REVIEW: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18 could be the start of another great retelling of the Man of Steel and Dark Knight’s first collaboration rather than a confrontation. It’s also been a good long while since we had an official DC comic featuring a younger and less experienced Superman and Batman, which is always fun to see.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18 sees us going even further back into the past – before Batman had Robin and even before Superman had worked with or even met him face to face. But this is no Superman vs. Batman origin story – this is a Superman and Batman origin story that we’ve never seen before.
While this isn’t the Secret Origins series, Dan Mora’s cover can more than qualify for one. New levels of the usual day and night juxtaposition are taken to the next level here with even the title heading having a nice blend of conflicting tones. These also may be the highest definition Superman and Batman Mora has done with Superman’s insignia on his costume being three dimensional and Batman’s cowl being stitched. This cover just tells you to not expect a Superman and Batman fight.
Ariel Colón does a period piece of a variant cover. The costumes, the gun, and the car let you know that this is during the Golden Age of Heroes. Batman has his original, bigger ears and more Superman-esque costume since that was what Bill Finger was going for. Superman leaps alongside him with the classic black and red insignia. The background tones Colón chose for the city make it pop just as much as the heroes. Colón has to be one of the foremost cover artists out there with a photorealistic and high-definition style. Every one of his covers is a treat.
Illustrator Derrick Robertson and colorist Diego Rodriguez did a great job with Batman Fortress, and this variant brings the World’s Finest together in a much more positive and fun light as they patrol the rooftops of Gotham. Robertson always excels at drawing defined superheroes regardless of their alignment. The bats are an extremely welcome touch too. Rodriguez’s coloring makes Robertson’s art look much cleaner.
Other great variants for this issue come from Meghan Hetrick and Rafael Albuquerque.
Batman has a lot on his plate in Gotham City. The Riddler, a new criminal at this point, is eluding authorities with otherworldly riddles – literally, they’re written in an alien tongue. Not only that, but people are mysteriously vanishing. Gotham City civilians are reporting seeing people turn into nothing before their very eyes. The alien nature of the situation brings Superman to Batman for the first formal time. After effortlessly thwarting the Silver Age villains Spellbinder and Magpie, Superman reveals that the riddles are written in Kryptonese.
Meanwhile, the two heroes also spent the whole issue trying to figure out who each other is. No fists are raised or ideologies clash— these are two men trying to save as many people as they can and they truly want to know out of mutual respect and trust rather than gaining the upper hand on each other. It’s a lot of fun to see them dig at each other in a more wholesome way compared to what has come to be expected of a Batman and Superman first encounter.
Mark Waid’s stories in this series continue to be blasts from the past, now more so than ever before as we really go back. This is a much more optimistic Batman meets Superman story and he was sure to make it so. Bruce doesn’t come across as paranoid and Clark doesn’t reprimand him for how he operates. Truth be told, this may be an accurate telling how of Batman and Superman would’ve met for the first time in the Silver Age, especially given the villains Waid, lettered by Steve Wands chose to include.
Like in issue #6, Travis Moore illustrates this issue in the place of Mora. The warm facial handling of Superman is back along the smoother textures that make his style identifiable from Mora’s. Tamra Bonvillain does return for coloring duties, though. It’s not too often a creative team gets to illustrate Batman in the daytime. For the big villain reveal, they take more inspiration from the animated series than Silver Age comics which is always wonderful for a Superman fan to see.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18 could be the start of another great retelling of the Man of Steel and Dark Knight’s first collaboration rather than a confrontation. It’s also been a good long while since we had an official DC comic featuring a younger and less experienced Superman and Batman, which is always fun to see.
