The World’s Finest Return With Batman/Superman #1
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The Batman Who Laughs recently came to Gotham City. He tormented Batman and kidnapped Jim Gordon. That reign of terror is over, but the Batman Who Laughs is still on the loose. A boy in Gotham was recently kidnapped, and his family claim that it was done by a “laughing Superman.” Batman calls Superman for help on this case. Superman, of course, obliges, and the two heroes start their hunt for the Batman Who Laughs and this alleged Superman. Batman is worried that their allies may have been infected by the same toxin that warped another universe’s Bruce Wayne into the Batman Who Laughs. Superman is beginning to believe that Bruce may be right.
Batman/Superman #1 picks up in the shadow of the Batman Who Laughs miniseries, finding Superman and Batman on the hunt for that perversion of Batman across Gotham City.
The comic, like previous iterations of this title, narrates the story with captions from both Clark and Bruce, and much of it focuses on their perceptions of one another and how they think the other perceives them. It makes for interesting narration, and it’s certainly relevant to the story at hand.
A question of the comic is what would happen if the heroes of DC began acting like the villains, and the Batman Who Laughs represents a worst-case scenario for that. He’s frighteningly clever and cruel beyond measure. Batman and Superman both fear that he may be the end of them.
David Marquez makes his DC debut with this comic, and his work hasn’t missed a beat since leaving Marvel. This is a gorgeous comic with ample detail and exciting action. He knows how to frame these two legendary characters, and he makes the Batman Who Laughs as ghoulish as ever. Alejandro Sanchez’s color work is brilliant as well, and he gives the book an explosive palette that contrasts itself excellently.
Batman/Superman #1 is a fantastic read that sets up another angle to the Year of the Villain that could turn the DC Universe upon itself. It’s also a great revival of an often-great series that unites the World’s Finest heroes. This one definitely gets a recommendation. Give it a read.
Batman/Superman #1 comes to us from writer Joshua Williamson, artist David Marquez, color artist Alejandro Sanchez, letterer John J. Hill, cover artist David Marquez with Alejandro Sanchez, and variant cover artist Leinil Francis Yu with Tomeu Morey.
Final Score: 9/10
