What do you think?
Rate this book
Powers (2000) #7
Powers, Vol. 7: Forever
FOREVER! The comics experience of the year - the origin of POWERS! FOREVER! The story that literally spans the history of man as all the mysteries of Powers and the Powers universe unfold, following a lone warrior's trek through the greatest stories ever told. FOREVER! The largest Powers collection yet! WE SAID, "FOREVER!" WITH EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES!! the entire unedited script to the controversial Powers #31, andother brand-new "Bendis and Oeming interview each other," a stunning look into Oeming's research and sketch work for every era, bonus text pieces, a cover gallery, a making of the scene, and much more. We'd tell you, but we're already out of breath!
272 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2004
About the author
Brian Michael Bendis
4,973 books2,439 followersA comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
April 22, 2022
This volume is genuinely genre bending, an outrageous origin of the mythos of Bendis' and Oeming's Powers reality, one that you could never see coming, and when you look back, still can't imagine you've read what you just read! Wonderfully weighted yet again and littered with some blatant foreshadowing, we also finally, get the Wolfe story....and at this point my lips remained sealed to prevent any spoilage!
As well as Wolfe, we get to see Oeming go wild with his crime noir block art in a story which is essentially nearly all speculative fiction. Despite veering away from its crime fiction base, and pulling the reader all over the place, the series maintains its heat. 9 out of 12.
2021, 2019, 2017 and 2013 read!!!
As well as Wolfe, we get to see Oeming go wild with his crime noir block art in a story which is essentially nearly all speculative fiction. Despite veering away from its crime fiction base, and pulling the reader all over the place, the series maintains its heat. 9 out of 12.
2021, 2019, 2017 and 2013 read!!!
May 12, 2018
The Origin Story.
Yeah, so a huge part of me was wondering if we'd ever find out how Christian Walker became Diamond. And then stopped being Diamond.
Well.
All I can say is that you definitely get your money's worth out of Forever, in that regard. This one takes you back to the dawn of man (or maybe a little before) and then continues on till you hit present day.
It was FANTASTIC!
Thank you for the answers, Mr. Bendis.
Now to read the next volume and figure out what the heck happens next!
Oh, and there's some monkey-fucking for you pervs who like that sort of thing...
Yeah, so a huge part of me was wondering if we'd ever find out how Christian Walker became Diamond. And then stopped being Diamond.
Well.
All I can say is that you definitely get your money's worth out of Forever, in that regard. This one takes you back to the dawn of man (or maybe a little before) and then continues on till you hit present day.
It was FANTASTIC!
Thank you for the answers, Mr. Bendis.
Now to read the next volume and figure out what the heck happens next!
Oh, and there's some monkey-fucking for you pervs who like that sort of thing...
September 22, 2019
Walker's origin. Finally! The first issue is kind of stupid, but just get past it. I love how Bendis structures this arc, with each issue showing Walker in another time period. The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon episode really flipped the series on its ear again. He truly makes Walker a sympathetic character that you feel sorry for. The guy has been through so much. Looking really forward to the next volume now.
Read
May 29, 20183,5/5
January 24, 2024
"Powers: Forever" completely ignores the apocalyptic developments and cliff hanger ending of the previous volume to go back to the dawn of the human race and reveal key elements to the back story of the Powers universe. Focusing primarily on Walker this intense volume is full of revelations and explanations to mysteries that were only hinted at in the past. This is a fun wild ride that may radically alter the reader's perception of the Power's universe.
Expect, the infamous "Monkey Episode", a rivalry for the ages, tributes to both the Hyborian age and every Kung-Fu movie ever, a look at Diamond's past with Zora and Retro Girl, a tragic loss, Walker's path to joining the police and the return of an old villain.
Expect, the infamous "Monkey Episode", a rivalry for the ages, tributes to both the Hyborian age and every Kung-Fu movie ever, a look at Diamond's past with Zora and Retro Girl, a tragic loss, Walker's path to joining the police and the return of an old villain.
