--- title: Before Batman v Superman: Their First Appearance Together description: The two heroes first appeared side by side—well, with Robin in the middle—in 1940 canonical: https://time.com/4264704/batman-superman-first-comic-together/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-23T13:00:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:41.234Z article:section: History og:title: Before Batman v Superman: Their First Appearance Together og:description: The two heroes first appeared together in 1940 og:url: https://time.com/4264704/batman-superman-first-comic-together/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Before Batman v Superman: Their First Appearance Together twitter:description: The two heroes first appeared together in 1940 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # See Batman and Superman's First-Ever Appearance Together  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 23, 2016 1:00 PM UTC  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 23, 2016 1:00 PM UTC Batman and Superman have been, over the course of about three-quarters of a century, friends and enemies—a line they’ll walk again in the [new movie](http://time.com/4257616/batman-superman-supercut/) _Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice._ But when they first met, in 1940, they weren’t really either of those things. They were just standing near each other:  1940 New York World's Fair Comics cover with Batman. DC Entertainment Along with Robin, they appeared on the cover of this 1940 _New York World’s Fair Comics_ book, a souvenir edition sold at the event. But they didn’t actually interact on the inside. Batman was a relative newcomer, introduced in May of 1939, while Superman had been around since the summer of 1938 and was established enough to earn his own “[Superman Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNaMbFAQF4U)” at the Fair. Inside the book, Superman foils a jewel thief at the World’s Fair. In a separate section, Batman and Robin are at the fair when they learn of a scientist who is destroying bridges around Gotham. ### ‘The World of Tomorrow’: Scenes From the 1939 New York World’s Fair  Exterior view of the Administration Building for the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Models of the sculpture Night by artist Paul Manship, created for the 1939-1940 World's Fair. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene in Queens, New York, before the April 30, 1939, grand opening of the World's Fair. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Administrative buildings designed for the 1939 World's Fair. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Craftsmen work on a huge diorama prior to the opening of the 1939 Worlds Fair. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Craftsmen work on a huge architectural model of "the city of the future" at the 1939 World's Fair. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Preparing for the 1939 World's Fair, New York. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Preparing for the 1939 World's Fair, New York. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Working on General Motors' "Futurama" exhibit -- the city of the near future -- at the 1939 World's Fair. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Display in the Ford Motor Company pavilion at the 1939 World's Fair. Hansel Mieth—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Exhibit featuring raw materials (pictured: wool) that go into making Ford automobiles, 1939 New York World's Fair. Hansel Mieth—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Waxworks on display at the 1939 World's Fair, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes (bottom middle) and Adolf Hitler. Hansel Mieth—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Exhibit featuring raw materials (pictured: leather) that go into making Ford automobiles, 1939 New York World's Fair. Hansel Mieth—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Exhibit featuring raw materials (pictured: soy beans) that go into making Ford automobiles, 1939 New York World's Fair. Hansel Mieth—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Architectural model created for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Architectural model created for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Architectural model created for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Architectural model created for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Architectural model created for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Architectural model for a textile building created for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Architectural model created for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Architectural model created for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Modernist symbols of the 1939 World's Fair, the Trylon and the Perisphere -- collectively called the "Theme Centre" of the expo. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  1939 New York World's Fair. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images   LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine feature on the 1939 New York World's Fair. LIFE Magazine Even though they didn’t share a storyline, the World’s Fair edition changed the game for superheroes. This was the first step toward comics embracing the crossover format and the genres it inspired: it was, as _The All-Star Companion_ [explains](https://books.google.com/books?id=kxQEhkcO0fYC&pg=PA14&dq=new+york+world%27s+fair+comics+1940+batman+superman&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7uMe1gsvLAhUIVT4KHRIlDkUQ6AEIODAB#v=onepage&q=new%20york%20world%27s%20fair%20comics%201940%20batman%20superman&f=false), the first time _any_ two comics characters who had their own franchises appeared together anywhere. Eventually, less popular characters got the same treatment. And it wouldn’t be long before Batman and Superman were working together, not just standing near one another. 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