As DC comics most popular leading men, it only makes sense for put the Dark Knight to trial for the dark arts.
Published August 1969, World's Finest Vol 1 #186 kicked off a three-part story following Superman and Batman as they go on an adventure back in time. Featuring the stories of Superman and Batman: "The Bat Witch! - That Old Bat Magic - Trial and Treachery!," the issue was written by Robert Kanigher with penciler Ross Andru, and inker Mike Esposito.
The issue kicks off just as bizarre as it ends up, starting with everyone's favorite detective Batman being asked to serve as a guard for a new display opening at the Gotham City Museum. When the person carrying the sculpture to be displayed drops it, it shatters into pieces, and Batman calls on his friend Superman to help fix it. Using his super sight, speed, and strength, Superman is able to mold the sculpture back together -- revealing it to be a bust of Bruce Wayne's colonial army general ancestor "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who looks insanely similar to Bruce. Especially once Superman discovers more dust... which was once a cowl identical to Batman's.
Regardless of that in no way being how sculptures work (with a solid rock face under a solid rock mask?), this sets off a curiosity in both caped crusaders to solve the mystery of a colonial bust of Batman even existing. Superman applies his super-seamstress abilities, and whips together some colonial outfits, wraps Bruce in his cape, and flies the two of them through time back to colonial New England, where they quickly get involved in a scuffle with Bruce's ancestor "Mad" Anthony.
It's only a matter of time before they stumble across a witch trial, where a young woman is about to be drowned to death to determine her innocence. Being the playboy he is, Bruce instantly insists the girl can't be a witch because "that girl is a regular Miss America!" The duo steps in and Superman quickly, (and secretly) dives into the water to gnaw through (yes, he uses his teeth rather than his arms) the girl's bonds, and remains hidden underwater to not let the public know he saved her. When she rises, the town accuses her of calling an evil sea monster to set her free, which turns out to be the strangely accurate reason Superman bit the wood instead of simply breaking it. Batman dives in and rescues the drowning woman, who then asks to look upon the face of her savior. Bruce sees no harm in taking his mask off considering their place in history, and takes the young lady for a celebratory drink.
This puts Superman into a fit of jealousy, being the one who did the real saving but chose not to take credit. While Bruce takes the woman on a date, Superman sets off to use his powers to frame Batman in various ways. First disguising himself as Batman and flying over the town on a broomstick, then squeezing coal into diamonds and placing them before Bruce, the citizens soon accuse Bruce of being a sorcerer. To really put the nail in the casket, Superman uses his heat vision to scare a cat into jumping in front of Bruce, then uses his super ventriloquism to make it appear like the cat speaks, framing Bruce as an evil magician who works with a demon cat. Oh, Superman!
The comic then shifts to the trial of Batman, where we see Batman locked up at the stock and Superman serving as the third party judge. Superman then convinces the town that Batman is in fact guilty, resulting in the ruling that he will be burned at the stake the following day. As if this issue wasn't already bonkers enough, it just wouldn't be a colonial time-traveling piece without a famous founding father making an appearance. The issue ends with Benjamin Franklin visiting Batman at the stocks and trying to conduct his famous kite lightning experiment on the lock holding Batman in. Each time lightning strikes the kite, superman swoops in with his super-speed and flight to stop the bolt from reaching the lock, leading to the cliffhanger of Batman's fate to be determined in the next issue.
The story wraps up in World's Finest Vol 1 #187 with an equally zany series of events, ultimately leading to Superman fighting for the redcoats. Eventually, it is revealed that an evil spirit had been jumping between Batman's ancestor, Batman, and Superman the entire time, resulting in all the betrayal and madness between them. It's in the aftermath of this battle that the mystery of the Batman bust is solved when the woman they initially saved from drowning says she is going to make a mold of Batman's face from his impression in the mud. Not so surprisingly, the bust of Batman from the past was exactly that, a bust of himself from his own visit (no need to get into the complexities of time travel and the paradoxes this creates).
This is without a doubt one of the wildest and most fun Superman and Batman team-ups there is, full of that old school campy vibe that helped comics grow into the massive empire they are today. While this might not be your typical hero clash, the weirdness of it all definitely makes it a story for any Batman or Superman fan to add to their list.
