BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLDS FINEST #51 (DC COMICS)
Welcome to a lost land!
When The World’s Finest investigate a missing fighter jet, their search leads them into a magical place. Literally.
The heroes have wound up in Skartaris. There is one person that rules over this wild landscape. His name is Travis Morgan aka the Warlord!
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #51 by Mark Waid, Adrián Gutiérrez. Luis Guerrero & Steve Wands (DC COMICS) kicks off an all new adventure!
Let’s see what’s unfolding now!
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #51 by Mark Waid, Adrián Gutiérrez. Luis Guerrero & Steve Wands (DC COMICS)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
Waid deep dives into the DCU lore for taking readers to Skartaris. The writing make a bold statement early. Seeing Superman down for the count and a huge T-Rex coming for Batman and Robin sets a high bar. After the flashbacks begin, there’s a calm sense to how the mission begins. Once Superman starts to struggle, the tempo switches gears. It doesn’t take long for Batman to take down the looming T-Rex. In this situation, he gets a helping hand from someone more skilled in that category.
Warlord’s debut comes with some friction behind it. Clashing personalities don’t have time to try for cohesion. The trio has literally stumbled into a war. Action moves very swiftly as the heroes adapt to the struggles. Waid throws in another forgotten trope to this saga. Superman and magic never mix. The result grounds his usual advantage in a fight. Once the smoke clears, calmer banter prevails. It sets up the final pages on a tee. Once more revelations come into the mix, it leaves readers with some curiosity before bowing out.
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Gutiérrez & Guerrero Open strong with the opening pages. The full page of an unconscious Superman is a direct shot to readers. It’s followed up with a gorgeous two page splash of a charging T-Rex! The calmer moments leading into this capture the classic friendship between titans. This gets upended with Superman crashing. A full shot of the Dynamic Duo ejecting to save him sets forth the introduction pages. This allows the lost hero to join the excitement but not without ruffling some capes.
Warlord’s half panel shot shows him in all his barbaric glory. Superman flying a wounded T-Rex away shows how vastly different their ideology is. There’s no time to build off this as a two page spread shows the war coming their way. Superman’s wounds come into focus as the magic of Skartaris leaves him vulnerable. Panels flood the issue with tremendous action. The art is crowd pleasing right till the punches stop. This allows the soft build for the huge final page. All parties carry heavy emotion leading into that visual. This leaves readers with a full display to ponder as this story has only just started.
FINAL GRADE: 8.6
Batman, Superman and Warlord?! Need I say more! Waid dabbles into DCU history for a strong start of this latest adventure. Gutiérrez & Guerrero amaze as the combat and comments pop off the pages! Another display of excellent superhero storytelling can always be found in these pages!
Let me know your thoughts on BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #51 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
