PRODIGY: SLAVES OF MARS #3, by Dark Horse Comics on 10/16/24, sends Edison and Elijah on a wild chase to stop the nuclear eradication of Earth, and they only have 10 minutes to do it.
Credits:
- Writer: Mark Millar
- Artist: Stefano Landini
- Colorist: Michele Assarasakorn
- Letterer: Clem Robins
- Cover Artist: Stefano Landini (cover A)
- Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
- Release Date: October 16, 2024
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 32
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of PRODIGY: SLAVES OF MARS #3:
First Impressions:
Well, if you’re going to take big swings, you might as well take the biggest swings you can. In Prodigy: Slaves of Mars #3, writer Mark Millar takes the biggest swings of all with a lightning-quick issue designed to force Edison and Elijah into a tough spot that would have MacGyver balled up in the fetal position.
Plot Analysis:
When last we left Edison and his smarter, cooler older brother in Prodigy: Slaves of Mars #2, the siblings fled the long arm of the law after being framed for murder. Their investigation to clear their name led them to their father’s secret project, where researchers learned the Earth was once a colony ruled from Mars.
In Prodigy: Slaves of Mars #3, we catch up with Edison and Elijah as they concoct an assortment of ultra-powerful weapons and gadgets using everyday items. What they don’t know is that their efforts are watched by a cat under the mind control of Froth Schroeder. When the cat speaks, thanks to previous vocal chord surgery, Froth tells the brothers that he intends to keep them busy with a little task.
With barely a moment to breathe, Mark Millar sprints into the bizarrely entertaining shenanigans. Elijah and Edison perform miracles of innovation to continually remind the reader that they’re smarter than everyone, and a talking cat delivering a doomsday message is the stuff of surreal fantasies. If nothing else, this series continues to defy expectations.
Schroeder explains, through the cat, that he used his mind-controlling butterflies to capture the minds of the president and nuclear missile techs to begin a coordinated attack against China. Edison and Elijah have 10 minutes to find the President and stop him from reading the codes that will begin nuclear Armageddon.
We don’t know who Froth Schroeder is, what he wants, or why, but it’s clear he has the smarts to unleash global devastation with the snap of a finger, and he has faith in Edison and Elijah’s abilities to overcome any challenge. It’s challenging enough to get the readers bought into the protagonists’ abilities, but getting bought in is a lot easier when even the villain has faith in the heroes.
Edison and Elijah race to the President’s location, using created and improvised tools to break into the hotel where the President is preparing for his speech. Unfortunately, Schroeder didn’t relay the real challenge – namely that the missiles have already launched. The ticking clock suddenly gets cut in half as a plot twist, kicking the urgency into overdrive.
The issue concludes with almost unbelievable feats of hacking prowess, a long-distance call for a favor, and a record-breaking jump.
Overall, Prodigy: Slaves of Mars #3 cranks up the pace, urgency, action, and over-the-top feats of problem-solving to save the world. The arc is far from over, but Mark Millar demonstrates how much of a superpower being smart can really be.
Artwork and Presentation:
Stefano Landini’s art is on point, particularly for the grounded yet wild action sequences that dominate most of the issue. Landini keeps the character designs and sets almost mundanely grounded, but the crazy gadgets the brothers use to solve the problems in front of them are just as whimsical as a Lensman sci-fi novel.
Art Samples:
Final Thoughts:
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PRODIGY: SLAVES OF MARS #3 keeps escalating the action, the urgency, and the stakes as Mark Millar puts the Crane brothers through a series of challenges no mere mortal could handle. The weirdly surreal sci-fi story is anything but predictable, and Landini’s grounded art makes the impossible seem possible.
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