Warning: Spoilers for The Power Fantasy #1!
Summary
The Power Fantasyis already proving to be one of the best new releases inImage Comics' line-up.Kieron Gillen’s creator-owned follow-upto hisX-Menrun, alongside celebrated artist Caspar Wijngaard, has been hotly anticipated ever since the announcement of the project. That excitement has transitioned into copies quickly flying off of the shelves, and with good reason.
Image Comics hashit a home run with the release ofThe Power Fantasy#1by Gillen and Wijngaard. According toImage, who also shared new covers and preview pages, initial copies of the first issue ofThe Power Fantasysold out mere days before release, and the publisher is already rushing the issue back to print. Seeing everything that goes down in issue #1 alone, it’s easy to see what everyone’s raving about and why this first issue sold out so quickly.
The issue’s first page is already a perfect introduction to everything this series is about.The excitement surroundingThe Power Fantasyis easily justified, and the story and art certainly live up to the hype.
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The Power Fantasy#1 Is a Fascinating Consideration of Superhero Culture
What IsThe Power FantasyActually About?
The concept behindThe Power Fantasyhinges largely on the reader’s understanding of superhero culture and superpowers in general. Whereas many superhero stories ponder the glorious wonders of superpowers and what good things can come from superpowered individuals,The Power Fantasyfocuses on how dangerous someone can be with superpowers, regardless of their intentions in using them. This universe introduces six such superpowered people, who all co-exist on the planet. The story defines a superpowered person as"an individual with the destructive capacity of the nuclear arsenal of a major world power."
Are these characters good, bad, or something in between?
Less than five pages into the premiere issue, one of the characters, Etienne Lux, says in 1966 that “no one should have the powers we do. The ethical thing for us to do is not exist.” The issue ends with an older Lux, now in the present day, suggesting that whether the “heroes” save the day or not, this world could never truly be safe with six people with superpowers living on this planet.The pomp, circumstance, and glamour that make up superhero stories have gone out the window, but that’s what makes this story all the more fascinating.
The Power Fantasy’sLarge Cast Offers Scintillating Conflict
These “Superheroes” Are Unlike Any Other “Superteam”
The world ofThe Power Fantasyis cynical, and thus all the more terrifying— far more terrifying than most superhero tales that came before it. These superpowered people aren’t treated like heroes so much as dangerous weapons who can be used for evil at the drop of a dime, no different from an Atomic Bomb, which makes it all the more apropos that the comic starts off in nuclear-war-wary 1966 before flash forwarding to 1999.
At one point, it’s even suggested that these individuals shouldn’t so much as have arguments or conflicts with each other, as that would be the equivalent of a nuclear war. These individuals are as follows:the telepath Etienne Lux, gravity specialist Brother Ray (or Heavy), the literal angel Santa Valentina, the hellacious Eliza Hellbound, the magical Jacky Magus, and the mysterious Morishita Masumi,whose depression could get everyone killed. Together, they reluctantly try to co-exist in order to bring a quote-unquote"ethical"balance to the universe, and ultimately, just to live alongside each other.
Second Printing Cover A by Caspar Wijngaard
There’s still a lot that remains to be revealed about these characters, but this issue isn’t so much about who these people are as individuals, buthow they can co-exist with each other in a world that’s already difficult to exist in as a superpower. The phrase Nuclear Family is constantly brought up to describe the six superpowered people at the center of this story. Traditionally, the idea of a nuclear family is used to describe what many assume to be the “average family: a two-parent household with children.
This so-called superhero family isn’t so much brought together out of sheer love and care for each other, but out of circumstance.
A household can’t get any more full than when it holds six powerhouses. Much like a nuclear family,this so-called superhero familyisn’t so much brought together out of sheer love and care for each other, but out of circumstance. They associate with each other because they have to. They arebonded by their powers and thus need to interact and co-exist in this world.Otherwise, butting heads or even staying away from each other could prove even more dire for the world than just their mere existence.
By the same sword, the same could be said of the classic super-team or superhero family as established by traditional superhero comics. However, most superhero teams inthe DC or Marvel Universescarry immense care and love for each other, but that isn’t the case inThe Power Fantasy, at least as far as this issue reveals to readers. These characters need to co-exist for the sake of the planet. When Brother Ray is moments away from totaling a state, Lux is reminded that trying to fight him would literally have nuclear consequences:the equivalent of two atomic bombs running into each other.
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Second Printing Cover B by Caspar Wijngaard
In many ways,The Power Fantasyserves as a spiritual successor toGillen’s time writing the X-Men. The X-Men team, much like the Nuclear Family, has always been comprised of mutants who need to band together out of necessity and survival. The bond is often reluctant, but they still leave room to share love for each other. The “love” part remains to be seen inThe Power Fantasy, and there’s no guarantee that readers will ever see the love part, given how cynical the story can be.
For another unique — and Marvel-sanctioned — take on the X-Men, readers should check outUltimate X-Menby Peach Momoko!
For all the years he spent with the X-Men, Gillen understands the concept of superhero families better than most writers. Rather than duplicate the family dynamic he crafted through X-Men,he and Wijngaard, whose sweet faces offer a counterpoint to the extreme politics of this issue, opt to subvert expectations. So far at least, this strategy working by producing an utterly intriguing story.One thing where X-Menand the central characters ofThe Power Fantasydo meet is that both teams and their stories serve as morality plays. Somemutants abide by a no-kill rule, but some do what needs to be done under dire circumstances.
The characters inThe Power Fantasyfall under the latter category — begrudgingly so in Lux’s case, who orchestrates a political genocide for the greater good. Lux, to the point of obsession, is concerned with doing what’s ethically right — or what he deems to be ethically right — and considers himself a “good guy” for that distinction. Yet, others call him out, saying none of them are good guys. Are these characters good, bad, or something in between? The correct answer is ambiguous and up for interpretation, so readImage Comics’mind-blowingPower Fantasyto decide for yourself — you won’t regret it.
The Power Fantasy#1is available now from Image Comics. The second printing, along withThe Power Fantasy#2, is available September 11th, 2024.
