Batman/Superman: World’s Finest 2026 Annual #1 – Mark Russell, Mark Waid/Tyrone Finch, Writers; Clayton Henry, Pat Boutin, Artists; Pedro Estouco, Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This book takes place in the past, which allows the creative team to tell stories featuring characters that aren’t always available in the present day. For this issue’s main story, Mark Russell takes over as lead writer and gives us a story teaming up the men who made the heroes – Alfred Pennyworth and Jonathan Kent. It’s Father’s Day, and Clark and Bruce have decided to take their father figures out for lunch at an over-the-top medieval-themed steakhouse. Jonathan is immediately into it – Alfred less so. But of course, it’s not too long before the heroes get called away in search of the missing Flash, leaving the two older men to enjoy each other’s company – and get into some weightier topics.
It turns out that the heroes are trapped in a sadistic game set up by Lex Luthor, surrounding them with motion sensors. They can leave – but if they do, random bombs will go off, killing civilians. After their boys don’t return, Jonathan and Alfred eventually decide to go looking for them with a whole lot of Alfred’s special forces training and Pa Kent’s good-old-boy fisticuffs. Is it entirely realistic that they could take on an army of armed goons? Probably not. Is it wildly entertaining to watch them? Absolutely. And along the way, the conversations that Alfred and Jonathan have are some of the most honest I’ve read in a while. This and Dog Tag prove that while Russell is known for his satire, he can do amazing work when he plays it straight too.
The backup is a much lighter story, as Lois Lane is being targeted for one of her stories, so Batman and Superman are trying to lure their enemy out into the open. Their method for that is to set up a fake date – with Bruce Wayne playing the lucky mister for the night, and Clark seething in the sky above with jealousy. As Bruce takes Lois to the carnival, he gets very into the role, and Clark starts trying to sabotage them from above. That and the return of Mxy and Bat-Mite providing color commentary make this a hilariously odd read.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
