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Mark Waid wants to reunite with DC's Justice League for World's Finest: JLA

Waid has wondered aloud about which DC properties to bring into the fan-favorite throwback line

JLA Year One — Image credit: Barry Kitson/DC

Published on Tue Jan 09 2024

Since its debut in 2022, Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest has offered fans a chance to revisit the history of the DC Universe, but from a fresh perspective, and with an attitude that’s entirely up-to-date. Last year, the World’s Finest brand extended into a second series, World’s Finest: Teen Titans also written by Waid — and, the writer teases, there’s more to come.

Responding to a Facebook post for more World’s Finest: Teen Titans, Waid wrote, “You and me both! But trust me, there will be more World's Finest books once I clear some more imminent runway. I just haven't decided yet what to tackle. Early JLA? Supergirl and Robin? I probably should go think more about what I loved most as a child. (Alas, my very first choice, World's Finest: Dial H For Hero, isn't likely to find a readership. Shame.)”

While the Supergirl and Robin pairing is sure to excite those who’ve been following the Batman/Superman: World’s Finest book from the start — if nothing else, who doesn’t want to see more fallout from their messy date back in the twelfth issue of the series? — it’s almost certainly the prospect of seeing Mark Waid return to “early JLA” that will generate the most interest from longterm DC fans. Beyond his celebrated run on the main JLA title in the early 2000s with artists Bryan Hitch, Howard Porter, and Mike Miller, Waid was also one of the creators on the fan-favorite JLA: Year One miniseries, alongside co-writer Brian Augustyn and artist Barry Kitson; any opportunity to see Waid return to that era, and that original line-up of the Justice League would be a special thing indeed.

Of course, we shouldn’t discount the potential of a Dial H for Hero revival, either. It’s a classic DC concept — literally a magic phone that transforms the user into a brand new superhero every time they dial H-E-R-O — that has been rebooted a number of times in recent years, most recently with the Sam Humphries and Joe Quinones in the Wonder Comics series from 2019 through 2020. Waid has previously written original Dial H user Robby Reed as part of the DC Silver Age event in 2000… but maybe it’s time he spent more time with Robby to fully bring out his potential.

Waid and Mora’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest continues monthly from DC. The collected edition of World’s Finest: Teen Titans by Waid and Emanuela Lupacchino is released in May and available for pre-order now.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.