In this edition, I will be reviewing what I consider to be one of the best titles currently being published by DC Comics' "mainstream" publishing arm, Walter Simonson's Orion. Also, by popular demand (well, one person asked for it), I'll be taking a look at X-Force #116, the debut of the series new direction under Peter Milligan & Mike Allred.
Orion #14, $2.50 US, published by DC Comics
Writer: Walter Simonson; Pencils: John Byrne & Simonson; Inks: Terry Austin & Bob Wiacek; Cover: Simonson
Rating 4 out of 5 stars
In previous issues, Orion apparently killed his father, Darkseid, in combat, and took control of Apokolips. Orion also gained access to the Anti-Life Equation, which had long been Darkseid's "unholy grail." With the Equation, Orion now had the ability to control the will of every living being in the universe. However, Darkseid was in fact still alive, and an enemy of Orion's was preparing to manipulate his longtime allies, the New Gods, into attacking him.
For too many years, since the original "Fourth World" books by Jack Kirby ended, the New Gods have been treading water, maintaining the status quo. With the exception of a few individuals, such as Jim Starlin and John Byrne, most creators seemed content to leave the characters in exactly the same place they had been in when the original series ended. Walter Simonson can now be added to the list of creators who have found a fresh approach to the New Gods. In the pages of Orion, Simonson has crafted an exciting tale filled with unexpected twists. At long last the search for the Anti-Life Equation has been resolved. And it is not Darkseid who has attained it, but Orion.
Setting out with the best of intentions, Orion brings peace to Apokolips and then to Earth simply by ordering it. In issue #14, he begins his plan to spread this peace throughout the entire universe. Unfortunately, it is an artificial peace, because only Orion's will maintains it. The smiling, happy inhabitants of Earth, far from being a cheerful sight, are creepy. They are almost zombies, with no free will, possessing only the illusion that they are still their normal selves. It leads to a disturbing question: by wielding the Equation and imposing his will on others, has Orion become as bad as Darkseid?
Speaking of Darkseid, the reasons why he faked his demise are at last revealed in issue #14. He hoped that once Orion took control of Apokolips, rulership of that dark planet would finally corrupt him, and at long last he would side with his father. I had been expecting something along these lines. From the start, the majority of readers didn't believe Darkseid was gone for good. And leading Orion down the path to evil, seemingly of his own free will, was the most logical reason why Darkseid would pretend to be dead. Darkseid retreated to the hidden garden paradise at the center of Apokolips, to await his son's corruption.
Unfortunately for Darkseid, this plan blew up in his face. Orion found the Equation, something Darkseid never imagined would happen. Darkseid realizes that if he leaves the garden, he will be vulnerable to the Equation. Ironically enough, his hidden sanctuary is now a prison. Unable to act directly, Darkseid activates a fail-safe weapon he set up centuries ago. He dispatches an enslaved Promethean Giant to destroy Orion. The Giant is colossal enough that the planet Earth fits into the palm of its hand. But even this foe is not immune to the Equation, and Orion quickly takes control of him. Orion deduces from the arrival of the Giant that there was only one individual who could have sent it: Darkseid.
It was a relief that Orion was able to figure out so quickly that Darkseid was behind the appearance of the Promethean Giant. It has always frustrated me when comic book characters see foes apparently die, and then go on continually believing they are dead, despite evidence to the contrary. I'm glad that it did not take Darkseid jumping in from stage right and dramatically shouting "Taa dah!" for Orion to figure out his father was still alive.
