Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #48 – Mark Waid, Writer; Marcus To, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Mark Waid has been writing this title almost uninterrupted for four years now, and he’s still got some fun surprises up his sleeve. This issue turns the focus entirely to Earth-3, with Owlman and Ultraman at the beginning of their own sinister partnership, as they just begin to talk about forming the Crime Syndicate. A flashback shows Owlman’s origin, which looks a lot like Batman’s – until you see that this version of the character paid off Joe Chill in advance to shoot his parents so he would inherit the empire. Today, he still trains Robins (or Talons, here) like Bruce does – but he gets them from a pit of orphans he acquires, picking a new one when the old one dies. Ultraman, meanwhile, is more of a sadistic wild-card, gleefully lighting buildings on fire while he flies through Metropolis. But now it’s time to get serious – as there’s a game-changing item missing from STAR Labs.
This sends the villainous duo on a tear through the weirder teams of the DCU, starting with this world’s version of the Doom Patrol. Most of them meet a terrible end as Ultraman and Owlman try to get what they want out of Niles Caulder – and he points them to Will Magnus, who here has a bizarre sexual relationship with Platinum, who he’s training as a twisted killer. The duo is unimpressed, but when the Metal Men get the upper hand, they call in backup – in the form of Superwoman, who leaves her secret identity of Lois Lane in order to join her husband in some killing. The reveal of what the big secret held in STAR Labs exactly is nicely brings everything full circle, as we learn where our Superman and Batman are as well. This series has specialized in taking old-school concepts and doing something new with them, so this plot should be a perfect fit for Waid’s style.
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