Batman Superman: World’s Finest #39

In this review of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39, if you enjoy an edgier version of the classic “Super Friends” cartoon, then Mark Waid’s chaotically awesome temporal mash-up is for you. Buckle up, because it’s about to get all timey wimey across the DCU.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #39
Written: MARK WAID
Art and Main Cover: CLAYTON HENRY
Variant Covers: LUCIO PARRILLO, ADRIÁN GUTIÉRREZ, A.L. KAPLAN
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date 5/21/25

This review contains spoilers 

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39 continues the “We Are Yesterday” crossover, as ‘past tense’ Robin (Dick Grayson) is transported to the present day DCU (on the JLU Watchtower no less) after being zapped by one of present day Gorilla Grodd’s time guns. As ‘past tense’ Robin tries to reconcile encountering his older self as Nightwing, Batman experiences a personal temporal crisis by simultaneously remembering and forgetting Robin’s disappearance from the past.

Superman arrives and explains that time has been fractured, (since Nightwing has no memory of arriving in the future as Robin). After Robin and Nightwing shake hands, the teen wonder vanishes, but in reality, present day Nightwing, Batman and Superman have ended up in the ‘World’s Finest’ past.

Meanwhile, ‘past tense’ Batman, Robin and Superman arrive in present day Metropolis where the Man of Steel encounters the super-powered Lois Lane flying by as Superwoman. After recovering from that future shock, the trio head to the Superman Museum currently under attack by ‘past tense’ Scarecrow and Sinestro. Scarecrow’s kryptonite-laced fear gas sends Superman into a chaotic fear spiral, while the dynamic duo square off against Sinestro.

A vision of his future death finally shakes ‘past tense’ Superman out of his nightmare, but while he quickly dispatches Scarecrow, Sinestro gets the drop on the World’s Finest trio with a blast from his time gun, and the heroes vanish.

The present day Batman, Superman and Nightwing arrive at the ‘past tense’ Batcave to discover all of the confiscated time travel equipment was stolen, and Batman and Nightwing are overcome with emotion at seeing their friend Alfred Pennyworth alive again, so Superman quickly explains to Alfred that it’s a “time-travel thing”. The trio then race to the Fortress of Solitude to use Superman’s Legion of Super Heroes’ time bubble to travel back to the present day.

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39 ends with the present day heroes’ time bubble colliding with an unexpected temporal firewall, while ‘past tense’ Superman, Batman and Robin crash land in a desert.

Analysis 

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39 weaves a wild, time-tripping adventure featuring two teams of time lost heroes, but remarkably writer Mark Waid (JLU) and artist Clayton Henry (Archer & Armstrong) keep the story linear and the timelines distinct, while providing several amusing and touching encounters.

Mark Waid’s story evokes a bygone era by making the ‘past tense’ Legion of Doom the big bad for the present day JLU. It’s a trip watching ‘past tense’ Scarecrow and Sinestro wreak havoc while monologuing old-school villain style, as they encounter the World’s Finest team in present day Metropolis. The entire “We Are Yesterday” crossover event is a giant love letter to that earlier DC Super Friends era, although with a slightly darker edge.

The time-crossed heroes have just enough time for a few quick “what’s different here” moments, including the brilliant sight gag of ‘past tense’ Superman’s stunned reaction to Lois Lane as Superwoman (among other news), while the normally cavalier Robin acting as the voice of reason for the World’s Finest team is also hilarious.

The Batcave sequence with present day Batman and Nightwing encountering their late friend Alfred is filled with emotion that even Batman cannot fully suppress. (Also, since Alfred doesn’t recognize grown up Dick Grayson as Nightwing, maybe those domino masks do work).

If the inimitable Dan Mora can’t draw Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39, then veteran artist Clayton Henry is a solid substitute, as Henry brings an animation-style quality to his work with his clean linework and facial expressions. Henry’s draftsmanship and sense of composition bring needed energy (and a retro look) to a story that balances action, drama and slapstick humor.

Henry’s wide shot panel of present day Batman, Nightwing and Superman in the ‘past tense’ Batcave illustrates the artist’s attention to detail, as you can practically hear the “snap” from Batman’s flowing cape. It is also interesting to note that while there are a couple of fully blacked-out panels in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39, there are no heavy shadows in the entire issue.

Tamra Bonvillain’s colors replicate classic comic book style, with bright reds, blues, greens and yellows (for the Sinestro/Scarecrow battle), contrasting the darker hues of the Batcave, and present day Batman’s costume, (although there is a distinct lack of dot matrix effects).

Final Thoughts 

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39 continues the enjoyable time-twisting mystery of “We Are Yesterday” with a respectful nod to DC Comics’ past, while making it possible for both teams to have a hand in defeating the Legion of Doom across time.

Rating: 4.0

Adam Koppel

Who strikes fear into the darkest of hearts in Gotham City? Not me, I'm too busy reading comics and writing reviews.