February 13, 2013
I've been reading Powers off and on for a long while. I like it enough too keep coming back to it, but I dislike it enough t stay away from it for long periods. I'm just never impressed by the artwork (although the coloring is often phenomenal). The writing is great, for the most part, but sometimes runs heavy on the dialogue. Overall, it's a great series, no matter what I've said about it in the past. But this is the one volume that makes absolutely zero sense in the grand scheme of Powers.
Evidently Walker is Vandal Savage- an eternal, powerful meta-human who has been alive for many thousands of years. Like Casca, doomed to walk the Earth forever as a soldier doing battle. My question to Bendis would be- why?
It's especially superfluous. Pointless. There wasn't much of a story here to start with, but instead runs along as an homage to various other creators like Robert E Howard and Stanley Kubrick and even to himself (the Chicago scenes resembling his own book 'Torso'). So what, we get to see Walker fight a foe as old as himself throughout time. Could have been done in a montage in one half of one issue, not over a handful of them. I hated every page until they got the book back on track in the present day. There wasn't a single redeeming thing about seeing Walker's backstory and it just made so little sense framed against his life as a cop that I was scratching and shaking my head the entire time.
Writing: C-
Art: C-
Evidently Walker is Vandal Savage- an eternal, powerful meta-human who has been alive for many thousands of years. Like Casca, doomed to walk the Earth forever as a soldier doing battle. My question to Bendis would be- why?
It's especially superfluous. Pointless. There wasn't much of a story here to start with, but instead runs along as an homage to various other creators like Robert E Howard and Stanley Kubrick and even to himself (the Chicago scenes resembling his own book 'Torso'). So what, we get to see Walker fight a foe as old as himself throughout time. Could have been done in a montage in one half of one issue, not over a handful of them. I hated every page until they got the book back on track in the present day. There wasn't a single redeeming thing about seeing Walker's backstory and it just made so little sense framed against his life as a cop that I was scratching and shaking my head the entire time.
Writing: C-
Art: C-
October 17, 2016
You always knew that Walker had secrets and a past. But this is ... astounding. It changes the whole texture of the entire series, going both forward and back, yet still feels entirely true to everything that we've seen to date. It is one of the most revolutionary volumes of a comic anywhere, and thus a perfect end to the Image run of Powers.
The look into a variety of historical periods is a lot of fun, even the infamous (and dialogue less!) monkey issue. However the look into a variety of genres is just as cool. I particularly love the swords & sorcery feel of issue #32, but the Hong Kong Action Theatre of #33 is pretty cool too.
But the most impressive thing about this collection is that it makes Walker a real character ... a truly fascinating character. Not just a vehicle to solve crimes.
And the ending, where Zora tells Walker, "I couldn't lose you too", it just kills me, because it suddenly reveals how much Walker has lost since this series started seven volumes ago.
He's lost ... everything.
And meanwhile we've still got the cliffhanger from Powers, Vol. 6: The Sellouts waiting to go off, as we begin a totally new storyline at Icon Comics where we see what happens to Walker and Deena in a world where Powers are illegal.
The look into a variety of historical periods is a lot of fun, even the infamous (and dialogue less!) monkey issue. However the look into a variety of genres is just as cool. I particularly love the swords & sorcery feel of issue #32, but the Hong Kong Action Theatre of #33 is pretty cool too.
But the most impressive thing about this collection is that it makes Walker a real character ... a truly fascinating character. Not just a vehicle to solve crimes.
And the ending, where Zora tells Walker, "I couldn't lose you too", it just kills me, because it suddenly reveals how much Walker has lost since this series started seven volumes ago.
He's lost ... everything.
And meanwhile we've still got the cliffhanger from Powers, Vol. 6: The Sellouts waiting to go off, as we begin a totally new storyline at Icon Comics where we see what happens to Walker and Deena in a world where Powers are illegal.
