Comic Info
Comic Name: Gravity
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Sean McKeever
Artist: Mike Norton
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2005
Gravity #2
Reprints Gravity #1-5 (August 2005-December 2005). Greg Willis is headed to New York City for college, but he also hopes to break into the super-hero business on the side. Greg is Gravity, a young and untested hero, and Gravity thinks he could hit the big time. Being a super-hero isn’t as easy as Greg thought and trying to balance classes with fighting crime isn’t working. When he teams with another hero called the Greenwich Guardian to track down the menace of the Black Death, Gravity could be the hero he hoped for!
Written by Sean McKeever, Gravity: Big-City Super Hero is a Marvel Comics collection. The five issue limited series features art by Mike Norton.
Sean McKeever was on a tear in the early 2000s, and he was getting to do a lot of writing (often more along the lines of all-ages comics). Gravity was one of his original heroes…and I’m not quite sure why Gravity didn’t “take-off”.
The character is a lot like the typical Spider-Man character. He is optimistic and despite the danger kind of enjoys what he does. He is overconfident, but this series is a series about origins and understanding, and Gravity comes out of the five issue storyline stronger as a result. The series sets up Gravity for a good future.
Gravity #3
The story itself is kind of predictable, but it also feels like classic comic. You have the new hero who has a potential girlfriend (that he can’t tell about his secret life), and he also is struggling with school…unlike a Peter Parker who is a genius being held back by his time being a superhero, Greg feels more like the everyman. The predictability comes from introduction a new hero Greenwich Guardian and a new villain called the Black Death…both just happen to show up at the same time.
Unfortunately, Gravity is might be too generic for his own good in a time when heroes need a bigger hitch. Gravity’s powers are a bit undefined (there is a mini-origin story later in the collection). He can fly, but his powers are not clear. It also might have been a better idea to have him face off against a main villain (he does face off against Rhino at one point) for the first arc. In a competitive world, Gravity is a bit underwhelming.
Gravity: Big-City Super Hero despite the criticism is a fun read. It is a bit like Invincible (but less violent and less Invincible), but I wish that there had been at least one or two other storylines to get a feel for the character. Gravity continues to truck along and pop-up on occasion (his biggest role might have been in the series Beyond), but he never has caught on…which is too bad.
