After a brief one-month hiatus, The Power Fantasy returns with an exciting new issue that begins a new arc for the title, one that writer Kieron Gillen describes as “The End of History”. Since issue #1, Gillen and artist Caspar Wijngaard have been building to an all-out conflict between the Atomics, and now, with The Power Fantasy #12, those seeds are finally starting to bear poisoned fruit. Can anything prevent the impending war brewing between the Atomics, or is it an inevitability that cannot be avoided?
Last issue, tensions between the Atomics reached a boiling point, culminating with the assassination of Etienne at the hands of Eliza and Jacky Magus. While shocking, this escalation isn’t exactly surprising, as Etienne killed the U.S. president, causing his fellow Atomics to be concerned by the possible long-term fallout and ramifications resulting from Etienne’s actions. Eliza and Magus believed they had successfully removed Etienne from the board completely; however, at the end of the last issue, it became apparent that Etienne was somehow alive and well, living in New York in a brand-new body. Clearly, Eliza and Magus underestimated Etienne and what he is capable of, and now they may have created a very powerful enemy.
The Power Fantasy #12 starts in Melbourne, 1999, in the aftermath of Etienne’s death at the hands of Eliza. All of the Atomics are in shock over what just happened. Eliza apologizes to Valentina, but says what was done was necessary. Valentina angrily rebuffs Eliza, saying, “You have no idea what you’ve done,” as she flies off. Next, Gillen and Wijngaard take us back to August 6th, 1945, and Etienne’s birth in Paris, France. In the flashback, we learn that Etienne was the sole survivor of a car crash that killed his entire family. In 1952, Etienne woke up from his coma after developing his powers and walked out of the hospital.
Valentina is not happy with Eliza and Magus. Credit: Image Comics
Meanwhile, back in the present, Valentina searches for Etienne, believing that he is still alive. She goes to Etienne’s secret underground base. In this scene, we learn that Etienne funded the construction of the lair by telepathically manipulating philanthropic backers to leave money to his foundation in their wills. In the base, Valentina finds a giant brain in a tank. Could this be Etienne’s consciousness? Valentina talks to Etienne in his new body and advises him to proceed with caution as he plans his next moves.
From there, we cut to a phone conversation between Masumi and Isabella in which Masumi asks Isabella if they are doomed. Isabella, ever the optimist, says, “I think we’re all going to die”. Meanwhile, Jacky Magus is meeting with the President, who wants to destroy Haven. Magus asks the President to give him time to work something else out, rather than destroying Haven outright. The President agrees to give Magus until Haven leaves Australian airspace before he orders Haven to be destroyed. The issue ends with the shocking death of a character that is sure to escalate tensions amongst the Atomics, and could perhaps push them to carry out violent actions against one another.
As I mentioned at the top of this issue, this third volume of The Power Fantasy is titled “The End of History”. Discussing the significance of this third volume Kieron Gillen writes in a letter to readers at the end of the issue, “I think it’ll be the best arc so far. Whatever we wanted to do with this book, we do it here.” Gillen also calls it a crucial arc, writing that this is “basically where we decide if we want to go further, or wrap at #16”. I’m curious whether The Power Fantasy will end at issue #16, or if they will choose to continue releasing the book beyond 16 issues.
The Power Fantasy #12 lights the fuse to a power struggle that could blow up the entire book. Kieron Gillen’s brilliant plotting and Caspar Wijngaard’s meticulous artwork make this another banger of an issue. The building of tensions in this book is super effective as we rush headlong into what is sure to be an all-out conflict between all the Atomics.
You must be logged in to post a comment.