Long ago, the stranded alien known as Arnus gave up hope of returning to his home planet. Tragically, he’d also realized that his adopted home of Earth was beyond saving. Content to waste away his long life in a human guise, Arnus was past caring…until the day a young woman named Raquel Ervin crashed into his life. Soon she’d convinced him to put his incredible power to work again as the heroic Icon…and to transform her into his sidekick, Rocket! But an innocent question on Rocket’s part—”Why can’t we do something about the drugs on my corner?”—quickly set a chain of events in motion leading to the pair becoming the most hunted beings on Earth…and they’re not just being pursued by Earthlings, either!
Writer, director, and producer Reginald Hudlin (Black Panther: Who Is the Black Panther?) and superstar artist Doug Braithwaite unleash a tale of power and responsibility that will stretch from the boardrooms of corporate America to the jungles of South America and the depths of deep space! If you’ve ever thought there were certain things that a superhero story just couldn’t do, it might be time to start thinking different…
What I thought
Doug Braithwaite is doing that thing on art duties. Inkers Scott Hanna, Andrew Currie and colorist Brad Anderson combine to make this an impressive looking book. For the collectors out there Darryl Banks and Reina Koyano make a few nice collects items that will be worth more than the cover price shortly. The story comes courtesy of Reginald Hudlin (Boomerang, Black Panther, Spider-Man, BET) who pens the script. For the most part it sticks to what was established way back in the day when Dwayne McDuffie wrote the original seminal series. I must say of the rebooted Milestone line this one plays it the safest. This was just your average reboot.
The standout moments in this issue were the added exposition on what went wrong with Icon’s ship before it exploded. There was nothing particularly memorable about this first issue for me. Now mind you I can recite what takes place in the original Icon series by just glancing at the covers I may be in the minority here. It was very run of the mill, with a few changes here and there. I enjoying it but as far as Milestone 2.0 and the Season 1’s are concerned this is the weakest opening salvo. 2.5/5 stars
