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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.
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