Now and then when I get a chance to read a graphic novel, I like to return to series that I’ve not read in a while, but also those that were amongst some of the first few that I reviewed. One such series was “Worlds’ Finest”, a series revolving around the Earth-2 Robin and Supergirl who happened to be trapped on Earth-Prime following a battle with Steppenwolf and his forces from Apokolips. The first two novels in this series have been fairly average and I was hoping that this novel would be a step up!
‘Control Issues’ starts with Kara and Helena attempting to gain intel on how Michael Holt’s company managed to take over Starr Industries, the company that Kara owns. Whilst investigating one night, they’re ambushed by a huge monster who they just barely manage to escape. Within the next few days, not only is Kara attacked again, but Helena is finding that her safehouses are being burnt to the grown. It becomes evident that someone is pulling the strings behind their backs, and it soon transpires that this individual is none other than Desaad, Darkseid’s right-hand advisor. He’s been sending Parademons to hunt down the two heroes and during one such attack, Desaad manages to capture Helena. However, her best friend, Kara won’t stand for it and she mounts a rescue. Although the rescue is successful, in the ensuing tussle between Kara is attacked by Desaad with a special weapon that seems to desiccate her powers. Content that he’s harmed them mentally and physically, he casts them back to Earth-Prime to deal with the implications of his actions. The last part of the novel sees Helena try to track down an arsonist with some questionable body ink. However, she can’t do it by herself. Will she be able to count on a semi-depowered Kara for this battle? And will these two ever find their way home?
Ah man, this series is the real exception to my love of characters from parallel universes. Ironically I think I’d probably have enjoyed this series more if it was based in Earth 2 because it literally focuses on how these two don’t want to be found by anyone on Earth-Prime. In terms of character development, I think there’s a real blockade that has probably led me to dislike Power Girl. So far she’s given me nothing to suggest that she’s remotely interesting, and the stark difference between her and the Superman family means that I’m not sure where she fits in, in the greater DC lore. Huntress on the other hand is a little more interesting but also isn’t doing anything plot-wise that I want to particularly follow. I’m sorry if this has been a little negative, but the only thing that I can think of in terms of a positive was that with the entrance of Desaad into this story, there’s a chance this series could become interesting.
The artwork was one of the few things that I liked in this novel. Some of the issues had some very good illustrations. I thought the covers were also not bad and at the end of the day if you have a novel with decent artwork it makes the reader a little more pliable to poor plotlines. Overall, though, this was not a step in the right direction and this series would need to do something incredible for me to start enjoying it!
Favourite Panel:
Love this internal monologue!
Favourite Character:
Ooof. It’s Helena, only because I dislike Kara a lot.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★
Character Development: ★★½
Artwork: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★½
Re-readability: ★★½
Level: Intermediate