Cover Art for Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #52
Written by Mark Waid
Pencils by Adrián Gutiérrez
Inks by Adrián Gutiérrez and Vicente Cifuentes
Colors by Luis Guerrero
Letters by Steve Wands
Cover Art by Dan Mora
As far as settings go for a Batman and Superman story, Skartaris isn’t your typical backdrop. Beginning last issue, the World’s Finest duo were violently thrown into a land occupied, not just by dinosaurs, ancient creatures, and barbarians, but also by deep and powerful magics. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #52 pushes our heroes to their limits and shows that even with their combined abilities, they don’t always come out on top. Mark Waid and the art team, featuring Adrián Gutiérrez on pencils and inks, deliver another great run in their Silver Age-inspired series. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning for Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #52 Now in Effect!
A Recap of the Issue
World’s Finest #52 picks up right where the last issue ended. Superman is being tortured as he’s held captive by Tyrant Rex and his forces, while Batman and Robin have found allies in Travis Morgan, Warlord, and his squad. Morgan recites the tale of Randall Kreitzer and how he came to become the being that now threatens all of Skartaris, Tyrant Rex. Warlord and his team aren’t sure what exactly Tyrant Rex’s end goal is, and that isn’t good enough for Batman. He goes off to save Superman while Robin sticks with Warlord and his crew to plot their next moves.
The scene shifts to Tyrant Rex’s lair, where we find Superman in dire straits. Tyrant Rex knows Superman will never help him willingly, so as he continues his torture of the Man of Steel, his followers use these magical ropes to rip away many of his powers and re-purpose them for their own usage. Superman is one of the most powerful superheroes of all time, but when it comes to magic, he’s just as weak to it as your normal, everyday DC hero. Fighting back isn’t something he can currently do, and Tyrant Rex and his lizard-men take every ounce of power they can from him. We cut back to Batman and Robin briefly.
Robin gets to know Warlord’s squad on a bit of a deeper level as Batman continues his journey towards Superman’s signal in hopes of freeing him from Tyrant Rex’s lair. We’re quickly shown Tyrant Rex’s lair again, and this time, Superman is nowhere to be seen. This time, some of Tyrant Rex’s forces bring him what appears to be some sort of massive compass, albeit with a crack in the middle of it.
He murders the lizard-men who brought him the compass and tells another group to take it to a volcano and throw it inside. Batman arrives soon after and attempts to tranquilize the despot, but is subdued by none other than his best friend, Superman. Superman, now adorned in some sort of bone armor with soulless white eyes, looks to be completely under the control of Tyrant Rex.
We cut back to Robin and the Warlord squad one final time as the group figures out what Tyrant Rex’s ultimate plan might be. Warlord explains that ancient Atlanteans discovered Skartaris long ago and left powerful technology and technological secrets buried throughout the world. Tyrant Rex aims to combine his powerful magical abilities with the ancient Atlantean technology to not only take over and control Skartaris but maybe even Earth if he can find his way back with his army.
Quickly after these revelations are revealed, Robin and the Warlord squad are attacked by Tyrant Rex’s now-suped up lizard-men who possess the powers of Superman. They are forced to retreat as they can't hope to fight back in their current states. On the final page of the issue, a now mind-controlled Batman and Superman look on with piercing red eyes as their former allies escape to fight another day.
Thoughts on the Issue
This was a fun issue that serves two purposes. The first is getting readers more familiar with the land of Skartaris, its people, and who originally discovered it. The second is to show us all how powerful and flat-out terrifying Tyrant Rex is. As someone who isn’t the most familiar with Skartaris, beyond seeing Warlord featured on some old Timm-verse animated episodes, I appreciated the lore dump Travis Morgan gives to Robin about the history of Skartaris. It helps to have the context of the world going forward within this arc, and for a concept like Skartaris, which isn’t a typically featured realm in DC’s stories, I’m sure other readers can appreciate it as well.
Secondly, in a book featuring both Superman and Batman, you'd better make sure the villain is someone who can feasibly stand up to one of the most powerful duos in DC comics. Waid establishes Tyrant Rex as a terrifying villain in this second issue of the Skartaris arc by showing just how powerless he can make someone that's as strong as Superman. We didn’t see much of Tyrant Rex in issue #51, so #52 is essentially his coming-out party.
He doesn’t just capture Superman and throw him in some Kryptonite-irradiated trap; he is able to use his lizard-men army combined with his magical abilities to strip the Man of Steel of his powers and give some of them to his troops to increase their strength. To top that off, he is able to control Superman’s mind using his advanced magic and gets him to subdue Batman.
Waid has put Superman and Batman in a very difficult situation to get out of, and I’m all in on seeing how this Warlords storyline continues to develop as the arc goes on. Both men are in a land that they aren’t familiar with (we are far from Gotham and Metropolis), and Waid has placed some insurmountable odds in their way. With both now mind-controlled by Tyrant Rex, it’s going to be up to Robin and the Warlord Squad to figure out how to defeat Tyrant Rex and get their friends free from his control. Speaking of Robin…
I like the fact that Robin is going to have a huge role in this arc going forward and isn’t being relegated to his sidekick duties in this book. Batman and Superman, for all intents and purposes, are off the board for the heroes right now and are just another extension of the terrifying army that Tyrant Rex has put together. What hope do Robin, Warlord, and their remaining allies have against all this power and all the forces massed against them? I'm very eager to find out because Tyrant Rex was going to be tough enough to deal with on his own; now with Superman and Batman on his side, the odds seem almost impossible. Robin is a great character, and for him to have the chance to be the true hero of this arc is really cool. I can’t wait to see how he figures this one out.
The art in this issue was top-notch, as is to be expected from World’s Finest at this point. Adrián Gutiérrez continues his strong run, and I’ll continue to sing his praises as long as he’s in this book. His designs for the Warlord squad, Tyrant King, and the lizard-men are standouts, along with his always great Superman, Batman, and Robin designs. Taking it a step further, this issue is that when Superman and Batman are revealed to both be under Tyrant King’s control, they both get these interesting design variations to their costumes. Superman gets this really cool dinosaur bone armor added onto his suit, and Batman’s costume gets almost a complete shift. He gets this almost Conan-like fur added to his upper back and alongside his cowl, and the bat symbol on his chest turns into this new version colored with reds and yellows. Both designs fit the world of Skartaris really well.
There are some more specific highlights I want to bring attention to as well, from the art perspective. The scenes where Superman is being tortured by Tyrant Rex and his lizard-men stick out in my mind because rarely, if ever, do you see Superman in so much pain. Both the massive splash panel with just Tyrant Rex torturing Superman and the sequence with the lizard-men torturing him are both extremely expressive from an art perspective. The issue’s final page, a massive splash panel showcasing the mind-controlled Superman and Batman in their new attire, looks great and would honestly make an awesome poster. Credit to the art team again for their prehistoric takes on Batman and Superman’s costumes
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #52 has it all. If an evil dinosaur-hybrid wizard, lizard-men with superpowers, and a mind-controlled Batman and Superman sound appealing to you, then you’re in the right place. Mark Waid and the awesome art team deliver a great second issue of their Skartaris arc that feels as Silver Age as ever and features some gorgeous splash panels. If you aren’t reading World’s Finest, add it to your pull list because this series just keeps getting better and better.
Rating: 8 T-Rex Teeth out of 10