World’s Finest #323 (1986)
by Joey Cavalieri & Jose Delbo
cover by Denys Cowan
After 45 years, the original run of World’s Finest comes to an end. This was published the same month of Crisis On Infinite Earths #10.
The series was canceled both because of the new relationship between Superman and Batman (more on that later), but more importantly because it wasn’t selling well: there were multiple attempts to revitalize it over the years, and the fact I didn’t cover ANY of them should probably tell you something on how good they were.
So the issue does have historical significance, but… is it any good?
We begin in Metropolis, where despite being morning it’s dark as night.
I like the effect used to do this, very moody.
Like I said this was published during Crisis, so people should’ve been more prepared for apocalyptic scenarios.
The blackout means Superman has to intervene to stop a few crimes.
I don’t think he really needed to break a streetlight to stop a couple of random thugs, though.
I’m fascinated by this way of depicting the darkness.
Superman stories rarely have anything to do with horror, but when they do it can totally work.
This is a nice premise: Superman fighting ghost wolves!
Aaaand the setup is ruined when the villain shows up because I just can’t take Nightwolf seriously with that “Masters of the Universe” design.
Now… he COULD still work with the goofy design. We probably can’t do horror anymore, but there are multiple angles that still fit.
If he was a demon, or an evil sorcerer, or a conqueror from another dimension… not some dude hired by an evil corporation.
Nightwolf works for Powerbroker, who I don’t think appeared before this issue but don’t quote me on that one.
So if I understand this correctly, Powerbroker’s plan is:
A) hire Nightwolf to create permanent night
B) cause the destruction of crops
C) ?????
D) the “agricultural community” agrees to do business with Powerbroker
E) profit!
I can’t believe I’m agreeing with THIS GUY.
It’s also night in Gotham City, because Nightwolf’s power is apparently working worldwide.
Which is bad because if it’s always night, when is Batman going to sleep!?
Kind of weird that Batman’s first scene has him rescue a civilian from ghost wolves while Superman’s first scene was about him stopping street criminals, because normally it’s the other way around.
Alfred then informs him than an archeologist he met in a previous issue could have news about Nightwolf.
Smooth secret identity save, Batman.
The archeologist (no relation) tells Batman about her former love interest, who stole a magical belt that she uncovered.
And that’s the origin of Nightwolf. For the last villain fought by the World’s Finest, he’s just meh.
Dude, you’re 7 years early for the death of Superman!
This looks like a job for…
…some guy we haven’t met yet! Wait, what?
This fight lasts FOUR PAGES, by the way.
Okay, so what’s going on? First of all, while the ghost wolves are magical in nature and can hurt Superman… they’re not tougher than ordinary wolves.
Second, Nightwolf could EASILY be defeated by an ordinary human…
…if he also happens to be Batman in disguise.
And then Superman wakes up in a farm.
I’m not sure why Superman is there. Since Nightwolf knocked him out in the middle of the mystical night there was basically no background, but he WAS in Metropolis immediately before.
If Batman brought him there while he was unconscious… WHY!?
More importantly, Batman chastises Superman for attacking Nightwolf without thinking, WHICH IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED!
Superman was investigating the darkness when he was AMBUSHED by the ghost wolves, which knocked him out… that’s it. What was he supposed to do?
Also: the “backstreets and back alleys” might be your territory, Batman, but this happened because someone obscured the sun of (at the very least) half a continent… how is that NOT Superman’s territory!?!?
This conflict between the two feels VERY forced, and not only because it’s still technically a pre-Crisis story. But more on the Superman-Batman dynamic later.
Because, after 45 years: how it started, versus how it ended.
(also consider World’s Finest #1 did not show both Superman and Batman in the same story)
The cover:
The first page:
The last page:
Historical significance: 0/10 
Silver Age-ness: 3/10 
Does it stand the test of time? 3/10
Nice artwork, but nothing else. 
Did Superman really need Batman? For some reason apparently yes
The idea of Superman and Batman not working well together gets both too much credit AND too much criticism.
I defend the post-Crisis approach for one reason: I think the two should START by disliking each other, but slowly become close friends.
Which is exactly how things were done at the beginning of the post-Crisis era, where it took a long time before they reached the same status they had pre-Crisis: by that point it felt EARNED.
Whereas, at least to me, the fact they were best friends before Crisis felt like it was simply taken for granted.
