Hyperion #2
Written By: Chuck Wendig
Art By: Nik Virella
Colors By: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Release Date: 04/20/16
Rating: Rated T+
Price: $3.99
Hyperion, a hero and a teacher and lone survivor of his universe, but the actions of his team the Squadron Supreme have caused him to question his role in his new world and his own self. On a break of self discovery as a truck driver named Marc he met a young hitchhiker, a girl named Doll who knew who he is and asked him for help against the Carnies.
Plot: Hyperion saved Doll and is ready to go on with his odyssey but Doll isn’t ready, and neither is her new friend a stray dog. The three head to a dinner to eat and part ways but just when Hyperion thinks he is out Doll pulls him back in with an unusual murder case that involves Worm Boy the crawling menace!
Story: I am so pleased with this title you have no idea. Marvel seems to have finally found a good analog of Superman and make it work! I love the “Boy Scout” type characters, those who do good just because it is the right thing to do, no tragedy to drive them. That is not Hyperion, but Marvel seems to be taking Hyperion on this almost spiritual awakening, and transforming him into a “Boy Scout” role with a little help from his new conscience Doll.
Hyperion is very much wrapped up in his own internal battle trying to come to terms with what he has become and the fact that he doesn’t even know what he has become or who he is anymore, and in his journey of self-discovery he is in a way getting farther away from the man he once was on his Earth. Doll sort plays the role of Jiminy Cricket being that voice that whispers in Hyperion’s ear and reminds him what he should do and who he should be. I love that she is that morale compass that he feels he has lost and he doesn’t even realize yet that this little girl who is stopping him from resuming his path is paving that path for him. I look forward to the moment where he realizes through Doll that he couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
Like I said in my review of Hyperion #1, this has a real Indie book feel to it, with the characters and the situations, you really get that vibe and that continues with this issue. The main antagonist for this arc, the Carnies are still here but put on the back burner some as we find out that someone of great influence is behind them. But that isn’t to say that we don’t get another creepy new antagonist enter the picture with a man who seems to be made of or rather produce worms from within that consumes people, or at least their hearts. Doll overhears a man talking about his daughter’s mysterious death that he believes is a murder, so she talks Hyperion into looking into it which leads them to a small cabin in the woods. Hyperion really uses his powers here, not just his strength and his flight, but his other powers as well such as his enhanced vision, seeing down to the DNA, and his Atomic Vision (Heat Vision), I thought that was a nice touch because it showed him also using his brain and really investigating the murder, and when he comes face to face with this Worm Boy.
Now I would be remissed if I didn’t point out that despite this Indie title feel to it, the big draw for me here is that he is a Superman analog and in this issue we really see that even more so. I feel like the more we see of Doll, the more she fills numerous roles for Marc, like the Jimmy Olsen or Ma & Pa Kent roles tying him to his humanity, which when Doll finds out that he may not be human was a nice cute scene. Then there is the dog, who very much fills that Krypto role in the book, without powers of course. The moment where the dog wins over Hyperion with a lick was awesome, the paneling really sold that scene. The dog even helps find the cabin by tracking the scent, now all we need is for him to get a nice name that ties into Hyperion!
Art: The art here really helps sell the book in many ways. Virella really brings that Indie vibe to the book. But the thing that sells me so much with the art here is the way Virella does the facial expressions, it really helps endear the characters and helps convey the emotional beats of the story. This is showcased perfectly with the scene with Hyperion and the dog, or even when the dog isn’t the focal of the art but steals the scenes in the background.
Virella knows how to use lack of details to benefit the tone and theme of a story. You can use a lack of detail at times to set a creepy horror feel to a piece by making it feel unfinished, which visually helps keep the reader off guard and ill at ease. Virella does this perfectly here and really drives home that suspense you get in a horror movie which is really what this book feels like, and a lot of that is because Virella sells it so perfectly with the art.
Verdict: Overall the HYPErion (see what I did there?) is real and you should get aboard and follow this hero’s odyssey along with him, Doll, and of course the dog!