When they return to Oakland, California, and a lovely remodelled duplex - well, lovely if you like big open-plan glass boxes - there's some bad news. Having failed to get at Midnighter by murdering Matt, someone has attacked his father...
This issue takes a crack at one of the oldest questions for superheroes. Can I let anyone get close to me? What's the cost to them? What's the price I pay? Despite his name, Midnighter isn't one to play it subtle, he's not going to date Matt in the shadows, so he's putting a big target on an ordinary human's chest.
Writer Steve Orlando takes the idea and runs with it, showcasing our hero's skills, personality and world, making this an ideal jumping-on point. And the cliffhanger - I really didn't see it coming - pretty much guarantees new readers will be back... especially if they're longtime DC fans. Orlando is succeeding where others have stumbled, making a Wildstorm character feel as if they've been in the DC Universe all along. From the recent team-up with Dick Grayson to this issue's guest villain(s) Multiplex to the final page appearance of (sorry, not telling!), there's no doubt where Midnighter lives these days.
What makes the story more interesting to me is that, actually, I'd be perfectly happy for rich guy Matt to get killed. He's so very bland, not someone I'd expect a delightful loony like Midnighter to be in a relationship with. Sure, he's pretty, in a needs-a-haircut way, but not exciting. Then again, it could be that Midnighter - I can't ever think of him as Lucas - wants a contrast to his last guy, fellow superhero Apollo.
In which case, he should stop dragging Matt into his world, keep their thing separate. As this issue makes clear.
As well as the sparky script, Midnighter #6 sees the return of artist Aco. His pages are beautifully bonkers, full of vertiginous shots and inset pics conveying Midnighter's computer mind. The action sequences, replete with afterimages showing our hero's amazing acrobatics, are outstanding, while Aco's knack for dressing folk in recognisably modern clothes and placing them in hi-tech interiors makes the book seem 'now'. Completing the art team are co-inker Hugo Petrus and colourist Romulo Fajardo Jr. The result is a book that's sleek without being soulless.
The cover, by Aco and Fajardo, isn't the grabbiest of images, but they can't all be winners.
If you've yet to give Midnighter a try, take a chance on this issue. It's a blast.
I loved this book and I loved the reveal at the end. There had to have been a recent swap rather than this baddie being in disguise in the book all along. It would be great if [redacted] was boning Lucas the whole time but the means used to disguise the other replacement was so specific and easily figured out, it would make Lucas look like an idiot to have fallen for it for so long. I mean, Batman never noticing the Court of Owls and their interest in Dick idiotic...
ReplyDeleteOh and apropos of nothing, I'd like to see a Grayson crossover where where Dick and Lucas have their minds swapped. Talk about a mile in each other's shoes AND it would be a great way to finally have Dick on my team for an issue!
And your review is why I keep only referring to Our Hero as Lucas. A fun experiment...
It's tough, isn't it? I think you called boring Matt, 'Lucas', back there!
ReplyDeleteI just wish we had a gay hero leading a book that wasn't how the media has portrayed gays for so long, deviant/ unhinged/ you know the rest. I mean, Daken/ Dark Wolverine was a bisexual sociopath. The only "normal" guy was Keven Keller/ The Equalizer and his book is gone. :(
ReplyDeleteI don't think Midnighter is being portrayed as a deviant in terms of his sexuality so much as his attitude to superheroing. Of course, some people will equate the two. I like Kevin Keller but he's not so much an ordinary kinda gay as a perfect person.
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