Now that Casper has finally been sent to a farm upstate, it falls on me to take over Batman/Superman: World’s Finest reviews for him. Anyone who has been reading my Upcoming Comics posts can tell you that this is almost always the title that I look forward to the most every month. The main reason for that is that, in addition to Dan Mora’s gorgeous artwork, Mark Waid creates the ideal characterization for Batman and Superman. They capture that Bronze Age spirit that exists as the perfect blend of fun adventure and serious drama. It’s the era from which almost all of your favorite Batman: The Animated Series episodes are inspired. That’s why I was so surprised that this is such a plot-driven story with hardly a Batman or Superman in sight.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with an issue focusing on Lex and Joker. As the arch villains of their respective heroes, it was bound to happen eventually. They both have such strong yet dissimilar personalities, which should be a perfect recipe for an entertaining dynamic. Lex’s Mission Impossible-style face reveal sets an appropriately silly tone, as does Joker’s defeat by Superman using his super breath to suck in all the poison gas while Batman grabs him. It’s surprisingly similar to the climax from Death in the Family, but here the goofiness works because they aren’t following up on the death of a teenage boy. Unfortunately, I don’t think the rest of the story gives them the opportunity to shine like they should.
The plot, which is about Lex following a map to a mysterious yet powerful treasure, pulls them from one set piece to the next while each of them gives color commentary. Lex mostly exposits the mission that they’re on while Joker makes uncharacteristically toothless jokes. It’s certainly preferable to the Zsasz-like death obsessed version that’s become more popular in recent years, but this possibly goes too far in the other direction. The story does justify his behavior with an exploding collar courtesy of Lex, but it doesn’t change that it makes him less interesting to read.
More than the personalities themselves, what this issue struggles with the most is that both villains feel underutilized. Because they’re just following a map, the story wouldn’t meaningfully change if you swapped them with anyone else. They just walk along the dotted line. When the series’ greatest strength is its characterization, you want character-driven stories. The plot is so basic and straight-forward that can be boring. There’s even a page where they both just stop to explain why they’re villains.
There are at least interesting sights to see along the way. Lex’s map takes them through a series of bizarre, otherworldly phenomena, illustrated by Steve Pugh. It’s admittedly a downgrade from Dan Mora, but the eldritch horrors and arcane environments make the journey underground exotic enough to keep you following along. While they still often feel disconnected, each new room is remarkable on its own enough to give the characters something different to react to.
The best part of the book is probably the climax, where both Lex and Joker fight over the treasure that would allow them absolute power. This is where we get a better look at their unrestrained goals and conflicting personalities. It’s very in-your-face, but it shows the degree to which Joker’s mind craves chaos and Luthor’s ultimate desire is for order (just with him at the top). It’s what makes a story like this work, and I wish those elements made up more of it.
Score: 6.5/10
Backup: Impossible: Prologue
Ironically, the main story this issue is the intermission, while its backup is the lead-in to the next big arc. During what appears to be yet another day in the Batcave/Fortress of Solitude, objects spring to life and attack. It’s a chaotic scene made all the more exciting by Dan Mora’s expert ability to make an action sequence come to life with kinetic energy. The monsters themselves are both filled with vibrant color and look imposing enough to give the story the necessary tension. It’s not long before they realize that the pandemonium is caused by fifth-dimensional meddling, leading to the hook for next month’s story with Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk. I can only hope this same thrilling yet absurd tone continues for the rest of the arc.
It has a giant Abraham Lincoln fighting a T-Rex. It’s good.
Score: 8/10
Recommended If
You’ve been wanting some more mainstream villains in this series
Stories that focus on the bad guys are your favorite
You want a sneak peek at the next story arc
Overall
The debut of Batman and Superman’s most iconic villains in what is usually one of the best DC titles is sadly a bit of a disappointment. With Superman and Batman largely absent, the story relies on Joker and Lex to carry it, but they’re given very little to do as they follow a treasure map from one scene to the next. There are moments where their personalities shine through, but they are too few and aren’t what drive the story. The backup offers an exciting glimpse of the upcoming arc, which hopefully looks to be a return to form for the series.
Score: 7/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
COMMENTS