Justice League Unlimited/World's Finest: We Are Yesterday

Batman/Superman: World's Finest

by Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell, Morgan Hampton

The current-day adventures of Justice League Unlimited meet the past heroics of Batman/Superman: World's Finest in the first crossover of the DC All In era, We Are Yesterday!

The sinister psychic powers of the devious Gorilla Grodd have the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight in their sights, but all is not as it seems to be! There’s something strange going on here...some monkey business that the World’s Finest can’t quite put a finger on. It’s almost as if this Gorilla Grodd has...knowledge of the future?

A brand new, six-part event storyline brings the Justice League Unlimited face-to-face with some of their most infamous enemies in a time-bending showdown! Legendary writer Mark Waid and superstar artists like Clayton Henry and Travis Moore have teamed-up to tell an event story like none other, bringing super villains like Gorilla Grodd, the Cheetah, Lex Luthor, and the Joker into the spotlight in a brand new way, and up against a brand new incarnation of the Justice League!

Collects Batman/Superman: World's Finest #38-39, Justice League Unlimited #6-8, and Batman/Superman: World's Finest 2025 Annual #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Batman, Adult

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2025

About the author

Mark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.

Reviews

[Molly™☺ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very ambitious time travel story that halts both series' flow in order to bring new characters into the mix for the League and set up the new event. At times, it's hard to understand what's happening. From the plethora of duplicated characters to the unclear timeline, Waid juggles far too much, to the point where you have to wonder if he is following what is happening himself. By the end, the identities of various versions get lost as it's just one huge blob of very similar looking variants standing together. A shame for World's Finest which has been pretty consistently decent up until now, and a huge spanner in the works for Justice League Unlimited as it still fails to find its footing.

[Colin Post · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some cool ideas, bringing together versions of characters from across time, but the execution is all over the place. The prospect of having past villains band together was not capitalized on - for the most part, villains like Joker and Captain Cold are caricatures rather than characters in the story. The annual that Cantwell penned as part of this took the fullest advantage of the cast, and it would have been cool to see that vibe throughout the whole story. Ultimately, this seems like a stepping stone to DC KO, which will be fine if that delivers as expected.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the scenes between the past and present versions of Superman, Batman, and Robin/Nightwing. Otherwise, this felt too long, with Grodd and his crew mostly seeming like empty caricatures. Grodd's ultimate goal is unimpressive, and I'm genuinely disappointed that the Airwave as mole storyline is getting brought to end so very quickly.

[Arianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange volume. Swings wildly between standard egomaniacal supervillain fare (not very hard to pull off with the Legion of Doom) and childish fanservice moments.

The writing randomly goes from edgy to again, very childish. I would have liked the death of Air Wave a lot more, for example, if it didn't become a whole thing, leading to Mr. Terrific saying out loud that he can't accept it, because "he's a problem I couldn't solve, and that's unacceptable." Okay then...

The volume is messy from the start and it becomes messier as it goes on. In the two last fights, time distortion leads to random characters appearing out of nowhere during fight scenes that were already confusing. Is it cool to see all the different iterations of Supergirl on the same page? I guess. Does it serve the story in any way? You know it doesn't.

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

This suffers a bit from not having enough lead up. Prior to this we had five issues of JLU where Inferno was an issue. So having this big climactic clash just feels a bit unearned. If it’s meant to be a start to a larger story that's alright but it feels like an awkward middle ground (that and I’d like to keep this DC All-In and the separation of mainline and Absolute for as long as possible). It’s too long to be an intro to JLU especially considering its given event treatment. But it’s too short to be some first arc or saga. Overall its not bad but I didn't feel like it was managed well. Not much happens. The Legion of Doom doesn’t feel particularly menacing here. The time displacement to get all these fun past versions is cool but they don’t do much. They barely bounce off of each other (sparing Gorilla Grodd and Pythoness and maybe one-liner slinging Joker) let alone the heroes. It feels rambling with little happening. The outcome of some past versions of heroes is fun but didn't have much happen here. Maybe it'll be cool in JLU where its continued but here its basically untouched as a plot point. As a plot vehicle to continue JLU this is fine but as an event it's sort of a flop. The art was nice at least. Gorilla Grodd's personality here was nice but again, I wish there was more here or beforehand to let readers really soak it all in instead of barely showing us Inferno for five issues and then having the bombastic finale in an event.

