Powers 25 #1: Happy Anniversary

A quarter-century ago, one Image comic from a couple of guys no one had really heard of turned the comics world on its ear. Blending cop procedurals with tights and capes, and peppered with the snazziest dialogue this side of David Mamet, Powers became not just an overnight sensation but a bellweather for a new generation of indie auteur creators. Writer Brian Michael Bendis would soon lead the charge of generational change at Marvel with Ultimate Spider-Man, Alias, and a slobberknocker of a run on Daredevil; artist Michael Avon Oeming became a household name in his own right and rocketed to a huge career of his own, circling more toward creator-owned works. Powers wasn’t just a hot new comic; it was a sign that the times were changing. Image wasn’t just the home of insanely ripped men and women with guns the size of bovines and five hundred pouches per panel anymore; it was home to smart, brainy thrillers that appealed to adult audiences without being puerile.

After Image, Powers followed Bendis and Oeming to several other publishers, but even throughout those changes, the quality remained consistent. And then, the saga of lead character Christian Walker eventually ended, and it seemed Powers had at last neatly bookended itself.

Cue Powers 25.

Moving the story and surviving Powers characters to 2025 in real time – aging and all – was a smart move on the creators’ part; it allows the world to grow and change organically and allow for a new generation of detective to take the lead. Our new series lead and POV character, Detective Kutter, is the daughter of the original series’ detective of the same name, and carries some baggage from seeing her father’s head telekinetically torn off on live TV when she was a kid. But she’s got two stellar mentors in Captains Enki Sunrise and Deena Pilgrim, returning characters from the first run who keep an eye on the new generation of detectives. It’s pure joy to see these characters not only return but having aged in real time.

As for the mystery? It’s a real locked-door style, involving a hole in a head and not a lot of clues. Detective Kutter may bitten off more than she could chew, especially given the bombshell of a final page. Pro tip: don’t flip ahead!

Powers 25 #1 is structured in a way that it picks up on tonal threads from the original volumes, but stands on its own and is very new reader-friendly. There are a couple of Easter eggs throughout that OG fans will pick up on, but nothing that overtly impacts the story. And as for the story? The pacing couldn’t be better; Bendis and Oeming are a dream pairing that by this point in their respective have a shorthand that borders on symbiosis. In other words – Powers 25 is, quite simply, the comic both men were born to craft. Bendis leans expertly into his strengths as a character-driven writer and Oeming brings the appropriate levels of mood and shadow to the proceedings, creating a comic that leaps off the page and immediately invites the reader to jump in, the water’s fine. With that in mind – is there anything this issue could do better? Not really. It’s as easy a bet as anything these days; picking it up is a no-brainer, especially when it comes to terms of quality.

Powers: there ain’t no two just like it. And that’s the way it should be.