Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #32 – Mark Waid, Writer; Adrian Gutierrez, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Mark Waid has brought back one of the biggest villains of the 90s to his acclaimed flashback book – the dark shadow spirit Eclipso, who is now pulling off his largest attack on the DCU to date by blowing up the JL watchtower and possessing both Batman and Superman. Turning the two main leads of the series into its villains for an issue is a really clever idea, forcing Waid to focus on some of the characters he’s been building around them – primarily Robin, who has found himself in the Batcave with the DCU’s most powerful hero and its deadliest mind both trying to kill him. He barely manages to escape after a tense segment and seeks out the help of the classic JSA – I’m not sure about the exact timeline here, but it gives Waid the chance to play with some characters that haven’t been in action in a very long time, including the Golden Age version of the Spectre.
The new partnership between Eclipso and Bruce Gordon takes some interesting turns this issue, with Gordon no longer seeming to simply be in thrall to Eclipso but to be his partner and opposite number, with a sinister plan of his own. Batman and Superman seem to get the upper hand on the remnants of the League and the JSA, but the Spectre manages to free Batman from control in one of the most shocking and disturbing scenes of the series – even if it’s a fake-out, I’m surprised the issue went there. Superman gets a gentler escape, but the ending of the issue has a big surprise that indicates that Eclipso’s powers may have increased dramatically. This series continues to deliver impressive old-school action, and it’s unique that the tension is high even though we know everyone survives.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
