Broken Frontier

The son of a late superhero comes to Earth for the first time and more secrets about the backstory of this world are revealed.

For the entirety of his life, Michael has lived aboard a sentient space station orbiting the Earth. He barely knew his mother, Serenity, who gave her life battling the insane superhero, the Righteous, in a destructive conflict years ago. Now, Michael has finally returned to the world of his birth and encountered a paramedic named Rene, whose broken family and manifesting superpowers are tied to Serenity’s origins. Meanwhile, the President of the United States must contend with an encroaching extra-dimensional crisis—one which may call for more drastic measures than anyone is comfortable with.

I’ve been impressed by Gray and Palmiotti’s work in the past and was intrigued by the thought of them taking on their own superhero epic. Thus far, The Twilight Experiment has been an interesting story, though not particularly mind-blowing just yet. There are flashes of inspiration and creativity, as in the use of the zero-point energy theory to explain the characters’ powers, Michael’s off-world upbringing, and the idea of a superhero with xeroderma pigmentosum (sensitivity to light). And the entire tale has a slightly eerie, bittersweet tone to it, stemming from the first issue’s violent disaster and the lasting scars that it left.

That said, I’m unclear on what the defining characteristic of this story is intended to be and what spin the writers are going for with their take on the superhero concept. Thus far, beyond a tone of melancholy and mystery, there isn’t a lot to really make the series stand out. The Righteous seems like the standard "Superman-gone-wrong" character that’s appeared in everything from Powers to Miracleman. We have familiar elements of government conspiracies and an otherworldly cosmic-level threat. The one truly unique aspect of the book seems to be the aforementioned tone and its evocation of 9/11-style disasters and their aftermath. This could produce a decidedly mixed reaction however as some readers may find this an effective technique and others might be offended.

Juan Santacruz illustrates the tale with pleasant, slightly stylized work. He seems to drift in between realism and rounded curvy, almost cartoonish forms which give the comic an occasionally uneven feel. Nonetheless, I think Santacruz is a fine illustrator who does a sufficient job bringing the story to life and matching the tone of the words. Carrie Strachan’s colors alternate from somber and serious to bright and brilliant whenever a fantasy element is introduced to this otherwise bleak reality and the contrast makes for a nice visual.

On the whole, The Twilight Experiment is not a bad story by any means and each issue has provided a healthy dose of plot and intrigue. Only future issues can tell if the creative team has more up their sleeve than a mildly atmospheric superhero tale or if it will become something truly fascinating.

-Eric Lindberg