The Minor Threats saga has always focused on the “lower levels” of superheroism and supervillainy. The main crew of the Minor Threats series were, well, “minor threats”: villains more on the level of Polka Dot Man or 8-Ball than a Green Goblin or a Darkseid. Barfly featured a former henchman turned fast food worker turned aspiring musician…who was also a mutant fly. The Brood focused on the family of the world’s greatest supervillain. Minor Threats: The Last Devil Left Alive #2 takes a majorly different approach by focusing on this world’s Superman analogue, the Searcher.
After the fallout of Minor Threats: The Fastest Way Down, the Searcher has been stripped of her immense powers and now makes a living as a social worker. Enter Playtime, who needs her for the plan to expose real estate tycoon Cooper Scadlock. Playtime didn’t count on having the Action, the psychotic teenage superheroes from The Fastest Way Down, coming on her like a ton of bricks. Nor is she prepared for their newest member.
First off, I appreciate that Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum haven’t gone the lazy route of making the Searcher another “Superman, but evil” analogue; that well is thankfully running dry due to the reception of James Gunn’s Superman and the high bar set by Omni-Man in Invincible. Secondly, the route that Oswalt and Blum do go is interesting as they show how the Searcher’s been brought down to Earth. Their script delves into what it’s like to have super-senses, and the strain of what it’s like to hear and see things that no other person on Earth can. Losing that ability takes its toll on the Searcher in more ways than one, yet it also makes her a more interesting character…and potentially willing to help Playtime out.
Dark Horse
Scott Hepburn brings this moment to life, with an opening page that centers the Searcher floating in the air, surrounded by buildings whose windows are full of different images representing the sights and sounds her super senses pick up on. It’s far from an inspiring image; in fact, looking at the Searcher’s wary expression, combined with the onslaught of imagery and accompanying narration, it’s the kind of thing that would make even the most hardcore comic book fan second guess their desire to get superpowers.
The creative team not only manages to make great use of their current cast of characters (particularly Barfly‘s Shiteater, whose expressive word balloons are a delight courtesy of Nate Piekos), but introduces some new ones as well. “Sid the Grid” is a schlubby, Kevin James-esque man who can tap into the infrastructure of Redport City; this proves to come quite in handly. Bullfrog is a scaly nightmare that feels like he stepped out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ world. The Action’s newest member Modder is wearing a massive mech suit that possesses some surprising abilities. All of it feels weird enough, but also compelling enough to fit in the Minor Threats universe.
Minor Threats: The Last Devil Left Alive #2 flips the script and shows the hero’s perspective, revealing that the do-gooders are just as flawed and struggling as the villains they battle. It’s this willingness to play around with superhero conventions, but doing it in a way that shows actual love for the genre, that makes this comic stand out.
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