[Edward Salinas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after reading DC KO and it gave me a bit more context I gotta say. I really love how they wove in Worlds Finest for this book. The legion of doom is always fun and having grodd at the forefront was super cool. JLU just reminds me how much I love DC and their characters.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hats off to the artists, but this is way too many characters and MAN I can't stand Grodd - one of the dullest villains. Only decent parts were with Batman and Robin.

[Ángel Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Por mucho que me duela, Mark Waid, mi adorado Mark Waid, no ha estado fino con este cruce. Es confuso, deslavazado y... simplemente, no funciona. La parte correspondiente a World's Finest no está tan mal: es fácil de seguir y presenta el siempre estupendo arte de Dan Mora, pero la de Justice League Unlimited resulta bastante absurda. El hecho de que Grodd engañe a un crío con una mentira absolutamente estúpida... venga, tiene un pase, pero que un puñado de gañanes como los que junta el gorila parlante logre vencer a los mayores héroes del planeta no tiene pies ni cabeza. Venga, Sinestro y Luthor son una amenaza real, pero el Capitán Frío, el Espantapájaros, Manta Raya y el Joker no tienen ni media hostia. Bizarro es, simplemente, un cretino, y la tiparraca esa que no sabemos muy bien qué poderes tiene parece una Madame Xanadú de segunda. Por su parte, Grodd puede tener los poderes amplificados por los del Detective Marciano, pero sigue siendo el eterno perdedor que recibe paliza tras paliza de Flash. Nada, que no me lo trago.

Además, el plan de Grodd es un ñordo. ¿Qué quiere exactamente? ¿Convertirse en un Darkseid de tercera? Pues le sale como el culo. En dos páginas lo revientan. En fin, que lo único interesante de todo este embrollo es ver a Jonah Hex como miembro de la Liga de la Justicia. Ojalá no lo devuelvan nunca a su época y continúe en el presente forever and ever.

En fin, que hasta los mejores se equivocan alguna vez. Como decía el sabio, que en paz descanse: «una mala tarde la tiene cualquiera».

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the 3 stars go towards the 'Batman Superman: World's Finest' series...

That's where this should have stayed. Keep this thing contained with clues that it's connected to Darkseid's 'Absolute Universe', and not klaxons sounding off the tie-ins.

Grodd, now with Martian Manhunter's telepathy added to his own, (thanks Amanda Waller) finds a fresh idiot...this time it's the child hero Airwave...and convinces the naive super that the JL is soooooo bad and needs to be infiltrated. Meanwhile, Grodd hatches a plan to go back to the 'World's Finest' era and grab his teammates from the Legion of Doom. Bringing them to the present will cause chaos and get everybody in place for Grodd's true plan...

BECOMING A THIRD RATE DARKSEID?!?!

Ugh. This is why it should stay as a 'World's Finest' title. Too much time jumping in that series already. It's clearly a tip of the hat to Silver Age comics, but do we really need ONE MORE plot thread in an already tangled web of Darkseid stuff?

----
Bonus: Airwave guns? Seriously??
Bonus Bonus: No 'Boy Thunder' cameo besides the one mention? C'mon now...
Bonus (the third): if The Batman who Laughs or Perpetua make cameos...we riot...

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

DC sure love smashing their timelines, don't they?

We Are Yesterday brings Inferno to the fore, revealing the truth behind the group that's been menacing the new Justice League Unlimited for the last...five issues (I wish these mysteries lasted longer these days).

This is a Mark Waid story, so it's well told, and it's got some excellent artwork on it too thanks to Dan Mora, Travis Moore, and Clayton Henry. I think the only real issue I have with it is that it feels a little inconsequential. There's some fallout that leads into DC KO, but I think JLU should have been given a little more time to breathe under its own steam before getting launched into a crossover so quickly.

The best part here for me was what they did with Airwave, because for a character who didn't really exist before a few years ago, I cared a lot about that little guy.

[Nevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is billed as a big crossover event that plays a vital role in DC's big storyline this year, but it's kind of just nothing. A confusing, hard-to-follow nothing. It was especially frustrating from my point of view, as someone who had been only reading World's Finest. This spun entirely out of the PLOT of Justice League Unlimited, and World's Finest's contribution was pretty much that it's disconnected from the main continuity, so... the bad guys reached out through time to them? I was confused for a couple issues in the middle, and completely uninvested once I got caught up again.
This could have been a bland, forgettable story. But by making it a hyped-up crossover, it became a cynical, extra-expensive one.

