Prophet offers some very interesting thoughts on scale and conflict. Up until now, we've seen the threat of the Earth Empire as the most dire presence in the series. Even in the last volume, as a group of Empire-loyal Johns make their way through a space battle that has raged 300 years, we get the sense that this is small compared to the battle that will eventually make the presence of the Empire known.
But then Troll steps in. Yet another amazing revamp of a Liefeld character, Troll was originally a Wolverine-type, complete with wingy hair. But he's been remade here into an eternal and spiritual presence, one who seems to sit outside the concerns of the universe, at least until he senses...something.
A larger threat approaches, one that will require both Old Man and Newfather Prophets to combine their resources for victory. If there's one thing that this reboot of Prophet does nicely, it's to demonstrate the size of the universe within which it's taking place. Even with Old Man on Callisto and Newfather on Earth, we're given a sense of the distance within the Solar System, let alone across an entire galaxy, or indeed between them. So of course there's something more dangerous than the Empire in the galaxy. Infinite space equals infinite possibility, after all.
This is the last collected edition of the series I have, so starting tomorrow, I'll be reading the rest of the series in single issue format for the project. This'll give us a little break from The Avengers, and I'll finally get to finish reading the series, which I never have been able to due to my local comic shops not carrying many copies of the closing mini-series, Earth War.
I will say, before getting into the daily reviews, that I really love this series, and the world that it brings to life. To see this as the future of the Extreme/Maximum/Awesome, etc., etc. universe is fantastic. This is a future unlike any that we've seen in superhero comics, in which the human race, or something quite like it, is still in existence, and still somewhat powerful. This series, instead, sees us reduced to a single person, multiplied out in numerous combinations and permutations. What can we tell of our species when it is condensed into a single man named Prophet?
Next week I'll review the revamped Glory series. It's every bit as amazing and beautiful as this series. And so very different. Onward!
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