The Calm Before The Storm: Reviewing ‘The Power Fantasy’ #2

After the shocking assassination of the President of the United States at the hands — or rather, thoughts — of Etienne Lux in last issue’s climatic closing pages the world is left in a. State of shock. This is where The Power Fantasy #2 opens up with Lux taking over a local news broadcast to announce that he was responsible for the bloodletting and arguing that the sacrifice of a few for the greater good was worth it. All delivered in the same nonchalant style so reminiscent of Watchmen’s Doctor Manhattan. I suppose when you’re a walking talking weapon of mass destruction, you can afford to be coldly calm. 

It’s this nonchalant demeanour that Lux presents throughout this issue as he goes about his plans and we are introduced to more of the Atomics. But, it’s also a mood that pervades this whole series thanks to the central premise that should these few super-powered people come to blows, the world wouldn’t survive. And so we get an issue brooding in tension, with little release. It’s some feat that writer Kieron Gillen pulls off; a superhero series with little conflict, bravado or action, but totally gripping thanks to some smart and snappy dialogue. But it works so well. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that artist Caspar Wijngaard provides such beautifully laid-out pages of art and retro-futuristic design elements that hooks the reader and keeps you enthralled. 

So, what we get is a comic book that plays fast and loose with the perceived conventions of superhero narratives filtered through the lens of reality. These six super powered entities are living through their very own Cold War, but will this tense stalemate last? The shaky peace that the world once knew has been further disrupted. Surely, even with the odds against them, humanity won’t leave the deaths of thousands unanswered?

The Power Fantasy #2 is out now from Image Comics