Things never go according to plan.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom King
Art: Barnaby Bagenda, Jose Marzan Jr.
What They Say:
In what may be their most atrocious act to date, the wretched Omega Men besiege the holy planet of Changralyn and take hostage its ruler, the wise and benevolent Space Pope Pontifix. Is there truly nothing sacred in the Vega System that these deadly outlaws cannot defile?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Omega Men have had an interesting journey so far, especially in the real world where the series was canceled and then un-canceled, much to my immense relief. There’s a really intriguing story coming together here in a way you don’t often see in the big two publishers with superheroes and the like. This series continues to remind me of the old Giffen run of Legion of Superheroes with its design and structure but also the exploration of a lot of different themes and approaches. There’s this sense that there’s something incredibly rich just under the surface, though what we see is rich as well. It’s so compelling that I find myself wishing there was a novel version of it as well so we could really sink our teeth into the details.
This issue has given us a bit of a leap in terms of progress as we’re now on the holy planet of Changralyn, which is where Broot is from. With the Omega religion that exists, and what we know of the Alpha, seeing this world and its people there is hugely intriguing since there’s such a sense of monotheism and culture so rigidly focused on one thing. With Broot’s adoptive father being the Space Pope Pontifix, well, that’s even more amplified. It’s the ideal place to do the trade that the Omega Men want in order to get what they need with the alpha key since there’s the whole sacred ground element on the scale of a planet. Even more so in this particular tower where the key is embedded in this unbreakable and unmovable stone. It harkens to certain legends to be sure and combining that with Broot’s nature makes it highly tragic.
Broot really does steal the show here and rightly so, from the way he’s so abused verbally going into the chambers to the abuse he gets from the Pontifix over everything that was done and given to him. It’s a wound by a thousand cuts, one filled with dung that’s being flung from the crowd. The way the rest of the team handles it isn’t easy since they mostly have to suck it up, though Scrapps wants to kill everyone, because they’re playing the long game to get the key. That’s all that counts. It does have its amusements though since we get to watch Kyle and the princess chained up together, him with a mask to protect his identity, with him still unaware that she’s conning him with everything. Of course, that factors into her father as well since he’s here to pay the bribes and make the trade.
Not that anything goes right or well overall, though the key is acquired and events move forward for the team. There’s a real brutality to what Broot has to go through to acquire it and you feel every impact of his fists on the stone. Every word out of the Pontifix’s mouth is the same way. And when you find out like Primus does what the Pontifix has really done here in working to ensure that everything goes the Citadel’s way, it’s a massive blow, especially since Primus and the others have to adhere to the sanctity of the place and not engage in a fight even as they’re closed in on. It’s a great sequence overall and one that just grinds you further and further down.
In Summary:
This series has been an utterly delight from the first panel as it’s a book that makes you work for it. This installment gives us a look at the world of Changralyn and the kind of religious aspect that permeates this quadrant in general. It’s easy to see why the Guardians have an agreement to stay out of here since there’s a whole lot of fanatics as we’ve seen from several of the worlds so far. This issue really drives home that point in a big way and its focus on Broot is spot on and fantastic. I’m excited to see how these pieces all come together and what revelations, twists and turns are still ahead. King is crafting a fantastic story here that I’m already eager to read in full again and the work of Bagenda in this issue is just fantastic. The ability to make these people like Broot come alive like he does is just striking and wonderful.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 7th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
It’s interesting that after three issues of portraying the Omega Men as terrible and manipulative people, this issue manages to get them on the reader’s side again by showcasing the nicest and most sympathetic member. Tom King wasn’t lying when he said that he wasn’t sure if the Omega Men were the heroes or the villains.