In this review of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #53, the battle for Skartaris ramps up as Robin takes charge in a tour de force against Tyrant Rex. Warlord Travis Morgan does not like being second guessed in his own world.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #53 main cover by Dan Mora (DC Comics)
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #53
Written by MARK WAID
Art by ADRIAN GUTIERREZ
Main Cover: DAN MORA
Variant Covers: RACHTA LIN, ADRIAN GUTIERREZ
Page Count: 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
Release Date: 7/15/26
This review contains spoilers
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #53 begins in the aftermath of the devastating attack by Tyrant Rex’s superpowered horde. Robin (Dick Grayson) deduces that the five mutants have divvied up Superman’s powers, so the teen wonder devises clever strategies to subdue each one, much to Travis Morgan’s chagrin. A dead enemy is one that won’t come back, but Robin plays by another set of rules.
Meanwhile in Tyrant Rex’s thrall, Superman and Batman contend with some of Morgan’s allies, but despite the Rex’s magical control, the heroes do not kill their foes. At Tyrant Rex’s hideout, Rex gloats to the captured Shakira (no relation) about his scheme to gain power from the Atlanteans’ archives. Elsewhere, Robin’s gambit pays off as the super powered mutants fall one-by-one without deploying lethal countermeasures (except possibly in one instance).
Morgan and Robin confront the ensorceled Batman and Superman at the Atlantean archives, and Morgan again attempts to drive home to Robin that the dire circumstances on Skartaris are different than on Earth. The siphoned powers from the incapacitated mutants are absorbed by the one remaining mutant who chases down Morgan. Believing his victory is at hand, Rex gloats to the trapped and outnumbered Robin, demanding his fealty.
Robin is in charge of this mission… (DC Comics)
The teen wonder deploys his final gambit by dropping down a shaft. The shock breaks Rex’s spell, and Batman saves his partner while Superman clobbers Rex with help from Shakira’s cat form. Morgan prepares to end the final mutant, but Robin stops him in time.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #53 ends as Batman, Superman and Robin return to Earth as Morgan grudgingly admits that the Earth heroes’ intervention helped save Skartaris.
Analysis
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #53 wraps up the Skartaris storyline with a rollicking adventure featuring Robin as the central focus. The teenage hero best known in this series for his witty comebacks, puts his training to the test and time and again outwits and outmaneuvers his opponents. Robin’s final ploy seems more out of desperation than strategy, but when outnumbered and overpowered, a bold move is warranted (see Spock’s effort in The Galileo 7).
Robin displays some remarkable out-of-the-box thinking and clever strategizing by using the unfamiliar surroundings to his advantage against the super powered mutants (although he is still somewhat distracted by his teenaged hormones).
Writer Mark Waid loves to stretch concepts to the breaking point, such as the DC heroes’ no kill policy in the hostile Skartaris, but it works as Waid’s script is a testament to these legendary heroes’ immutable moral code (Zack Snyder’s opinions not withstanding).
Despite being trapped in Tyrant Rex’s thrall, the World’s Finest team refuse to kill their opponents, and when Robin appears to be in mortal danger, the sudden shock severs the spell. Waid has reinforced classic Silver Age concepts for costumed heroes in every issue of this series, proving that the no kill policy is more important than ever in our complicated modern world.
Travis Morgan meanwhile feels a bit like a side character on his own world (although it’s not his title), but he gets to display some old-school Warlord heroism and fighting skills, while grudgingly admitting that the three interlopers were integral to their success in stopping Rex’s scheme. Rex himself is a tyrant: powerful, self-absorbed, with an all-consuming ego and a desire for total control.
Artist Adrian Gutierez provides an epic farewell to Skartaris with some clever (and familiar tropes) throughout Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #53, from large splash page action shots to the dreaded nine-panel grid, providing scope and pacing in both the jungle setting and the Atlantean archives.
Final Thoughts
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #53 delivers a fun finale full of old-school heroism, swash-buckling adventure, sharp humor and stylish artwork. There is nothing wrong with a rousing, fun and feel-good pulpy adventure story.
