JUPITER’S LEGACY: FINALE #1, by Dark Horse Comics on 10/16/24, begins the epic conclusion to the series when the Queen of Palorax begins her invasion of Earth. Are there any supers left to stop her?
Credits:
- Writer: Mark Millar
- Artist: Tommy Lee Edwards
- Colorist: Tommy Lee Edwards
- Letterer: John Workman
- Cover Artist: Tommy Le Edwards (cover A)
- Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
- Release Date: October 16, 2024
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Page Count: 32
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of JUPITER’S LEGACY: FINALE #1:
First Impressions:
Here we go, boys and girls. If you’re going to end a critically and commercially successful series, you might as well end it in style. Writer Mark Millar doesn’t miss a beat by picking up precisely where the last issue left off with death, consequences, epic action, and an escalation of galactic proportions.
Plot Analysis:
Previously in Jupiter’s Legacy, The Utopian has been stripped of his powers, his father murdered, and his mother and sister trapped on this alien world, Palorax, light years away, the final executions soon to be upon us. They want Earth more than anything in the universe before an even greater threat destroys their world first.
In Jupiter’s Legacy: Finale #1, Queen Borilea of Palorax orders the execution of Lady Liberty and her daughter Sophie. The Queen’s bid to invade Earth is ready, and she can’t have any supers alive to interfere with their plans. Meanwhile, Utopian is surrounded on Earth by a Paloraxian with the ability to block his powers, so he’s completely vulnerable and mortal.
Admittedly, it’s a little unusual to start the next/last arc with all the protagonists in the worst possible position, but Mark Millar makes it look easy, and it’s a ridiculously effective starting point. When you’re already in a hole, the only place to go is up.
The aliens surrounding Utopian taunt him for his powerless state. Prince Caius relays the message that Utopian’s father is dead, and as his final act of mockery, he picks up a car and smashes it down on Utopian. Suddenly, the ground shakes and explodes upward through the crushed car. The Utopian now has his father’s power rod, which he uses to take out the Paloraxians blocking his power and kill Prince Caius. The Utopian uses the rod to teleport to his remaining family.
Mark Millar hits readers with a classic superhero wow moment to put the Utopian back on top when it seemed all hope was lost. Consistent with almost all Millarworld titles, Millar hits fast and hard with Utopian’s role reversal to pick up the energy and anticipation for what comes next.
The Utopian appears on Palorax just in time to stop the execution of his mother and sister. He dashes through the guards and surrounding forces, knocking down large statues to remind the Queen of his indomitable strength. When Utopian grabs the Queen, threatening to do his worst, he’s suddenly wracked with debilitating pain.
Again, Mark Millar takes readers on a rollercoaster of lows, then highs, then lows again. This issue is a pulse-pounding layer cake of surprising twists and turns.
We soon see that the Utopian’s crippling pain comes from the leader of Shoboth, Palorax’s rival world. The leader saw what was happening to Earth and Palorax, so he took this perfect moment to strike while both parties were at their weakest.
The issue concludes with a kill order, blue skies where there shouldn’t be any, and the galaxy’s biggest calling card.
Overall, Jupiter’s Legacy: Finale #1 begins the final act in the superhero series with a rollercoaster of surprises, drama stacked on top of drama, and a cliffhanger that elevates the stakes to new heights… literally.
Artwork and Presentation:
Artist Tommy Lee Edwards uses a grounded, semi-realistic style to give the characters as much humanity as possible. That said, Edwards doesn’t skimp on the backgrounds or the scale of the proceedings, especially on Palorax, so the comic looks every bit cinematic.
Art Samples:
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
New readers picking up this title may wonder how much of the previous issues you need to have read to jump into this first issue. In truth, you need to have read all of the previous arc, or you’ll be completely lost. Put another way, this issue is a terrible jumping-on point for Jupiter’s Legacy because you start in the middle of the cliffhanger.
Final Thoughts:
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JUPITER’S LEGACY: FINALE #1 takes readers on a rollercoaster of thrills and spills when the final invasion of Earth is set to begin. Mark Millar leaps into the final arc with all the energy of a runaway freight train, and Tommy Lee Edwards’s semi-realistic art style is a cinematic mix of alien fantasy and grounded believability.
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