Um. Wow. I didn't see the ending of the last arc coming, and I sure didn't see the beginning of this one coming either. The overall story of Powers is fascinating enough to read, given the changes in the status quo, but Bendis and Oeming also throw out a new plot, one that ties in rather neatly to the first one, a new character who I already like a lot, and some more hints that the anti-Powers sentiment wasn't just an isolated sentiment of one loony who offed Retro Girl. As always, the book mixes humor and strong characterization with great dialogue and art and comes out as one of the best books on the market.
The shift in the status quo of the book is enormous. I mean, one of the characters is just gone from the book. Just... gone. It happens in real life, sure, and it happens on TV thanks to contract disputes or Hollywood calling, but... this is like having Batman just sort of take off from Detective Comics, and Robin becomes the lead character. Of course, the remaining lead can handle the spotlight; I've always liked the character and I thought that the character worked well as the other half of the buddy picture, a nice flip to what happened in the first arc.
Speaking of a flip on what happened in the first arc, it was interesting to see "Kaotic Chic" raise its ugly head again. Unless I'm misremembering, I believe that the killer had mentioned in his rantings that he wasn't the only one, and this more organized form of anti-Powers action was kind of frightening. The imagination that goes into the public double homicide was also a little freaky, with some startling and creepy methods of murder used. This wasn't just about taking care of an enemy or a problem, the bad guys clearly wanted their victims to suffer and to send a message.
A lot of that creepiness comes from Oeming's imagery. Oeming is pretty amazing in that he can convey an almost straight super-hero fight, which leads off the book, and can then shift into street crime mode without missing a beat. The "after" shots of the murdered hero and villain have just the right air of gore and disturbing imagery to them, and the four "pictures" of other murders are also warped and unnerving. Oeming should also be credited with the parallels between the first issue of Powers and this one, introducing a new character and a new case in a way that echoes the first one, in art as well as script. And though it should go without saying, I'm going to say it anyway... Pete Pantazis remains one of the best colorists in the business.
Ultimately, I feel like we still have only the barest shape of where this arc is going, just as we have with all the other Powers arcs. I don't truly believe that the missing lead is gone forever, and I expect to see that character turn up later in the story, probably with a very different status to him. And I expect that the "Kaotic Chic" crowd has more up their sleeves than a few random murders. All I know is that I can't wait to see what happens next, and that's a common reaction to Powers for me.
