“You know what the funnest part of the job is? New experiences.”
With the departure of series artist Dan Mora and the thrilling announcements of DC’s All-In initiative, it left the question up in the air of what is left for Waid and Mora’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest as their new series, Justice League Unlimited was unveiled to readers with excitement and anticipation. However, it seems the current initiative for this title is revealed with this week’s new issue and despite the issue’s main problems, it gives the book room to exist under the new regiment of All-In.
Following the previous installment of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, readers are greeted by what Mark Waid introduces as the earliest Trinity crossover which showcases some fun and unique elements throughout the script but overall falls flat for two crucial factors. Waid’s history with Wonder Woman is not all that bad with his most notable stories with her being featured in his and Grant Morrison’s JLA with series artist Howard Porter, however, the larger issue with Waid’s Wonder Woman is mostly the fact that the character isn’t actually his strong suit.
While many would consider this a flaw with writing, it feels less like a jab at Waid’s works and more something you can find admirable since Waid has expressed over the years that his complicated times writing Wonder Woman has only influenced him to include her in his stories more as he sees a challenge that he wants win. This story is no exception to that and even brings back a Diana Prince that would most commonly be seen through Golden Age interpretations of the character and through the late George Perez.
What affects the story the most is Waid’s complications with the character as it’s paired with the atmosphere of the story and creates a more awkward and artificial feel of DC’s trinity which is something that is unfortunately pretty common when it comes to modern depictions of these characters standing together. While in the past we would have striking stories with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman we are now seeing a period with the Trinity as more writers care to write about Batman and Superman with Wonder Woman being in small quotations.
Waid is known to love the character but accidentally feeds upon this awkward situation while also taking time to fight against in some fairly strong with scenes where Diana takes a stand and expresses that Bruce and Clark are called to Paradise Isle because of her strong feelings and connection to her and that there is no one else she would sense. No other man had the luxury they did and she proved throughout the issue that her soon-to-be best friends are worthy of that treatment.
Credit: DC
He truly understands the crucial parts of Wonder Woman and wants to improve himself which makes this issue a fascinating deep dive into his mind on the matter especially with the story’s Greek murder scandal as we quickly learn that the threat, introduced in a very creative way with the stunning Gleb Melnikov, is the underused Apate and Dolos who also shared a similar awkwardness to the story as Wonder Woman except with the feeling that they were more tacked onto the story rather than included.
If anything in this issue felt right it was Waid’s usage of Dick Grayson in this story. Robin’s time throughout this series has been a highlight with his earliest appearances bringing back his frenemy and crush status with Supergirl from all the back in Pre-Crisis but also establishing it as a way for Waid to successfully revive popularity in DC’s second generation heroes and plant the seeds for striking moments with the Teen Titans and the occasional Legion of Super-Heroes nod from Supergirl. Mark Waid loves Dick Grayson, not as much as Wally West, but he loves Dick Grayson.
That is prominent throughout the issue as it manifests as almost an ultimate manifestation of Bruce, Clark, and Diana’s ideals with many of the Amazonians growing respect for the World’s Finest through the Boy Wonder’s happiness and need to learn whatever he deems ‘cool’ and it works. It is the perfect way to establish favor between the outside heroes and Paradise Isle. Unfortunately, the story was too far back in DC’s timeline to have a nod to Supergirl’s time as an Amazonian princess in the 1970s.
The biggest highlight of the issue is Gleb Melnikov’s guest work as he tackles the World’s Finest with the same energy the title had back when Ed Mcguinness was the artist of Batman/Superman back in the early to mid to 2000s with writer Jeph Loeb. Melnikov’s strongest work at DC has always been with Joshua Williamson with their Robin being a genuine highlight of DC’s previous initiative and an artistic wonder with the title showcasing shonen elements throughout.
Moving to Batman/Superman: World’s Finest is a strong jump as it allows Melnikov to still experiment but puts him in a more traditional ground. Now with Melnikov leaving for Marvel Comics soon it presents itself as a fitting end to a very strong and hilarious saga as a DC artist. With his art paired by Tamra Bonvillain he is unstoppable and helps make this issue work, oftentimes stealing the show with how striking his visuals are.
END ANALYSIS: Overall, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #30 is a fun but flawed issue. Mark Waid hit a few roadblocks in his script but managed to deliver an entertaining story with some cute moments and beautiful art from Gleb Melnikov.
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