Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #10 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The second arc of this title has been highly intriguing, because it opens a new chapter in the past of the DCU and reveals a lost sidekick to the Man of Steel—Boy Thunder, a young energy-powered lad whose origin seems to parallel Superman’s in a big way but has a dark secret. David is traumatized and a lot closer to the edge than he seems at first, exploding in anger when pushed too far. And now he’s been captured by the twisted duo of Joker and The Key, with the killer clown taking great joy in being able to torment someone close to Superman and The Key wanting to unlock the boy’s secrets even if it kills him. The torture segments are intense, although much more creepy than grotesque, and we see Superman pushed further than he usually is—and the Man of Steel in a rage is a scary sight. But lurking in the background is a much bigger question—who exactly is David?
We know he’s powerful, but he’s also naive and haunted. One minute he’s a scared child, the next he’s a violent meta who has to be restrained from committing murder. We’ve seen his human side when he hangs out with the Teen Titans, but there’s always a deeply coiled rage lurking under the surface. It’s a great piece of character work, and pushing him to his limit this issue only makes it more compelling. The issue moves along at a far pace, pushing us to the ending as David’s rage is unleashed against a very deserving target—and then the story doesn’t so much end as stop on a shocking note that comes out of nowhere, but also makes total sense given the writer involved and everything we’ve already seen. It’s another great installment in a series that features brilliant art and excellent characters, but definitely seems like it might read even better in a collected format.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