One of the best moments in #14 was actually in the back-up story, illustrated by Simonson & Bob Wiacek. The calculating New God Metron has come to the hidden garden to confer with Darkseid on a way to stop Orion. Metron, being his usual smug self, sarcastically comments on how Darkseid's plans for Orion have not gone so well. This sets the normally self-assured Darkseid off, and he angrily throttles Metron for his remarks. This was a good scene because it once again showed just how frustrated Darkseid is by his current circumstances, as he usually never gets bothered by Metron's attitude. And it also showed that even Metron can misjudge a situation and say the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Tthe hidden garden of Apokolips and its caretaker, Pythia, were originally introduced during Rachel Pollack & Tom Peyer's short period of writing the New Gods several years ago. I thought it was an interesting idea, having a place of peace and purity at the heart of the depraved & warped planet. Too many post-Kirby additions to the Fourth World mythos have been ignored by later writers. So it's a relief to see Simonson making use of Pollack & Peyer's addition to the canon. Hopefully Simonson will also find an occasion to use Pythia's opposite number, K'Zandr the Oracle, who dwells in a twisted, hellish cavern at the center of the otherwise pure & fertile planet of New Genesis.
The one major complaint I have is that the events of Orion wielding the Anti-Life Equation have been so self-contained. In an ideal world, we would have seen them commented upon in other DC books. After all, Orion has taken over the minds of every single human being on Earth. I do wonder if this is going to impact on future encounters between him and Earth's heroes. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time Orion runs into the JLA. Of course, I am also anticipating seeing the reactions of Orion's fellow New Gods to his use of the Anti-Life Equation to control them. Especially Lightray, his closest friend.
Issue #14 has Orion's lieutenant, Mortalla, open a giant Boom Tube and move Apokolips through it, to Earth. Shortly after reading this issue, I did find out that DC editorial had asked Simonson to find a way to move Apokolips to Earth so it could be used in a the upcoming "Worlds At War" company crossover. I guess Simonson did his best to work the relocation of Apokolips into the story as unobtrusively as possible. But it still seems forced, since it ends up posing a major question: if Apokolips can actually move through space, why hasn't Darkseid used that before? It would have undoubtedly been much easier for him to have conquered Earth ages ago if he had just popped Apokolips right into orbit around it.
The collaboration between John Byrne & Terry Austin on the main story was interesting. Certainly the results were different from their pairing up two decades ago on X-Men. I've been one of those who has definitely thought that Byrne's art in the last decade has been somewhat lacking in comparison to his earlier work, what with the looser penciling style he employs nowadays. And I was not impressed with his work on Orion #13. But in the current issue, the art looks much better. Perhaps Byrne liked the story more and really got into it. There was some nicely done stuff in the issue. I liked Byrne's design for Mortalla's sinister skeletal war mask. It was a nice irony. Mortalla's beauty & sexuality obscures her ruthless nature and loyalty to Darkseid. By putting on such a mask, Mortalla's true nature is actually revealed. The splash on page 18 was stunning and incredibly dramatic. After the past several years of lackluster art, it was nice to once again see quality work from Byrne.
Orion #14 is definitely a strong issue, one of the best this series has seen so far. The past year has done a fine job of building up to these events. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
X-Force #116, $2.25 US, published by Marvel Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan; Pencils & Inks: Mike Allred
Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars
One of the main problems that I've always had with Marvel's various X-titles has been the black & white, exaggerated portrayal of persecution against mutants. The mutant struggle to gain acceptance by society is meant to be an allegory for the African-American civil rights movement, or the gay rights movement, or any movement by a minority to achieve equality in a society. Unfortunately, the way the X-books are written, if a mutant pops out of a doorway, odds are that the various people walking along the street will all instantaneously transform into a blood-crazed lynch mob shrieking "Kill the stinking mutie!" at the top of their lungs.
Problem is, things don't usually occur like that in the real world, at least not in modern-day America. Racism, bigotry, and persecution are usually much less overt, and much more insidious. In the real world, for every torch-wielding Klansman or gun-toting Neo-Nazi, there are a thousand ordinary, everyday people who don't think of themselves as bigots, who would not imagine themselves acting violently towards a particular group, but who nevertheless hold certain prejudices. I'm not saying that "lynch mob" type violence has vanished. On the contrary, it still happens with alarming frequency. But these crimes are usually perpetrated by fanatical bigots who make up only a small part of the entire population. Most people, despite their prejudices, will not give in to knee-jerk violent impulses the instant they see a black, or a Catholic, or an Asian, or a Moslem, or a Jew, or a homosexual walking down the street. Yes, that person may think disgusting thoughts about them. They may shout a slur. They may go back to the office and say to themselves "I'm never going to hire one of them!" They may vote against equal rights legislation and money for social programs. They may petition for a garbage incinerating facility to be built on the other side of the city, where certain minorities live, instead of in their own neighborhood. But most people aren't going to engage in violence at the drop of a hat.
