ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem,’ Issue #1

Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem #1 is written by Mark Millar, illustrated and colored by Tommy Lee Edwards (with John Paul Leon providing backup art for a flashback sequence), and lettered by John Workman. It is published by Image Comics. Taking place after the events of Jupiter’s Legacy Volume 2, the issue follows the children of Chloe Sampson, who takes up her mother’s mantle of Lady Liberty, and Eddie Hutchence, who took up his father’s mantle of Skyfox. While superhumans and mankind have managed to bring about a golden age of prosperity, Chloe and Eddie’s son Jason sets out to learn the truth behind the island that gave the first generation of superheroes their powers. But, unfortunately, tensions also rise as Jason’s brother Otto intends to start a war with China, and a trio of mysterious beings are out removing superheroes’ powers.

Requiem comes on both the heels of Netflix’s adaptation of Jupiter’s Legacy and Leon passing away this May after a bout with cancer. Leon, who co-created Static, provides artwork for a flashback sequence that perfectly matches Edwards’ artwork. It also takes a horrifying turn, as the aliens are revealed to have conducting gruesome experiments on the first generation. The aliens themselves feel utterly inhuman, wearing long white robes and having grey, wrinkly skin. One of them is also hooked up to a massive machine with long spindly spider legs and an inhuman stare.  This entire sequence is reminiscent of sci-fi horror such as Aliens and may be unsettling for some readers.

Edwards, who previously worked with Millar on the Marvel 1985 series, delivers a visual knockout with his work. Characters show a wide range of powers. Jason, as the Utopian, has strength and speed to rival Superman’s and a red and white costume that pays homage to the Man of Steels. His sister Gabriella has the ability to shrink to subatomic size. The Russian superhero Powerhouse can generate force fields. The display of superpowers is not only wide and varied, but it also allows Edwards to be visually inventive.

Characters turn into flaming meteors or supersonic blurs, and energy takes various forms, such as loops and streams.  Edwards’s colors are also a visual marvel, with various reds and oranges bringing a forest fire to life and a beautiful sunrise illuminating characters as they stand on top of a mountain. In addition, workman’s word balloons are outlined with different colors depending on the setting and make certain words larger in lieu of bolding them.

The issue does suffer a bit from being the third part of a trilogy; readers would probably be best served with reading the first two volumes of Jupiter’s Legacy and its prequel series Jupiter’s Circle. Also, while I’m not opposed to fiction addressing real-life problems, the mention of a pandemic being virtually eliminated while a real-life pandemic continues to rage on feels rather ill-timed. Finally, Millar’s writing is often hit or miss with his audience, a track record that continues with the first issue of Requiem.

Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem #1 begins the final act of Mark Millar’s superhero trilogy, boasting some of the most stunning artwork I’ve seen from a debut issue. I’d recommend reading the first issue after catching up on Jupiter’s Legacy, or if you’re a fan of Millar’s work. Hopefully, this series has better reception than its Netflix adaptation.

Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem #1 will be available wherever comics are sold on June 16, 2021.