After the atomic bomb dropped in the 1940s, a group of six super-powered beings appeared in the world, where they each possessed the destructive power capacity of the United States nuclear arsenal. If they ever got into conflict, it would mean the end of planet Earth. Since then, the Atomics or the Nuclear Family have built a fragile series of alliances to prevent each other from causing the end of the world. Now, as the clock draws close to the new millennium of the year 2000, Earth’s future continues to stand on these superpowers from never coming into conflict with each other. Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard take readers to the fragile doomsday clock as the future could disappear within the blink of an eye in The Power Fantasy #1.

With the setting being an alternate history period set in 1999, Gillen and Wijngaard expertly build the world where they give enough context clues for readers to seamlessly understand what has been going on while fleshing it out thoroughly. From slight hints in Gillen’s writing to background dressing and clothing drawn by Wijngaard, they have thought about every detail of how the Atomics’ appearance and presence impacted the world, from major to minor. Even hints of past events serve as vital elements to explaining how much their history diverged from our own and how their existence would influence everything from public opinion to government responses to pop culture. Even though The Power Fantasy #1 may not exist in the same reality as ours, certain aspects of our own can still be found, making their world a skewed version of our own.

And I appreciate Gillen presenting a more mature series where he focuses more on the characters and their relationships instead of solely on the action. With the highly destructive nature of their powers, he emphasizes how important it is for each Atomic to stay out of conflict with each other and the world itself, which could mean the death of everybody. Focusing on Etienne Lux in The Power Fantasy #1, Lux serves as a great lens into the world where Lux essentially has to keep the other five members of the Nuclear Family in balance and work as not only a peacekeeper but a deal maker and even a clean up crew whenever one of them gets into trouble or steps out of line. He concerns himself with the ethical nature of his powers and the actions of the other Atomics, where he is willing to take drastic action if he feels it would be the sole ethical action in the situation. We also learn more about the Atomic family, such as Santa Valentina and Brother Ray “Heavy” Harris, while getting glimpses into the characters of Morishita Masumi, Jacky Magus, and Eliza Hellbound and their relationships with each other. With The Power Fantasy being an ensemble book, I find the entire cast fascinating and easy to invest in. 

Then comes Gillen exploring the existential horrors and fears of nuclear arsenals and how they serve no other purpose except to end all of life. With them coming into conflict, signaling the destruction of the world, all they can do is find a way to co-exist to deter the potential armageddon. Gillen examines how one false move by an Atomic could create a domino effect and destroy the planet. Even to this day, the nuclear shadow of death hangs over us, where all life as we know it will be gone due to the press of a button. And with the series set in the past, specifically in 1999, he draws attention to the fear of Y2K, where the approaching millennium would mess up computer clocks and accidentally launch warheads. Despite us being in 2024, Gillen wants to demonstrate how those weapons still hang over us and threaten us even if we do not think about them as much as we did in the twentieth century.

The art by Wijngaard is a real standout with its vibrant colors and captures a stylized fictional version of the past. And I love his character designs for the six Atomics, where they each have a distinct vibe that says everything about their character just by looking at them. The six Atomics are instantly iconic and feel different from the standard superhero fair while reflecting the various periods of history they exist in. Outside of the fantastic aesthetics, his drawing and paneling make Gillen’s already engaging script into an even more engrossing comic combined with Clayton Cowles’s seamless lettering. 

The Power Fantasy #1 by Gillen and Wijngaard is a perfect debut issue that draws readers into its compelling story and art. While the planet continues to turn, its very existence lies in the hands of six super-powered individuals whose lives impact its livelihood. All it takes is one simple conflict for all of the dominoes to fall down and kill everyone. The clock is counting down faster, and hopefully, the people of Earth and the Atomics make it to the year 2000 unscathed.

Story: Kieron Gillen Art/Colors: Caspar Wijngaard Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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