July 24, 2019
Ahora sí. Una historia muy chula, bastante bien llevada y que, sin descubrirnos la rueda, resulta súper divertida y entretenida. No le pido más a un cómic como este. Me ha encantado. No le pongo las cinco estrellas por muy poquito.
January 5, 2011
This was awesomely weird--a major departure from the previous volumes. It's a history of the Powers world (including some of our favorite characters), and it feels epic. Bendis and Oeming pull out all the stops, with superhero beat-downs, kung fu action, sci-fi gadgets, mystical jewelry, conversations with Einstein, barbarian heroics, and monkey sex. This would have been frustrating to read an issue at a time, but the full story is great.
Note: The language and content is very mature, but by Volume 7 you should know that. This is not a series for kids.
Note: The language and content is very mature, but by Volume 7 you should know that. This is not a series for kids.
October 25, 2015
Wow. That was. Crazy. Mindblowing. Weird. Bad. Awesome. And something definitely new to me. Basically a primeval 2001 style set of superheroes that basically never die and all the way into modern day. Jarring art and writing and yet as a whole it works. Though based on the last issue, I would have thought a different hero. And I could have sworn that a character showed up near the end that I thought was dead. 4.5 of 5.
March 23, 2018
I've read the previous volumes of Powers and, though some are better than others, I've enjoyed them all. I love the new ideas and perspective that Brian Bendis brings to the series and his take on what a world with super heroes would be like. But this is the volume where Bendis' shortcomings as a writer come through, not just dragging down this story arc but actually damaging the integrity of all the stories he's previously told in the series.
Why? It's a massive failure of continuity.
For these stories and the character's lives (and deaths) to be meaningful to me, there has to be a consistent logic to the world and what we are told in one story should be true in later stories. If rules or events are going to be changed, it should be acknowledged and explained. For instance, in other super hero books, characters are always coming back from the dead. But each time there is an explanation, some quirk of someone's power or the unexpected effect of some doomsday gizmo or the backlash of some massive release of energy. But in Forever, Bendis ignores the stories he's already established and just changes whatever he wants.
In the first volume, Who Killed Retro Girl, Detective Walker tells his partner about the time when he lost his powers. Walker says he doesn't know how it happened, but that it was during a fight with a specific group of villains. In Forever we learn the truth of how he lost his powers. I don't mind that Walker lied to his partner and withheld information. But what bugs me is that instead of the fight with the villains being what he originally described, now we learn that there were actually about two dozen villains involved. Maybe it doesn't sound like a big deal, but to me it is. Because, it's not even like Walker lied about how many villains there were. When Walker first talks about incident (in vol. 1) his partner Deena knows the incident he's talking about. It was a remarkable event in which 1 famous heroes and a couple villains presumably died, because they weren't seen again. So it's not that Walker lied, it's that Bendis has decided to throw out the event he established in the first volume and replace it with something else. Why did he do this? As far as I can tell it's because he'd suddenly fallen in love with the idea of a bunch of second rate villains banding together (which later became a big story line in his run on the New Avengers). But the problem is that this idea DOES NOT matter in the context of this story. He isn't creating something cool or exciting, he's just breaking the continuity of - and therefore damaging my relationship with - the world of Powers.
And that's not the only continuity problem he creates. Again, in Vol. 1, Walker and Deena head to interview a villain named Wolfe who they think may know something about Retro Girl's death. They go to him because they know him to be an evil and powerful monster who hated Retro Girl. There's an implication that he was something of an arch enemy for Retro Girl and Diamond back in the day. It is suggested that Wolfe has telepathy or possibly mind control. But what we learn about Wolfe in Forever is that he never actually fought Retro Girl. Also, he lost his powers when Diamond did and he didn't have any sort of mind powers. So now there's absolutely ZERO reason for Walker and Deena to suspect him of any involvement in Retro Girl's death. This was a key scene in Vol. 1, providing Deena with a clue to Walker's past and establishing an enemy for Walker that we have every reason to believe he will have to fight again. But the entire scene is now a throwaway because at the time of that interview, there was no reason why anyone should suspect him of having anything to do with Retro Girl's death.
