The future is here, and his name is… POWER MAN! Your Major Spoilers review of Timeless #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!
TIMELESS #1
Writer: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Artist: Juann Cabal
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $6.99
Release Date: December 27, 2023
Previously in Timeless: In a devastating future born from the choices of today, all of time and space are threatened by the ascension of an ancient evil. A nightmare has risen, born of StarkTech, the Eternal Machine, and the God of the Moon… and now all of Earth bows before his overwhelming power! But one man stands against Khonshu’s coming tide of chaos: Power Man, the Marvel Universe’s final living superhero! But who is he? And how did he come to wield the unstable powers of the Sentry, the Hulk, and the Iron Fist?
And at the end of the line, can the Marvel Universe ever truly be saved?
YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW
Timeless #1 begins with a flashback to the original Power Man and his partner, Iron Fist, bonding after their very first interactions. It’s a pretty cool moment, but the story quickly cuts to the future as a new Power Man faces down the last threat his world will ever face: The Moon Knight Immortal! Power Man is successful in punching Khonshu’s “sacrifice machine,” but ends up facing down the new fist of Khonshu in the wreckage, revealing the truth of both men’s identities. Their fight costs Power Man a limb, then segues into a series of Power Man’s “memories,” events yet to happen in the Marvel Universe, including quite a few images that seem to be heroes in new guises, or new costumes, and a few fights yet to be seen. The last third of the book is flashbacks, interspersed with a very decompressed, stretched-out fight, ending with Power Man being thrown back in time, presumably to the present.
A SEVEN-DOLLAR MOVIE TRAILER
Given that the hook of this issue’s solicitations was in the identity of the hero and the villain, I was more than a little bit annoyed to find that information revealed quickly, with the rest of the issue being the final battle between two characters unfamiliar in these forms. This is the third Timeless special, each of which has been a look forward to the next phase of Marvel stories, but this one is pretty much all coming attractions. Cabal’s art is very slick, but a little bit stiff, which blunts the effectiveness of a couple of important scenes. Power Man losing an arm is a little undermined by how perfectly straight and clean the cut is. Add in the maddening fact that the issue cost seven dollars, and it becomes difficult to recommend this, especially to a reader who is looking for context for the current line of Marvel books.
BOTTOM LINE: SOME INTERESTING THINGS COMING UP
For readers who are already well-steeped in the status quo, Timeless #1 will have more appeal, giving glimpses of what to expect coming up in the lives of Black Panther, Spider-Man, The Avengers, and more, with interesting art and a not-entirely-unexpected identity reveal tallying up to 3 out of 5 stars overall. When I was a kid, this sort of “What To Expect Next” was usually a free insert in the pages of Marvel Age rather than a double-priced standalone comic.
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TIMELESS #1
The identities of Moon Knight Eternal and Power Man are interesting reveals, but not particularly surprising, and an inordinate amount of the issue is dedicated to Easter eggs about upcoming Marvel Comics, making for an overpriced issue that's just sort of fine.
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Writing6
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Art6
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Coloring6
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.