Marvel Month Part 2(of 5)

Much like DC, Marvel Comics has been trying its hand at new imprints- an idea that has been very well received by pretty much everyone. For DC, imprints like Vertigo and Wildstorm allow the publisher to put out titles that either don’t really fit into the DC continuity, or are of a mature theme.

While Marvel Knights, though pretty successful at this point, has been little more than darker stories about normal Marvel-continuity heroes, Marvel seems to be willing to experiment a little more with MAX, a line of comics intended to be a little more adult oriented.

MAX has seen some unusual titles, like the resurrected Howard the Duck and Rawhide Kid (who could forget the “gay cowboy” comic), and other, more appealing projects like the popular Alias. The one MAX title that really caught my attention, however, was Supreme Power.

I have to admit, I never read, let alone heard of Squadron Supreme prior to picking up this book. Fortunately that was not a problem. Straczynski’s take on the Squadron Supreme starts from scratch, and it is the better for it. No longer a simple “JLA rip-off,” Supreme Power retains those character arch-types and takes them somewhere the “original” JLA could not possibly go today.

Supreme Power has been described as a gritty look at a real world where those gifted with special powers emerge. While somewhat accurate, in this case, I really feel that it is an oversimplification. Most new comic concepts begin with this principle, in the beginning, but their success in the long-term depends on what else they bring to the table. Supreme Power, thus far, has brought a grabbing character story to the page thus far. It also, on the whole, contrasts sharply with previous MAX efforts like Howard the Duck, which relied heavily on a bit of raunch as its main draw.

Cast of Characters

Quite surprisingly, Supreme Power has really only focused on Hyperion, developing this character rather than trying to develop the entire team at once. While I am enjoying this approach, it makes discussing the characters at this early point in the title difficult. Rather than going through a list of old “Squadron Supreme” players that have not made an appearance in this book, I prefer to tell you about who IS there, instead of speculating about who might come in the future.

Thus far, Supreme Power has focused on Mark Milton, an alien child who crash-landed in a cornfield during the late seventies. Unlike his well-known counterpart, Mark was quickly taken from the small-town couple who found him. Testing soon determined that though the child appeared human, his skin was highly dense, nearly invulnerable, and he possessed incredible strength. It was decided that the government would raise the child. So, the highly secret project known as Project Hyperion was born. The government decided that though highly secure, his upbringing would be as “American as apple pie,” in order to instill in this extraordinary child a strong sense of patriotism. Ironically, they succeeded in this task, despite using other “American as apple pie” tactics like polling and focus groups to determine the best course of action. Mark was sequestered from most of humanity, well past the time when he realized that he could quite easily escape, until such time as he was ready to emerge to serve the country he was raised to love as “Hyperion.”

Though a great deal of time during the first four issues of Supreme Power was spend developing the character of Hyperion, brief interludes within each issue have started the process of introducing what are sure to be the future members of a “Squadron Supreme.” Several of these characters have very plain ties to a single event- Mark’s crash to earth when he was a toddler.

The government’s interest in Mark did not stop at his upbringing. Quite naturally, they seized the wreckage and began studying it, in an effort to understand its technology and where it came from. One curious aspect of the vessel was its power source- a small crystal that seemed to respond to the thoughts of those around it. Because of the chaotic nature of most humans’ thoughts, Joe Ledger, often called “The Doctor,” was brought in to perform some tests on the crystal. Joe is an agent who is renown for his single mindedness, and the government quite rightly believed that his extra-ordinary will would be enough to control the crystal’s raw power. The results were something of a surprise. The crystal allowed Joe to fire beams of energy, or to manifest just about anything he could imagine. During one of the trails, the crystal became permanently embedded on his hand. We are sure to hear more from Joe in future issues.

A strange virus afflicted Stanley Stewart soon after his birth, which nearly killed him. As he grows older, he becomes quiet and reclusive, much to his mothers concern. Though his mother worries about his aloof behavior, she does not dote on him enough to notice that he has been gifted with incredible speed. Recently, sightings of something called “The Atlanta Blur” have caused something of an uproar, and late in the last issue, Hyperion was sent to investigate. Mark realizes that the urban legend is indeed real, and more importantly, he is not alone.

Kyle Richmond took up the mantle of Nighthawk after his father, a successful entrepreneur, was gunned down by a white supremacist. Much like another popular hero, he roams the city streets protecting the innocent from the street crime common in his city. Unlike that renowned hero, his tactics can be lethal, and are much more brutal.

Two other characters have been introduced up to this point who have had little development. One was still in utero on the night of Mark’s crash. His parents saw the ship, thinking it was a falling star. Later, their car broke down by the ocean on the way to the hospital. The baby was born, hideously deformed. The mother, in a fit of insanity, took the child into her arms and walked into the waves, to her death. The child, on the other hand, survived. Its deformity was actually a mutation of sorts- the child was something of a mere-creature.

