The iconic classic four-issue miniseries from 1996, Kingdom Come, returns to DC’s forefront as the main canon Batman and Superman travel to that story’s world and meet their counterparts. In 1996, DC released Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come is set in an alternate reality where, in a distant future, the new guard of superheroes are just as dangerous as their enemies. To whip some sense back into them, Superman and Batman come out of retirement to lead the old guard against them.
Waid is set to revisit Kingdom Come for Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #20, with artwork from Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain, and Steve Wands. The main cover art from Mora and variants from Bjorn Barends, David Nakayama, Chrissie Zullo, and Daniel Sampere can be found below, along with preview panels from the issue. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #20 is currently set for an October 17 release date.
Kingdom Come Returns in October
The summary solicit for the issue, titled “The Golden Calf,” reveals this will mark the beginning of a five-part arc called “Heir to the Kingdom.” While specific details of the story remain sparse, it does promise that DC’s World’s Finest duo will join forces with their Kingdom Come counterparts, along with that world’s “war-hungry Wonder Woman,” among other heroes of that universe. The arc also marks the return of Superman’s secret sidekick Boy Thunder. Serving as more than just a trip down memory lane, Waid promises he and his team want to take the opportunity “to show how some of its characters originally evolved and to account for some that were missing from the original series. Even if you think you know the ending, there are massive surprises in store!”
Kingdom Come’s Return Continues a Subtle DC Trend
DC Comics revisiting Kingdom Come marks an ongoing trend that’s seen the publisher reviving and recontextualizing classic stories from throughout its main canon. Earlier this year, readers saw Superman’s son Jon Kent meet the dictator version of his father from the Injustice universe. Among many other things, the story allowed DC to recontextualize Batman and Superman’s relationship in a way that wasn’t touched upon during Injustice’s original run. Now, Mark Waid and co. have the unique opportunity to do the same with Kingdom Come. Based on the above quotes, Waid fully intends to use this second chance to tackle elements that weren’t touched on when he originally conceived Kingdom Come.
Time will tell just how Batman and Superman come to meet their alternate reality counterparts, but there are limitless possibilities on how the story could affect DC going forward, even if just in a character sense. The conclusion of the aforementioned Injustice arc saw Jon Kent learn to understand what the Superman logo truly means as a symbol, all while evolving the very idea of Superman. Bringing back Kingdom Come could prove to be a major opportunity to evolve characters mainstay DC characters like Batman and Superman.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #20 will be available October 17 from DC Comics.
Kingdom Come’s Superman and Batman are back. Read More