The twelfth issue of World’s Finest shares a secret that fans have been dying to know: why don’t Robin and Supergirl get along? If you’ve followed this series since issue #1, you have witnessed an inside joke about Robin and Supergirl giving each other the cold shoulder. As you can tell from this funny cover by Dan Mora, they went on a date that’d make facing the Joker and Luthor seem like a good time. Let’s check in on the he said/she said.
This issue, writer Mark Waid teams with a different art team consisting of Emanuela Lupacchino on pencils and Wade Von Grawbader and Norm Rapmund on inks. Tamra Bonvillain returns to continue consistency with colors for what could be considered a filler issue for Dan Mora. Still, the energy and antics help to keep this series steady with quality. You can see a difference in the art from Mora’s style, but this art team brings a style that helps keep the “neo-Silver Age” vibe. A great strength in this art team is their expressions, and not just in faces. They do a great job with body language to help sell Robin and Supergirl’s disgust as they discuss this date with their mentors.
The creative team plays this issue perfectly as a sitcom-styled episode. I like what Mark Waid does for the characters by reminding us that even though they are superheroes, they are also teenagers. Waid plays Robin and Supergirl perfectly against each other. For example, when Supergirl meets Robin for the date, she is in civilian clothes, and he is in full costume. That scene makes the previous pages where Supergirl struggles to find an outfit funnier. Plus, it plays nicely as a gag to start these two young heroes off on the wrong foot.
This personality clash is what makes this issue fun. Supergirl is interested in someone paying attention to her, while Robin is singing praise about his adventures and heroics. Waid creates a hilarious dialogue with jabs and punches that help the reader giggle and put the daters even further apart. Waid tells this story in the past tense as Robin relates his experience to Batman and Supergirl tells Superman. Fun to see the origins of their “fatherhoods” as they currently have their children. Bruce is a fine voice of reason, better than I thought he would be.
Waid builds a fun plot device to give the art team something creative to do. You can see from the opening preview the missing monkey will come into play for the shenanigans that require saving. The little monkey accidentally causes some chaos, which puts Robin and Supergirl into a situation that showcases their abilities and also calls out their attitudes. Thre’s also some worthwhile fun that ends on a hilarious note when it comes to paying the check – as I said earlier, this issue is a filler for the art team, but keeps an excellent standard that makes you come back for the character that makes all involved a World’s Finest team.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #12 is a hilarious interlude that reminds us dating is hard for everyone, including heroes! Mark Waid and Tamra Bonvillain team with Emanuela Lupacchino to craft a mismatch made in hell as we finally discover the reason behind the cold shoulders of Robin and Supergirl.
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