The Revolution has enjoyed the first couple of issues of Project Super Powers. I am a huge fan of Golden Age characters and had been looking forward to getting treated to The Twelve and Project Super Powers at the same time. While The Twelve has served to be a massive disappointment as it is a simply dreadful read each month, Project Super Powers has exceeded my initial expectations and delivered quality reads with each issue. I am sure that Krueger will deliver yet another strong read with Project Super Powers #2. Let’s hit this review.
Creative Team
Plot/Script: Jim Krueger
Plot/Art Direction: Alex Ross
Art: Carlos Paul
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We begin with The Death-Defying Devil walking through the streets of Paris while there are riots breaking out with people destroying cars and destroying property. Fighting Yank narrates that he should be feeling guilty for all he has done. That he should be hating himself. But, instead, it is like the entire world is coming alive again. It is like Yank forgot something very important. The thrill of being in the middle of a war. That he is an old man now and death is coming for him. But, death is going to have to learn to keep up with Yank if it wants to take him. Because Yank is a fighter. He is the Fighting Yank.
We cut to Fighting Yank, Green Lama and the Black Terror brawling with Dynamic Man’s androids. Green Lama uses his powers to conjure up a massive plant that grows up Dynamic Man’s building and consumes the entire thing. The plant binds the androids. Green Lama then transports our heroes back to Shangri-La.
We cut to the Devil taking out a bunch of terrorists and saving an unconscious police officer. A female police office named Justine arrives on the scene and thanks Devil for his help. Justine comments that they have been dealing with these terrorists for weeks and these terrorist attacks keep getting worse each time. The Devil doesn’t say a word which prompts Justine to comment that obviously he doesn’t talk much.
We shift back to Shangri-La where Black Terror warns Fighting Yank that they still have unfinished business to attend to. Black Terror comments that Yank has no idea what it was like inside the urn. Green Lama interjects that before Black Terror exacts his revenge on Yank that Terror should consider that there is much more going on here than they ever considered in the past. Green Lama says that Yank is trying to make things right and that there are many wrongs that they need to fix in this world.
Black Terror understands and is no longer ready to kill Yank, but Terror makes it clear that he does not trust Yank at all. The America Spirit then tells our heroes that the other heroes have been freed from the urn and have been scattered across the world. Terror states that he just wants to focus on finding his sidekick Tim and the other heroes who were trapped in the urn.
Fighting Yank’s ghostly ancestor appears before Yank and says that the American Spirit is evil and is simply trying to gather all of Yank’s allies together in order to kill them. Yank summarily dismisses the ghost of his ancestor claiming that this entire mess is as much the ghost’s fault as it is Yank’s.
We cut to the Middle East where the Scarab narrates that there is a war going on in his homeland designed to destroy the modern fuel source of the world: oil. This will force the world to shift to a new fuel source. A fuel source that is monopolized by Dynamic Forces which has created a synthetic fuel source.
We learn that Dynamic Forces has taken over the managing of the U.S. military and since then the U.S. has taken pride in the fact that not lost a single soldier. The Scarab says that it is not entirely true. That when the soldiers fall in battle, Dynamic Forces splices them back together and sends them back to the Middle East to fight again.
The Scarab mentions how he has a digital scrambler in his armor that prevents him from every being recorded by any media. This keeps him a complete legend and a myth. But not “existing” it helps the Scarab do his job better.
We see the Scarab swooping down from above and grabbing a rocket that was headed straight for a muscular old blind man. The Blue Scarab throws the rocket into a nearby building and saves the old man. The old man thanks Blue Scarab, but comments that he didn’t need to be saved. The Scarab thinks that the old blind man is crazy.
The United Forces zombie soldiers tell the Scarab and the blind old man that they are to stand down and come with the soldiers. The blind old man rushes the soldiers. The old man says that he cannot be harmed by bullets and has no fear of bombs, betrayal or death because all of these things have happened to him before and he is beyond that now. The old man wipes out the soldiers and their tank. The old man yells out that his name is Samson.
