Review: Batman/Superman World's Finest #39

Batman/Superman World's Finest #39 came out last week, part four of the We Are Yesterday storyline that Mark Waid is weaving through several titles.

While the prior chapters have focused mostly on the plot of the villains (past incarnations of the Legion of Doom heading to the present to wreak some havoc), this issue lingers on our heroes and how time travel can befuddle the mind. This series' main characters - Superman, Batman, and Robin - are flip-flopped. World's Finest is in some else-when past. Our World's Finest crew is shunted to the present DCU. And the current versions - Superman, Batman, and Nightwing - is sent back in time to the title's timeline. It lets Waid have a little fun. Our Bronze Agey heroes have to deal with current times and some eye-opening changes.

I will admit, I liked this issue a lot, laughing out loud a couple of time. One page in particular made really chuckle. This felt almost like a character issue in this plot driven arc and that was fine with me.

Clayton Henry is on art and brings his smooth work to the pages. I was grateful for changes in Batman's costume in the different times to ground me on who I was reading. Solid stuff.

Let's dive in.

Last issue, young Dick Grayson was thrown into the present where he met Batman and Nightwing in the Watchtower.

I have always loved the daredevil, devilish, and devil-may-care Robin of this book so seeing him respond to the modern world was fun throughout this book.

He thinks his older self needs a haircut. He can't believe he made Batman smile. And he is shocked that there have been more than one Robin.

Chuckle here for sure.

But the current Nightwing has no memories of meeting himself as a younger Robin. Time is out of joint. Even having two same people existing in the same time is outside the DC norm ... or at least my DC norm.

When the Graysons shake hands all goes even more pear-shaped. That somehow kicks the present-day Batman/Superman/Nightwing into the past and the time of World's Finest.

And that shunts the World's Finest pair from the past into the present to be with the young Robin.

Yes, this is crazy and you just need to roll with it. The story surrounding the switcheroo is so amusing that I didn't need some comic book science reasoning. It happened. Move along.

Perhaps the best page ever. I laughed out loud. Reread it. Laughed again.

The past heroes run into Lois 'Superwoman' Lane. 

She calls Dick 'Tim'. She knows Superman is Clark. They are married. They have a son who has a boyfriend. 

None of that is 'Bronze Age'.

So Robin's response about being unable to predict her next words is pure literary gold. The shocked looks on the faces of people who even in the past have faced off against gods and monsters shows just how different the world is for these heroes.

Hilarious!

Of course, our heroes are heroes. They know the past villains are in the present and still gathering time weapons.

Off to the Superman museum to fight Sinestro and Scarecrow. And K-infused fear gas can even affect Superman.

Seriously though, why is the actual Atomic Axe in the Superman museum.

But any time I see Legion stuff, it makes me happy. And Henry draws a fantastic Sinestro.

And our present heroes start looking for a way to get back to the present.

In the Bat Cave, they run into Alfred ... who I forgot is currently dead.

This whole interaction was also great.

Batman is sort of flummoxed by the whole thing, so rare for him, not knowing how to interact with Alfred. But the much more loving and open Dick just takes him in his arms. 

Of course, Alfred doesn't know who Nightwing is.

I even like Superman, more used to time travel, warning the two not to get to up close. 

Waid knows characters so well. 

Meanwhile, in the present, the past Superman finally shrugs off the fear gas because he was faced with what he seems to think is a foolish fear hallucination ... his death.

Because this Superman hasn't died at the hands of Doomsday yet. So he can't fathom it.

At least that's how I read this.

More great characterization from Waid. I wonder how the current Superman would have responded to that vision.

And then, a cliffhanger.

The past heroes (in the present) are zapped by a time gun by Sinestro.

The present heroes (in the past) try to ride a Legion time bubble (MORE LEGION!!) from the Fortress back to the present but hit a wall. 

So not much super-villainy action or plot progression here. But the power of this book is reading classic versions of our heroes from the recent past and seeing them perplexed by the current DCU was solid gold.

I think that one Superwoman page alone probably makes this grade an A. I know for some this might be considered filler or decompression. But not for this reader.

Overall grade: A