I can't recall if it is ever explored; I don't think so, as JMS abandoned the series before coming to any conclusion and he was still doing a lot of world building.  I haven't read the whole thing in quite a while, and am only an issue or so ahead of the reviews (I generally read through tem and write my piece, right after, while it is fresh in my mind).

I'll get to things eventually; but, a lot of subplots and ideas get left on the table when JMS departs the series; I'll try to note some things he seemed to imply were coming down the road and what got played out, in some fashion.

Supreme Power #7



You should have seen the one that got away!

Also about the only angle of the character that would fly, for a cover.

Creative Team: Nothing new to report

Synopsis: We open with an apartment building on fire and Hyperion comes to the rescue. he uses his vision powers to locate endangered people, then flies at great speed in and out of the building, which then collapses. he is spotted bringing a child to a nearby basketball court, where all of the rescued people are gathered. It is caught on camera, which we then see being viewed by the military people in charge of Project: Hyperion. A new spook, Bryce, is berating them for wasting money on a public spectacle, rather than using Hyperion as an ultimate weapon of deterrence (read conquest). Gen Casey argues that too many reporters were sniffing the story and they had to go public, which gets the response that they should have considered liquidation, before public exposure (after bribery or intimidation, of course). He then says the NSA is running things now and suggests that Casey and the others look towards their retirement. It's not explicitly stated; but, this appears to be the change over to the Bush Jr Administration. (More below)

While the press is recording their news pieces, an Asian man shakes Mark's hand, thanking him for his efforts and slips him a note.



Meanwhile, out at sea, a scuba diver comes across a strange new aquatic lifeform; a hybrid of human and fish, and the creature (obviously female) is curious and tries to communicate with the diver, who flees in terror, severing her airline on some coral. the creature saves her and brings her onto the dive boat, where the diver's male partner has been resetting a camera. he see the creature with the unconscious woman in its arms and inadvertently snaps a shot, before diving for a spear gun, which wounds and angers the creature. The boat is destroyed and the camera dropped in the water.

Meanwhile, the not given to Mark features latitude and longitude co-ordinates and a time for a meeting. the location is in China and Hyperion arrives to meet with his mysterious audience...



The Chinese official gives Mark some food for thought, such as how unexplained incidents are occuring around the globe, vital to American interests, while Hyperion is on public display elsewhere. he suggests to Mark that he is being used as cover for someone else's activities and suggests, subtly, that Mark might want to look into and decide if he serves the world's interests or one nation's.

Mark is observed in China and Bryce berates him for crossing into their airspace and going without orders. mark makes it very clear who gives him his orders...



As the Brit's say, it's brown trouser time!

We next see Mark listening to conservative talk radio and he calls the host to ask about potential threats to American interests and follows up on the host's suggestions. He observes strange light in Germany, Bolivia, and Somalia, all places the host noted. He tracks the light source down, over a desert and flies at top speed to intercept, leading to a confrontation...



Thoughts: Looks like that fight I was expecting, last issue. First, we see what happened to the child that was let loose in the ocean, as we see the adult it became, a hybrid of human and sea life. The creature is blue, with orange/yellow spots of color, fins and other picene details, though with definite mammary glands, as it has no clothing. It makes a sort of trilling noise, in attempting to verbally communicate. We see that it is curious and peaceful, until attacked. Then, it turns deadly. This is our Amphibian.

Mark has been playing Superman; but, we see a new administration (I believe) is in charge and they want to use Mark in a more aggressive manner. The interaction between Bryce and Gen Casey is consistent with descriptions of the George W Bush Administration, when it took office, based on Richard Clarke's book, Against All Enemies.   Clarke was the Counter-Terrorism Czar and had been an appointee of Ronald Reagan, serving in intelligence and security positions from his administration, up through George HW Bush and Bill Clinton. He and his people were heavily focused on the potential threat from Al-Qaeda, and tried to brief incoming Bush officials on the perceived threats and operations, but they ignored the reports and continually focused on Iraq, despite little or no action from Iraq, since the botched assassination attempt of former Pres Bush, in Saudi Arabia (the would-be assassins were caught before their operation got to a threat stage) and the subsequent US reprisals (missile strike on the Iraqi intelligence HQ). Per his book, the W administration was spoiling for a fight with iraq and was ignoring the real threat of Al-Qaeda, until the 9/11 attacks. The interplay between Bryce and Casey shows Bryce, in his arrogance, ignoring the information and advice from Casey, wanting his weapon, not a PR sideshow. That segues into reports of Joe Ledgers' activities, covertly, using the power prism.