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 I’ve been keeping up with all the new DC all in storylines so I did enjoy this more than maybe people who are only reading JLU. However I don’t like multiverse storylines, it’s too much as of right now in the current comic book landscape. I’m going to start Superman Dawn of DC #1 since this is where the ending of this plus Absolute will happen in October. Fun and easy to get into for new readers but I think I’ll stop picking up the new issues of BSWF and JLU unless I see the trade. It’s cool all the interconnecting stories but just not was I was expecting for the return of the Justice League

[Subham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was certainly something lol I wasn't the biggest fan of this story, it felt boring in parts and all but there was potential and everything.. Grodd using time travel thing to come to the present or something and bring legion of doom from the past who were Inferno all along to become god or something or conquer the world and it goes as expected as you go.. some issues were just outright boring and even with Mora's art and so many unique characters it became a bit to even finish it.. the last issue where he is like "I am gorilla god" now thats.. corny. And another crisis.. yay.. i am exhausted with it but lets see how future issues go.. this one was just bad.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When it comes to Waid I do have a love/don't always like relationship. His work at Boom! was very, very good (Irredeemable, Incorruptible). When he works for DC or Marvel he, I think, he lets his nostalgia for the older stories come through and I feel like it's a retread, not a homage or pastiche. Like him, I read a lot of those older stories, and I'm not up for re-reads much nowadays.

Add to that this is a time travel story, with w few paradoxes added, and I had low expectations. While I didn't get really involve in the characters, I give Waid credit for pacing the story better than some of his most recent DC work and in the end this was entertaining.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a comic that brings together multiple members of the JLU… I don’t love a time travel story.

It had some cool ideas with Grodd messing with tachyons and time but a lot of it went over my head. Bringing in multiple version of Bats, Supes, Dick/Robin got confusing because I couldn’t always tell who was who and what time each was from.

I liked the concept but maybe not the actual story/execution?

I did like Dick & Bruce getting to see Alfred though. 🥲

(Also really confused on if this fits into the JLU series order or Batman/Superman… Mark Waid is doing both, but two different stories?! Or they’re just the same but smushed together? I’m just confused…)

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Going into this, I was excited. Waid's made both of these series very good. It's just too timey-wimey though. Grodd starts traveling through time when so does Superman and Batman. Soon everyone is. I couldn't keep track at what point of time everyone was or even which version of what character was which. DC is clearly planning on this to be a lead in to the their next event in the fall which is just the Omega symbol. I'm sure it'll be some kind of interaction with the Absolute universe.

[Hanna McGehee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storyline/crossover from JLU and World’s Finest!! Gripping plot line, great character interactions, and many memorable panels. While I understand the purpose of keeping such events short, I think this could have benefitted from more (or perhaps longer) issues just to keep the pacing a bit more even and make the big moments even more impactful. Highly highly recommend this one!!

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cliffhanger at the end of the last volume seemed pretty darn big, but this second half of the story was just WAY too messy and convoluted to live up to that epic promise. Too timey-wimey, as the Doctor would say. Plus, the end credits scene literally had me saying "Oh, they're doing ANOTHER one of these, huh? Very original, guys..." out loud.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amazing artwork by Mora. Love seeing him draw all the heroes from the past and present. Unfortunately, the story is not keeping up with the artwork. Pretty confusing and all over the place as they try to tell a coherent story set in the past and in the present DCU. Was nice to see Grodd leading the villains though.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some fun elements in here like a big explosive ending and some cool character interactions. The second act though felt like an overly complicated, muddled mess that the story was moving much too fast to navigate through. So, I powered through it too and enjoyed the end.

[Néstor Vargas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected more from this event. I was confused with the plot most of the time and had a hard time caring about everything that was going on. It has some good moments that prevent this from being awful.

[Mariano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medio que se quedó sin nafta World's finest después de la saguita de Kingdom Come...

[Coco Chen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ the concept of an evil time bending gorilla is just hilarious, but it was kinda boring. part 4 mostly saved it for me.

[Wendy! · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was like a hard read tbh but it was ok I love the time travel

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75.

Waid plays with time and the entire Justice League…wraps up some threads he’s been working on. And he makes a Super Friends kid happy.

[Georgie Zakka · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 — A lot of fun when the plot shines and characters interact, complimented by Dan Mora’s art. Unfortunately artists constantly change which is frustrating, and story feels inconsequential.

[Jaime Guzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is great but the story not so much.
Pass on this one.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the set up. incredibly quick read with a variety of mostly great artists.

enjoyed more than a lot of other events.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good art but this is barely a jlu book

[Sam Eggers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, fast read.