The sun rises on a new World’s Finest adventure, this time featuring the Justice League (and a surprise bonus team at the end). As with all arcs in this series, it begins with a lighthearted and low-stakes intro to set the tone before things go South. There’s no better way to do that than to reference the famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) “one punch” scene from Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’ Justice League. I’d argue that the well has maybe run dry on bringing up the time Batman socked Guy Gardner out cold, but it’s an easy way to highlight the kind of story one should expect. In many ways this series really does feel like a spiritual successor to that one, relying on classic heroic adventures mixed with a healthy dose of character comedy.
That tone mixes effectively with the Adrián Gutiérrez’s art, who takes over as the new series regular with Dan Mora gone. In place of Mora’s meticulously detailed characters and backgrounds, Gutiérrez opts for a more cartoonish approach. This often works well with the story’s writing, including when characters will go so far as to mug for the reader. However, that more lax approach to detail sometimes results in disproportioned characters with features such as shrunken hands or elongated necks. He’s joined by Tamra Bonvillain, whose colors continue to keep the series’ iconic bright and vibrant atmosphere a staple of the experience.
As for the plot itself, it gets kicked off by what I’m hesitant to call a Chekhov’s Gun. I’d be much more comfortable calling it a Chekhov’s Bazooka. Early on Robin mentions his fears about working with Dr. Gordon, formerly the villain Eclipso, and giving him access to a bunch of high tech, light-based equipment. Batman assures him that everything’s fine and that they have the crystal that made him evil safely locked up. It’s such obvious telegraphing that I thought for sure that there would be some sort of subversive twist. Instead it’s played totally straight. There was simply a secret, second crystal that does the same thing. If I’m being honest it’s a bit of a disappointing way to get the conflict started.
Once it does get started, we get that classic of superhero tropes: a reason why the heroes need to fight each other. Mind control is as good a reason as any other if all you’re looking for is some mindless action, and that’s what we get here. Eclipso’s powers allow him to control about half the League, which causes an all-out brawl up on their satellite. It’s a fun sequence, if a key moment where Mora’s absence is felt.
However, I can only be baffled by Eclipso’s choices of thralls. When you’re rocking up to a fight alongside Green Arrow and Black Canary against both Superman and The Flash, there’s no way that’s lasting more than maybe a minute. All of the shots team mind-control got off against those sorts of heavy hitters felt hard to justify, but I suppose with comics you just need to accept that everyone is as strong as the story demands.
Spoiler
The real reason the Justice League needed to be devastated was because of the real hook of this story: a promised team-up with the Justice Society. I believe the rest of this arc will live or die by the chemistry between them, Batman, and Superman.
Recommended If
- You’re excited for a new Batman and Superman adventure against a classic Silver Age villain
- Heroes vs heroes is a story premise you like
- You want more comics with bright and colorful art and style
Overall
This newest arc of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest gets off to a fun start, if one that’s bit too predictable. In a series where harkening back to a simpler time in comics is often its strength, it arguably loses sight of the storytelling techniques that add needed complexity. That being said, it still looks to be the sort of colorful superhero adventure that fans have come to expect.
Score: 6.5/10
English (US) · 