Justice League Unlimited/World's Finest: We Are Yesterday (Comics) | Review

Time travel rarely works this well. Writer Mark Waid (JLA: Year One, Kingdom Come), the architect behind DC All In's most compelling reads, launches the initiative's first major crossover with a villain most writers would sideline. Gorilla Grodd absorbs leftover Omega Energy and immediately becomes the most dangerous threat.

His plan? Travel back in time and assemble a Legion of Doom from the past to overwhelm the present-day Justice League. You're thrown into a narrative where heroes from different eras fight simultaneously across timelines without constant exposition dumps holding your hand.

What makes this crossover land is its refusal to simplify. Time travel stories work best when they trust readers to keep up. It's deliberately complicated and that complexity creates engagement rather than confusion for anyone willing to track the moving pieces.

Here's what actually happens across six issues spanning Batman/Superman: World's Finest and Justice League Unlimited. Gorilla Grodd taps into residual Omega Energy from Darkseid's death, giving him prescient knowledge and terrifying psychic abilities that elevate him beyond typical villain status into something far more dangerous.

Rather than attacking head-on, he travels back to recruit younger versions of Lex Luthor, Joker, Cheetah and others who were masquerading as the mysterious Inferno cult throughout Justice League Unlimited's early issues and this crossover retroactively re-contextualizes everything.

The genius move is revealing Inferno wasn't some new organization but time-displaced versions of classic rogues operating with future knowledge. When you revisit earlier issues after finishing We Are Yesterday, those scenes take on new meaning. It's the kind of storytelling that rewards rereading and makes you appreciate the narrative.

Grodd sends past versions of Batman and Superman forward while scattering the modern Justice League across Hypertime. Past Robin Dick Grayson lands in the present and kicks off chaos. You've got multiple Supermen and Batmen from different eras in both timelines.

The visual complexity actually enhances the overall experience for readers who pay attention. Timeline gymnastics get intricate enough that flipping back through pages becomes necessary but that engagement feels quite intentional. You're actively piecing together the puzzle rather than passively consuming sequential action beats.

The crossover answers the Inferno mystery while setting up the next major DC Universe event and fundamentally altering Gorilla Grodd's threat level. By the finale, he's not just another psychic gorilla but a villain who understands temporal mechanics and tasted godlike power.

Air Wave gets a surprisingly dark arc here. His throwaway line from Justice League Unlimited #1 about killing the Justice League wasn't forgotten at all. Waid uses him to explain complex concepts without treating readers like they need remedial superhero education, bridging casual fans and longtime continuity trackers effectively.

One criticism is the lack of meaningful interaction between heroes from different eras. Past Superman briefly encounters present-day Superwoman Lois Lane. Present Batman runs into past Alfred without revealing he's from the future. These moments feel underdeveloped.

The Legion of Doom roster includes Pythoness, an original sorceress villain who has replaced Cheetah in certain sequences. It's a strange creative choice when Felix Faust or any other established magic user could've filled that role just as easily. The decision only works if Waid plans to develop her character in future stories.

What connects to previous arcs: This crossover continues from DC All In Special #1 and Justice League Unlimited #1-5, where Inferno's identity remained mysterious. Darkseid's death ties into broader DC continuity while events here feed into Mark Waid's New History mini-series.

The ramifications stretch beyond these six issues into Justice League Unlimited's ongoing narrative. This isn't a self-contained event you can read and forget. It's a pivotal chapter in DC All In's larger story, functioning as essential connective tissue rather than standalone spectacle.

Artists Clayton Henry (Action Comics: Phantoms, New X-Men: Hellions), Dan Mora (World's Finest: Secret Origins, World's Finest: Strange Visitor) and Travis Moore deliver kinetic action across every single page. The challenge of drawing multiple versions of identical characters in simultaneous scenes could've created visual chaos.

Clayton Henry delivers an Eisner-worthy moment where Superman throws Scarecrow into a police car so fast that Superman's still moving while Scarecrow's already there. Travis Moore stages Elongated Man using stretching powers with tactical creativity before brutal torture.

Mark Waid's writing balances humor with genuine stakes. The opening bit where Bruce Wayne discovers Hal Jordan doesn't wear his Green Lantern ring while test-flying experimental jets establishes character dynamics through action rather than exposition, evoking classic team-up stories while maintaining modern pacing and tone.

Tamra Bonvillain's colors are spectacular. The disembodied visual effects for Air Wave and Grodd's Omega Energy manipulation pop off the page with neon intensity. She uses color to help readers track timelines, a subtle choice preventing confusion during rapid scene changes.

We Are Yesterday works as both satisfying mystery resolution and ambitious setup for future storylines. It's not perfectly self-contained, functioning more as a pivotal chapter in DC All In's larger narrative arc. That'll frustrate readers expecting traditional crossover closure but it's refreshingly honest about its purpose and goals.

The time-travel mechanics embrace complexity rather than dumbing down for accessibility. If you're willing to track which Superman belongs where and why, you'll find rewarding narrative that respects your intelligence. Straightforward superhero punching? Look elsewhere.

Grodd's elevation from B-list threat to universe-altering villain feels earned rather than forced. Waid positions him as an ultimate evil whose ramifications will echo through multiple titles for months. The artistic collaboration between Mora, Moore and Henry elevates strong writing into something visually memorable worth revisiting.

For Justice League Unlimited readers, this is essential. It answers every Inferno question while changing the status quo. For Batman/Superman: World's Finest fans, it's more of a detour. However, it shows how crossovers can build ongoing narratives instead of derailing them.

Justice League Unlimited/World's Finest: We Are Yesterday is available in both hardcover and trade paperback format. For digital readers, the event is also offered on major digital platform and storefronts such as Amazon Kindle, ComiXology and DC Universe Infinite.