As a breather from the current ‘Kingdom Come’ rival in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, Mark Waid and Dan Mora decided with their 2024 annual that they would team up with many of DC’s finest to tell an anthology of stories following the cast and characters of the series and tease for the future of the series. The future of World’s Finest has been definite as readers know that unlike the duo’s time on Shazam, this series will be going for a while and for good reason, as the book helps reestablish the past in a new light. With this 2024 annual, Waid and Mora team up with the likes of Cullen Bunn, Christopher Cantwell, Stephanie Williams, and many, many more talented creators.
The amount of creators helps showcase the potential of this series acting as an anthology in a way as we get to see different glimpses into the lives of these heroes through new lenses. The time period the book takes place in can help creators decide what and what not to incorporate which allows for a community notion within DC offices that could have the potential to be brilliant.
“He fought the same villain for five seasons!”
The first story in the annual, ‘IMPeriled’, is written by Mark Waid and Cullen Bunn with Edwin Galmon on art. The story lays the groundwork for the upcoming arc with Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyptlk as they try to manage the ‘Just-Us League,’ an impish mockup of the Justice League. Their attempts to function as a team go awry quickly as they find themselves in an uncontrollable situation thanks to their consistent arguments.
The true comedy of this story lies not in the absurdity of the team but rather as a fun mocking of internet culture within fandom as the imps argue over whose hero is better and why the Flash as a TV show was successful. It shows a love and annoyance due to Waid’s history on social media and the two writers succeed. There isn’t much more to say about a short story such as this as it is a classic Waid joke story mixed in with some of Cullen Bunn’s writing.
Galmon’s art is brilliant as it nails the complicated chaos of cosmic imps and their unhinged endeavors. The way he adds in full-body interpretations of the imps during fight scenes add to the natural chaos of it all and makes the art a true highlight of the short story.
DC Comics
”This ain’t exactly archaeology!”
After the chaos of Imps, Dennis Culver and Travis Mercer continue after the events of World’s Finest #17 in ‘The Ties that Bind’ as we follow Metamorpho investigate Markovia, an island made by Victor Markov to find the fabled Hammer of Vulcan. The story functions as a send-off of the initial Simon Stagg mystery and dives deep into Metamorpho’s past as Rex Mason as he finds himself in a complicated situation between his father, Montana Mason, and the artifact he was sent to find.
As a story, it does the job. However, Culver’s scripting was fairly weak as some scenes felt that they needed to be extended but were unable to due to the limitations of a short story. He does try his best to have fun with the story, though, as he leans heavily into silver age aesthetics with Rex’s speech and narration. This is further amplified by Mercer’s clean lines and detailing, which add a much-needed level of expressionism in Culver’s scripting.
“I wonder who was brave enough to do what needed to be done.”
Following off of treasure hunts and family reunions, Stephanie Williams and Rosi Kampe tackle ‘Sting like a Bee,’ a secret origin story for fan favorite Teen Titan Bumblebee. The story follows a young Karen Beecher cracking a conspiracy on Bucklin, a science company owned by Stagg Industries. Williams has a fun time with the script, but while it does its job as a thrilling teenage hero story, it leaves much to be desired. Much like the Metamorpho story, a longer length could’ve helped with the all-around story.
Fortunately, what truly saves this short story has to be Rosi Kampe’s art. Their art is beautiful and deeply expressive which aids Williams’ all-around style. The best factor this story has to have is the perfect mix of writer and artist as the translation from script to page is done brilliantly despite the issues.
DC Comics
“The time is always now.”
As for the final story in this annual, we’re greeted with a team of heroes that haven’t been seen for a long time: The Challengers of the Unknown. I’ve always loved the team; between them and The Legion of Super-Heroes, DC has never strayed from their pulp sci-fi roots and Christopher Cantwell and Jorge Fornes prove that with their short story ‘Time Check.’ With what might be the best story in the anthology, readers get to see the Challengers deal with a strange anomaly that hasn’t killed them yet.
Cantwell’s writing is top-notch as he captures the weirdness and thrills of classic Challengers in a modern setting. As one of Jack Kirby’s beloved creations, the team can appear threatening to use, but much like Cantwell’s time writing Doctor Doom, he nails their dialogue and mannerisms perfectly as he delivers a strong and striking script. The script has the right amounts of Kirbyisms in it to make a die-hard swoon with a nice touch of Cantwell’s style that gives the story the right kind of edge to it.
On top of that, Fornes’ art is at its all-time best as he tackles the craziness of the famed pre-crisis aesthetics of psychedelic sci-fi horror. Not to mention, the translation from script to page is brilliant as both parties are visibly in tune with one another which allows for a strong short story that makes me want a mini-series from these two.
All-around, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest 2024 Annual is a fun anthology that has its highs and lows. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the world of Batman and Superman.
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