WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Champions #2 by Eve L. Ewing, Simone Di Meo, Federico Blee, & VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now
“Outlawed” continues to change the status quo, as Marvel’s young heroes continue to find themselves on the wrong side of the law. From dealing with divisive reactions from citizens to avoiding harsh C.R.A.D.L.E. raids, heroes like heavy hitter Kamala Khan, Riri Williams and Miles Morales are constantly fighting for their right to be heroes.
Some heroes have already lost this battle, though. Wasp, Starling, Bombshell, Locust and Snowguard have already been captured by the government's anti-vigilante task force, and the latest issue of Champions answers the question of what happens to the detained teens. Heroes who get arrested wind up in a “reduction center” that aims to make them assimilate into average society.
This issue opens with a peek into what Wasp and her peers have to deal with. One of the “teachers” at the center is giving the students a lesson about the consequences of teenage crimefighting. She discusses how Justice, or Vance Astrovik, accidentally killed his father when he lost control of his powers. This teacher revises history by leaving out crucial details of the tragedy. (For example, she doesn’t mention how Astroki’s father repeatedly abused him and his mother.) As a result, the teacher is trying to change the narrative, hoping to fill the captured heroes with guilt about their own abilities.
Class is in session for these young crimefighters, and the teacher gives them an eye-opening assignment. After her lecture about Astrovik, she tells her students to write an essay with the prompt, “Most teen superheroes unintentionally murder their loved ones,” and instructs them to apply this so-called truth to their own lives. The attempted brainwashing is astonishing, as the teacher and her superiors clearly seek to rewrite history to the extent that it suits them.
As with other problematic “reeducation centers,” compliance is rewarded, but defiance is harshly punished. When the captured heroes speak up and point out the dark past of similar schemes, an outburst from Snowguard prompts the teacher to remind her students who’s in charge. Using Rina Patel’s abilities to manipulate time, she removes Amka and Bombshell from the room and likely sends them to an even more cruel method of readjustment. Finally, she reveals what the students are at the center to learn. “You will study until you learn how to not be dangerous,” the teacher says.
With each passing issue, Kamala's Law threatens to tear the teenage superhero community apart. If the center's mission succeeds, all of the captured crimefighters will probably either retire or join the dark side by enforcing the legislation. Surviving this reprogramming with the same mindset won't be easy. Though Champions #2 doesn't hint at outright torture, the conditions at the reeducation center are right out of a dystopian nightmare.
The dissension amongst the teenage superheros grows by the day, as the ideology behind Kamala's Law continues to divide heroes and civilians alike. To be fair, some heroes have benefitted during the chaos. But this polarity might be shattered when the general public learns what is happening to the captured children. Until then, the students will have to do their best to get through the experience intact.