There are, honestly, no other writers in mainstream comics ever (that I can think of) that borrowed from Alan Moore (in general and Watchmen in particular!) so specifically and exclusively.  That's not 100% an insult -  Moore is IMO one of the top two most formally skilled writers to work in American factory system comics - but not exactly a compliment.  I liked the first few issues of Rising Stars but honestly don't find the rest of his stuff that memorable.

I have heard good things about Babylon Five, though!  I'm not a super huge TV guy so I'll probably never get around to watching it (I have, like, 100 hours of Marvel Netflix shows to get through) but that is a cool set of influences!  

Supreme Power #4



A little Visine might help that.....

Creative Team: No significant changes, other than Mike Raicht is not listed as a co-editor; but is thanked.

Synopsis: We open with contrasting images, as Hyperion rescues a disabled small aircraft, setting it down safely, to be gawked at and admired by bystanders and interviewed by reporters. In the other scenes we have his "parents" meeting with Gen Casey, in a shielded underground facility, talking about their extraction. They are to be removed from the home and their deaths faked, so they can go on with their lives, in Amsterdam, under assumed names. the feeling is that it will push Hyperion into seeing the country and government as surrogate parents, further solidifying his relationship with it and increase his loyalty to it. It turns out that the plane emergency was staged to keep Hyperion occupied, while the meeting took place...



It is one year after Hyperion's public unveiling and Kyle Richmond is informed that he has come into his full inheritance, which has been folded into his holdings. he is less than enthusiastic at hearing this and seems troubled by the news features on Hyperion. he dismisses his aid, with a seemingly hostile attitude, then tries on his new suit, which is not Armani. It features black leather, kevlar and trauma plates, and bird-like goggles, with special optical features. This is the debut of someone else. We cut to an urban horror scene, as an African-American woman flees down an alley, chased by a pack of white, mouth-foaming men. A hand reaches into a pouch and extracts a sharpened object, shaped like an arrowhead, and then throws it at one of the men, imbedding in his eye. The others stop and see the mani in black, in their way. They tell him to get out and he says "No." he then systematically and brutally ends the face off...



Gen Casey comes to Mark's house to ask him to check out reports of a strange phenomena in Atlanta, the Atlanta Blur. They have photo evidence; but, want to ensure it isn't just pattern recognition (pareidolia), and Mark is the only one that can move at speeds to verify if the blur is something else. His father says they were going fishing; but, Mark agrees to take the mission. As he leaves, he asks his father if he is okay, as his heart is racing. After Mark leaves, the family leaves with Gen Casey, who says the Blur is just a ruse to send Mark far away, to chase an urban legend, while they extract the agents. The imagery of Mark leaving and his expressions make you wonder if he hears this or senses the truth. He arrives in Atlanta and hovers above the city, as people spot him and gawk. Changes in the sky chart the passage of time, as he floats there, eyes closed. Eventually, he hears the sound he was looking for and speeds off, catching up with a running African-American man, the young boy we saw with his dog, in the previous issues. He tells the man he just wants to talk and the man, tears off at a right angle and bursts away. Mark is stunned and says he is not alone. He is interrupted by a military officer, who says something has happened to his parents. Boats are searching off the coast and Hyperion plunges into the water and searches, seeing a boat with a hole ripped into the hull. We end with Mark on the shore, and a plane arriving in Amsterdam...



Thoughts: One year later and the world is still enraptured with Hyperion. The agents want out and the government thinks their removal would solidify Mark's connection to the country and the government, as surrogate parents. However, despite the obvious conclusion, JMS lets the agents live. It would seem that someone with Hyperion's abilities could easily track them down, which would make killing them a likely decision. Given what else has gone on in Project: Hyperion, you are surprised that they are let loose. Guess JMS isn't as bloodthirsty as Moore or Morrison.

