Jupiter's Legacy #4

[lordultimus]

"[When I] did my first ever superhero book I had to do something bigger than Avengers or Civil War or Logan or Superman: Red Son. That was my plan when I sat with the blank piece of paper. I wanted to do one story that would become the biggest superhero epic of all time. I wanted to do the superhero Lord of the Rings that would be timeless and just a bumper collection of books people would be reading in 50 or 100 years time." -- Mark Millar.

Comments

[dcbanacek]

Instead of asking "How?" maybe a better question would have been "Why?".

[tcampbell1000]

About that quote... you know, I think a lot of comics fans have dreams like that, so I don't want to pick on Mark for it. But it really says something that this is what he thought an enduring epic would be like.

There's some decent worldbuilding and a nearly-century-long time-scope, he got that right. There's some good concepts for characters: the one-time party girl turned fugitive, the wastrel son so desperate to prove he's not a fuckup that he's transformed himself into the WORLD'S BIGGEST fuckup, the manipulative genius who's still not as smart as he thinks. But concepts are what they are: none of this is fleshed out substantially enough to be engaging and I get the impression I still wouldn't like these characters very much if it were. Even the "Superman and Wonder Woman" expies come off as haughty and willfully blind. Only the kid's any fun, and that's just because he's too young to be part of everyone else's bullshit.

[donnblake]

Yeah, there's a framework here, and this issue has some nice moments (I actually like this kid, and I'm coming around on his parents), and I can't fault Millar for being ambitious but...

I do wonder what qualify as the Superhero Lord of the Rings. The Big Events tend to be grounded pretty solidly in their time, either as (sometimes ill-conceived) allegories for current events, or to advance specific continuity states of their properties (how many times has DC been set back to just one Earth, or just a small collection of them?). Will people still be reading Crisis on Infinite Earths or Watchmen in fifteen or sixty-five years? Kingdom Come in twenty-five or seventy-five? X-men adaptations keep coming back to the Dark Phoenix, but are new readers seeking out the collection to read? Heck, I bought some digital collections of fifty-year old Fantastic Four comics but I wouldn't call any given run of those the biggest superhero epic of all time.

[strejdaking]

I mean, the original Kirby/Lee and Hickman runs at least have a much better claim than this. Hickman's overall FF-Avengers-Secret Wars epic you could reasonably argue to actually be it.

[zachbeacon]

"I do wonder what qualify as the Superhero Lord of the Rings."

Astro City. In a world of mighty warriors, powerful wizards, and hidden monarchs the real hero often turns out to be the little guy who is just wondering where their next meal is coming from.

[strejdaking]

I hope the Jupiter's Circle gets posted here as well, since it definitely ended better than the main book (yet I would say ultimately crippled at the end by its role as a fill-in for the main book). I wouldn't say it actually adds much depth to the main story, but it does make the Superman expy come together better for me-the guy wasn't just a wise King dad for the rightful heir to avenge, he was someone who could've truly change the world for the better, but ended up a champion of the status quo. That's honestly way more interesting and meaningful take on Superman going wrong then "he would take over the world as a dictator".

[mazway_75]

That's the annoying part, this has so much better stuff than most of Millar's work. Again, my favorite part is Walter simply unable to accept that being the world's smartest man does not mean every one of his ideas will work because he has no grasp of economics or politics or how regular people are going to react to his stuff. That's a fun dynamic.

It just seems too rushed and Millar's usual snide cracks or "shock" humor or moments. When he reins in his worst instincts, he's much better, he just lacks the patience and thinks folks want more of his Kick-Ass style of storytelling.

[zachbeacon]

I've been hard on this series but the "...for being such a great kid" line is such a great turn of phrase.

In this context, it can be read as "...for being a well behaved kid" and/or "...for putting on such a convincing 'normal child' act"

[gnarll]

I don't think Walter has enhanced intelligence. I think he believes he does and his powers let him back it up in a way. I sort of thought that was a subtle undercurrent of the series anyway.