Also, when Walker and Wolfe finally have their showdown, it doesn't take place immediately after the world changing events of Vol. 6 - which could have been amazing as, in the aftermath of all that destruction, Wolfe escapes and attacks Walker. Instead it takes place sometime between Volumes 1 and 4. It happened between other stories and no one ever mentioned it, which makes it feel like it wasn't important enough to anyone for them to comment on it. Walker and his arch enemy have a last showdown and it had no effect on any of the characters in continuity. What a let down.
And the actual showdown as it's depicted in Forever is a letdown. A powerless Walker confronts the monster that has stalked him since the beginning of time, and it ends up being a cranky old man bitching until his powers consume him. Walker does nothing. What a yawn.
That said, there is stuff I like in this story. I like that we learn so much about Walker and about other characters we've met over the series - like Zora and Retro Girl. I love the scene with Albert Einstein. But there's also some weak to terrible stuff. The cave man/ape sex story is an annoying distraction. The Conan style story is meh.
I wish I could say that the problems with this volume were the product of it being rushed, but what I've found having read a lot of Bendis' work through the years is that these are all traps he commonly falls in to. He falls in love with ideas but doesn't take responsibility for making them work in the larger story. There are more good volumes of Powers after this one, but, for me, this does mark the beginning of the end. A few volumes later and I had a hard time caring about the series anymore.
Why? It's a massive failure of continuity.
For these stories and the character's lives (and deaths) to be meaningful to me, there has to be a consistent logic to the world and what we are told in one story should be true in later stories. If rules or events are going to be changed, it should be acknowledged and explained. For instance, in other super hero books, characters are always coming back from the dead. But each time there is an explanation, some quirk of someone's power or the unexpected effect of some doomsday gizmo or the backlash of some massive release of energy. But in Forever, Bendis ignores the stories he's already established and just changes whatever he wants.
In the first volume, Who Killed Retro Girl, Detective Walker tells his partner about the time when he lost his powers. Walker says he doesn't know how it happened, but that it was during a fight with a specific group of villains. In Forever we learn the truth of how he lost his powers. I don't mind that Walker lied to his partner and withheld information. But what bugs me is that instead of the fight with the villains being what he originally described, now we learn that there were actually about two dozen villains involved. Maybe it doesn't sound like a big deal, but to me it is. Because, it's not even like Walker lied about how many villains there were. When Walker first talks about incident (in vol. 1) his partner Deena knows the incident he's talking about. It was a remarkable event in which 1 famous heroes and a couple villains presumably died, because they weren't seen again. So it's not that Walker lied, it's that Bendis has decided to throw out the event he established in the first volume and replace it with something else. Why did he do this? As far as I can tell it's because he'd suddenly fallen in love with the idea of a bunch of second rate villains banding together (which later became a big story line in his run on the New Avengers). But the problem is that this idea DOES NOT matter in the context of this story. He isn't creating something cool or exciting, he's just breaking the continuity of - and therefore damaging my relationship with - the world of Powers.
And that's not the only continuity problem he creates. Again, in Vol. 1, Walker and Deena head to interview a villain named Wolfe who they think may know something about Retro Girl's death. They go to him because they know him to be an evil and powerful monster who hated Retro Girl. There's an implication that he was something of an arch enemy for Retro Girl and Diamond back in the day. It is suggested that Wolfe has telepathy or possibly mind control. But what we learn about Wolfe in Forever is that he never actually fought Retro Girl. Also, he lost his powers when Diamond did and he didn't have any sort of mind powers. So now there's absolutely ZERO reason for Walker and Deena to suspect him of any involvement in Retro Girl's death. This was a key scene in Vol. 1, providing Deena with a clue to Walker's past and establishing an enemy for Walker that we have every reason to believe he will have to fight again. But the entire scene is now a throwaway because at the time of that interview, there was no reason why anyone should suspect him of having anything to do with Retro Girl's death.
