Phenomx #1 is an Image Comic with story and promotion by John Lugiazamo with an Hispanic hero! Leguizamo is an actor with his recent voice actor role in Encanto. It has a regular cover by Jim Muniz in this five issue limited series. Phenomx has a writing team of John Leguizamo, Aram Rappaport, Jim Miciak, and Damian Slattery. Chris Batista is the artist. The comic opens at “Jackson Heights, Queens” at night. There is a police car waiting when the officers get a report about Corona Park. One says it’s quiet, when a body smashes onto their hood! This looks like the Phenomx of the cover he looks like Luguizamo with dreads, he recovers, and transforms from street clothes into his glowing, blue super suit with scales on each side. They hear a rumbling and turn to see a massive man in a black coat. The Enhanced Defense Force Files explain that he is Matthew Hernandez with “indestructible metallic arms.” He tells Gomez that he wants to recruit him. The officers open fire on him, but he blocks their gunfire with his arms.
Ordinary weaponry against super powered opposition? Needs an upgrade. Metropolis has the Special Crimes Unit from Superman #4 (1987). They have weaponry like the Mecha-like Simm-Bots. The officers have Gomez keeping his hands on the police car, he absorbs the metal from it, and then lifts it up to confront Hernandez. The absorbing power is similar to the villain, Absorbing Man, from Journey into Mystery #114 (1965). He is about to crash the car into the giant, but then rewinds to his origin. It goes back “One year earlier…”, at the Attica Correctional Facility. He is one of the prisoners being lined up and then we see a man in a jacket, the file reads that he is “Luis Alvarado; Corona, Queens” with seemingly no powers. He talks with Gomez and then there is a gunshot. This is fired by the vicious warden, Gentry, who sends away Luis and rifle butts Gomez. There’s some adult language exchanged, there is no notification on the cover. We move to the headquarters of the Enhanced Defense Force, a black windowed van and Humvee roll up to the gate. Agent Potter flashes her i.d. The side of the van is bashed by super human fists.
The prisoner, Picasso Vargas, the “human particle accelerator” is walked in flanked by soldiers. Picasso looks like a thin man with glasses. Potter bursts into a meeting room, saying the name of Kesaris, who tells her that she was fired. He says that the crimes have led them to send in Seal Team 8 to handle MS-13. Agent Potter brings up the Metamorphosis Project. Kesaris yells that the project failed and Mark Gomez had died because of it. She brings up the drug, Vypraxatol and noted that the project needed one thing, radiation. Picasso is brought in and activates his power, a soldier says he is "appexing." Agent Potter activates a device that sends Picasso twitching on the ground. She says he should be sedated and his existence wiped out. Agent Potter explains they have ten subjects that had worked in law enforcement. Potter says the subjects went mentally unstable and Kesaris realizes that they are the cause of the crime wave. She finds that a balding official just took the pill! He writhes in pain and collapses. He should have finished with the debriefing and tests before taking an unknown pill and why were the pills accessible if they are dangerous?
Agent Potter tried to explain that only residents of that town who were irradiated survived. She says to Kesaris the survivors had a combination of DNA and he answers Hispanics. Agent Potter, who seems to know the entire situation, a version of Amanda Waller?, says she has found 143 subjects. Luke Cage got his powers from an experiment in Seagate Prison in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (1972). At the prison visionation center, Max meets with his aunt, Nelly, and son, Luka, who has convinced his mother to let him visit his father. His aunt wants Max to calm down and argues that the police put him falsely accused in prison for five years. The not guilty prisoner is kinda like Shawshank Redemption (1994). Agent Potter visits Max behind bars and offers a deal. Similar to the inmates of Suicide Squad? Max in his suit gives his final statement to the judge who says that his incident with Gentry causes his appeal to be rejected. Max yells suspecting Warden Gentry. Nelly and Luka see his failure at court. Some of the action and facial expressions makes me think of Neal Adams. A black van has a gunman shoot the driver who crashes and Agent Potter tries to get him into custody, but he slips away. Max sees a white figure in ridged-like armor run towards him! Max Gomez’s powers could change the balance of power with the Enhanced Defense Force and the MS-13 gang. Phenomx #1 shows there is potential in the concept, but some characters and ideas are familiar!
Three Vypraxatol pills out of Five!
#Phenomx, #JohnLeguizamo, #ChrisBatista, #AramRappaport, #JimMiciak, #DamianSlattery
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