In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #33, Batman, Superman, the Justice League, and the Justice Society must overcome Eclipso’s plan for world domination.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #33 main cover by Dan Mora. Image: DC Comics
Title: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #33 – Shadows Fall Part Three
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Adrian Gutierrez
Colors: Tamra Bonvillain
Letters: Steve Wands
Main Cover: Dan Mora
Variant Covers: Adrian Gutierrez, Tamra Bonvillain, Tom Raney, Michael Atiyeh, Marguerite Sauvage & Carlos D’Anda
Release Date: November 20, 2024
This comic book review contains spoilers.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #33 opens with Mona lamenting the mind control and capture of Batman, Superman, and the other heroes. She’s hopeless, lost, and wandering the wreckage of Dr. Bruce Gordon’s Solar City. Robin appears behind her, placing his gloved hand on her shoulder. He reassures her that there’s a plan, revealing an amulet powered by Dr. Fate that Batman had given him.
Robin uses the amulet, and after a flash of blinding light, Batman, Superman, and Green Arrow appear, free from Eclipso’s control. It’s a colorful display that welcomes readers back into the world of Batman/Superman World’s Finest. Tamra Bonvillain’s colors are always on point, capturing a light tone and hopefulness that fans have been able to expect since the very first issue. While Adrian Gutierrez’s style is distinctly different from Dan Mora, who has been the main artist throughout most of this series, Gutierrez’s paneling creates a magical, cinematic atmosphere.
At a satellite facility in Greenland, Dr. Gordon and Eclipso touch down, withstanding a rain of bullets from guards. Their magic seizes control of the guards, and just as Eclipso is about to make the guards fire on one another, Superman zooms through in a slash of red. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin leap through mind-controlled scientists on their way to stop Dr. Gordon and Eclipso’s master plan.
On the one hand, it’s neat to have a panel of Batman and Robin running into action directly at the reader, their bodies rushing straight from the panel and right at us. On the other hand, Batman’s curvature gives him crazy-thicc (with two c’s) hips, which looks a little odd. However, it’s nice to see the gold emblem logo on full display.
What follows are several panels of Justice League and Justice Society heroes battling to save citizens around the globe from Eclipso’s control. It’s part of the issue that really shines, as Gutierrez and Bonvillain create a beautiful montage of heroism and saccharine Silver Age positivity that lightens even the darkest heart. Before this montage wears out its welcome, Eclipso begins to take hold of the Justice Society heroes, and that upbeat, old-fashioned charm gives way to fear and paranoia. Afraid of being replaced by the younger Justice Leaguers, the Justice Society heroes attack their counterparts.
Meanwhile, Superman and Batman find Dr. Gordon, but he’s already aiming a blast of energy at astronauts, which pushes the Man of Steel to take flight. Before Superman can save them, Dr. Gordon hits the Big Blue with red sun energy, disabling him. Batman calls for help, but all of the heroes are preoccupied.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #33 variant cover by Tom Raney. Image: DC Comics
This part of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #33 is tense and lightning-fast. As Batman tries to contact other heroes, we see them at war with one another. The older generation battles the younger generation. Dr. Fate shows up to take on Batman, but in another act of deus ex machina, The Spectre arrives. His appearance turns the tide of battle, and the heroes regain control. In a few lines of dialogue about the battle between young and old, about the older generation fearing replacement by the Justice League, Mark Waid weaves in a much-needed theme to this storyline. It’s one that echoes the political landscape that has been gripping the United States for years now, as an older stock succumbs to intense fear-mongering and votes against the rights of the youth.
As Spectre takes on Eclipso, the villain’s goal is revealed. It’s not so much about control as it is about reducing mankind to animals, about stripping away their civility and everything that makes them human.
Batman and Superman take on Dr. Gordon, and Batman tricks Gordon and Eclipso into blasting each other. While they’re stunned, the heroes leap into action, trapping Eclipso once more in the gemstone, which The Spectre tosses into the sun. This issue ends with both superhero teams reuniting and running off together, once more believing in the goodness of themselves and each other.
Like much of this story, the ending is a mad dash with little breathing room. The sentiment is sweet, and the art is gloriously eye-catching. It honestly feels like Waid was channeling the 24-hour political news cycle of the last year and looking for the glimmer of hope between the channels. With how rushed this story felt, it may not hit the mark it needed to, but it does come across, giving readers at least something to chew on.
