Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #7 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This series has been excellent from the start, introducing major new players into the DCU in tales that fuse the past and the present. That continues this new arc, with the introduction of Superman’s lost sidekick—Boy Thunder. The issue kicks off with a very familiar scene—parents sending their son away in a rocket before their world is destroyed. The difference is, this time the son is a teenager and the world is in the multiverse—and headed straight for Earth-Prime. David, a confused and terrified teenager, emerges after his rocket nearly causes an international incident, and Batman, Superman, and Robin intercept it and discover that the boy manifests massive energy bursts on this world. Unlike Superman when he arrived, he knows what he lost—and immediately seeks out his parents on this world. But there’s another cruel twist in the multiverse to this story.
It’s interesting that Superman has rarely been put in the mentor/parental role before Jon, with him usually keeping his sidekicks like Supergirl and Superboy at arm’s length. So this sotry might provide some much-needed context as to why. While Batman and Robin are there for David’s arrival, Bruce says they don’t have much experience in helping to train someone with superpowers—so it falls on Superman to step into the void. This issue makes some great use of retro Superman lore, like the Bottled City of Kandor, but I kind of wish that Supergirl had been in this issue. Waid’s take on her is great, and she has a similar story to David in some ways, being a refugee who also remembers the doomed world unlike Superman. The ending of the issue brings in one of the most disturbing villains in the JLA’s roster, so I suspect our young rookie hero is in for some bad times. This is a very strong start to a major new arc.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