The long and the short of this is that I am glad Marvel is finally producing an ongoing series that recognizes the subtleties of bigotry, that has shades of gray to it.
The new direction for X-Force involves a group of mutants who have managed to capitalize on their powers. Rather than being feared and hated, they are celebrities. They are looked upon by the general public in the same way pop stars and athletes are regarded. Not only is this a refreshing change from the aforementioned status quo, but it also provides an opportunity for writer Peter Milligan to address the question: once you finally start to gain acceptance, what happens next?
At the same time, Milligan sets up the perfect venue for analyzing the phenomena of celebrities, and how they are regarded by the public. There are definite parallels in this new X-Force team to the pre-fab teenage pop groups that have been erupting all over the place in the last few years. The X-Force members main concern seems to be how to look their best on camera, how to make the most of the opportunity to strike it rich and achieve fame.
Early in the issue, we see the team leader, Zeitgeist, in his posh bedroom, flanked by two bikini-clad models, reviewing footage of the team's last battle. He analyzes the videotape not to see how the team can improve its skills and strategy, but to plan how to make the next battle more exciting and appealing to the public. We are shown the crass merchandising that is done around X-Force, with theme restaurants, stuffed toys, action figures, posters, and jackets. Milligan writes the team squabbling behind the scenes, each wanting to get more of the spotlight, with one member accusing Zeitgeist of "trying to destroy my fan-base!" Later, Zeitgeist and another teammate, the teleporting Edie, are dining at a high-class restaurant. Edie grandly gestures to the cityscape and explains "The best seat in the house. Money. Sex. Fame. Power. All this… isn't that what it's all about? The missions we go on… they're just the sideshow we have to deal with... so we can have this life!"
The media-conscious X-Force go out on a mission guaranteed to garner them tremendous publicity. In a brilliantly ironic move, Milligan has them have to rescue the band "Boyz R Us," who have been kidnapped and are being held for ten million dollars ransom from their record company. Boyz R Us are described by Edie as "a manufactured boy band designed to appeal to all walks of youthful American life." One has to wonder if Edie is aware of the irony of that statement, the she and her teammates are all too similar to those they are going to rescue.
And Milligan tops himself with an ending that I definitely did not see coming. It is one that leaves you asking "What next?"
Amidst this all, the subtleties of bigotry are present. Have the members of X-Force truly been accepted by the public? Or are they really just the equivalent of trained monkeys amusing the masses? Their situation seems no more representative of the typical mutant's experiences than, say, Tiger Woods' lifestyle and popularity is in contrast to most African Americans. And even amidst the members of X-Force, prejudice exists. One of X-Force's members, Sluk, a tentacle-faced mutant, is killed on one of the team's missions. Watching the video footage of this, Zeitgeist expresses no regret. In fact, he regarded Sluk as creepy, and he thinks to himself "I might be a mutant, but I kind of like the members of my team to look at least half human." Zeitgeist is more concerned with the team's public image than the welfare of his teammates. He has just the same prejudices as humans. And he realizes that, despite the fame, money, and adoration, he's still a mutant, still different from everyone else.
This issue drops us right in the midst of things, with X-Force already a pop culture phenomenon. We aren't given any explanation as to how they managed to achieve this status in the mutant-phobic Marvel universe. Hopefully in future issues Milligan will delve into the team's back story, and explain how they got where they are now.
The artwork by Mike Allred is extremely well done. His style is simultaneously cartoony and realistic. This is appropriate, as it helps convey the unreality of the life that X-Force's members have manufactured for themselves. Allred's detailed work excels at rendering facial expressions, capturing all the emotions and moods of the characters.
X-Force #116 is a promising beginning to the book's new direction, starting things off strongly. Hopefully Milligan and Allred will sustain this level of quality in upcoming issues.