Timeless returns this week for the year-ending teaser one-shot that features Kang’s ongoing exploits to remain the greatest supervillain ever. Once again, Jed MacKay writes the book that aims to tease multiple Marvel storylines in quick panel reveals while setting up a new villain for Kang to contend with. We already know from Marvel teasers last month that Kang is seeking the “Missing Moment,” and new villain Myrddin is also after it. Or are they a hero, and Kang is the villain of this story? Find out in Timeless #1!
Timeless #1 opens on a massacre of a great university of knowledge comparable to the library of Alexandria. It’s interesting to Kang as it holds so many secrets, but soon he discovers it’s Kang himself who is there destroying it. The opening scene is a nice reminder that Kang is a great conqueror, but the different selves from different timelines don’t necessarily agree with his future (or past) choices. In recent years, Marvel has made Kang more of a reluctant hero who happens to do bad things allowing for some interesting character work as we, the reader and Kang himself, try to suss out what kind of man he is underneath the mask.
The “Missing Moment” is essentially a McGuffin that Kang is after but is then thwarted in figuring out how to find due to Myrddin trying to get it first. That makes this issue more of a chase issue since Kang is outmatched unless he can fight Myrddin’s knights one by one. That keeps the pace moving forward nicely while Kang tries to stay one step ahead. As Kang faces different knights, MacKay comes up with clever ways Kang can defeat each one, reminding us how cunning Kang can be.
It’s interesting how Kang is super evil outside of the narrative’s focus.
Credit: Marvel
This chase format also allows for the various teasers for 2023 stories, as Kang accidentally jumps through time and sees many things happening. They are unrelated to his current adventure ending up as sprinkled in stories for the sake of this one-shot format’s purpose. Some of these reveals are to be expected if you read solicitation, while others are so simple or basic, so it’s hard to know what exactly they could mean. It’s also unclear how many might occur since last year’s Timeless featured a couple that never occurred.
While Kang’s cleverness and determination are fun to see, and detailed well through good captioning, it’s Myrddin and his men that will pique your interest. There’s an exciting twist on King Arthur regarding Myrddin and his knights, each with a specific knight but with futuristic abilities. Part of the fun of this issue is figuring out how each one fits into the King Arthur court of knights and their various powers. Known as the Twilight Court, one can see this super team as a heavy-hitting super-future team that’s quite unique and worth exploring further.
Art is shared by Patrick Zircher, Salvador Larroca, and Greg Land, who all do a good job of keeping the action and story comprehensible. All three are quite good at drawing costumes and the human form in a realistic way. I wouldn’t say any one page is awe-inspiring or beautiful, but they get the job done.
Once again, Timeless is an interesting vehicle to hint at Marvel’s 2023 stories while putting Kang through the paces. Due to the “Missing Moment” being a glorified McGuffin with little explanation and Kang mostly running from his enemies, this issue is essentially an extended preview that sets up Myddin’s team more than anything else. Characters don’t grow or change, but we do get tons new stuff to chew on as we await 2023 stories.
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