BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLDS FINEST #49 (DC COMICS)
Superman and Batman have stepped into the wrong universe.
Earth-3 is a far cry from their stomping grounds. It is the home to Ultraman and Owlman. The evil versions of the Finest have taken the originals hostage. What they have planned is nothing good.
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #49 by Mark Waid, Mark Russell, Marcus To, Tamra Bonvillain & Steve Wands (DC COMICS) concludes the initial run-in with the Crime Syndicate.
Let’s take a look at how this story wraps up.
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #49 by Mark Waid, Mark Russell, Marcus To, Tamra Bonvillain & Steve Wands (DC COMICS)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
The writing gives a quick origin of how the Finest crossed over universes. Leave it to Brainiac to be the cause of such a time-bending issue. Readers can sense the puzzlement by the guards who pick them up in space. Will Magnus’s words are calm in knowing what value they possess. Once events jump to the current time, the feel remains as traditional as possible. The heroes never flinch in the face of this danger. Even as their doppelgangers introduce themselves, there’s never a true sense of panic. Luckily, they get some unlikely intervention from a forgotten soul.
Knowing what happened last issue, the writing team throws a nice curve into play. This leads into a meeting of improbable allies. Readers will buy into the contrast in personalities as time is running away. It sets up a risky distraction as the heroes attempt their escape. As with most plans, easier said than done. Superman’s noble instincts kick in at the worst possible time. The conflict amplifies until an unforeseen conclusion finishes it. This moves events to a safe closing with a spark of hope left behind. A surprising finish in certain degrees. Entertaining at the very least.
To and Bonvillain open with a vintage fight with Brainiac. This is never a bad thing as these moments never go out of style. The conflict sees a half panel move events to the next phase. Magnus sitting over the falling heroes via half panel moves events forward into their current prisoner status. The half panel standoff works to bring out the awkwardness of seeing the differing versions of the others. This leads into moving the spotlight to the most unlikeliest of heroes.
Readers see the fallen “hero” in his new phase via half panel. It leads to varying looks form both Superman and Batman. The though of the world upside down is tough to comprehend. Nothing makes this more clear than a look at a broken Gotham City via full page. Their meeting with the “heroes” is as uncomfortable as one might think. This helps assist the move for the distraction to escape. A full shot of broken panels brings the fight to the band of “heroes”. Superman’s intervention comes in dramatically. This speeds up pacing enough with more needed action panels. The resolution is a quick side panel. It works to finish events before going into the final pages. Events conclude with a solid near-full page teasing more to come from this strange new world. Overall, a very straight-forward presentation.
FINAL GRADE: 8.4
Time is fading fast as the World’s Finest lay prisoner to the Crime Syndicate. The writing delivers on a traditional superhero story, which is never a bad thing. To and Bonvillain craft some new looks on familiar faces in this new landscape. It’s a fitting end before the anniversary extravaganza next time.
Let me know your thoughts on BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #49 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
