REVIEW: The Hypernaturals #12

Or – “DNA = Cosmic-Scale Grandeur…”

Super-types in space?  I’m sold!  But can the makeshift Hypernaturals team overcome the greatest threat the Quantinuum has ever seen?  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

THE HYPERNATURALS #12
Writer(s): Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist(s) Tom Derenick & Andres Guinaldo
Colorist: Stephen Downer
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Editor: Dafna Pleban
Publisher: Boom Studios
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in The Hypernaturals:  “It is the far future; the human race has finally colonized the galaxy, preserving an era of prosperity that’s only possible because of The Hypernaturals. They’re a celebrated, galaxy-wide superhero task force that keeps the peace. That is, until they all mysteriously vanish. Now, as the galaxy teeters on the brink of chaos, it’s up to a group of retired and long forgotten Hypernaturals — and their novice recruits — to save the galaxy from complete destruction.”  Now, the villainous Sublime has infiltrated the Quantinuum AI to destroy it, and by extension, every living human left…

THIS COULD BE BAD…

I’ve always loved the Legion of Super-Heroes and Guardians of the Galaxy, so when I heard that Abnett and Lanning, the masters of cosmic fooferfaw, were creating their own characters in that vein, I was stoked.  Though I admit to losing track of the book near the middle of its run, I’m back for the big finale, and the consequences look to be big.  The heroes known as the Hypernaturals are spread thin as Sublime tries to kill the A.I. that keeps everyone alive, and I have to say that the creators manage to balance their large cast and wide scope pretty well.  There’s a lot of story to be told, but they manage to keep most of it feeling very organic, as Sublime reveals the secrets behind his origin (as well as the origin of the Hypernaturals and their entire world by extension.)  The Quantinuum’s secret makes perfect sense in the greater scheme of things, making the threat realistic while maintaining the fabric of the world they’ve created…

EPIC IN SCOPE.

From a visual standpoint, the issue is pretty awesome, even with the change in pencilers halfway through, and the consistency of the book is remarkable considering.  Whether they’re showing us fights in space or mental wars on a psychic plane, things look pretty great, and Thinkwell’s confrontation with the mind behind all the madness is stunning.  There’s an advantage to having a world where you can contain your story, but I’m actually a little disappointed by the fact that this book ends in such a decisive fashion, because the world is one with much potential.  While they can still do stories in the future (or, for that matter, the past) of the Hypernaturals world, this particular cast of characters isn’t going to be quite the same after the events of the issue, and that leaves me kind of sad.  Still, I realize that’s like being made that Thomas and Martha Wayne had to die to make Batman, and the overall effect of the issue is very impressive.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  MAKES ME WANT TO GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING…

In short, this is the kind of space-opera/hero story that doesn’t get told anymore, harkening back to Starlin’s Warlock, or the planet-spanning 70s Legion of Super-Heroes tales, and it ends better than I expected it to.  The Hypernaturals #12 brings things to a satisfactory and logical close, while leaving room for additional stories, and makes me want to gather the whole series to be read all at once, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall.  It’s a shame that this book doesn’t have a higher profile, as it’s really quite well-done stuff…