Written by: Marc Guggenheim
Art By: Carlos Pachecho, Mariano Taibo, and Frank Martin
Publisher: Marvel
2015 has been an entertaining year for Marvel. The massive comic publisher has released hit shows and movies to critical love, and now they are recreating some classic series for the modern era. Secret Wars was originally one of Marvel’s biggest series, and now this run has been redone with some extra stories. Squadron Sinister #1 is part of the Secret Wars series, but this new issue focuses on a mafia-style version of Battleworld in which villains have taken control of various provinces.
King Hyperion, Man of Tomorrow, leads a group of villains as they try to maintain control of a province called Utopolis. This province is strictly run by the Squadron Sinister, but life isn’t perfect. Hyperion and his flunkies…um…teammates have to answer to Victor Von Doom and his Thor Corps. Plus, Hyperion and his team are very greedy, so they decide to “annex” neighboring provinces to make a stronger version of Utopolis. These annexing missions generally lead to excessive violence and massive amounts of damage, which also causes some outside strife.
Of course, King Hyperion also has a full time job running Utopolis and keeping his subjects in order. Hyperion’s ruling method isn’t perfect, but it’s to be expected from a villain. The interesting thing about Squadron Sinister #1 is the fact that every character is a backstabbing jerk, or at least they all initially appear to be. Sure, the main characters do have some morals, but they view everything through a very skewed prism. This focus on villains can actually make it hard to pull for any of the characters because they all seem to be terrible people.
Actually, Whizzer is a pretty fun character, but he is the only one so far. Hopefully, Hyperion and his crew become more likeable as the issues progress because the story is great.
Minor issues with the main characters aside, Squadron Sinister #1 is a pretty fun comic. Battleworld has enough basis in reality to make it feel grounded, but the Thor Corps add in just a bit of flair to remind you of that Secret Wars tie in. Even if the story isn’t enough to make Squadron Sinister entertaining—which would be strange—then the art will finish that task. Carlos Pachecho has a very impressive art style that borders on realism, minus the laser eyes and super powers. Pachecho even throws in some extra details that just make the world feel more alive. Some of these details are a little more bloody while others are just touches on the environment, but they all are important to the comic. Let’s just say that Pachecho provides proof that Hyperion probably spends a lot of money on maintenance and upkeep.
Squadron Sinister #1 is a pretty entertaining way to start a new series. The action kicks off the issue with a bang before the characters and intrigue are fully introduced. The story just keeps ramping up from that point and finishes in a fantastic way. Now is the perfect time to get on board with Secret Wars, and Squadron Sinister #1 is an enjoyable issue to start with.
Just don’t hope for super friendly main characters.
