Enjoy the Ride

I intended to approach The Power Company: Recharged #1 without talking about race.  However, six Black superheroes gracing the cover, the story set in Atlanta, GA, an all-star creative team that included writer Bryan Edward Hill, artists Kahry Randolph, Alitha Martinez and Ray-Anthony Height makes race in this debut comic like Thanos in Avengers: Endgame — inevitable.

Bryan Hill for his part relishes the moment and leans into the racial component of this story with gusto.  Full of witty dialogue and colloquial humor, you can tell Hill enjoyed telling this story as much as I enjoyed reading it.

I’ve seen Hill assemble a similar group before in the pages of Batman and the Outsiders (DC Comics 2019).  Another super team that operated on the fringes of the DC universe.

That said, knowing that this comic is in good hands, I can sit back and enjoy the ride.

Ill Fitting Costumes

As stated this comic features six heroes.  Batman (Jace Fox), Signal, Vixen, Black Lightning, and Josiah Powers. But frankly there’s only one hero that needs to be discussed in this review and that is Jace Fox as Batman.

The premise of The Power Company is that Josiah Powers has assembled heroes in an attempt to combat the persecution of metahumans in the DC Universe (following the fallout of Absolute Power).  However, the real story revolves around Jace Fox as Batman.  As Vixen suggests it feels as if “he’s wearing a suit that doesn’t fit him”.

As such, this story reads like a drawn out audition for the role of Batman as Jace does his best Detective Comics rendition.  It’s something about the way he insists on working alone that gives off “imposter syndrome” vibes.

Focusing on Jace allows Hill to address the racial “elephant in the room”.  The notion that Black superheroes may all be wearing “ill fitting costumes.”

Jace Fox’s response to Vixen serves as a response to all critics: “I’m growing into it”.  And by extension all Black superheroes and their fans are all growing into it as well.

That aside, the beat downs he dishes out are pure Dark Knight ass kicking.  He can thank Kahry Randolph and Ryan-Anthony Height who shared the job of illustrating most of his fight sequences.  Other action packed scenes featuring Vixen and Signal were drawn by comic vet Alitha Martinez.  

At first I was concerned that three different art styles in one story would be a train wreck.  However, the story actually flows quite well with scenes transitioning fluidly from artist to artist.

Run it Back

As a one-shot, the future of Josiah Powers’ envisioned team remains uncertain. However, if Bryan Hill revisits this concept, his track record, including the compelling twists of his Ultimate Black Panther run, suggests a promising continuation. For now, The Power Company: Recharged #1 offers a compelling and thought-provoking journey into a corner of the DC Universe ripe with potential.

Related Articles