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Batman/Superman: World's Finest #17

Scheduled to arrive in stores: July 18, 2023
Cover date: September 2023

"Elementary": Finale - "Showdown"

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Cover: Dan Mora
Variant Covers: Cliff Chiang, Jamie McKelvie, Dike Ruan

Reviewed by: Tony Parker

Click to enlarge

We continue from where we left off: Newmazo beating the life out of Batman, bragging that he is a one man Justice League and the man who murders the Batman.

Only for Supergirl and Martian Manhunter to burst down from the sky and beat the life out of Newmazo. Supergirl especially is quite furious, blasting him with heat vision. But Newmazo counters, saying the close contact has made him as strong as the two of them put together, and faster than The Flash. He easily swipes them through a forest.

Batman runs to Will Magnus, asking if they're up and running, but Magnus isn't sure the plan will work. To keep Newmazo distracted, Superman and Wonder Woman join the fight, but Newmazo continues being dominant, unstoppable. Batman calls Robin, asking if Morrow had any intel, but even under the lasso's influence Morrow says there is no hope and humanity must flee Earth, while we see Green Arrow,Black Canary, Plastic Man and Firestorm all struggle against the robot puppets of Newmazo.

Batman refuses to give up, though. While Magnus puts the plan into action, Captain Marvel/Shazam and Green Lantern come to assist, only for Batman to tell them to stop. Batman explains (despite Shazam's insistence) that Newmazo is copying their abilities, like Manhunter's invisibility and telepathy. Lantern asks how they can possibly fight him if they can't come near him, and Magnus smiles.

The heroes are surrounded by Newmazo's robot army. It seems doomed. Only for the army to turn on Newmazo! Thanks to the satellite Magnus made, the doctor can program the robots like he programmed the Metal Men, ordering them to destroy Newmazo!

Yet, somehow, Newmazo is STILL not down, still winning! Batman then realizes what Morrow reminded him of, and rushes out to enact his hail mary, just before the other heroes can intervene.

The answer isn't from the present or the future, but the past: The original Amazo! Despite Newmazo being smarter, Amazo's bluntness would continue going on and on, while the heroes blast them two of them. They would began replicating each other, and won't stop. Thus, the energy feedback loop would destroy both!

And so, it happens. Newmazo barely remains alive, but Metamorpho (thanks to Superman) gets the final blow and destroys the machine outside of the final head piece, which he allows Magnus to tear piece by piece. Everything now sorted, the metal men and other robot heroes being repaired, all's well that ends well. Batman explains that Jimmy will be okay despite his wrong accusation, and Metamorpho goes back to his life.

To Be Continued...

Story - 4: I must admit, this is probably the messiest arc in terms of ideas. The Devil Nezha was a straight up classic action story with some great moments focusing on the friendship between Superman and Batman. Boy Thunder is one of the most underrated arcs of the last few years and a great commentary on mental health, sidekicks, the nature of heroism, etc., really granting us some fine analysis on Superman and Batman as inspirations to others. This one... Starts off seemingly as a critique of Batman's tendency to mistrust and then turns into an Age of Ultron type story. You almost forget it started with Metamorpho being accused of a fake crime.

For that, I must dock some points, because it comes across as messy.

But it was still an enjoyable sci fi romp with some great scary visuals, engaging action, striking terror, and intriguing ideas. It may be all over the place, but it was fun, and sometimes that's all you need!

Definitely excited for next arcs, as we are apparently getting the origin of the teamup (we've had a few of those but the most iconic is in the DCAU, so it would be nice to see the comic grant us a definitive first teamup of Superman and Batman), plus the return of boy thunder! For those interested, a spinoff focusing on the Teen Titans featured in this run is also out, and while it doesn't feature any Superman characters so far, it might intrigue readers of this review series!

Art - 5: Metamorpho's beatdown of Newmazo and Supergirl's rage. Mic drop.

Cover Art - 3: Decent pre fight cover (even if it's false). Like the Melee caption, feels old school.

Variant Cover Art - 3: No idea who the villain is, but the art is cool.

Variant Cover Art - 4: Nice coloring and inking, interesting vibe!

Variant Cover Art - 3: Throwback to the Bronze age, I want to say? It's classic.

Variant Cover Art - 5: A far more anime esque cover that shows Superman's classic powers (faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound). BEAUTIFUL.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2023

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Mild Mannered Reviews - Batman/Superman Comic Books

Batman/Superman: World's Finest #17

Mild Mannered Reviews

2023

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