Nighthawk is unveiled and he stops an attack by white men, on an African-American woman, right after referring to the reason for his inheritance, the racially motivated murder of his parents. As we will see, race is a major factor in this Nighthawk's activities. Here again, JMS is throwing a wrench into the works, upending our expectations. It's one thing to have a black hero defend people against racists; but, his hero is soon shown to be selective in who he assists. More flaws for these "heroes." He did much the same in babylon 5. In the pilot film ("The Gathering," and in much of season 1, the apparent villain is G'Kar, who years to put his people in a position of power, in the galaxy, years after the liberation of it, from the Centauri Empire. he is a schemer; but, is shown to be a patriot. At one point, he dispatches a rescue of the love interest of the station's captain, a man he framed for attempted murder, in the pilot film. he tells her of the advanced races that exist in remote areas of the galaxy, where she was surveying, and the danger in crossing them. he has nothing to gain from this act. Later, he reacts to an attack by his people. Londo, the centauri ambassador, is a fool and a drunkard, dreaming of past glories, while dealing with the decline of his people's empire. Into this comes Morden, the agent of the Shadows, who questions the ambassadors as to what they want, repeating the question to all. G'Kar wants his people free and safe from future aggression; but, has no designs beyond that, showing that he is not a power mad heel. Londo wants his people returned to their rightful place in the galaxy, a restoration of past glory. he becomes the focus of the Shadows, which brings chaos and destruction to other worlds, which improves Londo's stature at home, bringing him into contact with powerful conservative forces, who want to reverse the policies of the current emperor. he becomes complicit in the emperor's murder (though he has no direct knowledge of the plot, then the attack on the Narn homeworld, with Shadow aid. G'Kar becomes a freedom fighter and voice of liberty to his people and others, while Londo sounds like a fascist mouthpiece, reversing their positions. Later in the series, they become wary allies and even friends, after a fashion. JMS likes his flawed characters, showing their heroic sides and their cowardly. No character is black & white. Ditko would hate his work. (or, at least, his character's facets).

Gary Frank repeats his odd images of wide-eyed characters, showing that the girl in Mark's school wasn't a weird design choice; but, a flaw in his art. He does the same with a crowd of admirers, showing their eyeballs nearly bursting from their sockets, while all but devoid of eyelids and lashes. You can see it in the first sample, above, and when Hyperion shows up, in Atlanta. It is a facial expression that seems to be outside of Frank's reach. Also, if you look at his women, they are stick figure thin, in the younger cases. This will be especially true of the women we will meet in the Squadron. That may be a concession to models and actresses of the period (and today) and the anorexic look or just that Frank likes his women thin. Artists tend to draw a lot of the same body types, in comics. More often than not, they fit within the artists tastes towards human features. Jim Balent liked large breasts, as did Corben, while Frazetta seemed to like a curvy behind. Chaykin seemed to like his women classically proportioned, in stylish clothes, stiletto heels and 40s lingerie. The Image guys seemed to prefer them with large breasts, double jointed, and without feet. Dave Sim likes them in the 1800s, when they were subservient.

Nighthawk's suit was showcased in the sketchbook, seen in the special edition of issue #1. A lot of detail went into a protective and functional suit, which still has bird elements. it's a big improvement over the Marvel Universe Nighthawk, in any version.

We are still introducing characters and having them come in contact, while continuing the world building. JMS is still in his introductory phase of the story, before coming to the rising conflict. He is definitely playing a long game, here. To a certain extent, hedoes follow the six-issue arc structure; but, he doesn't necessarily follow it rigidly. We do still see more introduction in the issue that follow #6; but, we also see the start of the rising conflict. JMS akes concession to the publishing demands of modern comics, to fit the trade length; but, he doesn't suddenly wrap things up, like some works out there. He doesn't dangle threads for as long as Claremont; but, then again, he still had a day job.

I didn't read Thor; but, I liked this stuff, until his abrupt departure, and The Twelve, until it stalled.  I still haven't read the ending, though I have the material.

I'm not much in awe of Kevin Smith's superhero stuff.  it's fine; but not spectacular and I thought Daredevil was a bit over-rated; but, that's me.  I much more enjoyed his work on his own characters.  Same with Bendis.  His superhero stuff ranged from fine to not interested, while I greatly enjoyed his crime fiction.  Chaykin is another who is on a higher plane, when he works on his own material, though he had excellent stories with company properties, like his Batman Elseworlds (Dark Allegiance, Batman & Houdini, Thrillkiller).

Supreme Power #4

My Two Cents: Behold the benefit of a story set in its own continuity: You can say “A year passed since last issue” without falling out of step with the rest of the line.

