Batman/Superman: World's Finest #25

[cyberghostface]

"Luthor and Joker are great contrasts as characters. They are perfect examples of Lawful Evil and Chaotic Evil, and are both towering egos. So the back-and-forth between them is usually charming. And as with any story featuring these two, it’s never about will they betray each other. It’s the question of when and who will do it first." -- Mark Waid

Comments

[tcampbell1000]

Best treatment I've seen of either of these characters in quite a while. Best DC Comic I've seen in quite a while. I kept going back and rereading it, which is not something I do very much anymore (only Ryan North's Fantastic Four and Al Ewing's Immortal Thor are regular exceptions).

Waid has very much still got it, but I think what works most for me is a Steve Pugh art moment--Luthor's expression at the climax, when he realizes for the first time just what he's unleashed.* There's barely a hint of his usual ego in the captions, and none in the image--in fact, they show an uncharacteristic (but logical) humility. He's just a HUMAN BEING. Just as there are no atheists in foxholes, NO sane human, whatever else he is, can stand by and let this horror be unleashed upon the world. Lovecraftian, believable, unexpected, brilliant.

*(This is a "first meeting" story between him and the Joker, so Luthor can be forgiven for underestimating him.)

[shakalooloo]

Yes, this. SO much this!

[blues32]

There's still a touch of that ego. The fact that he can't believe HIS mind can't comprehend what he's looking at stuns him. His brilliant brain can't handle it.

[zylly]

I like the dual panels of Luthor and Joker explaining their reasonings for bedeviling their respective heroes. The difference in them, I think, is that while it’s debatable how honest or sane the Joker is being, I don’t for a minute believe Lex.

That may well be what he tells others and even himself, but st the end of the day, it’s not that Superman makes humanity feel small, it’s that he makes LEX feel small. Lex has entirely too much ego to care about humanity like that.

[zachbeacon]

It makes a certain amount of sense if you assume he's appointed himself as humanity's representative on account of obviously being the best human....according to himself.

[blues32]

Thing is, the Joker could have been being honest...at the moment. As he states himself, "Tuesday? Who knows?"