Review: MULTIVERSITY: MASTERMEN #1

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MULTIVERSITY: MASTERMEN #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: February 18, 2015

Wilkommen to Earth-10. America is extinct. Germania has risen after the events of World War II and Nazi world domination. And it all came about because of a rocket ship from the stars bearing the prophesized Ubermensch, an indestructible baby who would grow to be the immortal leader of a new Aryan force. Who can rise against them sixty years later? Good old Uncle Sam.

He wants you… to pay for your crimes.

Grant Morrison continues his survey of the Multiverse with another old school highlight — the classic Earth X (now 10), the world where Hitler won the war. It’s fairly rich territory for fantasy fiction, and one that carries with it lots of baggage and opportunity in equal measure. And unfortunately, with this limited space, I’m not sure the writer lived up to the source material.

We are treated to an Overman who, in his heart, is conflicted over the state of the world and his role in bringing it to this place. Still mourning Overgirl (who perished in the pages of Final Crisis) and faced with state-run terrors that occurred in his absence, the character broods and questions, but we never quite see him face the sheer horror of what he’s done. Non-Aryans are few in this utopian society and restricted to an impoverished underground, but we see so little of that contrast that it doesn’t resonate as being any more terrible than homelessness anywhere.

The Freedom Fighters, former stars of Earth-10, get introduced very briefly (with stunning new costumes, presumably designed by Jim Lee) but are reduced to simply representing groups that Hitler did his best to wipe out: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, “Negroes,” Romani, and… not so fast, homosexuals. You apparently don’t rate a mention. Are we supposed to presume the glowing pink seams on the Ray’s costumes clue us in to that fact? Seems like a deliberate omission, and honestly, that pisses me off.

But overall, I find myself a tad disappointed at what was left on the table with Overman’s guilt. As a version of THE classically understood Jewish archetype of comic book heroes — ever — Overman’s malaise doesn’t measure up to the idea that the creation of Siegel and Shuster, two Jewish kids in Brooklyn, could have brought forth the success of the Holocaust. I mean, imagine.

Jim Lee does a fair job of giving a sense of majesty to these German godlike figures, and absolutely brings his usual magic to the presence of Uncle Sam, who, aside from the faceless Human Bomb, is the only Freedom Fighter to have more than a single page appearance. Sam is imagined like a force of nature, less an old man in a red, white, and blue three-piece suit and more a true embodiment of the American Spirit — a little nasty, really frightening when he wants to be, and not about to be bullied into silence.

From both perspectives — the Nazis and the Freedom Fighters, with Overman in-between — Sam becomes the perfect symbol of American duality. Not too good. Not too bad. Mostly standing up for what’s right. And Lee captures that perfectly. But the quiet moments of the issue don’t suit him or his style, which doesn’t help shore up Morrison’s attempt to create a sympathetic Overman. Honestly, I think it’s a mismatch in artist to story, with the subtlety being lost to Lee’s grand, and strikingly so, bold style.

Would that Mastermen #1 was a deeper dive into the prospects of a world where Adolf Hitler won the war — and the implications of using Superman to do it — but ultimately, this issue of Multiversity felt shallow in comparison to those that came before. There have been so many complex thoughts coursing through the veins of this series, that to get an issue where that stream seems to have run dry is a bit of a disappointment. Onwards to Earth-33 with better hopes.

The Verdict: 6.5/10

 

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5 Comments

  1. Jay said:

    “Are we supposed to presume the glowing pink seams on the Ray’s costumes
    clue us in to that fact? Seems like a deliberate omission, and honestly,
    that pisses me off.”

    Morrison said that The Ray of Earth-10 would be homosexual in an interview, so the ommission was more glaring to me.

    But then I wondered if he left it off so you could quickly assume Ray was Jewish. Because once you know Ray is gay, and assume each character represents one group, the only other person of the Freedom Fighters who could be Jewish is The Human Bomb. And once you remember that Superman supporting the Nazi world is the twist of Superman supporting America/The World and the Freedom Fighters are analogous to terrorists…

  2. Matt SantoriGriffith said:

    Eh. There’s been some discussion online today about how the Freedom Fighters are terrorists and how shocking that is. I don’t think that it’s shocking at all, having read The Invisibles, and… Freedom Fighters.

    Admittedly, as a Jew, I’m totally incapable of reading a book and assuming the Nazis are good in any way. And they could easily be just any generic alien dictators here. Nazis aren’t just any world leaders. They committed mass genocide in the real world. The bar is much higher for their depiction. This was weak sauce.

  3. Big Ulf said:

    Yeah this one was the weakest one. Not enough time with the Freedom Fighters and a bland story. I blame Didio for being a FF fan and wanting them in all the comics!
    Or maybe Jim Lee for the artwork:)
    It was going to be hard to top the triple-hit of Pax Americana, Thunderworld, and the Guidebook anyway (not to mention the SOS issue).
    Looking forward to Ultra Comics…

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