Every since his unexpected resurrection, Dickie Dauntless has had nothing but questions. But now that he’s found answers, he has a bone to pick with his old friend, Miracleman. Your Major Spoilers review of Miracleman: The Silver Age #7 from Marvel Comics awaits!

MIRACLEMAN: THE SILVER AGE #7

Writer: Neil Gaiman/Mark Buckingham
Artist: Mark Buckingham
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 17, 2024

Previously in Miracleman: The Silver Age: It’s a battle decades in the making, both in-universe and in real life. Young Miracleman finally has it out with Miracleman! Of course, the last time two Miraclefolk fought, it destroyed all of London…

THE ZARATHUSTRA OPTION

For the last six issues, the young man called Dickie Dauntless has sought out the truth about his origins and the life he left behind. After investigating his past and finding only abuse and torture, Dickie has come to an important realization: His real name, the only name that matters, is Dickie Dauntless, the one he himself chose when abandoned at an orphanage. This issue opens with Miracleman, puzzled that he can see and hear everything in the world, track every falling leaf, but cannot find “Young’n.” Miraclewoman thinks that he’s being foolish, insisting that they need to discuss their options, but before they can, all the screens in Olympus come to life with a message from Young Miracleman: We need to talk. Their discussion is unexpectedly calm and pragmatic. Young Miracleman asks his former boss what exactly his options are. After all, one doesn’t just let an uncontrolled element loose in one’s utopian society… unless your paradise need a devil.

“IF THIS IS EDEN, I’M GONNA BE THE SERPENT”

Normally, I might be a little bit angry at the bait-and-switch of the big fight cover and the nationally televised slightly tense conversation that actually ends the issue, but… It’s a Neil Gaiman comic book. The idea of this actually being resolved with a battle between Dickie and Micky was unlikely at best, instead feeling like the simulated reality that Doctor Gargunza had created (and the one to which Miracleman wanted to return Young Miracleman, as his final option.) The second half of the issue features Dickie and Meta Maid in Australia, in the middle of nowhere, figuring out exactly how to proceed as the designated villain. The art is captivating stuff, especially in YM’s choice of attire once he returns to full power: A simple black suit, with star fields in the shadows and creases, mundane and cosmic all at once. Buckingham’s work is incredibly subtle, with Jordie Bellaire providing note-perfect colors throughout the issue, heightening the reality of the confrontation, then bringing it all back to reality at the end.

BOTTOM LINE: VERY MUCH UNEXPECTED

I’ve had a long time to wonder what The Silver Age might end up being, but Miracleman: The Silver Age #7 surprises me on a number of levels, from Miracleman’s option to Dickie’s decision to the voice that crops up in the final two panels, earning a well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars overall. This issue ends with a blurb for the next chapter, The Dark Age, and I’ll be interested to see if readers in 2024 actually wake up and realize that his comic is still being printed, because it’s actually worth the thirty-year wait.

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