Powers 4: Supergroup

Comic Info

Powers (1) #15

Reprints Powers (1) #15-20 (November 2001-April 2002).  FG-3 is the hottest team around, but it is struggling within.  Wazz is making talk show rounds about the group, and Boogie Girl finds herself on the run after the mysterious death of Benmarley.  Deena Pilgrim and Christian Walker find themselves on another superhero mystery but learn that the powers above them don’t want the investigation to continue.  As the danger increases, Christian could lose everything if the secret is revealed.

Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Powers Volume 4:  Supergroup is an Image Comics superhero police procedural.  Following Powers Volume 3:  Little Deaths, the series features art by Mike Avon Oeming.  Issues in this collection were also collected as part of Powers—Volume 1, Powers—Book 1, and the Powers Omnibus.           .

Powers was at its peak at this point.  I jumped on after the second trade and it had me hooked.  I didn’t read the book off the shelf and I remember awaiting the release of each trade just to find the next part of the story.  Powers 4:  Supergroup has a cliffhanger that left me wishing for the next volume.

Powers (1) #20

The series has a rather basic set-up.  It is standard police procedural with Deena and Christian being called in on a murder, but things always go sideways in the series.  While this starts out with a murder, it quickly evolves into a government conspiracy and a talk on manufactured teams in a world filled with heroes…it would happen and it is only logical to explore in a series that takes a post-modern approach.

The second big aspect of the story is Christian getting his life destroyed.  His girlfriend gets murdered, he’s blackmailed about his past secret identity, and he’s facing a government conspiracy that ends up costing him his livelihood.  Deena has always been the train wreck of the comic, but here, Christian switched to the detective off the rails.  It is a nice way to keep the series balance (and it leads to a great moment about the previous Johnny Royale storyline).  In Powers, actions definitely have consequences.

Powers 4:  Supergroup continues to show the series range and ability to explore.  The issues always seem to read fast, but they have more “words” to them than many other standard comics at the time.  This story leads into a storyline which has been burning a while underneath the series, and a showdown with Kaotic Chic is coming.  Powers 4:  Supergroup is followed by Powers 5:  Anarchy.

Preceded By:

Powers 3:  Little Deaths

Followed By:

Powers 5:  Anarchy