Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #21 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Superman and Batman have been tested in some interesting ways over the course of this series, but they may be about to face their biggest challenge—themselves. Last issue saw them heading into the multiverse to find Superman’s lost protege, Boy Thunder. They found him—on the Kingdom Come world, one of the darker in the DCU, where David was destined to turn into the cruel antihero Magog. He wasn’t particularly happy to see his former mentor either, with him attacking Superman and trying to sap his powers as soon as he saw him. As the issue opens, they’re trying to get David under control—only to be met with their older doppelgangers. Obviously, Waid knows a little something about Kingdom Come—he and Alex Ross were responsible for the critically acclaimed Elseworlds in the 1990s and have returned to it on occasion, but things have changed in a big way.
This isn’t the Kingdom Come we know—it’s decades earlier, and Superman hasn’t had his defining loss yet. But they’re still older and just a little more ruthless. Superman has lost his parents and seems to hit first and ask questions later, while Batman is feeling his age and relying more on tech. Both suspect these visiting outsiders are there to attack them—and they believe David when he comes up with a sob story about being threatened. It’s not long before our Bruce and Clark are on the run—but there’s a darker secret behind this world. Waid isn’t the only writer to work on this world and its characters. Geoff Johns played a key role as well—and one of the key elements of his run is about to return in a big way. Superman and Batman aren’t just up against their doppelgangers—they’re up against a dark God, and it’s one that doesn’t intend to let them come home.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
