DCU Comic Book Reviews

WORLD'S FINEST #1

Nightwing and Robin

December 2009

Written by Sterling Gates

Pencils by Julian Lopez

Inks by Bit

Covers by Phil Noto

Synopsis

In Amsterdam, Time Drake (aka Red Robin) is chasing a motorcycle gang when suddenly one of the bikes is torn apart by tactile telekinesis.  He thinks it is Superboy, but it turns out to be Chris Kent (aka Nightwing), the adopted son of Superman.  Nightwing needs help.  His partner Flamebird has been captured by Penguin.  In Gotham City, Penguin decides to hold an auction for the rights to keep Flamebird, who is being held captive by Dr. Abernathy (aka Kryptonite Man).  Together, the duo is able to break into Penguin’s hideout and rescue Flamebird.  Later, Nightwing and Flamebird help Red Robin with the motorcycle gang.  In Gotham, Penguin realizes that the Kryptonite Man is missing.  Elsewhere, Toyman and Toyboy have captured Kryptonite Man to study him because he will be a valuable resource for their plans. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This is definitely a compliment:  I think Gates has done an excellent job given what he has to work with.  It could not have been easy to write a story in which you have two characters who don’t interact on a regular basis and two characters with a lot of backstory to get across.  Gates manages to handle it fairly well and while the amount of exposition, especially from Nightwing, is obvious, it flows in the story and is not too obtrusive.  I also liked the fact that the origin of the Nightwing and Flamebird helped to inform Tim on the decision he makes to help Nightwing.  Further, I liked that the resolution to the kidnapping plot is wrapped up within the pages of this issue and the method Nightwing deals with Kryptonite Man is pretty nifty.  So, overall, this is a decent story. 

Having said that, however, the situation is too perfunctory, with very little to explain why Penguin is working with the Kryptonite Man or how Penguin was connected to the sleeper agents Nightwing and Flamebird were trying to locate.  Essentially, the villains are nothing more than just fodder for heroes with a random Batman villain and Superman villain paired together.  At the very least Gates explained why Nightwing sought Red Robin’s help; this is not provided for the villains (although “I am paying you loads of money” is a good reason, I suppose). 

This issue was saved somewhat by the ending, which promises that the rest of the mini-series will, in some way, be connected to each other.  I will await judgment before making any kind of decision on whether or not this was a good idea.  On the one hand, it gives the mini-series cohesion rather than a couple of inconsequential team-ups, but on the other hand those final pages take away from the Nightwing/Red Robin story and from time to let the duo interact with each other. 

Yet again, we have an issue that manages to better elucidate what Tim is looking for in the search for Bruce Wayne than the Red Robin series has done in its four or five issues.  The first one was an issue of Adventure Comics.  And now this one with the search for the old letter.  Why can’t things like this appear in Red Robin?