Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #30 – Mark Waid, Writer; Gleb Melnikov, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This series has always been a retro tale of sorts, but occasionally it goes back even further to reveal a key “first” for Batman and Superman. This issue takes Batman, Superman, and Robin to Themyscira for their first key team-up with Wonder Woman. So what would cause the Amazons to roll out the red carpet for two grown men and a very excited teen boy? Only the first murder to ever take place on Paradise Island. The victim is the never-mentioned tech wizard of Themyscira, Io’s mentor and the creator of the Purple Ray. She was seemingly murdered in a locked room, and Diana has already investigated all the other Amazons with the lasso and found no guilty parties. This leads to a tense issue as Batman profiles the island and even investigates Diana herself – before coming to a pretty shocking conclusion that throws the entire concept of the issue for a big twist.
There are some surprisingly big villains in this issue – one obscure but very interesting Wonder Woman villain, and another with a key link to him who I don’t think we’ve seen before. There’s a big-scale battle, as well as the first great display of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman fighting together as a unit. It’s not hard to see who these three became the foundation of the Justice League. However, as good as this issue is, I’ve got to say Robin really steals this show. You’d expect a teenage boy on Themyscira would be a bit of a minefield, but actually Dick is really more enthralled with…the Kangas. This is a great example of how to write Robin as the optimistic counter to Batman, adding a seriously fun bit of positive energy to this issue. Next issue brings in Eclipso as the arc threat, but I’m just hoping Waid continues to find new stories from DC’s past as long as he wants.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