Nighthawk now get his character development spotlight issue. It’s pretty self-explanatory. His penchant for only rescuing minorities being attacked by whites recalls Astro City, in which Winged Victory only rescues women being attacked by men.



The main movement on Mark Milton’s story is the faked death of his parents. A lot is going unsaid here, but the facial expressions lead us to believe that he knows he’s being played with. He is often shown looking way from the people he’s talking to, as if he’s listening to conversations far away. In this panel, he is presumably listening to the discussion about the faking of his parents' death.



It’s also another example of Gary Frank’s weird bug-eyed people.

Mark's super-hearing has been called out several times, and his crying while thinking about his parents would seem to indicate that he has uncovered the ruse but is choosing to play along. I haven't read this series in a while, so I don't recall where it all goes.

Supreme Power #5



Kind of surprised DC and Marvel haven't stuck real advertising into the middle of stories. That was starting to occur in prose, as there were nes pieces about advertisers paying for product placement in works of fiction.

Creative Team: No additions, though Dan Buckley is listed as publisher and Bill Jemas is not listed as president. The issue is listed as Feb 2004 and that's when it seems that Jemas had burned his bridges at Marvel, between messing with the comics and letting his mouth create ill will in fandom, especially when Marvel couldn't afford to really tick off a shrinking audience. He finally got on the bad side of Avi Arad and Ike Permutter and the writing was on the wall.

Synopsis: Mark is in his new penthouse apartment (wait, shouldn't Kyle richmond have the penthouse?), with everything paid by the government. He's feeling a bit constrained and wants to work a normal job, in disguise...



So, I guess crusading reporter at a great metropolitan newspaper is out......

The government men smile at Mark and pat him on the head and tell him not to worry his pretty little head. That isn't going to end well.

Joe Ledger's comatose body is being moved to a new location, as a pair of medics swap rumors about the guy. While one checks in with base, the other makes the mistake of touching the prism...



Near Atlanta, a couple of men in black suits come to visit Abigail Stewart, about her son, Stanley. They meet up with the speedster and it turns out they are booking agents, not spooks. They offer Stan all kinds of endorsement deals, based on their evidence that he is the Blur, after setting up high speed cameras in the Atlanta area, which caught Stan. While they were visiting, they noted that, based on trophies, Stan slowed down in competition, suggesting he was intentionally taking a dive to hide his true speed. He wants to be a hero and they say that can make him even richer.

Joe Ledger is fed current to try and make him awaken and finally is exposed to the craft that brought Hyperion to Earth, which aakens him, after a fashion...



About the same time, the world is introduced to Stan Stewart, aka The Blur and Mark Milton learns he is no longer alone and takes flight. Nighthawk surveys his work, somewhere else...



Thoughts: Starting to bring our super beings together. Mark is now on his own and feeling isolated, when he learns that Stan is ready to be known. Joe Ledger awakens, though whether or not he is in control is another question. Nighthawk stands over the bodies of neo-Nazis. His focus seems rather singular.

The agents finding Stan, before the government seems a bit much, though we saw the government considered the Blur an urban legend; people trying to get in on the attention. Mark withheld his attempt to talk to Stan.

Ledger is awakened by close proximity to the pod, for which the prism was the power source. There is talk of organic and inorganic matter bonding, when they examine Ledger, suggesting that the crystal is changing structure, while bonded to Ledger.

JMS sends up the idea of Superman hiding behind glasses, though I prefer the Tick's version of the idea, in the Patrick Warburton series.



The reaction of the government men probably did even more to damage Mark's confidence in them and willingness to play ball.

Gary Frank gives us an adult Stan, whose hair is kind of swept back, probably due to the running, at high speed. For at least some poses and facials, it appears as if he was using the younger Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a model.





Johnson was red hot, around this time.

Stan's public appearance upsets gen Casey's applecart, as they totally missed him and he is another X-factor. he already has doubts about Mark, based solely on his alien nature. the only one he is sure of is Ledger, which is why they are going to extremes to wake him, in case they need a weapon to bring down Hyperion. Sounds like foreshadowing.

We only see Nighthawk at the end, standing over broken Nazis. JMS further cements the idea that he is going after white supremacists and thugs. We don't know if that is his sole focus, though that is a question that will come up, soon.

Next, where the heck was Ledger going and is Hyperion flying off to find Stan?