afraid, Miss...?
-->'''Lois''': Lane.
-->'''Terrorist''': Lane? Lois Lane? The one Superman always saves?!
-->'''Lois''': 'Fraid so.
--> ''(cue Superman's arrival)''

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: A plot point in Part I. Batman's shut down Joker's Gotham operations and he's desperate for cash. Robbing an antique store thus makes sense...and yet he ''only'' steals a single antique statue rather than loot the entire inventory. This immediately triggers Batman's suspicions and an analysis of the remaining statue fragments allows him to discover it was Kryptonite (and thus deduce Joker's headed for Metropolis).

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Lex says the Joint Chiefs are interested in the robots, and he sees quite a lucrative opportunity there. Bruce will have none of that, however, and notes the contract grants him the authority to tank such a proposal no matter what Lex says.

-->'''Joker:''' Batman! It's always Batman. What do you got in the way of air-to-air missiles, Lex?
-->'''Luthor:''' You're asking ''me'' for help?
-->'''Joker:''' ♫ If I go down, you go down ♪
-->'''Luthor:''' It's a red switch.
-->'''Joker:''' ''[[[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles Sees console full of red buttons]]]'' Which red--? Oh, the heck with it. ''[presses several buttons [[MacrossMissileMassacre which launch missiles]], with one disabling the Batwing].''

-->'''Superman:''' Bruce Wayne?!\\

** Naturally, The Joker soon proves he's much, much more dangerous than you'd ever think a clown to be. Superman thinks he's got him beat by showing up in a lead suit, but Joker has other tricks up his sleeve... and on his lapel. And Luthor is horrified to find out Joker's just as much a threat to him and every single person in Metropolis as he is to the heroes.

** The crossover's title is an homage to ''World's Finest Comics'', which was published between 1941 and 1986. The book was best known for teaming up Batman and Superman for the first time in the DC Universe.

** The Joker's acid flower immediately burns through Superman's suit.

* SaveTheVillain: Played with in the climax. Bruce and Clark ''do'' rescue Harley and Luthor before the Lexwing goes down...but neither hero particularly has any problem leaving Joker behind to an almost certain death.

-->'''Harley:''' ''(on TV, being shoved into a padded wagon)'' I want a lawyer! I want a doctor! I want [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers a cheese sandwich]]!

It turns out the Joker is in Metropolis. After his DarkMistress Harley Quinn knocks out Luthor's NinjaMaid Mercy Graves, the Joker meets up with Luthor and offers him a simple deal: "Pay me one billion dollars and I'll kill Superman!" When Luthor asks how the clown can accomplish such a feat when Batman has no powers, Joker reveals his secret weapon: the "Jade" Dragon he stole is actually a hunk of kryptonite someone found long ago. Under the promise that the criminal's actions don't track back to him, Luthor hires Joker. The clown soon sets up a trap by kidnapping Lois during her date with Bruce.

Meanwhile, Batman tracks down the remains of the gang Joker overtook and it leads him to a night club. Superman disapproves of his JackBauerInterrogationTechnique, and Batman replies by throwing him across the room. Superman, in response, [[BullyingADragon shoulder-checks him into a wall in the blink of an eye]], and uses his XRayVision to discover his secret identity. Batman responds with Kryptonite and warns Superman to expect the unexpected. By the time Superman gets home and talks to Lois about her boyfriend, he sees a tracer on his cape, and Batman watching him from across town. Secret Identities have been swapped.

Superman heads off to rescue Lois and moves right into a trap at a [=LexCorp=] warehouse. The Joker presents him with half of the kryptonite dragon, but Superman's KryptoniteProofSuit holds firm... until the Joker splashes his suit with acid from his flower and begins torturing him in front of Lois Lane, leaving him to die with a time bomb. Luckily, Batman had caught up, arrests the gang, and destroys the Kryptonite. Superman is able to get Lois and Batman out of there before the bomb blows.

