World's Finest New Yorker Cartoon

This cartoon in the latest New Yorker is revealing on a couple levels. One, of course, is that the New Yorker is long past cartoons that locate the humor in adults reading a comic--now comic book characters are stock cultural references.

Beyond that is the implicit reference to current continuity. The friction between Superman and Batman is a relatively recent trope; for decades they were best friends.  Superfriends, in fact. Familiarity with the current tension narrative helps the joke work.

For more work by Jack Ziegler, click here.  You might also want to check out the whole issue, which besides having more cartoons has useful articles on interest groups & the anticommons as well as a !#@$in' scary one on superbugs.