Mark's meeting with the Chinese official (high ranking, though unnamed; probably involved in intelligence) opens his eyes to ledgers covert activities and that Mark is being used to quell international response to these activities. The question becomes, what is the Chinese official's motive? On the surface, it seems that he wants to make Mark a true force for the world and open his eyes to a perspective beyond his patriotic indoctrination. However, it would be in China's interests for the superhuman weapons of mass destruction to be neutralized and by sending Hyperion to confront Ledger, he is killing two birds with one stone. If one survives, the other is eliminated, or, both might perish. The man is a chess player, which suggests strategies and counter-strategies, played well ahead of the current moves.

The talk radio host looks rather like a caricature of Peter David, who Gary Frank worked with, on the Hulk.



This is similar to his appearance, in the 90s and Todd McFarlane's caricature, prior to their infamous debate...



I have to think this was an in-joke, from Frank, especially with the FF t-shirt. It's even more a gag, as David is politically liberal (based on comments in his But I Digress column and elsewhere).

Lots of twists and turns going on here, as we begin to see the rising conflict stage. JMS has used subtle political moves in his writing, on Babylon 5, as he has characters use subtle ploys to manipulate situations and responses. The Chinese official reminds one of Mr Morden, the agent of the Shadows, in B5. he seeks out the various ambassadors and asks what they want, seeking to determine whose desires and goals are in line with the agenda of the Shadows. Londo proves perfectly matched and they help him retrieve a lost centauri artefact, which puts Londo in a position of esteem with important political factions. They also arrange to take care of some minor irritations, as a sign of good faith, which raises Londo's profile, further. they push him into conservative circles, who seek to replace the current Emperor, with someone of a more receptive outlook. This leads to Londo's indirect complicancy with a murder plot and then the launching of a new war against the Narn. Londo finds that his choices have led him down a path from which he can't return.

The Chinese official is playing with Mark's head, sowing the seeds of discontent with the US government, making him distrust them more than he already does. This removes him as a directed threat and also brings him within their sphere of influence. The official may be trying to become a surrogate father to Mark, in guiding him into larger global politics. The question is, can Mark recognize the Chinese self-interests?

Gary Frank continues to feature female characters nude. Joe Ledger was nude in the previous issue; but, either he or Marvel (or both)was squeamish about fully illustrating his penis. No such hesitation has been shown, with th women. This also reflects the"boys' club" nature of American comics, as they are the biggest share of the audience and have been the focus since the mid-70s. Young women have grown substantially as an audience; but, manga still holds a disproportionately higher female audience than American comics. Marvel has done more in recent years to court that audience; but, wasn't exactly trying very hard in the early 00s (nor was DC). Even so, male genitalia still seems to be where a line is drawn (or not drawn, in this instance), rather like the MPAA restrictions, relating to nudity 9or rather, how they are applied).

Typo, since corrected.  I know my Babylon 5 characters.


This is what happens when you have to do an inventory at 8 am, after closing the night before, at 10 pm, and not getting to bed until around 2 am (because you close every night you work), then try to write coherent sentences, after spending 5 hours scanning barcodes and typing quantities.

Supreme Power #8

My Two Cents: Finally the big Hyperion/Spectrum battle we’ve been waiting for, and Gary Frank gives us plenty of eye candy to make it worth our while. JMS also gives us another in his series of sympathetic Catholic priests as Mark seeks counsel from a wise stranger.

ps JMS is off a bit on his history. The scientist, in discussing the BLU-82, says they are newly developed. Mark was found during the Carter Administration, which took office in January, 1977. The BLU=82 was first deployed in March, 1970. So, it had been around a while. It wasn't exactly broadcast, until after the Gulf War; , so JMS might not have done enough research on them (or had a bad source).

Errr... Yes, yes, I do!