After Batman scares the crap out of Lex Luthor, and Luthor realizes the Joker left an obvious clue, he goes to [[YouHaveFailedMe directly confront the clown]]. [[FunnyBackgroundEvent While Quinn and Graves]] have a CatFight, the Joker points out that he couldn't anticipate Batman arriving and spoiling his plans. Informing that he still has some Kryptonite left, the Joker doubles the price to kill them both. Luthor refuses and gives him one last chance or the deal is off. The Joker hijacks one of Luthor's [[KillerRobot robot drones]] and sends it after Batman after distracting Superman.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Lex agreeing to Joker's proposal to kill Superman with the Kryptonite he's discovered.In his greed and excitement, Lex doesn't stop to consider Joker's infamous reputation and history over in Gotham -- and that, when taking all this into account, means any collaboration with him ''probably'' won't end well. Lex even lampshades to Mercy in Part II (not that it stops him from trying (and failing) to cut him loose until Part III).

* DieLaughing: Joker in the climax when he realizes he ain't getting out of this alive. As the Lexwing goes down in flames, he laughs his ass off in the face of death (although it's ultimately a subversion since, obviously, [[JokerImmunity it won't stick for long]] and Joker will be back [[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE7JokersMillions a month later]]).

* DoNotGoGentle: Harley in the epilogue. Turpin and Sawyer have to all but forcibly shove her into the prisoner transport when she refuses to cooperate and won't shut up.

* LoopholeAbuse: This is how Bruce blocks Lex from marketing the Wayne Enterprises-[=LexCorp=] robots to the American military in Part I. The agreement between their two companies specifies that any technological applications of the project need Bruce's approval first. And since Bruce doesn't like guns...well...

* DieLaughing: Joker in the climax when he realizes he ain't getting out of this alive. As the Lexwing goes down in flames, he laughs his ass off in the face of death (although obviously [[JokerImmunity it won't stick for long]]).

* FailedASpotCheck: In Part III's battle with the robots, neither Bruce or Clark notice something: there's no sign of Joker's remaining Kryptonite. Clark finds out the hard way where it is when the final robot attacks.

* DieLaughing: Joker when he realizes he ain't getting out of this alive. As the Lexwing goes down in flames, he laughs his ass off in the face of death (although obviously [[JokerImmunity it won't stick for long]]).

--> '''Luthor'': What could have ''possessed'' me to trust that Clown?!

* BittersweetEnding: More on the sweet side than the bitter. Joker and Luthor are stopped and Batman and Superman part ways having, despite their initial friction, become FireForgedFriends (thus laying the first foundation of the eventual Justice League). But Lois, having discovered Batman's true identity, has broken up with Bruce. Joker also blew up almost half of Metropolis before he was stopped (and despite being presumed KIA in the Lexwing's crash, JokerImmunity all but guarantees he somehow survived and will be back). Luthor likewise escapes any legal culpability for his role in Joker's rampage (though Bruce does make the KarmaHoudini painful for him by terminating Wayne Enterprises' partnership with [=LexCorp=] ).

** That said, this aspect of Batman also gets deconstructed during the crossover. Batman's skills and resources give him the edge in Gotham with its street-level maniacs and, for the most part, non-powered super-criminals. But Metropolis ''isn't'' Gotham and its villains are used to dealing with a nigh-invulnerable Kryptonian demigod. So, Bruce's tools are ultimately, and ironically, ''less'' effective when pitted against someone with access to a similarly advanced, but much more lethal armory like Luthor's (as the fights with the Wayne/Lex T-7 and the Lexwing demonstrate).

** In contrast, Walker's Joker leitmotif only briefly reappears. In the La La Land Records STAS Collection's linear notes, [=Michael McCuistion=] discusses he given leeway to compose a new Joker theme (which only appears in these episodes). Walker's Luthor leitmotif was likewise replaced with a new theme created just for these episodes. The Bruce/Lois romance also receives its own letimotif.

* SaveTheVillain: Played with in the climax. Bruce and Clark ''do'' rescue Harley and Luthor before the Lexwing goes down...but neither hero also has a problem leaving Joker behind to an almost certain death.

** Joker going down in flames in the climax echoes his similar death-by-fiery explosion in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm''.

* DieLaughing: Joker when he realizes he ain't getting out of this alive as the Lexwing goes down in flames (although obviously [[JokerImmunity it won't stick for long]]).

* MacrossMissileMassacre: How the Lexwing takes down the Batwing.