In the fallout of the Civil War event, Marvel used the new status quo to launch and re-purpose a number of new books under “The Initiative” banner. With every state needing a super hero team, Brian Bendis launched The Mighty Avengers, Dan Slott headlined the official Avengers: the Initiative title, Warren Ellis took over the villain turned hero Thunderbolts and Matt Fraction spawned a new take on The Order.
Of the four titles, The Order was the best in quality, but somehow fared the worst in sales. With a superstar art team of Barry Kitson, Mark Morales and Dean White, Fraction scribed the adventures of title-team The Order, assigned by Iron Man to be California’s hero designate slash public relations expo. In a time where other writers were exploring the transformation from hero to soldier in the Marvel landscape, The Order went in another direction. Armed with a single recognizable character, Tony Stark’s assistant Pepper Potts, the title focused on normal people who sought to give back to their community, exchanging a year of their life for a year of super powers in government service.
With a diverse and brand new cast, popcultureophile Fraction immediately established a solid narrative formula for each issue, a mixture of reality television confessional and Lost-esque flashbacking, with character commentary mingled with past events depending on what was occurring in the present. Also aped was the structure of Warren Ellis title Nextwave, with miniature arcs running two issues at a time while weaving longer running plot threads and mysteries throughout.
Although the art team changed periodically during the run, Barry Kitson turns in some of the best visual storytelling of his career, using consistent and well structured layouts to help readers navigate the constantly shifting elements. The pencillers shine in the creation and execution of these brand new figures, making them recognizable just pages after their initial debut and turning Fraction’s bizarre villains into memorable monsters. Combined with a fantastic control of action and stellar work from Morales, White, and a team of others, the artistic elements enhance the story well beyond what one expects from an average comic.
The highlight of The Order’s ten issues however, is the characters. If there is one thing Matt is good at, it is inventing crazy new properties and one can only hope that being able to build a team of super heroes from scratch must have been at least half as fun for him as it is to read. It is easy to dissect the team down into familiar archetypes, for instance, matching up former Teen of the Year, Aralune to the Hulk/Thing/muscle type, Fraction’s ability to provide simple, quirky and endearing characterization easily helps her break away from the generic and establish herself as a unique character.
The efforts go both ways, as the villains receive just as much attention as the heroes. Taking further cues from Nextwave, The Order is populated by off the wall enemies who seem more likely to appear in cheap science fiction novels than the Marvel proper. Zobos (Zombie Hobos), giant radiation enhanced animals, shadowy men in black, and fan favorite, Jetpack Bear make appearances in the ten issue run and provide a light hearted energy to the more serious drama that occurs throughout.
While billed as a series about team super-heroics, The Order is really a comic that focuses on humanity, and exploring what it means to be thrown into a world full of mutants, villains and aliens. Going beyond the notions of power and responsibility, The Order is a study on why not everyone can be Spider-Man, the power of celebrity and how being able to fly changes everything. While not a dark and gritty look at people as heroes, The Order does try to take a rational look at how real people might respond to a higher calling, asks questions like “How could a sex-tape affect the Invisible Woman? What makes a team a family? and Is revenge truly worth it?” In the end, The Order is an exploration of people, and how they would respond to the chance to make a difference in the world.
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