Broken Frontier

As Osiris struggles with his past actions and the curse of his powers, the enemy within Kahndaq reveals himself.

For weeks now, Osiris has attempted to come to grips with having taken a man’s life in a fit of rage. Blaming himself for Kahndaq’s hardships and believing his powers to be a curse, he visits the Marvel Family on the Rock of Eternity in an attempt to be rid of his abilities. But there is another more deadly force at work in Kahndaq, one now ready to strike. While Osiris has been looking within himself for answers, Animal Man is forced to look without. Reinserted into "the continuum" by the mysterious aliens who granted him his powers, Buddy must find an animal ability to tap into pronto or die (again) in the vacuum of space. And elsewhere, the Lady Styx proves that she was only…mostly dead.

Since his introduction, Osiris has been on a character arc that reaches its inevitable climax with this issue. Except for a brief scuffle and a shocking (though not entirely unexpected) final page, the story is relatively focused on "talking heads" and character drama and the writing quartet capitalizes on this to good effect. They’ve done an admirable job getting us to care about the Black Marvels and their efforts to hold a kingdom and a family together. Here, they take Osiris and his clan through a wringer of emotions ranging from guilt and confusion to rage and desperation, building to a noble act with terrible consequences. It’s powerful stuff and that aforementioned final sequence is sure to get fandom buzzing and considerably alter the stakes in the series’ home stretch. Suffice it to say, this issue is not for the faint of heart. Although 52 has delved into the ol’ ultraviolence in the past, the single act of savagery seen here is easily the most eyebrow-raising, even for those who saw it coming.

The story is alternately gripping and horrifying and the art rises to meet the challenge. Dan Jurgens (with finishes by Norm Rapmund) delivers his usual classic-style comic book layouts and wonderfully depicts the cast’s emotional instability and turmoil. The result is one of the slickest looking 52 issues in some time. In fact, the only artistic choice I question is Ethan Van Sciver illustrating "The Origin of Plastic Man." Granted, his art looks spectacular but Van Sciver’s detailed realism seems an odd fit for a character as cartoonishly unrealistic and unfettered by physics as Plas.

While saddened by this issue’s ultimate resolution, I can only express awe at the way in which it was carried out. The next few issues should prove to be very interesting indeed.