REVIEW: ‘Heroes Reborn,’ Issue #2

Heroes Reborn #2, published by Marvel Comics, consists of two stories. “Invaders From The Negative Zone!” is written by Jason Aaron, penciled by  Dale Keown with Carlos Magno, inked by Scott Hanna with Magno, and colored by Edgar Delgado. “Welcome Home, Soldier” is also written by Aaron, with pencils by Ed McGuinness, inks by Mark Morales and colors by Matt Wilson. The entire issue is lettered by VC’s Cory Petit. “Invaders From The Negative Zone!” focuses on the Squadron Supreme’s leader Hyperion as he battles multiple enemies that he locked away in the Negative Zone, including the Incredible Hulk. “Welcome Home Soldier” picks up from the end of the first issue, where Blade discovered Captain America’s frozen body.

In “Invaders From The Negative Zone!” the focus shifts to Hyperion and his alter ego as high school history teacher Mark Milton. Obviously, Hyperion is meant to be a pastiche of Superman; unlike the Man of Steel, however, he will often use lethal force to take down enemies. Rather than writing Hyperion as a sociopath in the vein of The Boys’ Homelander, Aaron’s scripting of Hyperion leans more toward a dogmatic embrace of patriotism. Hyperion loves the United States and will stop at nothing to protect it- a cautionary tale in the making, as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showed through John Walker what happens when patriotism tips into fanaticism.

Aaron, with the help of Keown and Magno, continues the first issue’s tradition of putting a spin on other Marvel heroes and villains’ place in this newfound universe. Peter Parker never became Spider-Man in this universe-ironically slipping into the same role that Jimmy Olsen serves as “Superman’s Pal.” Instead of leading the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards runs S.H.I.E.L.D. Labs. Even Galactus’ arrival on Earth has a far different outcome with the Squadron Supreme. It’s also fun to see Aaron apply the roles of Superman’s rogue’s gallery to different Marvel villains, including Annihilus in General Zod’s place and the Beyonder in Mr. Mxyzptlk’s.

Keown, best known for his work drawing the Hulk, illustrates larger-than-life images with the pages. One big example comes in the opening pages when Galactus descends. Keown draws Galactus as towering over skyscrapers and human beings, with Delgado adding to the larger-than-life image by giving Galactus his trademark blue and purple armor. The next two pages feature a massive splash page where Hyperion runs through Galactus’ head, spreading alien gore everywhere. Magno is no slouch himself, illustrating a fight between the Hulk and Hyperion with the same sense of bombast he lent to Avengers: Mech Strike.

“Welcome Home, Soldier” is more of a breather piece, as it starts to show Blade gathering the other Avengers. McGuiness continues to show his talents for drawing bombastic images, even in the more quiet moments where Hyperion and Captain America come face to face. Aaron also reveals that Blade has strange new powers in this remade world, which could prove handy in the future. As befitting his nature, Blade is shown mostly in the shadows, with Wilson adding a purplish tint to his new power set.

Heroes Reborn #2 continues to explore the world of the new Marvel Universe, this time through the eyes of the Squadron Supreme. The next issue looks to take a similar approach with the super-sonic Blur, who is modeled after the Flash; I’m intrigued to see how Aaron, McGuinness, and co. handle this character.

Heroes Reborn #2 is available wherever comics are sold.