Also, when Walker and Wolfe finally have their showdown, it doesn't take place immediately after the world changing events of Vol. 6 - which could have been amazing as, in the aftermath of all that destruction, Wolfe escapes and attacks Walker. Instead it takes place sometime between Volumes 1 and 4. It happened between other stories and no one ever mentioned it, which makes it feel like it wasn't important enough to anyone for them to comment on it. Walker and his arch enemy have a last showdown and it had no effect on any of the characters in continuity. What a let down.
And the actual showdown as it's depicted in Forever is a letdown. A powerless Walker confronts the monster that has stalked him since the beginning of time, and it ends up being a cranky old man bitching until his powers consume him. Walker does nothing. What a yawn.
That said, there is stuff I like in this story. I like that we learn so much about Walker and about other characters we've met over the series - like Zora and Retro Girl. I love the scene with Albert Einstein. But there's also some weak to terrible stuff. The cave man/ape sex story is an annoying distraction. The Conan style story is meh.
I wish I could say that the problems with this volume were the product of it being rushed, but what I've found having read a lot of Bendis' work through the years is that these are all traps he commonly falls in to. He falls in love with ideas but doesn't take responsibility for making them work in the larger story. There are more good volumes of Powers after this one, but, for me, this does mark the beginning of the end. A few volumes later and I had a hard time caring about the series anymore.
July 25, 2022
Reprints Powers (1) #31-37 (April 2003-February 2004). Christian Walker does not know who he is. Is he the superhero Diamond? A barbarian? An early man? A Chinese warrior? The years have passed for Walker and he has been hunted through the years. Though his memory is fleeting, there is one constant…a man who has dogged him from the dawn of time. Wolfe is coming for Christian, and the time has come to fight!
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Powers Volume 7: Forever is an Image Comics superhero comic book collection. Following Powers Volume 6: The Sellouts, Powers was originally published by Image, but then reverted to Marvel Comics under their Icon imprint. Featuring art by Michael Avon Oeming, issues in this collection were also collected as part of Powers—Book 2, Powers—Volume 3, and Powers Omnibus.
I voraciously read each volume of Powers as they were released. I didn’t pick up the individual issues (and I’d still argue that Powers isn’t a very good individual issue comic). Powers 7: Forever followed the big cliffhanger of Powers 6: The Sellouts (with all Powers being made illegal), but it went a different path.
This volume is all about Christian Walker and his origin. Much like a Vandal Savage, Christian and his nemesis Wolfe are granted life with no end in sight. They find themselves pitted against each other as early man and that hatred continues (at least on Wolfe’s part). It is a subtle commentary on the nature of man, but it isn’t made the thrust of the storyline.
What is fun about Powers 7: Forever is that it gets to play with genres. Bendis gets to do a virtually silent issue (minus grunts and screams), a Conan the Barbarian-esque issue, a martial arts issue, a 1940s early superheroes mystery-men issue, a throwback 1980s issue, and a modern day issue to wrap everything up. It feels like a journey, and it is well plotted to get the reader in Christian’s shoes.
Oeming’s art is just as important as Bendis’s storytelling. The writing is a bit more of a challenge with Christian evolving over the centuries, but it also has Oeming tapping into slightly different styles while maintaining the basic look and feel of Powers. It could have been played for complete shock value with different looks and artistic styles entirely, but this way feels better for the story.
Powers 7: Forever was the end of the run for the original Powers series. Though Powers (Volume 2) took up immediately after this, it always felt like this was the real wrap-up of Powers. I started to lose a bit of my interest in Powers following this volume and wasn’t as eager to get the collections. Powers 7: Forever is followed by Powers 8: Legends.
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Powers Volume 7: Forever is an Image Comics superhero comic book collection. Following Powers Volume 6: The Sellouts, Powers was originally published by Image, but then reverted to Marvel Comics under their Icon imprint. Featuring art by Michael Avon Oeming, issues in this collection were also collected as part of Powers—Book 2, Powers—Volume 3, and Powers Omnibus.
