Are there metas among us? Only one team can answer that question… Your Major Spoilers review of The Vigil #1 from DC Comics awaits!

THE VIGIL #1

Writer: Ram V
Artist: Lalit Kumar Sharma
Colorist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Jessica Chen
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 16, 2023

Previously in The Vigil: Who Are The Vigil? There have long been rumors rogue metahumans targeting weaponized illegal technology. With some hinting that they call themselves The Vigil. What were they after? Why did they intervene? Are there metas among us? Stay tuned for more.

//.../ /you are being watched//.../ /

PAY NO ATTENTION TO WHAT’S BEHIND THE CURTAIN

In the Strait of Malacca, somewhere in the Indian Ocean, a group of pirates suddenly seizes a shipping vessel loaded to the brim with electronics and technical equipment. The mostly Indian crew causes an uproar in Mumbai, where a young woman named Nia Saha is given her new espionage assignment with the National Investigation Agency. The NIA has been laser-focused on creating their own superhumans, noting that the U.S. has so many that they even have goofy guys like Kite-Man, while their agency can’t even gather a handful. Worse still, the four most promising candidates were taken off the board in an undefined incident… or at least that’s what the government believes. But if Arclight, Castle, Dodge, and Saya are out of action, exactly who are the mysterious masked metahumans who free the crew of Eastwind and retrieve the secret LexCorp cargo hidden within?

THE DESIGNS ARE REALLY INTERESTING

There’s a lot to like about this series, but I happen to find myself most enamored of the character designs, especially Saya’s featureless mask with the blood-red pinstripes. The seeming supervillain in the final pages of the book is likewise interesting, and Sharma shows a strong eye for storytelling throughout. I’ll need another couple of issues to figure out whether the elongated, thin figures are just the selection we encounter in this issue or whether it’s endemic to the art style. As for the plot, there are a lot of secrets still to be unearthed in these pages, but that’s clearly an intentional decision due to the black ops nature of The Vigil. We get our first real information on two of the characters, and a little bit of background on how the team was assembled, but I really worry about whether or not people will embrace the comic long enough for all the skeletons to come out of the closets.

BOTTOM LINE: NOT A BAD LEAD-OFF

There’s a net positive in the fact that The Vigil #1 is actually the fourth appearance of The Vigil, a fact that I hope will help audiences to find this comic long enough for it to get its footing in the DCU proper, since it has interesting art and a number of interesting aspects that could add new angles to the spy side of DC, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. I just hope we don’t have another New Age of DC Heroes situation on our hands, as it would be a shame for these guys to just disappear like The Immortal Men or the new Firebrand.

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THE VIGIL #1

60%

60%

This Has Potential

In the new era of DC, a new black ops team makes perfect sense, and while I would have liked a little bit more information in these pages, the secrets do seem to be the point.

• Writing

  6
• Art

  6
• Coloring

  6
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0