We cut to Hollywood where the iconic sign is in flames. The Flame screams out for Linda. That he reached for her as he was pulled out of the urn. He says that Linda was the only thing that made sense in the urn. The Flame collapses to the ground and says that he is sorry.
We slide back to Shangri-La where the Black Terror says that he has to find Tim. The American Spirit answers that Tim will come. But that it may not be his time, yet. The Black Terror snaps what does that supposed to mean. The Terror asks the American Spirit who it is to make that kind of decision. The American Spirit answers that the Terror should be grateful that he does not know.
Fighting Yank then tells Black Terror that he is truly sorry for everything. Black Terror pushes Yank away and tells him that he doesn’t care. Black Terror sits by himself and begins to cry.
We cut back to Dynamic Force’s building. Dynamic Woman informs Dynamic Man that each time they try and cut through the roots of the giant plant engulfing their building, the roots just grow back once again. Dynamic Man spits that they will cut this plant to the roots and then burn it out of the ground.
Dynamic Man says that after they kill Fighting Yank, Green Lama and Black Terror then they will build a newer even better and bigger building and then business will be as usual. Dynamic Man is informed that the Crusaders have been dispatched to deal with the heroes. Dynamic Man approves saying that they can’t afford for the system to break down. That the world is depending on them. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Project Super Powers #2 was another good issue. Krueger serves up a well paced that treats the reader to a fine mix of action and drama. Project Super Powers #2 moves along with a steady paced and at no point ever seems rushed. This issue is properly plotted as Krueger clearly unfolds the mission statement for this title.
We learn that the goal is to retrieve the various heroes as they escape from the urn. And that the order in which the heroes escape from the urn appears to be random. Once the heroes are assembled they will have to work as a team to take on Dynamic Man and his morally bankrupts Dynamic Forces Corporation. It is nice that the reader clearly understands the purpose of this title without still knowing exactly how we are going to get there and what surprises we will hit along the way.
Krueger has done a masterful job creating a delightfully intriguing and complex world and slowly unfolding it for the reader in an enjoyable fashion. The measured approach to introducing the reader to Krueger’s richly developed world in which Project Super Powers takes place is designed to tempt the reader and hook us into coming back for more while at the same time making sure to not flood the reader with too much information at one time. Project Super Powers is truly a well crafted and technically sound story.
Krueger continues to dole out some excellent dialogue. Each character has a fully developed voice. Krueger also remains committed to excellent character work as he takes the effort to construct characters that are well rounded and three dimensional.
Krueger unveils Samson in a truly bad-assed fashion. I already absolutely adore this character. I dig that Krueger gives the reader the appropriate sense of age for Samson’s character. I enjoy Samson’s massive power as well as his attitude that seems to transcend the typical earthly worries that plague most modern super heroes. Krueger does a fine job taking Samson’s scars from his past and using them to forge a present day Samson who is much stronger both spiritually and mentally.
I also enjoyed the introduction of the Scarab. This is a pretty nifty character. The Scarab has a great design and I like the concept that he operates outside of the spotlight. It makes more sense for a modern day super hero to attempt to keep his presence unknown by the general public. Operating as an urban myth gives the Scarab more freedom to operate as well as increasing his intimidation factor.
Krueger conveniently places Scarab already at odds with Dynamic Forces. This will allow Krueger to dovetail Scarab’s plotline seamlessly into the major plotline of Fighting Yank’s quest to find the lost heroes from the urn and then lock horns with Dynamic Man.
I found the Devil to be a neat character. His silent demeanor gives him an intriguing aura. I’m also curious to learn more about the terrorists that are attacking Paris and how they fit into the grand scheme of Krueger’s world.
The Flame made a rather dramatic entrance in this issue. I already feel bad for him. The Flame’s traumatic re-entry into the real world has clearly broken him. We learn in this scene that as the heroes leave the urn they are pulled apart from each other and then appear in a seemingly random location on the Earth.
