Batman / Superman: World's Finest #1 Review

It's Like Eating A Whole Box Of Twinkies!

Written by: Mark Waid

Art by: Dan Mora

Colors by: Tamra Bonvillain

Letters by: Aditya Bidikar

Cover art by: Dan Mora

Cover price: $3.99

Release date: March 15, 2022

 

Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1 pits the world's greatest detective against the world's greatest superhero when a collection of villains, guided by a devilishly shadowy figure, poisons Superman with the mother of all Red Kryptonite cocktails.

Was It Good?

I'm not sold on Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1. There are positives and negatives to the issue that leaves you with a generally ambivalent feeling for reasons that aren't so obvious.

Let's talk about the most significant positive or negative, depending on the reader's point of view. This first issue in the arc could easily be renamed as "Fan Service: The Comic." You get half of Batman's and Superman's rogues thrown in to try and generate as many wow moments as possible. If you want to see Batman/Superman mix it up with their greatest hits of villains, you're going to be happy. For others, it may come across as too much too fast, sacrificing story and nuance for spectacle and noise. In short, Waid throws in everything and the kitchen sink all at once.

The second positive/negative point is the numerous time jumps. First, you're in the recent past; then, you're in the further past, then you're back to now, then you move forward in time. This is a big issue, so Waid makes sure you get your money's worth in action and things happening. Conversely, there's so much jumping around to events that don't appear (yet) to have any relevance to the main plot you may get the impression Waid is injecting filler. Fun filler but still filler.

The undeniable positive, however, is Mora's spectacular art. The lines, the hatching, the panel composition, the anatomy, and everything else in between is darn near perfect. IN a seemingly impossible feat, Bonvillain elevates Mora's art with astounding colors. Regardless of the ups and downs of the writing, this is a gorgeous-looking book.

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Bits and Pieces

Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1 leaves me feeling a bit cold. Waid stuffs in too much too fast, with most of the top villains showing up in one form or another. Much like eating a whole box of Twinkies, you feel like you ate a lot, but it wasn't particularly healthy or satisfying. That said, the art is phenomenal, and DC couldn't have assembled a better art team.

7/10