Review: Boy Thunder’s Fate Revealed In ‘Batman/Superman: World’s Finest’ #10

World’s Finest has been hinting at a huge twist involving its newest character, the young refugee called Boy Thunder. Finally, this issue reveals it, as David becomes something more.

Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain, and Steve Wands pull the Joker into the DCU’s most tragic hero origin.

The Joker and the Key have taken Boy Thunder hostage. Superman, Batman and the Titans are searching desperately for him all across Gotham. When they find him, the young hero may be changed forever, and a path towards a tragic destiny.

It was obvious that there was a twist coming with Boy Thunder. I absolutely expected it to be something about his pre-Earth-1 origin- that his powers destroyed his world or something to that effect. Here though, Waid disguises every breadcrumb leading us to the last page in a fun action story. It’s an exuberant throwback team-up between the heroes. Then the story twists.

SPOILER ALERT

It’s here that Waid finally delivers a story that was decades in the making. This arc wasn’t a tragic untold tale of Superman. It was a tragic untold tale of Kingdom Come. Boy Thunder is none other than Kingdom Come antagonist Magog, with Waid finally giving us the origin of his event’s biggest villain. It was a twist I didn’t see coming but after I digested it, I realized I was thrilled to see it.

Mora and Bonvillain go all out. After a fairly energetic but grounded opening, they cut loose when the Key springs his trap. They show how they can balance surreal with realistic, as Superman, Batman and the Titans jump through dimensions, and fight monsters, which both artists are able to depict the chaos but keep the line work and colors clear and easy to follow.

This series seems to be wrapping up, with the announcement of Waid and Mora’s upcoming SHAZAM! series. It’s a shame. This has been a joyful celebration of everything DCU, and I’m excited to see what’s next.

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #10 is available now from DC Comics.