Review: Harbinger #13
Creative Team
Writer: Joshua Dysart
Artists: Khari Evans and Trevor Hairsine
Color Artist: Ian Hannin
Cover Artists: Patrick Zircher, Matthew Waite, and Khari Evans
How We Got Here: Peter Stanchek has always known he was different. Not just different, but born with the ability to do great things with his mind before he was able to understand the world around him. It was hard to fit in as he was subjected to taunts from his peers. One day while trying to activate his father’s latent powers his Dad was put into a coma. For his protection Peter’s Mother placed him in a mental institution. Drugged to prevent him from using his powers he connected with a boy named Joe.
After leaving the institution Peter and Joe find themselves on the run from the authorities. More specifically they are running from Project Rising Spirit. PRS in a decades old arms race with the Harbinger Foundation found themselves in a competition to secure Peter. PRS saw Peter as a weapon, but Toyo Harada (with the help of the Bleeding Monk) sees Peter’s destiny as one who will change the course of the world. Unwilling to let this uncontrolled power run amok or fall into the wrong hands Harbinger Foundation president Toyo Harada appealed to Peter’s need to belong and offered him a chance to fit in and fulfill his potential. The only thing Peter asked in return was for Joe, who was now a drug addict, to be protected.
When subjected to the order of Harada, Peter became unnerved by what was going on. Toyo talked about using his powers for the betterment of society, but Peter saw a man who was playing God. A man who forcefully influenced people to act how he wanted them to. With the help of one of Harada’s assistants Peter sought out Joe only to discover him dead of an overdose. Knowing his friend never used needles, Peter Stanchek rebelled and fought back against Toyo Harada. Gaining access to the list of potential psiots in the United States, Peter Stanchek decided to form an army to fight against the Harbinger Foundation.
The Issue: The Harbinger Wars continues. Peter and his Renegades arrive at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas where the escaped psiot children from Project Rising Spirit have holed up. Bloodshot, the Psiot Killer, is coming for them and they have no choice but to meet him head on.
As Bloodshot approaches Peter’s team surprise attacks. Despite having an advantage in numbers they fight to a standstill. What Bloodshot lacked in preparation, and numbers, he more than made up for in actual skill in combat. The vehicle he that Bloodshot was driving crashes, and Zephyr offers to help the children. Only she is surprised as they fight back.
Elsewhere in the comic more of the backstory between Harbinger Foundation and Project Rising Spirit is revealed. Their conflict didn’t begin with the Harbinger War instead this has been something that has been brewing for decades.
What I Liked: Again, Joshua Dysart did a good job using this issue to fill in the blanks left in Harbinger Wars #3. We get a deeper look into Peter’s perspective as he gets ready for battle. While he has fought battles earlier in this series this is where it becomes obvious that he has never prepared. He is usually either a simple counter puncher or a complete wild card but here he has to protect others, and plan an attack. This is new territory for him. So going into the battle Peter comes up with a simple plan that he feels will absolutely succeed. It really highlights both his youth and his naivety. It is moments like these that drive home the point that these are children. They’re really powerful, but they’re still children.
When Valiant returned we were thrown directly into a world where Harbinger Foundation and Project Rising Spirit existed. In re-reading both Bloodshot and Harbinger it became obvious that they were at odds. It wasn’t until the last few issues of Harbinger that they begin to fill in the backstory and Dysart has done it effectively. He takes us to the very beginning where PRS doesn’t possess a true understanding of the power of Psiots. And what we get as a result are two parties who have similar aims but could never work together. This adds context to the current crossover because it’s not something that just popped up, this has been something they’ve been fighting over for almost 50 years.
What I Didn’t Like: I know I just praised it for filling in the blanks from Harbinger War #3, but what it didn’t do was give us much else. There were no real surprises in this issue and nothing new. We already knew Bloodshot was coming, we knew they had to plan for it, and that this would eventually lead to a fight. But outside of the Harbinger/Project Rising Spirit backstory the only new development was Faith (Zephyr) finding out her grandmother was dead. It just felt like filler.
There’s also the fact that much of this entire crossover, to this point, has leaned on the common comic book trope of heroes mistaking each other for villains and fighting. With the H.A.R.D. Corps invasion in the last issue of Harbinger War I was hoping that played a bigger role in this comic.
Grade:
Coatesvillain
Just a guy who was into this nerd stuff before it's popular. Now that is I'm just happy I have people to talk about it with.