I voraciously read each volume of Powers as they were released. I didn’t pick up the individual issues (and I’d still argue that Powers isn’t a very good individual issue comic). Powers 7: Forever followed the big cliffhanger of Powers 6: The Sellouts (with all Powers being made illegal), but it went a different path.
This volume is all about Christian Walker and his origin. Much like a Vandal Savage, Christian and his nemesis Wolfe are granted life with no end in sight. They find themselves pitted against each other as early man and that hatred continues (at least on Wolfe’s part). It is a subtle commentary on the nature of man, but it isn’t made the thrust of the storyline.
What is fun about Powers 7: Forever is that it gets to play with genres. Bendis gets to do a virtually silent issue (minus grunts and screams), a Conan the Barbarian-esque issue, a martial arts issue, a 1940s early superheroes mystery-men issue, a throwback 1980s issue, and a modern day issue to wrap everything up. It feels like a journey, and it is well plotted to get the reader in Christian’s shoes.
Oeming’s art is just as important as Bendis’s storytelling. The writing is a bit more of a challenge with Christian evolving over the centuries, but it also has Oeming tapping into slightly different styles while maintaining the basic look and feel of Powers. It could have been played for complete shock value with different looks and artistic styles entirely, but this way feels better for the story.
Powers 7: Forever was the end of the run for the original Powers series. Though Powers (Volume 2) took up immediately after this, it always felt like this was the real wrap-up of Powers. I started to lose a bit of my interest in Powers following this volume and wasn’t as eager to get the collections. Powers 7: Forever is followed by Powers 8: Legends.
October 24, 2016
really a 2.5 star but I'm going to round down because the good just really doesn't save the bad.
The Good: revisit of the "should superpowers engage with humans or stay aloof?" discussion (started in Powers, Vol. 5: Anarchy but discussed from the Supers side this time). Also, I sort of like that the time frames for each of the story arcs in these volumes hop around a bit... all of this action takes placed before Volume 3.
The Bad: This was the most exploitative and 'basic' volume yet. I'm annoyed that we're going to take Walker - a previously interesting and complex character - and turn him into a flat haunted hero. But insert any other character and I would have been just as irritated. I suppose I would bottom-line this as an eternal story of chest beating and violence between two male superpowers with all females used as cannon fodder and impetus to the males for revenge and power-ups. It's lame, and frankly gross.
The Good: revisit of the "should superpowers engage with humans or stay aloof?" discussion (started in Powers, Vol. 5: Anarchy but discussed from the Supers side this time). Also, I sort of like that the time frames for each of the story arcs in these volumes hop around a bit... all of this action takes placed before Volume 3.
The Bad: This was the most exploitative and 'basic' volume yet. I'm annoyed that we're going to take Walker - a previously interesting and complex character - and turn him into a flat haunted hero. But insert any other character and I would have been just as irritated. I suppose I would bottom-line this as an eternal story of chest beating and violence between two male superpowers with all females used as cannon fodder and impetus to the males for revenge and power-ups. It's lame, and frankly gross.
September 4, 2018
I’m really torn on this, it was almost entirely Christian’s origin story from the beginning of time. Some of his life was interesting, some of it was meh, and all of it jumped around to different centuries without much preamble.
But the areas that were interesting, were really great. How he lost his powers (and the conversation leading up to that), and becoming a detective - those were cool and furthered his character development. The infamous ‘monkey’ issues were meh.
But the areas that were interesting, were really great. How he lost his powers (and the conversation leading up to that), and becoming a detective - those were cool and furthered his character development. The infamous ‘monkey’ issues were meh.
November 19, 2019
first Walker was a monkey (actually the entire first issue was monkeys) and at some point we were treated to Rape Through The Ages, and then there was a long fight scene where every other panel was a graphically mutilated woman -- focus on her cut-off breast! -- because men definitely need dead ladies to motivate them to kill other men and I just was not really sure why I should care about any of it? And so I did not.
