SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Mister Miracle #6, by Tom King, Mitch Gerads and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
We’ve reached the halfway point of Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ mind-bending, 12-issue love letter to Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, Mister Miracle. Is it truly Miracle, though, or is it Macabre? After all, the series has dealt with some morbid thematic elements, beginning with Scott Free’s attempted suicide, and when we last saw the New Gods convene, the death-defying escape artist was sentenced to the very thing he routinely defies.
However, in Mister Miracle #6, the narrative shifts from endings to new beginnings in a major way, not just for Scott but for his wife, Big Barda. And if New God biology is anything like human, she’ll probably start getting even bigger in the coming months. (It’ll all make sense, soon.)
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After evading capture in an emphatically brutal fashion in issue #5, the latest chapter of Mister Miracle begins with Scott and Barda arriving on New Genesis via Boom Tube to tackle Scott’s precarious predicament head-on. Rather than discussing the task at hand, though, Scott and Barda do what any married couple would do while dismembering enemies, evading deadly gas and dodging tidedragons: Bicker over home renovations.
Barda wants to redo the couple’s entire condo, cutting back on their kitchen, closet and living room space so they can build another bedroom and bathroom. Scott, on the other hand – who notes that he “lived in a three-by-three box” on Apokolips – isn’t too keen on compartmentalizing more of their home’s square footage. Why sacrifice their living space to add more rooms when it’s just the two of them?
Well, as it turns out, there’s a method to Barda’s madness, and one that likely stems from the couple’s intimate encounters in issue #5.
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“I’m pregnant,” Barda tells Scott just before delivering a powerful blow to the side of Lightray’s face. Elated by the news, Scott embraces his wife and tells her he loves her, but as heartwarming as this moment is, one can’t help but wonder if the couple, primarily Scott, is ready for the introduction of a child – or if it’s even true.
Let’s not forget that we aren’t even entirely sure what’s real in Scott’s world, and that includes Barda. Back in issue #1, Scott had a “Mandela Effect” realization that Barda’s eyes are brown when he always remembered them being blue, which could be a clue that she’s some sort of machination.
Even if we rule out that possibility, there’s still the fact that not long ago, Scott tried to take his own life, which calls into question his emotional and mental readiness for the difficulties of parenthood. Plus, with a massive war being waged and the ever-looming threat of Darkseid still plaguing them, is this world – real or not – the kind Scott and Barda truly want to raise a child in?
In any case, if Scott and Barda are going to become parents, then Barda’s right – they should definitely redo the condo.
Mister Miracle #6, by Tom King, Mitch Gerads and Clayton Cowles, is on sale now. Mister Miracle #7 hits stands March 14.