Powers (comics)
| Powers | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Firstly Image; Marvel Icon |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Publication date | 2000 to present |
| No. of issues | Vol. 1 #1-37; Vol.2 #1- continuing |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Brian Michael Bendis; Michael Avon Oeming |
| Written by | Brian Michael Bendis |
| Artist(s) | Michael Avon Oeming; Peter Pantazis |
| Penciller(s) | Michael Avon Oeming |
| Inker(s) | Michael Avon Oeming |
| Colorist(s) | Peter Pantazis |
Powers is a comic book series by writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist Michael Avon Oeming and colorist Pat Garrehy. It was originally published through Image Comics beginning in 2000, but in 2004 it moved to Marvel Comics, where the series launched Marvel's Icon Comics division for creator-owned titles. The series has been optioned as a movie, to be directed by Frank Oz.
The series won the Eisner Award for Best New Series for 2001 and Brian Michael Bendis won the Best Writer Eisner Award in 2002 and 2003.
Story
Template:Spoiler Powers is set in a world where superpowers are relatively common, but not mundane. It follows two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, police officers in a homicide department devoted to cases that involve "Powers" (people with superpowers). Walker himself used to be a costumed superhero under the name Diamond, becoming a police officer after he lost his superpowers. However, he still leverages his contacts in the superhero community in his everyday job, even becoming engaged to an ex co-worker who is later on killed.
Through the various cases Walker and Pilgrim investigate, Powers delves into the seediest aspects of the superpowered lifestyle: deranged stalkers, groupies, government conspiracies, drug abuse, sexual kinks, petty scams and genocidal delusions of grandeur.
Gradually, it becomes evident that the relationship between Powers and regular people isn't wholly benign, and that opposition to the superbeings is approaching a critical point. When the most powerful of the Powers goes insane and wreaks global destruction, the President declares a ban on superpower activity.
At this point the series jumped back to tell the story of how the Powers came to be, and the origin of Detective Walker, in an arc that raised as many questions as it answered.
Most recently, the series has focused on the secrets of Walker and Pilgrim as well as their growing role in lives of some powers.
Background
Template:Cleanup-sect Template:Spoiler Christian Walker 's origin was explored in the story arc Forever, in volume 1, isses 31 to 37. Initially thought of as a boring, two dimensional character due to his lack of talking(!) (which has since been put down to a feeling of having had "every discussion before" like an "old man that couldn't be bothered to finish his sentences" in the letters pages of the book) the origin was acclaimed for its originality and filled out some of the questions surrounding Walker, while further raising some more.
It all started at the dawn of man, when two Cro-Magnon ape-men have a disagreement over a woman and start fighting, both surprised and confused to find that they have powers. The fight rages on for days and destroys everything in its path as the first super powered battle, eventually tiring them out. They walk away from each other in a stalemate. One of these first ape-men were Christian Walker.
Next the story shifts in time thousands of years, following a famous warrior named Gora (as Christian Walker is called here) as he is tracked down by a Princess warrior to fight for her father. His vicious powered enemy Haemon (who was the other ape-man before) appears, claims they are demons on earth, slays the Princess warrior and starts another momentous battle. Walking away in exhaustion, Haemon tells Gora to be ready for their next fight.
Shift forward thousands of years more and we see Christian Walker walking up thousands of steps to the Woshu Mountain Temple in Peking, China to see Master Han Xian-Zi,leader of masters and warriors who live and study in the Great temple. It is this great journey of walking up the steps to the Temple, making his feet "calloused and dead" that gives him the name 'Walker'. He hopes of discovering what makes him so different. He finds dozens similar to him, some immortal, mortal, or reincarnated, but all special and looking for a home. Walker is portrayed as tortured by the deaths of loved ones and not only confused by, but unwanting of the powers he holds. It is discovered that like many Powers, but not all of them, Detective Christian Walker despite being as old as recorded time, can only remember as far back as a human mind can. He has his first meeting with Zora and the then Chinese version of Retro-Girl, and Supershock, who all would later play a big part in his life. It appears he likes Retro-Girl and most-likely sparks up a relationship with her, much to Zora's disappointment. He lived there in peace for 16 years until an ordinary man traveled to the Temple from Peking to ask for help against the invading, deceptive foreigners who had taken many Peking people as slaves and had set off a chain reaction of violence and destruction in his city. The warriors within the Temple are split as whether to help these people so different to them, but Walker, along with Zora, Retro-Girl, Supershock and others decide to help, forming the first known superteam.
In homage to golden age superheroes first known as "Mystery Men" the stroy shifts to 1936 Chicago, where Walker had recently put on a mask to help his wife's brother out against Frank Nitti and the mob. Tracking down Einstein he hopes to figure out how he does what he does, including an ability to fly. It is revealed parts of his memory do come back to him, but yet he has no idea why he left China or what happened to him in intervening years that include London. Einstein, of course, has no idea of the answers Walker needs and is shocked at his power. Einstein gives Walker one piece of classic superhero advice however. "Never let them know who you really are-- never take the mask off. They'll kill you." Walker travels home to tell his wife that he felt better for the talk, to find his aging wife had been butchered by the man formerly known as Haemon. Clearly having a better memory than Walker, he had tracked him down to fight him once again, as he reveals he has done in many countries, in many eras. Shocked and angry that Walker does not have the same memories of him, Haemon (in this century later calling himself Wolfe) beats him and leaves, expressing how he wanted to kill Walker when he could remember him and feed off of his hate.