I dig how Krueger is showing the reader how being trapped in the urn has impacted each character differently. Samson seemingly is no worse for the wear after being in the urn. Black Terror has reacted with an increased amount of rage and hate. And the Flame appears to have been more traumatized and broken. I like that the only thing that kept the Flame sane while in the urn was his wife, Linda.
And speaking of Black Terror, Krueger does a nice job continuing to flesh out his character. The Black Terror was rather one-dimensional in the previous issue. However, in this issue, Krueger reveals a more tender side to this homicidal bad-ass. The reader gets a palpable sense for Black Terror’s sense of obligation to his sidekick Tim.
Clearly, Black Terror is consumed with guilt that will not be assuaged until he makes sure that Tim has escaped from the urn safe and sound. Krueger also does a good job turning down the volume on Black Terror’s anger against Yank while still showing the reader that Black Terror definitely does not trust Yank.
Krueger continues to impress with his handling of Fighting Yank’s character. With each issue, we see Yanks’ character continue to grow and evolve. In this issue we finally see Yank’s heroic warrior side. I dig that Fighting Yank, despite his age and his past mistakes, refuses to lie down and go gentle into that good night. Krueger shows the reader the beginning of the rebirth of Fighting Yank’s character as his heroic spirit refuses to surrender. Yank is determined to rage against the dying of the light and that death will have to try hard to catch him.
I particularly enjoyed Krueger employing the Green Lama as the literary tool to absolve Fighting Yank from being nothing more than a common villain. Green Lama cues the reader into joining the Black Terror in forgiving Fighting Yank for his past transgressions. That the Yank has simply been fooled like everyone else by an evil much greater than anyone had imagined. Unlike JMS on The Twelve who appears to desire nothing more than to tear down many of the Golden Age characters as fools from a naïve and simplistic era, Krueger is more interested in trying to rebuild these Golden Age characters back to their former glory.
Dynamic Man and his corporation, Dynamic Forces, are both wonderful literary devices. Dynamic Man is a fantastic villain and the world that Dynamic Forces is attempting to create is a horrifying future that is perfect for an anti-utopian story. I liked the revelation that Dynamic Forces has taken over the job of providing the military forces for the United States.
Even though I have never been a fan of zombies and am so horribly burned out on all the zombie titles on the market, I still like the zombie style soldiers that Dynamic Forces is manufacturing. These soldiers are chilling creatures that emphasis the general sleaziness and evil nature of Dynamic Forces war on the oil producing nations in the Middle East.
I like Dynamic Force’s master plan of making the world depended on a new fuel source that only Dynamic Forces can provide. This is a nice realistic method of attempting to take over the world. The concept of a despotic villain trying to take over the world by force and violence is dated. A much more viable and threatening method for an evil despot to take control of the planet is to do it by controlling the economic engine of the world.
I found the American Spirit to be a bit more ominous than in previous issues. The Spirit mentions that the Black Terror should be grateful he doesn’t know who or what the flag is. Combine that eerie statement with the warnings of Yank’s ghostly ancestor and the reader is beginning to question the motives of the American Spirit. Is the American Spirit truly what it claims to be? We know that Fighting Yank’s ghostly ancestor has been wrong before, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he is wrong now concerning the American Spirit.
The reader gets treated to some fantastic artwork by Carlos Paul. Paul’s style of art is perfect for this title. Paul delivers a look that is an enjoyable blend of Golden Age and Modern Age styled artwork.
The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue.
Overall: Project Super Powers #2 was another strong read. Krueger and Ross continue to impress me with their hard work on this title. While The Twelve continues to be a dull, dry and uninspired read, Project Super Powers has provided an enjoyable ride. I would certainly recommend giving this title a try. It offers up such a balanced story that it should appeal to a broad cross section of readers.