Okay, so he’s powered by an alien sentience. It’s not like Marvel isn’t littered with
those.
Okay, so he starts out as a murderous weapon for hire. It’s not like Marvel isn’t littered with
those.
Think about it. He
meets all the criteria. Lightning fast
reflexes? Check. Super-strength? Check.
Alter-go? Check. Gal pal?
Check. He even has his own sort
of Commissioner Gordon in the form of the Cobb and Tom show. Orphan?
Check and check. The only thing
he’s missing is brightly colored tights and a cape, and I have high hopes those
will show up in the sequel.
Where James departs from the mold is that his story arc
mirrors that of the typical Stan Lee/Jack Kirby character. Instead of a goony loner given superpowers
and learning to use them responsibly in a world where he can act like a god,
you have a goony loner with god-like superpowers thrust into a world where he’s
just another player and learning to use his powers responsibly.
All right, so it’s not a total inversion, but you get the
idea.
Misha Burnett’s timing with James was note perfect. He doesn’t come off well in the earliest
parts of the story, and it’s only the sudden threat posed by Dr. Madeline Klein
combined with Madeline’s actions that lend him any sympathy. Victor was obviously the evil brains of the
outfit, and Klein suffering James to live while snuffing out Victor provides
enough uncertainty and hope in the reader to follow along with James for
another chapter at least. Then he turns
down Godiva’s first advance – and oh thank God for that, had this book gone the
tentacle mouth porn route I’d’ve aborted faster than NASA on a cloudy day – and
we are reminded of his humanity.
Each passing revelation, even those that lead to further
mysteries, reassures the reader that James really is the good guy here. He neutralizes Tom and Cobb without killing
them, for instance. He grew up on the
streets with only Catskinner to guide him.
All of this, combined with his tentative steps to achieve a greater
intimacy, work to draw the reader into his world, and to root for him to make
it through the book better, stronger, and somehow more human than when the book
began.
He may not be the hero you’re used to, but that doesn’t make
him any less super.
