Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #37 – Mark Waid, Writer; Adrian Gutierrez, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: We’ve got a big crossover coming up soon in Mark Waid’s books, so this issue wraps up the Atlantean storyline in style. We kick off with some soap opera developments, as Lori Lemaris kisses Superman after being neglected by her royal husband. Superman doesn’t reciprocate, but it doesn’t matter – after Ronal sees this, he very quickly attacks Superman with magic as the heroes are occupied with the larger threat of the Floronic Man. This sinister criminal has been absorbed into the body of Swamp Thing – but now he’s battling with Alec Holland for control of the avatar of the Green. The visuals here are excellent, as the body of the massive avatar shifts between the two beings. In the end, the good guys win the day – but Floronic Man is once again in the wind, threatening to spread his poison over the two rival kingdoms of Atlantis – if they don’t attack each other first.
One of the most interesting parts of the issue is that despite the cosmic stakes, it actually has a very mature take on relationships and statecraft. King Ronal, while reckless and jealous, has never actually been the villain of this story and is as invested in protecting Atlantis as Arthur is. So we get some great scenes that set the stage for Atlantis eventually becoming a united kingdom in the future, as well as a complex reconciliation between Lori and Ronal as some of the rift between them is laid bare. And of course, we get an excellent final battle between the united heroes and the Floronic Man. This is a great look at an era of Atlantis we really haven’t seen much of, and many of its plot elements are actually dovetaliling into the current Aquaman book by Jeremy Adams. The timeline in this book shifts back and forth a good deal, so I’m hopeful Waid has a lot more ground to cover in it.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit <a href=”https://geekdad.com/category/columns/dc-this-week/“>DC This Week</a>.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
