Batman/Superman: World's Finest: Return to Kingdom Come (Comics) | Review

What happens when the future you fought so hard to prevent becomes inevitable? That's the nightmare facing Batman and Superman in Return to Kingdom Come, a storyline that forces DC's most beloved heroes to confront whether some dark destinies are truly inescapable.

This isn't your typical multiverse romp. Writer Mark Waid (Age of Apocalypse, Onslaught Saga) returns to the dystopian world he co-created decades ago but instead of rehashing nostalgia, he's weaponizing it. The story asks uncomfortable questions about legacy, failure and whether knowing the future gives you power to change it.

Waid scripts this latest arc with the kind of thematic weight you'd expect from someone revisiting his own creation. He knows this world inside out and it shows in every panel where hope struggles against inevitability. His dialogue crackles with purpose and meaning.

Penciller Dan Mora (Absolute Power, All In Saga) handles the artwork and his ability to balance classic superheroics of the present with the grim, aged heroes of the Kingdom Come future is truly exceptional. There's a visual language here that speaks to both timelines without losing coherence or reader attention through the plot.

The setup is deceptively simple. Batman and Superman find themselves pulled into the Kingdom Come timeline, where Superman's idealism failed, metahumans run rampant and the world teeters on annihilation. However, they're not just observing this nightmare scenario.

They're trying to prevent this future from happening in their timeline. Waid doesn't waste pages on exposition dumps or unnecessary back-story. We're thrown directly into the action as our heroes encounter aged, bitter versions of their allies and enemies across this broken world.

The older Superman they meet isn't the beacon of hope they know. He's a withdrawn figure who watched his dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and metahumans collapse into chaos. The contrast between the present-day World's Finest and their possible future selves creates dramatic tension that never stops.

What makes this work is how personal it gets. This isn't about stopping some cosmic threat or defeating a super-villain. It's about Batman and Superman grappling with the possibility that their methods, their choices, their very approach to heroism might be fundamentally flawed.

The future shows them a world where Superman's optimism wasn't enough and Batman's preparation couldn't prevent catastrophe. Every conversation between present and future versions cuts deep as they argue with manifestations of their own potential failures.

The plot mechanics involve temporal anomalies and reality-bending crises but the real engine driving this story is character work. We see Superman questioning whether his belief in humanity's better nature is naive or inspirational. We watch Batman calculate the odds of changing fates and coming up short all the time.

The supporting cast from Kingdom Come, characters like the older Wonder Woman and a regret-filled Magog, aren't just cameos for nostalgia. They're cautionary tales made flesh, walking reminders of how badly things can go wrong when heroes lose their way.

Waid layers in connections to the original Kingdom Come saga without requiring readers to have encyclopedic knowledge. You'll catch more references if you know that story but the emotional beats land. The fear, the hope that maybe this time things can be different.

The pacing shifts between action sequences and quieter moments of reflection that let the story breathe. One scene might have Superman and his older self confronting their ideological differences through combat, while the next finds Batman analyzing the timeline's divergence points with a grim realization and growing dread.

There's a metatextual layer for longtime DC readers who remember Kingdom Come's original impact. That story was published as a response to grim-and-gritty comics, offering critique wrapped in hopeful endings. Having Waid revisit that world now adds fresh commentary.

The stakes escalate as Batman and Superman realize that defeating a villain or preventing one catastrophic event won't save anything. The Kingdom Come future resulted from gradual erosion of trust between heroes and humanity, a collapse no single heroic act could reverse.

Artwork by Dan Mora is the perfect marriage of styles this demanding story requires from start to finish. He captures the youthful energy and classic heroism of the main timeline's World's Finest while rendering the Kingdom Come future with appropriate gravitas. The aged heroes carry their years in each line, every weary stance.

The action choreography is fluid and dynamic throughout. Whether it's a full-scale metahuman brawl or one-on-one confrontation between Superman and his older self, Mora stages each fight with clarity and impact. You always know where everyone is and why it matters.

Color work by Tamra Bonvillain elevates the visual experience. The Kingdom Come timeline has a distinct palette, muted and heavy with shadows, that contrasts beautifully with brighter present-day sequences. This helps readers instantly recognize which timeline they're occupying.

Waid's scripting is economical without being sparse or leaving readers confused. He trusts Mora's visuals to carry emotional beats and doesn't over-explain through dialogue. When characters speak, it's because they have something meaningful to say, not to fill space with empty words or deliver clunky exposition dumps.

Return to Kingdom Come succeeds because it understands that revisiting a classic doesn't mean repeating it. This is about confronting your possible future and finding courage to make different choices even when fate seems written in stone. Waid and Mora respect the legacy.

The emotional core is strong, the artwork is exceptional and the thematic questions linger long after you close the final issue. If you're looking for superhero storytelling that nicely balances spectacle with substance, this delivers on both fronts. Not every beat lands perfectly but the overall package overcomes the minor stumbles.

Whether you're a Kingdom Come devotee or just want a Batman/Superman story with actual stakes and character growth, this arc earns your attention. It's proof that superhero comics can ask meaningful questions while delivering the action that makes the genre worth following.

Return to Kingdom Come is collected in Batman/Superman: World's Finest Vol. 4: Return to Kingdom Come paperback or hardcover edition from DC Comics. Digital editions are available on Amazon Kindle, ComiXology, DC Universe Infinite and major e-Book storefronts.