Triphammer: I promise to keep you posted on anything I come up with... in return, I hope you will see the value of keeping my name out of the investigation reports and out of the press.
Walker: Of course.
Triphammer: So, listen, toots, if you ask me, you'd be better off...
Deena: Didn't ask you. And don't leave town.
Triphammer: Ha-ha. Yeah, OK.
Deena: I'm serious.
Triphammer: I know. That's why I laughed in your face.
Powers is a comic book written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Michael Avon Oeming. The comic takes a world where superheroes naturally happened, be it through technology, evolution, or religon. Aliens have found and made contact with us. And all these problems go to a special unit in the police department, the Powers unit.
Powers is not like the usual superhero comic, which focuses on the the superheroes. Powers focuses on the detectives, the people who have their feet flat on the ground. These people have to face all sorts of oddities, never really knowing how to handle a person, because each supervillian is different. The Powers unit has to stand up to solving these unusual crimes, all while they don't have any superhero powers of their own. If they did have powers, then they wouldn't be wasting their time in a dump of a police station, they'd be up there. In the skies.
Another interesting aspect of Powers is how things are covered. The story doesn't only follow the cops. The story also delves into how the public is responding through television shows, tabloids, and newspapers. Powers takes a very popular culture look at its own world.
The first story arc was "Who Killed Retro Girl?" and is a trade paperback. It covers the murder of a beloved superheroine named Retro Girl. She was found dead in the street, and no one can quite figure out how one would accomplish this, let alone who. The only real piece of evidence is on the wall behind her are the words Kaotic Chic. A wonderful piece of work and also contains the "Cheshire, Boxcar Vigilante" mini-series that introduced Powers in Comic Shop News. The Cheshire short-story covers the murder of a vigilante who was murdered right after she stopped some criminals. No one seems to have seen anything, except for one man. All the covers for Who Killed Retro Girl tried to make sure that the superheroes/supervillians were not in the limelight, most of them had the detectives as the focus.
The second story arc was preceded by an issue in which comic book writer Warren Ellis guest-starred. Ellis guest-starred in the comic as himself. It showed what might happen to comic book writers in a world in which superheroes actually exsisted(as well as having very toungue-in-cheek fun with having Ellis tag along with Walker). The second story arc was called "Role-Play", and followed live-action role-players. A group of superhero LARPers turn up dead, killed by a supervillian of the past. Why has he chosen to kill kids? All the covers for Role-Play were references to famous album covers, the most obvious being The White Album.
The third story arc is called "Groupies," and delves into the impact of tabloids and groupies on a superhero's life. A high-profile superhero is found dead in his bed, and the few clues show that he might've been killed by one of his female groupies. All of the covers for Groupies were designed to look like super-market tabloids.
Main Characters:
- Christian Walker - Prime detective of the Powers unit, he's a tall, overbearing man. He is very dedicated to his job, and supposedly doesn't treat Powers criminals too harshly. He has a past that he wants to keep hidden, but his previous partner found it out...
- Deena Pilgrim - A rookie to the Powers division, she transfered from SWAT on her own request. She had heard lots of good things about Walker and wanted to work with him. She can be quick-tempered, and holds her own in a fight very well.
- Kutter - Fellow detective of the unit, tries to help by not following normal procedures. Rude, and brash, he used to be Walker's partner.
Storylines:
Other Books: