Written by: Mark Waid
Art by: Gleb Melnikov
Colors by: Tamra Bonvillain
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
Cover art by: Dan Mora (cover A)
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: August 21, 2024
Batman/Superman: World's Finest #30, by DC Comics on 8/21/24, begins a new arc bringing the World's Finest together with Wonder Woman for the first time to solve a murder mystery on Paradise Island.
Is Batman/Superman: World's Finest #30 Good?
Mark Waid does it again with another "first" in his version of the World's Finest canon. Waid sets up a murder mystery that's expertly constructed as a perfect excuse to get the World's Finest on Themyscira and elevate the strengths of each character, particularly Batman as the world's greatest detective. There are some pacing issues toward the end (more on that further down), but this is a winning issue overall.
When last we left the Dark Knight and Man of Steel in Batman/Superman: World's Finest #29, they successfully thwarted Doom-Mite from the Sixth Dimension and saved all reality with the help of Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk. The issue ended with Batman getting a good belly laugh and Bat-Mite earning a special place of honor.
In Batman/Superman: World's Finest #30, Batman & Robin and Superman respond to an invitation by Wonder Woman to come to Themyscira for a secret purpose. Despite Hippolyta's better judgment, she allows men to set foot on the island due to the grave nature of the problem. What's the issue? An Amazonian inventor named Dyatrine was found murdered in a locked room.
Ahh, the classic "locked room murder" scenario is the type of mystery that made Sherlock Holmes and other fictional detectives famous. Mark Waid lays out the scenario perfectly by directing (or misdirecting) readers right to the body with as little information as possible to make the puzzle as juicy as possible.
After shoring up the obvious questions, such as "Who else has access to the room?" and "Did Wonder Woman check everyone on the island with her Lasso of Truth?" Batman sends Superman and Robin to visit Magala at the Well of Souls as a possible lead. Magala is bound to the Well, so she can't leave its side, but she may have heard or seen something.
Mark Waid cleverly leaves Magala for our visiting heroes as an organic way to inform new readers about the purpose of the Well of Souls and its connection to the afterlife. Waid is possibly playing a long game by planting the seed that Themyscira will play a part in a larger adventure in the future, or it could simply be a way to bring new readers up to speed on Paradise Island. Either way, it works.
When our heroes (sans Batman) arrive at the Well, they find Magala injured and rambling about a deceiver who came through the Well the night before. Meanwhile, Batman and Wonder Woman continue to search the room where Dyatrine's body was found with no success or clues to be found. The absence of clues leads Batman to the most Holmesian conclusion possible - Dyatrine is not the murder victim she appears to be.
The reveal behind Dyatrine's death is too good of a twist to spoil here, but know that it makes perfect sense and leads to an action sequence that pits men against gods and immortals.
What's great about Batman/Superman: World's Finest #30? Mark Waid's setup and execution of a "locked room murder" mystery is dead-solid perfect. All obvious questions are pre-answered or addressed in short order. Splitting up Batman and Superman is a great way to make efficient use of the available page space for uncovering clues, and the action sequences that follow the big reveal show how the World's Finest could easily evolve into the Holy Trinity without trouble in Waid's version of the DC Universe.
What's not great about Batman/Superman: World's Finest #30? Once the antagonist(s) is revealed, the story picks up a rapid pace that feels a bit rushed. We don't get much time to let the who, what, when, why, and how of the villain get fleshed out, so the last third of the issue doesn't have as much time to breathe and gather weight. Admittedly, this is a minor quibble as the whole purpose of this issue is to establish the Holy Trinity working together within the World's Finest timeline, but you get the impression this story would have worked better as a two-parter.
How's the Art? Gleb Melnikov does an excellent job of giving readers a gorgeous-looking Themyscira in architecture and population. Plus, the action is energetic and well-choreographed. It's impossible not to compare any artist stepping into this title with Dan Mora, but in this case, Melnikov holds his own with a fantastic-looking comic.
Where does this story sit in the Grand Scheme of the World's Finest timeline? As of this writing, there are no World's Finest issues solicited for November. That could mean World's Finest is going on hiatus to give room to the Absolute titles coming out in the Fall, or the next arc (which is a two-parter and touts the formation of the World's Finest Justice League) is simply dovetailing into the main DC continuity. Either way, there's no news of World's Finest continuing past issue #32.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Batman/Superman: World's Finest #30 is another winning issue in a sea of DC mediocrity. Mark Waid's interpretation of the first adventure of the Holy Trinity highlights the strengths of each character and serves as a great humping-on point for new readers who know nothing about Wonder Woman's home. Plus, Gleb Melnikov's artwork is stellar. The issue feels a bit rushed towards the end, but it's a solid pick overall.
8.5/10
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I think I am the only one who is bored by this series since David's arc ended. There isn't much in terms of character moments or interesting villains here or a sense of how Bruce and Clark interact as best friends and with others. It's just action and callbacks to lesser known characters. For example here, was I supposed to be invested in the mystery when the answer didn't mean anything to me? Who were those characters? And the previous imp war arc or whatever it was called (guess the sixth dimension arc???) was just random things happening randomly without much impact on characters. Just bombastic action. In contrast the earlier arcs with Metamorpho and David had way more going on than just fights happening.
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