Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #38 // Review
There’s a reporter from The Daily Planet who is covering the test flight of a brand new aircraft. He’s discussing matters with the head of the company that built it. The reporter is Clark Kent. The head of the company is Bruce Wayne. The man piloting the aircraft? That would be Hal Jordan. It could be an issue of Justice League, but it isn’t. It’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #38. Writer Mark Waid starts a whole new story with artist Clayton Henry and colorist Tamra Bonvillain.
The bad news is that Jordan doesn’t wear that special ring of his while he’s flying. The worse news is that Jordan runs into some sort of radiation that’s causing the plane to go haywire. He needs to eject...and does so just as the plane explodes. It’s just the first strike in an open war. Gorilla Grodd is asserting himself and declaring war on the human race. There’s an uprising in Gorilla City. Clark and Bruce are ready to investigate, but in order to do so, they’re going to need the aid of the Flash. He can get them through the city’s cloaking field. Once the three heroes emerge, however, they’re staring right into the faces of a dozen or more gorillas...all of them armed with some rather large firearms.
Waid mixes together many different Gorilla City elements into a big crossover between Superman, Batman and...Hal Jordan. Everything feels more or less perfectly weighted and paced throughout the entirety of the issue. Each of the three main heroes get about the same amount of time on the page with more or less equally shared action throughout. It may not be anything terribly new as the opening to a new multi-part story, but it’s a strikingly enjoyable issue. The vibration of the three heroes through the Gorilla City cloaking field looks particularly cool as well...with all three being blurred into energy with impressive clarity.
Henry handles the action quite well. The Flash shoots across the page with smooth grace. Clark seems quite formidable and powerful even as his power is exploited. Bruce’s face shows a kind of extreme cleverness even under the cowl. There’s a sharp sense of execution in the scene with Clark and Bruce out of costume at the opening of the issue as well. Bonvillain’s colors are absolutely gorgeous...providing remarkable clarity to the depth that Henry is bringing to the page throughout the issue.
Waid is setting-up for something that COULD feel pretty fresh and new as things progress, but the opening frame of the multi-part story feels pretty familiar. That’s not actually a bad thing, though. The 38th issue of the series feels like a remarkably crisp multi-hero crossover that’s a great deal of fun from cover to cover. The fact that it’s not terribly original doesn’t come across as all that much of a loss considering how well-executed it is from beginning to end. Each personality in the ensemble feels strong and distinct in the opening of the story.