Switching to 1986 and the final chapter of Walker's origin of how he came to be, he is first shown in bed with Zora and Retro-Girl (modern) before being shown with them in costume as Diamond, "the costumed avenger that captured the hearts and minds of a generation". Triphammer (a great playboy inventor who uses his expertise to design suits that give him Powers, much like Iron Man) showed Walker the first Power Drainer, and its distinctive green glow. Walker expresses an interest in making such a power drain permanent to the disgust of Triphammer. Snapping, Diamond/Walker again expresses his aguish at watching his loved ones die time after time. Then their "family" of superheroes including himself, Zora, Retro-Girl and Triphammer confront the greatest villains of their era in a momentous battle, after getting word that Johnny Royale (another character that would haunt the Powers detectives in the future) was organising a big attack on the heroes.
Haemon/Wolfe -- Diamond/Walker's greatest enemy -- shows up during the battle, and decides Walker is now ready as he can see he remembers their previous battle, and the needless slaughter of Walker's wife. In a double page spread seen often in this arc, Wolf and Walker battle it out until exhaustion. Taking the initiative Diamond flies Wolf into Triphammer's building and activates the Power Drainer, proceeding to beat Wolfe half to death, while questioning him as to why they he has been torturing him across time. Wolfe simply laughs and says he cannot remember. Going crazy on him, Walker throws the more fragile Wolfe into the Drainer, causing an almighty explosion that leaves both of their powers gone, seemingly forever. Wolfe is taken to prison and even questioned in the Who Killed Retro Girl Case? in the first story arc. Walker waits two years beforehe introduces himself to a Captain on the police force, whom he had helped out in an as-yet unrevealed way earlier on in his career, and so Walker's new life as a detective begins...
The final part of the story, although set just after Deena Pilgrim's first case with Christian Walker (see Who Killed Retro Girl?), concludes the Walker/Wolfe storyline and so still makes up part of Walker's "origin", seeing as it, in part, makes who Walker is today and concludes the rivalry that shaped him through the ages. It is the modern day and Christian Walker, despite being powerless, has seemingly not aged a day as he became the very successful detective for Homicide cases involving Powers. Wolfe, having lived under a Drainer his entire life, has evolved past Walker to regain his powers. He goes looking for Walker and when the two confront each other, Wolfe admits he wasn't sure if he was going to kill him or tell him he needs to sit under a drainer for 20 years to get his powers back! Wolfe says he finds himself in a place where he needs Walker's forgiveness. Walker refuses to give it to him and shoots him in the head. With his last breath, Wolfe/ Haemon hopes to take the "mighty Gora"/Diamond/Walker out with him, exploding in a huge energy ripple that leaves Walker speechless. The issue and the arc finishes with Walker sitting in silence, clearly gaining no feeling of triumph from the death of his greatest foe and leaving the reader with a mystery: Has Walker developed his powers again?
Currently... While investigating the murder of a secret cosmic guardian known as Millenium, Walker discovers his costume and keeps it from the inteferring FBI, after it is the only thing left in an explosion at the deceased Millenium's house. Walker is visited by ghosts of both his past and present, who reveal they are actually an alien race who supply the powers and uniform to the secret cosmic guardians of the universe. Choosing Walker as their next in line for Earth, he accepts the powers and new responsibility, with success in his first mission.
Deena Pilgrim Started off as a lowly police officer "on the beat". Pilgrim was at first partners with a corrupt Captain Adlard, who worked for Mama Joon, a powerful crime boss who would later be killed by an off-the-rails police officer (using a stolen Power crystal). Captain Adlard had apparently been found dead in a dumpster seven years previously, which at the time of the story would have made it just before Deena's transfer (upon request) to work with Walker as part of the Powers homicide department. Not much else is known of her past.
Currently... While being tortured by the gangster known as the Bug, Deena managed to use his powers against him, contracting them in the process. Eating away at her from the inside, she accidently lashed out and killed her abusive ex-boyfriend in self-defense. Hiding the evidence she seemed to have gotten away with it, proceeding to kill a wanted drug dealer later on to further keep her powers in check.
As such, in current storylines both Powers detectives have powers, being used in VERY contrasting ways...
Trivia
Singer/songwriter Brodie Foster Hubbard performs a song called "Powers," which incorporates his own life and allusions to the Super Shock storyline.
Collected editions
| Vol. | Title | Reprinted issues | ISBN# | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who Killed Retro Girl? | Powers Vol. 1 #1–6 | ISBN 1582401837 | Image Comics |
| 2 | Role Play | Powers Vol. 1 #8–11 | ISBN 1582402329 | Image Comics |
| 3 | Little Deaths | Powers Vol. 1 #7, 12–14, Annual, Powers Activity And Coloring Book |
ISBN 1582402698 | Image Comics |
| 4 | Supergroup | Powers Vol. 1 #15–20 | ISBN 1582403090 | Image Comics |
| 5 | Anarchy | Powers Vol. 1 #21–24 | ISBN 1582403317 | Image Comics |
| 6 | The Sellouts | Powers Vol. 1 #25–30 | ISBN 078511582X | Icon Comics |
| 7 | Forever | Powers Vol. 1 #31–37 | ISBN 0785116567 | Icon Comics |
| 8 | Legends | Powers Vol. 2 #1–6 | ISBN 0785117423 | Icon Comics |
| 9 | Psychotic | Powers Vol. 2 #7–12 | ISBN 0785117431 | Icon Comics |
| unreleased as of April 2006: | ||||
| 10 | Cosmic | Powers Vol. 2 #13–18 | ||
| 11 | Secret Identity | Powers collects Vol. 2 #19–24 | ||
Others
- Powers Vol. 1 hardcover (collects Vol. 1 #1–11, Powers Activity And Coloring Book; ISBN 0785118055)
- Powers: Script Book (reprints original scripts for Vol. 1 #1–11; ISBN 1582402337)