World's Finest #5 sets up the main villain for Batman vs. Robin

World's Finest: Batman/Superman #5 sees the team take two steps forward and three steps back in the fight against the devil Nezha.

Spoilers ahead for World's Finest: Batman/Superman #5

Written by Mark Waid, illustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, and lettered by Aditya Bidikar, World's Finest: Batman/Superman #5 concludes the first series arc, in which Batman, Superman, Supergirl, and members of the Doom Patrol finally defeat the all-powerful devil Nezha.

Using a combination of a magical locking device and Superman's Phantom Zone Projector, the heroes trap Nezha inside a tomb that they then cover with rubble so he can never be unleashed again.

Clark goes inside the tomb with Nezha and the lock, since it has to be placed from the inside, and then uses the Phantom Zone Projector to escape through a small crack left in a previous portal.

It's a risky plan, but it pays off – that is, until the epilogue.

World's Finest: Batman/Superman #5 epilogue (Image credit: DC)

During the final fight with Nezha, Supergirl reveals that Robin, AKA Dick Grayson, was lost in the timestream as the pair were traveling back to the present. She has no idea where he is – or, more importantly, when. Bruce demands that they all go on a rescue mission to find him.

Then in the final pages of World's Finest #5, which takes place years later, Batman's son and the new Robin, Damian Wayne, has made his way to Nezha's tomb. The second-to-last panel suggests he's reaching to open it.

This fall's Batman vs. Robin spins out of World's Finest and 'Shadow War,' with Nezha as the main villain. Now, it's clear how that happens – and it also may explain the tension between Bruce and Damian.

It's unclear why Damian would want to open the door to Nezha's tomb, considering the havoc he's wreaked and how hard it was to truly trap him, but there are likely unseen (as of yet) factors at play.

What seems most likely is that he's doing it for his mother, Talia al Ghul, whether directly or indirectly. After all, Nezha is the al Ghul family legacy, and Damian is a part of that.

Hopefully, Batman vs. Robin #1 will reveal more when it hits shelves in September.

Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne are two of Batman's best Robins of all time.

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Samantha Puc (she/they) is an editor at Newsarama and an avid comics fan. Their writing has been featured on Refinery29, Bitch Media, them., The Beat, The Mary Sue, and elsewhere. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction at The New School.