America’s Got Powers #3

On tonight’s episode of America’s Got Powers, Tommy Watts a.k.a. Zero gets another shot at the world’s favourite TV show. Can he repeat his last performance or will Quaterback knock his block off? Don’t miss it! Tonight’s episode brought to you by Image Comics!

The Team

Written by Jonathan Ross (Turf, Project Superpowers : Meet The Bad Guys) & Bryan Hitch (Fantastic Four : The Master Of Doom, Ultimates Vol. 1 : Super-Human, Captain America : Reborn), illustrated by Bryan Hitch, inked by Paul Neary & Jason Paz. Coloured by Paul Mounts (Star Wars : Jedi Vol. 1 : The Dark Side). Published by Image Comics.

The Pros

This is an ugly look into our society’s obsession with super heroes and sports gods. Imagine taking a super powered team of super heroes like the Avengers or the Teen Titans under government control and putting them into a football arena, becoming the world’s highest rated show. We’re half way through this series and I’m loving every minute of it. The government’s slowly losing its grip on the show, as a group of rebel super powered individuals attack the show during a live taping to rescue Tommy Watts before he gets put down for good. Writer Jonathan Ross’ script is sharp as a blade with spirited banter between the players before & during the show. The dialogue between the 2 hosts is hilarious & energetic and really feels like this is a real sport, like a live football or hockey game. I’m not much into those sports, but I did appreciate those funny moments. The finale of this issue is kind of a surprise that I did not see coming at all and adds a little mystery to the story, nicely done. The government harvesting & creating super powered people in Matrix-like pods, siphoning their powers and up to their neck in conspiracies is nothing new really, that’s the way they’re always portrayed in comics & movies.

Illustrator Bryan Hitch insane attention to detail is what brings this series together. There are incredible wide panels of America’s Got Powers contestants slamming together in an orgy of blood & guts, punching, kicking and unleashing their powers on each other like a futuristic football game gone horribly wrong. In my opinion his unique style of drawing is suited and works best for team super heroes like the work he did on the Ultimates & the Fantastic Four. Hopefully one day he’ll get to work on titles like Justice League or Teen Titans. Of course this title’s look wouldn’t be complete without Paul Mounts’ amazing use of colours, the contestant uniforms really pop out and grab you. Also some of the super powered individuals have orange or blue energies harnessed through their fists, that really puts a vivid brightness on those panels. The cover is a perfect example of what I mean.

The Cons

The shipping of this issue came in late and I had to flip through the previous issue just to refresh my memory.

The Outcome

Like many of Image’s new titles, this one is very unique and offers a new twist on the super hero genre mixed with our society’s obsession with today’s reality TV shows.