Review: Worlds’ Finest Vol. 3- Control Issues

Quick Summary

Pros: Most of the action in this book is a fun, straightforward approach to heroics. DeSaad’s inclusion here helps build the comic’s larger narrative.

Cons: The second half of the book is a little underwhelming. There are a few problems with structure and transitions. For the most part, the visuals are lackluster.

Overall: This is a comic that manages to impress in some categories but disappoint in others. On the positive side of things, this collection has some fun heroics, a great villain, and a story arc that builds on the comic’s larger narrative. On the negative side of things, the second story arc leaves the reader wanting and the overall story lacks a bit of cohesion. In the end, this collection will likely appeal to those who have been enjoying this series thus far, as long as they are willing to overlook a few of its negatives.

Story

After a rocky first volume and a solid second volume, the third volume in the Worlds’ Finest series ends up falling somewhere in the middle. Worlds’ Finest Vol. 3: Control Issues, by Paul Levitz, start out with an entertaining bout of action filled with drama and suspense. This portion of the book also adds to the greater mystery surrounding the main characters’ attempt to return to their home dimension. However, the transition into the book’s second half is handled very poorly and the second half itself is a bit lackluster. This creates a volume of mixed quality that is satisfying in some places but leaves the reader wanting in others.

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The first half of Control Issues sees the heroes battling against DeSaad and his forces. This portion of the book is an action-packed sequence of battles and near-brushes with danger. It elicits plenty of excitement and works well as a straightforward superhero adventure.

The other positive here is that the focus on DeSaad is directly related to the overall narrative that this series has been slowly building. DeSaad clearly came to Prime Earth with the heroes from Earth 2 and is also clearly seeking a means to return home. Having a vestige of the heroes’ past battles exist in their current world makes things more interesting and ensures that future storylines will continue to offer more in regards to this larger narrative.

The second half of Control Issues sees the heroes battle a terrorist/arsonist who has been active recently. Like the book’s first half, this portion of the book is a straightforward approach to action and heroics. The dramatic tension found within this action is also enhanced by Power Girl’s now unreliable powers, which add additional danger to nearly every battle. However, going from DeSaad to a completely unknown enemy is a bit underwhelming, especially since this villain gets very little development.

The collection also suffers from some major problem with structure. The biggest structural problem here is the transition from the first half of this collection to the second half, which is handled very poorly. After fighting DeSaad for a while and realizing how much of a threat he poses to Earth, both heroes seem to decide that pursuing him is not worth their time. Instead, the chapter after their battle has Huntress chasing after arsonists and Power Girl struggling with corporate politics. Jarring transitions like this also occur on a smaller basis, as numerous chapters start out with the heroes separated, yet offer no explanation as to why they decided to split up or what happened in the meantime. These poor transitions negatively affect the reading process and make it harder to enjoy the collection’s positives.

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Art

The visuals in Control Issues are pretty mediocre and are defiantly some of the worst in the series thus far. Robson Rocha’s work in the collection’s first half is detailed and works well in making the action seem cinematic. However, there are places where the setting will randomly shift sizes depending on what is needed for battle sequences, thus distorting suspension of disbelief. The book’s second half has a similar level of positives and negatives as R. B. Silva takes over on pencils. Silva’s more stylized take on the characters looks good and gives the book a unique visual contrast, however facial expressions often feel off and occasionally fail to convey emotion properly. Overall, the visual appeal of this collection is pretty mixed and is defiantly lower than previous volumes.

Continuity

Worlds’ Finest Vol. 3: Control Issues continues the story from Worlds’ Finest Vol. 2: Hunt and Be Hunted (Review).

The story here continues in Worlds’ Finest Vol. 4: First Contact.  

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Power Girl mentions her recent encounter with Supergirl. This happened at the end of Supergirl Vol. 3: Sanctuary.
• DeSaad’s presence on Earth is explained in Earth 2 #15.1, now collected in Earth 2 Vol. 3: Battle Cry (Review).