It was never explained quite satisfactorily... Even back in Micronauts #1, the Endeavour reaches the Spacewall in a matter of minutes, which at the time made me think that it was not an actual physical barrier but some other kind of obstacle; something like, say, a higher band in the hyperspace spectrum or something? One that usually caused the destruction of ships daring to cross it, but if actually crossed would cause one to "shift" into our macroverse? Perhaps it should be seen as the surface of a 4D sphere on which the 3D Micronauts live; if we manage to escape from that surface, we end up on the surface of a bigger 4D sphere, that being our own 3D universe peopled with giants. But that's all fannish speculation; I get the impression that by "subatomic universe", Bill Mantlo really meant "a universe contained within an atom", as if (a) that was at all possible and (b) atoms had borders.

Here in New voyages the spacewall is depicted as an actual barrier in the microverse, circumventing a chunk of space that contains the planets we know (Homeworld, Spartak, Kaliklak et al). So in a sense the Confluence really is in the microverse; it's just that the microverse is much bigger than the part of it contained within the spacewall.

And why there is a spacewall at all, I have no idea. The Enigma Force works in Enigmatic Ways


Good question. Maybe the spacewall is transluscent or something.


Ahgain a good question. Maybe Acroyear just wasn't sure that the explosion wouldn't go through the spacewall after all.


I seem to remember that he invokes something like a "priority override Eleusis" or something... which might be Spartakian for "sudo".


That's how I felt about this arrogant, winged knock-off of Colossus for as long as he was in the book! I really didn't like Scion. Like Nanotron and Devil, I just wanted him gone!



I never cared for Bulanadi's inks either (especially on Gil Kane... to think that there were so many Micronauts issues drawn by one of my artistic heroes, and that I only enjoyed the single one he inked himself...)

I wouldn't say the book gets a lot better, but there are a few awesome moments toward the end, evoking the grandeur of a Jack Kirby story. No spoilers, but all in all I'd say that New Voyages failed to live up to its apparently lofty ambitions. The best that can be said about it is that it tried something different (which is actually not a bad eulogy for a comic-book).

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Have you tried Strikeforce Morituri, dbutler69 ? That was another Gillis series that was quite unlike most other comics, and it was (in my opinion) much better executed than New Voyages.

I actually thought this issue had some interesting sci-fi concepts, with these living ships and these symbiotic creatures where one organism is the "brain" and the other the armored body. I'll give this issue credit for that, and I thought there was enough action to keep things moving along fine.

However, this issue was certainly not without flaws.  The Endeavor's computers are Bug's specialty?! Huh? Since when? I've never seen him use a computer or display much technical knowledge.  There was a ridiculous size difference between Acroyear and Mari on p.14, and it can't be blamed on perspective, since Mari is actually in front of Acroyear. I've noticed that Acroyear has been drawn like a gigant among the Micronauts lately. Must be Kelly Jones's interpretation.  It's too much, though.  Scion is an annoying ass, a bossy bully.  Mari looks kinda silly fighting in that flying chair. I think paralyzing her was a bad move. Huntarr reminds me of something since his transformation. Is it the creature from Alien? 

I always thought it was kind of obvious with Mari being paralyzed. What happens when you cut a puppets strings? Essentially you are crippling it! It was just dragged out too long over issues. A 2-parter would have been sufficient.

Mari intimates that she's over 100 years old (similar to Rann's flashback from a few issues ago where it was implied that Mari (and Argon) is over 100 years old) since her flashback takes place over 100 years ago, and she wasn't much older in the flashback than in the present. I hate that! There's absolutely no reason for this. It adds nothing to the story. Is he trying to make a point that they're more advanced than us? This implies that the average lifespan on Homeworld is (was) well over 300 years. And presumably she and Argon and her parents didn't have any help from the Body Banks to achieve this long lifespan, either, as they all despise them. This is kinda ridiculous and also makes Rann's 1,000 journey lot less special and less remarkable. I very much doubt that BIll Mantlo had this in mind. There was no hint of this before.

The cover with Karza is a bit of a tease, as he's only in a flashback.

How does Mari know all of the conversations that took place when she wasn't present in this flashback story of hers? This story was a needless, silly retcon, IMHO. Oh, so why aren't Mari's legs blue? Well, OK, I guess they got her some white skin for her new legs from the Body Banks. Sigh.

This issue was definitely better than the last few issues.  Anyway...
It's stated at the beginning that the Beyonder killed Scionm but as we find out in the next issue, that's wrong.   
I have to say, I like Acroyear - he's a calm, peaceful, level-headed warrior. All too rare in comics, where most superheroes act like morons and/or hotheads.
Huntarr is blaming Acroyear for smashing Scion to bits?! It was at least as much Huntarr's fault, as he somehow gave Acroyear the power to do so.
What does Mari mean they didn't find a new home (p.9)? What about the Confluence world?? They all loved it there, and were welcome there.
Some nice thoughts (p.11-12) by Huntarr in his conversation with Mari. He's become deep. Then again, I guess all of the Micronauts have become deeper under Gillis.
No explanation as to why Rann is young again, or how he managed to know to come back to where they were, or how he knew to come back at just that moment. Pretty poorly handled reintroduction of Rann.