I think that, after 45 years of sharing a title (although having team-ups there less often), the duo was due for a pause.
Of course it didn’t take THAT much for the two superheroes to share the title “World’s Finest”: there were two 3-part miniseries, one in 1990 and one in 1994.
A 12-part limited series ran from 1999 to 2000, by which point the dynamic between the heroes was basically back to what it was pre-Crisis.
But for whatever reason, DC was a bit allergic to the title “World’s Finest”.
Two series effectively took its place with the Silver Age formula: “Superman/Batman” which ran for 87 issues between 2003 and 2011, and “Batman/Superman” which ran for 32 issues from 2013 to 2016.
VERY confusingly, there’s also the series “Worlds’ Finest”… not the same thing, check where the apostrophe is… which is a series running for 32 issues from 2012 to 2015 and featuring Power Girl and Huntress.
But at last, a new series titled “Batman/Superman: World’s Finest” launched in 2022.
You may want to check it out: not only it’s written by Mark Waid, but issue 1 has multiple variant covers based on memes of the original series!
These are completely unaltered ACTUAL variant covers.
Are these alternate covers dumb? Yes.
Is this awesome? YES!!!!!!
And that’s a wrap on World’s Finest! Its place in the review rotation will be taken by a brand new retrospective: the original Doom Patrol.
Out of curiosity, are you going to put up a dedicated page for World’s Finest? It’s a bit difficult to find individual issues.
No, sorry, I only do dedicated pages for retrospectives that have counts or cover multiple series.
There are categories dedicated to both World’s Finest and the Super-Sons, though.
https://comicsarcheology.com/index.php/category/worlds-finest/
https://comicsarcheology.com/index.php/category/super-sons/
World’s Finest belonged to an idealistic era when DC’s two top heroes just had to be best friends. It almost doesn’t matter what the stories were about so long as that friendship and collaboration were emphasized. But, as your reviews show, this formula wore thin as super-heroes become more “serious.” It must have been difficult for writers to come with stores that justified both heroes being present, and, since none of these stories carried any consequences in the heroes’ own titles, it made them even more superfluous (or is that batfluous?). Ultimately, WF became a series to be taken for granted.
I almost wish the creators had delved further into the Super-Sons. The idea of Superman and Batman having sons who carried on their tradition while rebelling against them still has merit. I saw a meme a few weeks ago that had pictures of four grown Beatles’ sons as if they were somehow a band. The public pressure on them to be “like their fathers” and uphold the legacy must be enormous. Try to imagine establishing your own identity when everything you do is compared to events that happened before you were born. Alas, WF remained a highly conservative series that never fully explored the ramifications of two heroes who were so totally different but found a common connection.
You posted this review on January 30th which is coincidentally Denys Cowan’s birthday, he turned 63 this year. What are the odds.
I assume the odds are 1 in 365 chances 🙂 but of course it wasn’t on purpose. Wish I thought of it, nice catch.
1 in 366, this year.
With World’s Finest done, there are 4 retrospectives currently going, plus 3 planned ones. Out of the current retrospectives, Dial H For Hero is the closest to being done, since it will likely only cover a few issues outside of the original run. The Doctor Doom retrospective will probably be completed next, since it’s only a few issues away from the 2010s and the 2020s aren’t being included. The Hero Origins retrospective will probably be third, since while it’s spending a lot of time in 1940, it’ll speed up later on, and the Legion retrospective will definitely be last of the current retrospectives to be completed, given the number of stories left (even if not all of them are being covered), and that’s before you even get to the bonus content.
Dial H will certainly be the first one to end: there’s 2 Silver Age stories left, plus some extras, and then I’ll go through the 80s revival very quickly.
The Hero retrospective will most likely last longer than the Villain retrospective; there’s also a lot of 60s, 70s and a few 80s heroes for sure.
The Legion retrospective will be the last of the current ones to end, considering how much stuff there is to cover.
The Doom retrospective TECHNICALLY doesn’t have an ending, the 2020s will still be covered but at a very very different pace. I expect to get there long before the Legion one is over.
Okay, I know it’s a cheap shot, but what the hell is Batman’s rope attached to in that last panel? A passing cropduster, perhaps?
It’s too bad that DC didn’t put out a team comic with Green Lantern & The Flash. I always liked their team-up stories especially since they also knew each others secret identities. Could have called it “World’s Best Comics”.