America's Got Powers #1

I don't know why I picked this mini-series up... I don't know anything about the writer(which is what I'll usually base my random comic purchases on), BUT Bryan Hitch is doing the art, which is always a good thing. So yeah, this was a pretty random pick up for me, hopefully it works out...

America's Got Powers #1(of 6):

Summary: Seventeen years ago in San Francisco, a crystal fell from the sky and caused every pregnant woman in a five mile radius around the crystal to give birth to healthy children. Not only that, but all of these kids received powers. All except one, Tommy Watts. Most of the other powered teens compete in a show called America's Got Powers, which has become a cultural phenomenon. Tommy's brother had competed in the show last year and ended up dying(I think...) in the finale, which brought the show it's highest ratings... To capitalize on the show's reach and power, a senator and the army have taken it away from it's producer and are planning on using it as some sort of superhuman training grounds. As for Tommy, he does various errands at the arena... He tends the store, dresses as the mascot, etc. During the opening bout of the new season, the robots the teens battle against are set on too high a difficulty setting(due to the evil army guy and the evil senator), leading to the robots breaching the walls holding the cheering crowd back. Tommy sees a young child about to get pulped by a robot and runs over, at which time he glows brighter than anything ever seen on the planet, and when the light show subsides, all of the robots are de-powered and Tommy is standing surprised in the middle of the arena while the crows cheers him on.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this. The story was interesting, and the cast of characters are easy to follow. You have your likable protagonist in Tommy, your evil government officials in the senator(who's just evil) and the army guy(who seems to believe he's doing good), Tommy's rival in the Quarterback, who WAS the fan favorite before Tommy's display, and the (inevitable)mentor, in the show's producer who was axed by the government's power play. See, easy to follow. After this issue, I'm definitely willing to give the next one a chance.

Score: 7 out of 10.

The hosts of the show were hilariously wooden throughout this issue.