Written by: Christopher Cantwell, Mark Waid
Art by: Dan McDaid
Colors by: John Kalisz
Letters by: Steve Wands
Cover art by: Dan Mora (cover A)
Cover price: $5.99
Release date: April 30, 2025
Batman / Superman: World's Finest Annual: 2025, by DC Comics on 4/30/25, finds Gorilla Grodd assembling the Legion of Doom for a plan to conquer Earth by conquering Time.
Is Batman / Superman: World's Finest Annual: 2025 Good?
Recap
In the ongoing World's Finest series, we learn Gorilla Grodd from the future transferred his mind to the present to occupy his younger body. It was Grodd who manipulated Air Wave into betraying the Justice League (Unlimited), and it was Grodd who created the mysterious group known as Inferno. In reality, Inferno is the reassembled Legion of Doom.
Plot Synopsis
In Batman / Superman: World's Finest Annual: 2025, Grodd lays out his master plan, but he has to convince the Legion of Doom it will work first. Grodd explains that the assembly of villains will be defeated in the future by the Justice League. What's his plan? Grodd will send the LoD on a three-pronged attack to steal time-related tech that will transport them all to the future when they're at the peak of their strength and take over the Watchtower.
The first team, Bizarro and Lex Luthor, head to Central City to create a tachyon pulse using the Flash's Cosmic Treadmill. Scarecrow and Joker head to the laboratory of one Dr. Nichols to steal his reserve of tachyon energy particles. When Batman and Robin arrive, Robin is zapped by a tachyon gun during the escape and disappears. Sinestro, Black Manta, and Cheetah attack the Atom in his lab to steal his time Pool. Unfortunately, none of the strike teams are blindly obedient to Grodd's instructions, leading to shenanigans and hijinks during the thefts, especially when members of the Justice League show up. Fortunately for Grodd, the teams succeed.
What the LoD doesn't know is that Grodd has secretly made a deal with Pythoness to weave her magic for the trip. Why? Grodd explains she dies in a few years, so a trip to the future circumvents her pending demise. In exchange, Cheetah gets left behind to take the fall.
The adventure ends with the LoD arriving in the future, but they're not the only ones who made the trip.
Backup Story
Writer Morgan Hampton and artist Clayton Henry give readers a montage introduction to John Stewart, from his years as a boy to a decorated soldier and, eventually, a Green Lantern. There's nothing to see here unless you've never heard of John Stewart and want to get to know the man behind the ring.
First Impressions
Writer Christopher Cantwell's master plan for Gorilla Grodd is... odd. The classic Legion of Doom lineup bristles with nostalgic fun, and of course, everyone would fight Grodd's instructions because their egos are too big to follow, but if you think about what Grodd is trying to do, the plan just doesn't sound, well, smart.
How’s the Art?
Dan McDaid's artwork is decent enough. Admittedly, McDaid has a tall order trying to match Dan Mora's razor-sharp power from the pages of the World's Finest ongoing series, but he holds his own. John Kalisz's colors pop, McDaid's action is energetic (albeit a bit rough), and the net visual appearance is solid.
What’s great about Batman / Superman: World's Finest Annual: 2025?
In a positive way, this annual is nostalgia bait. You get the classic Legion of Doom lineup together to execute a master plan that will put them back on top for all time. Further, Cantwell does a fine job capturing the inflated egos and hubris of each Legion member through their dialog.
What’s not great about Batman / Superman: World's Finest Annual: 2025?
The heart of the issue relies on the strength and cleverness of Grodd's plan, which isn't presented as particularly strong or clever. Grodd believes he can win by taking the present Legion to the future, defeating the Justice League, and taking over the Watchtower to rule over humanity. If the Legion of today can barely function as a team, and it already has its hands full with the current Justice League, how is the Legion going to overcome an older, wiser, and more technologically advanced Justice League of the future?
Cantwell and Waid appear to be angling for an approach that says the Legion of today, in the prime of their strength and power, is somehow superior. How does that work? As a bickering team of individuals, wouldn't they be less prepared? Wouldn't the historical knowledge and advanced tech of the future Justice League be more than capable of stopping the Legion of their past? That's like attacking modern Russia with the best soldiers who fought in Vietnam. An M-16 won't do much good against remote drone strikes.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Batman / Superman: World's Finest Annual: 2025 unveils the secret plan of Gorilla Grodd to assemble the Legion of Doom and take over the world. Christopher Cantwell and Mark Waid's script is packed with nostalgic fun, and Dan Mc Daid's art style is super solid. That said, Grodd's plan doesn't sound smart or effective, so you'll be left with a resounding "Huh?"
7/10
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