Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #6 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: After an intense, time-hopping arc that introduced the villain the Devil Nezha to the DCU, as well as put just about every member of the Bat and Super-families into grave danger, most things have been resolved—with one exception. Robin is still lost in the timestream after being caught in a timestorm while traveling with Kara, and Supergirl is too guilt-ridden to know her next move. Fortunately, Batman has a much clearer head—and he and Superman quickly find clues left by Dick from hundreds of years in the past. That allows them to carbon-date the clue, find out when he actually is, and track him down—at a circus in South America in the final days of the 19th century, as the born acrobat finds himself investigating a strange mystery involving a series of animal attacks traced to the stars of the show, a kindly tamer who insists his beasts couldn’t be responsible, and an angry group of workers who want blood.
Dick’s circus years have always been a fun era for the character that is rarely explored in full, and this issue shows off a lot of that. He has a real compassion for the “Freaks” and performers, knowing all their backstories after being stranded there for a long time. Flashbacks to his time in Haly’s and the dramatic arrival of Batman work together nicely, and Dick and the world’s finest duo work together to unlock the secrets of the animal attacks. I do kind of wish Kara was more involved in this issue—the strange tension between her and Dick was never quite explained, and I’m hoping to see more of them working together in the future. This story makes good use of Dick’s detective skills, and Dan Mora’s art is as bright and distinct as ever despite the more limited setting. We’re off to a big new arc next month, as the forgotten sidekick of Superman is revealed, but this issue reminds me a lot of the best of Waid’s one-off Brave and the Bold stories.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