The other is even more mysterious than the mere-creature. A long dead princess of myth lies entombed in a temple, where faithful supplicants leave food for her consumption, awaiting the day when she returns to walk to earth. As “something is stirring in the world outside,” it would seem that this princess has arisen from her long slumber. The only thing we see of this princess (aside from an inscription on the walls of the tomb) is a decayed hand reaching out an opening to the waiting basket of fruit.

Thoughts

Supreme Power shares a great deal with Straczynski’s acclaimed (but tragically unfinished) Rising Stars series. Both deal with a world very similar to our own that has seen the emergence of super powered individuals for the first time.

The difference lies in the origin of these powers for the characters, and that difference makes Supreme Power far superior to its conceptual predecessor. Rising Stars dealt with a group of children who were “in utero” at the time of an astronomical event. Though an interesting plot device, this lead to a somewhat limited origin, forcing any conflict in the story to be centered on that event. All of the children were treated the same by the world around them. Though Straczynski created some incredible characters, any conflict between them was a product of their differing personalities alone, and the fears of the world around them that reacted to them as a group. Supreme Power adds another dimension to this.

The widely differing origins allows for another dimension of conflict unavailable to Straczynski in Rising Stars. Hyperion, having been raised from birth by the government, is almost totally brainwashed to the ideal “American way of life.” Joe, on the other hand, though a trusted agent, will undoubtedly distrust his own government far more, having grown up in the real America, where independent thought is revered. Nighthawk will undoubtedly be much more extreme, and distrusted wholesale because of his methods. It is clear that these characters will come together at some point, whether to work as a team or as enemies and they will not have the common ground of their births to start with. This is a much stronger position to bring conflict into a group, than “This woman is insane,” or “This guy is a dark, foreboding loner.” While Supreme Power shows the same strength in character development as Rising Stars did, it has a much more impressive setting and plot, and that, thus far, is making for a much more enjoyable read. As much as I enjoyed Rising Stars, and agreed with all of the acclaim it received, I would be dishonest if I did not express how much more I enjoy this title.

The art truly lives up to the story. Gary Frank has done a fantastic job creating believable looking characters- even “known” characters like former presidents are drawn with incredible skill, and are wholly recognizable. The action scenes are fluid and realistic, and the manner that the individual characters behave is completely believable. When something is supposed to hurt, like Joe using the crystal to fire off a beam, you can see it in the character’’ face. When a power is to be used with great ease, like Mark’s flight, the character does it as if it is no more difficult than walking. Too often I have seen a hero straining to fly, and I find that to be a bit campy. You can’t talk about the art without mentioning Chris Sotomayor’s colors- his special touch has made this title a vibrant visual experience in addition to an enjoyable read.

Bottom Line

This title, so far, fits perfectly into the mission of MAX: to produce quality comics with a more mature orientation. You always have to express the “mature” when talking about MAX, and rightly so. However, when it comes to Supreme Power, the mature content fits with the story. Past MAX titles have used the R-rated content as a gimmick- the explicitness of the art and story was the drawing point. Rawhide Kid, for example, was not being billed as an amazing Western, it was billed as the “gay cowboy” comic. Supreme Power gets it right.

Unfortunately, I really feel that Marvel is making some serious mistakes with the MAX line. For Marvel Knights, the line was always blurred between that universe and the normal Marvel continuity- there were shared characters, and for all intents and purposes, things that happened in Marvel Knights books did mean something in the normal Marvel Universe. MAX to me, at first, was going to be Marvel’s answer to Vertigo. Sadly, it seems, they are starting to ignore the disctinction between the two imprints. With the addition of the new Punisher MAX series, it is clear that Marvel has little intention of truly keeping the universes separate, nor do they have any intention of making MAX more than a place you can go to see even more blood and guts and nudity. MAX really needs to be more than a bloody extension of the Marvel Universe, and Supreme Power is a step in the right direction.

As far as where Supreme Power fits into the Marvel Universe, it is unclear at this point. It has been completely separate thus far, which is really best for the title. Unfortunately, I can see the day where these characters are brought back into the fold- what that will mean for the story itself and the characters- I can’t say. Honestly, from the tone and general feel of the book, it would fit much better into the Ultimate Universe. Only time will tell if Marvel goes down that path.

If you are not reading this book (and are old enough to) you really ought to be. This book has been selling remarkably well for a MAX title, and hopefully it continues for the sake of the line.

Supreme Power #4 was just released. Issue #5 is due out on shelves December 3rd. I have heard nothing on a Trade Paperback up to this point- hopefully we see one soon. The deliberate pace of this story is ideally suited to that format.

Marvel Month will continue next week with Ultimates, and then I will round off the month in two weeks on something of a lighter note.

Credit where credit is due-

Supreme Power is
Written by- J. Michael Straczynski
Pencilled by- Gary Frank
Inked by – Jon Sibal
and Colored by – Chris Sotomayor

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