Tom King’s books are hard to talk about, issue by issue. Some buck this trend, but most of his Big Idea books tend to present a thesis that may or may not be apparent in the first issue, lay out arguments, and explore that thesis as the series continues… But what his ultimate point is often won’t be clear until the series wraps up. That’s very much the case with Jenny Sparks #1 from DC Comics, and is purposefully at odds with the nature of the Wildstorm Universe the titular character comes from.
A bit about the plot here… Jenny Sparks was a member of The Authority, a group that has essentially been back-doored into the DC universe proper. Here, King reframes her as the superhero who takes down superheroes when they go rogue. In this case, that’s Captain Atom, who is wandering the streets, mind broken, frying people wherever he goes and flitting between various identities.
There’s a lot to unpack in this issue, but a short list of things I think King is tackling here: the shifting nature of DC’s multiverse; the impact of the 20th century’s atomic age on the 21st century; the thin line between being a superhero and being god.
Perhaps the book is about all of these things, or perhaps none of them, but you certainly can’t accuse King of not throwing out big ideas in a single issue. Captain Atom is a refugee from the Charlton Comics Universe; Jenny Sparks is from the Wildstorm Universe. Both are square pegs in the round hole of DC, something that is driven home by the inclusion of Batman in this issue, a character whose black costume almost fades into the background versus the way artist Jeff Spokes draws Jenny Sparks’s red cross of Saint George “uniform” and the metallic pop of Captain Atom. Batman is a shadow here; the focus is on the two “heroes.”
Jenny Sparks was also a bold idea in Wildstorm, the Spirit of the 20th Century. So what happens when time moves on? Similarly, Captain Atom was created by an atomic bomb… The wars of our world have gotten nastier and atomic panic has shifted to the background. Is this symbol of American might, pitted against British anti-authority still relevant in the modern era?
The clearest theme, though, is that of becoming god. Sparks, as mentioned, is the spirit of a century. That’s sort of a god, right? And Captain Atom talks about transforming from a superhero to become something more. He wants to be god, not just a god. Is there a place for god in the world of the DC Universe? In our world?
There’s another aspect of this book that is probably important to talk about: King’s work has itself, like a lot of comics creators, lived in the shadow of Watchmen. King frequently uses the nine-panel grid, which he again employs here to good effect in Jenny Sparks #1. But what isn’t explicitly stated is that Captain Atom was supposed to be Doctor Manhattan in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s comic series. The goal was to use the Charlton characters, before ultimately creating “original” analogs for the seminal work. Here, this Captain Atom is unstuck from time, talking about transcending his mortal form. This is, essentially, King paying off on the original plan for Watchmen, at least in part.
Does it work? Honestly… I don’t know. Spokes draws some killer action scenes. The issue itself is intriguing, both in terms of its mysteries and characterizations. But like a lot of King’s work, we may not know whether this works or not until it’s in the rearview mirror. That said? I’ll be riding along the whole time.
Jenny Sparks #1 Rating:
Jenny Sparks #1 Official Synopsis:
EISNER AWARD WINNER TOM KING DELIVERS A NEW WILDSTORM SERIES WITH RISING STAR ARTIST JEFF SPOKES! The wild storm begins! What could four strangers have to do with the fate of the world? Find out as Captain Atom goes rogue, threatening to destroy the planet he once swore to protect. Can any hero stop him? Well, it may take the most unconventional of them all… Jenny Sparks, the one woman tasked with keeping ALL the heroes in line, no matter the cost. With a snap of her fingers, she’s entered the fray and won’t quit until the job is done! The Spirit of the 20th Century returns for the 21st in this action-packed new miniseries by Eisner Award-winning writer Tom King (WONDER WOMAN, SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW) and artist Jeff Spokes!
