Power Pack Blasts Off Into Marvel's Outlawed Crossover Event
- WRITER
- Ryan North
- Artist
- Nico Leon
- Letterer
- VC's Travis Lanham
- Cover Artist
- Chris Sotomayor, J.P. Mayer, June Brigman, Rachelle Rosenberg, Billy Martin, Eduard Petrovich, Ryan Stegman, Bob Wiacek, Frank Martin, Nico Leon
- Publisher
- Marvel Comics
- Price
- 3.99
- Release Date
- 2020-11-25
- Colorist
- Rachelle Rosenberg
As the crossover event Outlawed targets all the underage superheroes in the Marvel Universe, the precocious Power Family finds themselves dragged into the conflict in the recently relaunched Power Pack miniseries. Helmed by Eisner Award-winning comic book creator Ryan North and fan-favorite artist Nico Leon, the five-issue tie-in miniseries reintroduces the young heroes. And while the opening issue is off to a shaky start with some issues involving pacing and the sheer amount of exposition, there is plenty of North's signature, self-aware humor that teases better things to come once the introductions are out of the way.
After their recent adventures at the far reaches of the cosmos as part of the Future Foundation, Alex, Julie, Katie and Jack Power are back down to Earth and living with their parents in New York City. Told primarily from the perspective of Katie, the youngest of the Powers, the four siblings are reintroduced for new readers before they're called into action across town. The family quickly discovers that their status as unauthorized superheroes operating under the age of 21 makes them a prime target for the federal government when they find themselves facing the full implications of Kamala's Law.
North is no stranger to writing bright-eyed and bushy-tailed superheroes in the Marvel Universe after his acclaimed run on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Here, North is working with a full ensemble even with Katie Power as his point-of-view protagonist while also delivering a debut issue that is completely accessible to those unfamiliar with the superhero family. As such, there is a lot of dialogue, even after a playful prologue rendered like a childhood drawing, and it bogs down a lot of this issue's pace, with virtually every page chock full of exposition. Though the dialogue has some comedy, there isn't quite as much humor as one might expect, unfortunately.
Leon, working with color artist Rachelle Rosenberg, delivers the playful, bright artwork -- a lot of Outlawed titles, so far, have been shrouded in darkness, but for something like Power Pack, a more vibrant art sensibility would be more apt. Rosenberg's color palette certainly follows through on this expectation, especially when the siblings' powers are shown in full during the issue's action sequences. Unfortunately, like the humor in the scripting, there isn't a whole lot of action in this opening issue, meaning less of an opportunity for Leon and Rosenberg to really shine. This isn't to say the art team doesn't illustrate the quieter, domestic-bound sequences well. They are able to convey the dynamic between the Power siblings to great effect, but the issue soars to a higher level when the art team is able to cut loose just like the precocious superhero team.
One of the biggest underage superhero teams in the Marvel Universe is Power Pack, so their lives would certainly stand to be upended by Kamala's Law. But the latest relaunch of the Power Family's adventures is too bogged by reintroducing the characters. Once the stakes actually pick up, its ties to Outlawed are brought to the forefront and introductions dispensed, there are surefire signs of the miniseries being a lot of fun, but this opening issue provides an uneven start to the superheroes' latest title that leans too heavily on expository dialogue than the expected colorful action or self-aware comedy.