February 20, 2022
Si hasta ahora Powers era lineal aquí se olvida del presente y nos vamos al inicio de Christian Walker a través de los tiempos con su pasado en la prehistoria, china milenaria, Londres y acaba en el momento que estaban con la investigación con Retro girl pero te muestra como perdió sus poderes también.
Todo bellamente ilustrado y con el guión del interesante Bendis por esa época. Más que recomendable, hayas leído los anteriores o no.
Todo bellamente ilustrado y con el guión del interesante Bendis por esa época. Más que recomendable, hayas leído los anteriores o no.
September 9, 2017
No matter how text heavy this edition was here and there, it was also totally wordless here and there. No matter how much eastern mystical shit here and there, there was also high drama here and there. Nicely balanced history of Walker.
And there is also a nudie pic of Deena. Which is always brilliant.
And there is also a nudie pic of Deena. Which is always brilliant.
November 15, 2020
Il sorprendente passato di Walker e degli altri supereroi. Una storia imprescindibile per la serie Powers... Nonostante il genio di Bendis, però, qualcosa non mi ha convinto del tutto: alcuni passaggi troppo dilatati, forse... E anche i disegni di Oeming non sempre sono perfetti. Ma rimane sempre un bel volume. Voto: 8/10.
June 12, 2017
not the best arc...and not only because the ending was extremely anti climactic. the arc completely dislodges the timeline and continuity of the established series thus far.
November 23, 2018
This book is wonderful
April 19, 2020
Do not understand why this was so controversial
August 2, 2021
I liked this a lot...it gave us some background for what's been going on...
March 13, 2017
Far and away the strongest of the story arcs in Powers' first volume. Bendis masterfully uses the flaws and shortcomings of his characters to highlight their humanity and greater-than-human abilities. It's a very strong showing from Bendis in particular. His dialogue is usually a strength, and here he wields in precise, measured strokes of stark sharpness. Where words won't do, he allows the images to convey what is a rather tragic tale.
March 4, 2017
We finally got an origin story on Christian Walker. Great read.
June 30, 2012
6 stars!! Absolutely mind blowing & earth shattering events in the POWERS universe. Was this set up from the beginning? Who knows & who cares? I have read a lot of comics and only a few writers have done an epic story this good on this scale: Alan Moore(Watchmen, Tom Strong), Ed Brubaker(Captain America, Catwoman, FATALE), Ryan Kirkman(any long form story he does), Brian K. Vaughn(Runaways, Y the Last Man), Warren Ellis(Transmetripolitan), Grant Morrison(New X-Men, Batman), Neil Gaiman(Sandman), Chris Claremont(Uncanny X-Men, Frank Miller(Daredevil), and Walter and Louise Simonson(Thor, X-Factor)...that's all I can think of right now. It is a comic writer and artist team at the top of their game. Brian Michael Bendis works best when he doesn't care about page count and allows his writing style and narrative techniques to fit the idea, so that in any given volume of POWERS you will have an entire issue that is from a single character's perspective, is an entire tabloid which exists within that world, or time is allowed to move freely and not kept within the pacing of a normal single issue structure. You could probably pick up any POWERS volume and just start reading and have it work for you as a self contained story but to fully experience this one, I would start from the beginning.
July 28, 2008
Brian Michael Bendis, Powers: Forever (Icon, 2004)
Back when I was originally reading Powers, my library didn't have a copy of Forever. Now that I've switched library systems, I went back and read it. I was never a big fan of Powers, but Forever did a bang-up job of converting me. This is the book I've been waiting for from Bendis, who's always seemed to fall just short of his potential, no matter what he does; now I know why. When he lets out the stuff that's really in his head, he gets inundated with jokes and hate mail.
