Broken Frontier

Time for some heavy metal! The Metal Men are back to save the day! Or are they? Someone is changing the past so that these heroic ‘bots never exist!

With 52 creating a breakout character in sort-of mad scientist and Metal Men creator Will Magnus, writer and artist Duncan Rouleau has taken on the task of rebooting the Metal Men yet again. As one of the quirkiest superhero teams to ever grace the pages of a comic book, the original Metal Men were known for their weird (and impossible) science, their destructibility, and their adaptability. Can Rouleau restore the charm and the luster to this collection of metallurgic might?

In the long gone past an ancient alchemist battles demons in order posses an object of great power. There is a third party in this race for the object but what is his motive for wanting it? Meanwhile, in the present, a modern nightmare is underway – electronic items have developed wills of their own and they’re tired of serving humanity. Lucky for humanity the Metal Men are on hand to serve and protect! Unluckily for the Metal Men they are learning that, no matter how they see themselves nor how their creator sees them, there are those who see them only as robots, as objects, as… things. Finally, we get a peek into a dim and distant past as a young Will Magnus introduces the world to his scientific theories… and some very familiar sounding prototypes. There is someone in the shadows, however, someone who does not want Magnus’s prototypes to ever go beyond that. The future of the Metal Men is in danger from all sides. Can Will Magnus figure out the correct path to preserve his amazing creations?

As writer and artist on this series, Duncan Rouleau is wearing a number of hats. In addition to all of this, he has also created a rather complex plot for this re-introduction of the Metal Men into the DC Universe. In fact, the plot may be a little too complex. Jumping from past to present to not-as-distant past is a little confusing as the reader struggles to get some sense of where Rouleau may be heading with all of this and how it will end up fitting together. It is also a little disconcerting that a title called Metal Men really does not feature the titular heroes very much in this first issue. Despite all of this there is a certain odd charm at work here. Rouleau’s Will Magnus is endearing, occasionally shy and occasionally awkward but there is no question of the place the Metal Men hold in his life.

The art is Rouleau’s own, unique style… odd, a little angular, and as quirky as the rest of the title. It is a surprisingly good fit as Rouleau imbues all of his figures with the same odd charm he puts into his writing. The unusual look and feel of the art will be an acquired taste for some but it is really fitting that the Metal Men look quite like nothing else out on the stands today.

With all of the high expectations for this series things are off to a bit of a slow start. Still, there is enough wit and general likeability to these characters to keep this reviewer on for another issue to see how things may shape up. If nothing else, it is nice to have a series that seems to take a more gently emotional look at superheroics – this time through the eyes of a scientist and a team of robots whose metal exteriors cannot always shield their all-too human emotions.