The Power Fantasy has slowly unveiled its superhuman characters in a world where the threat of annihilation is real because of them. Tensions are on the rise, and now it’s time to meet Jacky Magus, a punk rock mage who may have had enough. In a time-hopping issue, revelations are made clear, and doomsday looms over everything!
The Power Fantasy #5 opens with Jacky on a private plane, who is told Etienne evaded capture. Given the capture came from a mech with Jacky’s work written all over it, Etienne likely knows Jacky isn’t playing nice. The story then shifts to 1978, in Brixton, London, where Jacky has big plans for a pyramid-focused cult.
Much of these scenes set in 1978 involve punk rock notions and the idea that power itself isn’t the problem, jerks with the power are. Rendered in black, white, and green, the scenes have a scratchy effect with symbols this way and that. Artist Caspar Wijngaard hammers home the punk rock vibe with the artistry. It’s in these flashbacks Wijngaard takes his biggest swing visually in this issue.
Punk rock visuals for sure.
Credit: Image
The story shifts from there to 1989, just two hours after Great Britain was wiped off the map. This scene gives us context as far as Jacky Magus’ point of view on the end of a nation and sets up where he goes from here at the end of the issue. The state of nations is an important aspect of this issue, especially given the growing fear of annihilation.
This issue also dives a bit into the fallout of the last issue, particularly of the character Heavy and the reporter who opened the series. Gillen and Wijngaard do a good job humanizing the character, who, up until this point, felt like a violent wildcard. We also see this group of superhuman characters make a tough choice that’s pretty immoral, further cementing the fact that none of them are truly good. This also leads to a rather shocking use of powers that are pretty gross and well-rendered by Wijngaard.
As far as gripes, I couldn’t get a handle on what the dialogue in the 1978 scenes meant. Likely, it’s cultural punk stuff, and the data page involving a pyramid backs it up, but it seems off track from the larger purpose of the book. Is it about disillusioned punks growing out of their immature notions of reality or something else? It reads like I’m missing the link between it all. Given the acts of Jacky up until this issue, are we meant to believe he was ever not a jerk with ill intentions?
The Power Fantasy #5 is a visually stunning and thematically rich installment that deepens its characters and raises the stakes in its superhuman dystopia. However, its cultural references and thematic ambiguity may leave some readers feeling disconnected. Despite these minor flaws, the issue successfully delivers a unique, punk-infused take on power, morality, and the looming threat of annihilation.
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