Anti-Superman
The Anti-Superman
A criminal identity briefly assumed by Daily Planet editor Perry White in August 1966. While visiting Superman's Fortress of Solitude, both he and Gotham City Police Commissioner James W. Gordon are accidentally exposed to an alien gas known as Formula X-22. The gas radically alters the personalities of both men, giving them highly criminal tendencies. Deciding to use their intimate knowledge of Superman's and Batman's secrets, White and Gordon plan to humiliate and dispose of both heroes. White uses a secret rejuvenation serum to restore both himself and Gordon to a younger state for several hours, and then uses one of the Fortress' many technologically advanced devices to give himself super-powers identical the Man of Steel's for 48 hours at a time. While Gordon assumes the guise of the Anti-Batman, White fashions a darker-colored variant of Superman's uniform (complete with a lead-lined mask to prevent Superman from discovering his real identity with his X-ray vision) and calls himself the Anti-Superman. After stealing many secrets from both the Fortress and the Batcave, Anti-Superman and Anti-Batman launch their planned campaign to dispose of Superman, Batman and Robin. Anti-Superman clashes twice with the Metropolis Marvel, the second time using a chunk of Gold Kryptonite (to which Anti-Superman is, naturally, invulnerable) to keep the Action Ace on the defensive. In addition, Anti-Superman and his partner-in-crime raid the State Police Building midway between Metropolis and Gotham City, stealing various mementos from Superman's battles with his greatest foes (including the Prankster, the Toyman and Lex Luthor), and giving them to the imprisoned criminals themselves. After Batman deduces the true identities of both villains and discovers their Gotham City headquarters, Superman arrives and exposes Anti-Superman and Anti-Batman to an antidote that counteracts Formula X-22's effects, restoring White and Gordon to their normal personalities. Sometime later, the youth serum wears off and returns both men to their normal ages (WF No. 159/1, Aug 1966: "The Cape and Cowl Crooks!").