Forever gives us the history of the Powers, from the dawn of time to the present day. (I'm still wondering about that cover with the Nazis, though, since they didn't appear anywhere in the book.) It's grittier, more explicit, and generally all-around uglier than the rest of the books in the series. It's also the best work I've seen from Brian Michael Bendis, and I hope I see a lot more of this kind of stuff from him as the series progresses. It does tie up into a nice, neat little bow at the end, which is kind of annoying, but the journey's the thing here, and what a journey it is. *** ½
Back when I was originally reading Powers, my library didn't have a copy of Forever. Now that I've switched library systems, I went back and read it. I was never a big fan of Powers, but Forever did a bang-up job of converting me. This is the book I've been waiting for from Bendis, who's always seemed to fall just short of his potential, no matter what he does; now I know why. When he lets out the stuff that's really in his head, he gets inundated with jokes and hate mail.
Forever gives us the history of the Powers, from the dawn of time to the present day. (I'm still wondering about that cover with the Nazis, though, since they didn't appear anywhere in the book.) It's grittier, more explicit, and generally all-around uglier than the rest of the books in the series. It's also the best work I've seen from Brian Michael Bendis, and I hope I see a lot more of this kind of stuff from him as the series progresses. It does tie up into a nice, neat little bow at the end, which is kind of annoying, but the journey's the thing here, and what a journey it is. *** ½
January 24, 2008
This is probably my favorite volume of powers. So, after going into the threat of powers in the previous volumes, this one concentrates on the beginning of powers and also includes the now infamous monkey sex issue. To be honest, only a writer with A LOT of ego could think to himself "I'm going to write an entire issue just like 2001 with lots of monkey people and grunting!" And it also includes monkey vagina, monkey penis, monkey sex and monkey rape. But I suppose it couldn't have been a short flashback or a PAGE, no, god no, it had to be a whole issue. Anycase, skim it. Witness the battle between two apes with the first powers. And then skip to the next story which is much more fun and interesting. I love this volume not only for the progression of the superhero but for the pop culture references and homages and the insight that we finally get about Christian Walker and his life and finally how he lost his powers!!
August 10, 2016
I don't normally tag graphic novels in the middle of the run with the OMG favorite shelf. I figure a run of comics is a whole story, and while individual books might falter or shine, they're essentially chapters of the larger whole.
But in this case, I can't help myself.
I like this series, I have from the beginning. Some of that is the art, the story isn't mind blowing at first. It actually took the boyfriend a couple of books to get into it. He didn't really understand why his superhero avoiding girlfriend liked it so much. But its a take on super heroes that probably influenced Incredibles, its kind of what superheroes would do if they were more human. Give up sometimes.
And no book shows the stark difference between the inherent hero and the common human in the series more than this one. And just how long it would take to break a hero.
Also, monkey sex. ^_^
But in this case, I can't help myself.
I like this series, I have from the beginning. Some of that is the art, the story isn't mind blowing at first. It actually took the boyfriend a couple of books to get into it. He didn't really understand why his superhero avoiding girlfriend liked it so much. But its a take on super heroes that probably influenced Incredibles, its kind of what superheroes would do if they were more human. Give up sometimes.
And no book shows the stark difference between the inherent hero and the common human in the series more than this one. And just how long it would take to break a hero.
Also, monkey sex. ^_^
October 27, 2007
This book turned an already good series, a tight, well written smartly pulled together book about 2 cops who investigate superpower related crimes, and made it great. The series was fun and inventive. There were pop culture references all over the place, album covers, television ensembles, and a steady stream of jokes. Forever was like the heart stopped beating, and you had to read all the way to the end of it (which i did, in one sitting) before you got to find out if it started again.
Bendis and Oeming stretched all the way back through time to enhance and deepen the mythology of their characters, of who they are and why they do what they do. Before Forever, they had a lake, afterwards they had an ocean.
Bendis and Oeming stretched all the way back through time to enhance and deepen the mythology of their characters, of who they are and why they do what they do. Before Forever, they had a lake, afterwards they had an ocean.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews