| Ad Astra: Astro City: What happened in V2, #4-9 |
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: New Kid In Town
Brian Kinney has a dream, a dream of being a superhero and earning the respect his father never had. To fulfill his dream he moves to Astro City. He also knows that in order to become a superhero he first has to find a hero to train him.
So he applies for a position as busboy at Bruiser's, a beer joint run by retired superhero K.O. Carson. After learning why Brian wanted the job, Carson refers him to Butler's, an exclusive club for the kind of superheroes who could use a sidekick.
Thanks to Carson's recommendation, Brian is hired at the club, and after three days working there, he gets his big chance, when Gluegun attacks the club and takes him hostage. Of course being in a club full of superheroes, Gluegun is hyper tense and doesn't expect Brian to cause any trouble. Brian, however isn't the type to let others handle it, and escapes from Gluegun's grip, after which he proceeds to knock him unconscious. All of this earns him the praise of the club's regulars, some of Astro City's most renowned superheroes.
His fellow busboys however, aren't as happy with Brian's actions, resenting him for "stealing" their chance to impress the superheroes. So after his shift is over, they intend to beat him up. Brian knows he has not much change to escape unscathed, but intends to sell his skin dearly. Before anything can happen however, they're interrupted by the voice of Astro City's most mysterious superhero, the Confessor....
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: Learning the game
Last issue, fifteen year old Brian Kinney came to the attention of Astro City's most mysterious superhero, the Confessor. Now we meet up with Brian as the Confessor's new sidekick, Altar Boy. It wasn't Brian's first choice for a nom du guerre, but as the Confessor said: "Altar Boy or busboy. Your choice." Over the next few weeks Brian is taken under the wing of the Confessor, studying and training for his role as Altar Boy every night, except for three, four times a week. On those nights they go out to make real what Brian has been learning...
Together they stop several crimes, getting Altar Boy his first real taste of the life of a superhero. And while he's good, the Confessor makes him feel an idiot, but at least an idiot with potential. At the same time, Brian is also getting his first publicity, an article about him in the new issue of the Current, which also brings him his first admirers.
All of this is going to his head somewhat, making him cocky enough to suggest to the Confessor investigating the Shadow Hill murders. He replies that "Shadow Hill has its own protectors. and its own means of dealing with predators", then starts to lecture Brian about being overconfident. Who has heard this kind of speech before from the Confessor and reacts by asking him his secret identity. The Confessor replies by stating: "You want to know my secrets? Earn your answers, boy. Find out for yourself.". After which he disappears again.
Meanwhile, there's some friction being created between the city and its heroes. Winged Victory has spoken some controversial comments about the city's catholic schools and it seems Crackerjack has become a criminal, robbing banks. Then, when Altar Boy is moving thru the city, just who does he see? Yep, Crackerjack.
Observing Crackerjack, Brian is thinking about what the Confessor said earlier about patterns: look for the facts that don't fit. And Crackerjack's behavior of the last few weeks didn't fit. So it's no surprise to Brian when he discovers it's an imposter. After subduing the false Crackerjack, who tried to rob an Astromart, Brian is shocked to find that it is not only a shape shifter, but it isn't even human. In fact he's so stunned, he almost let the imposter escape, but fortunately the real Crackerjack intervenes at that moment.
Later Crackerjack, being Crackerjack, takes all the credit for stopping the imposter and of course, being Crackerjack, he also lets the imposter escape. The story ends with Brian, steamed by Crackerjack taking all the glory, getting compliments from the person it matters most, the Confessor who knows it's not the glory that counts, it's the good work that's done.
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: The gathering dark
With Astro City in the grip of a heat wave, it's no wonder tempers flare sometimes. Especially after the body of Sara-Lynne Felton is found. She was the eight victim of the Shadow Hill murderer and people were getting angry and scared. Angry at their heroes who don't seem to do anything about the murders.
Brian and the Confessor encounter their share of hostility when they try and fail to stop the Gunslinger, just when the news about Sara-Lynne is announced. Later, after they've seen the reports on the news about her death, Brian argues to the Confessor that they should do something. Who replies that Brian is right, that he is investigating it, but that Brian himself is not ready yet to take on Shadow Hill.
In fact, the Confessor isn't the only one investigating. The other heroes are also busy with it, so busy in fact crime in other parts of the city is on the rise. However, nobody found anything. Which some people take as a clue that the heroes don't want to find the murderer or even that one of the heroes is the murderer.
Then, when two more bodies are found, Mayor Stevenson launches a plan to deal with the crisis. First, he hires the services of Mordecai Chalk, a professional monster-hunter to deal with the Shadow Hill killer. Second, since the killer seems to be an unknown superhuman, the Mayor proposes to register all known superhumans, beginning with those with mystic powers and is in fact flying in E.A.G.L.E. troopers to help with the process. Which is something new, since E.A.G.L.E., the Extranormal Activities Garrison for Law Enforcement usually comes in after the heroes, on cleanup duty...
Of course, not everybody agrees with the Mayor's handling of the situation, none more so then
Winged Victory, already at loggers head with him about her comments on the Catholic schools of
Astro City (issue 5). Her outburst against the registration wins some support, but many people
disagree with her, asking her what she's got to hide.
Over the next days, the situation remains volatile and things come to ahead, with Honor Guard
repelling an inter-dimensional invasion in Antarctica, at the same time as the murders of three
more kids becomes known, the relationship between the city and its heroes, becomes ever more
strained.
Through all of this, The Confessor and Altar Boy have quitly continued their search for the Gunslinger, finally cornering him as he attempts to kill his latest victim. Foiled by the Confessor, who manages to survive two shots of him despite being fired at point blank range, the Gunslinger flees into the Shadow Hill area. Ordering Altar Boy to stay behind, the Confessor goes after him into Shadow Hill. Brian, of course disobeys and in turn goes after the Confessor. In time to see him take down the Gunslinger *and* witness the reaction of the Shadow Hill people to the Confessor, who seem extremely frightened of him.
That night, Brian looks at all of the clues to the Confessor's identity.
He only comes out at night, he's supernaturally strong and fast, is able to mesmerise people
by looking at them, disappears into mist, bullets pass thru him and the people of Shadow Hill
fear him. Confronting the Confessor with this, Brian screams his conclusion at him:
"you... you're a vampire aren't you? Well? Aren't you?!".
Who replies: "Ah young Brian Well... Well done.".
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: Eye of the Storm
Last issue, Brian Kinney discovered that his mentor, the Confessor was in fact a vampire! And while the Confessor seemed to take Brian's discovery pretty calm last issue, this issue opens with him fleeing from Brian, going on a crusade against the Deacon and his men. And it's only after The Confessor subdues some of the Deacon's killers, that Altar Boy finally catches up with him.
When Brian then say that they have to talk, the Confessor replies with an emotional outburst:
"Talk?
Look at me boy! Look at me!
You deduced it! You put the pattern together! You were right!
But you don't talk to one such as I!
You fear us! You shun us!
You hunt us down like the black, thrice-damned monsters we are!"
Brian manages to calm the Confessor down, by quitely talking to him,, telling him he's a good man, telling him he knows the Confessor wanted him to discover the truth, asking him to tell his story. The Confessor agrees that Brian has earned it, but he has to wait till the next evening, as it is getting light.
With the Confessor vanishing from view, Brian looks at the strange lights shining in the sky and wonders what else is going on that night.
Well, those lights came from the battle between the Honor Guard and an alien ship, which opened fire when Honor Guard arrived to investigate it. They manage to subdue it, but the ship touches off another confrontation between the Mayor's office and Honor Guard. The mayor is demanding Honor Guard turn over the ship to the federal authorities, but the team first wants to check out the ship, finding out more about it. The mayor, of course, doesn't agree with this. Later, with a confrontation between the Black Rapier and E.A.G.L.E. troops at the museum of modern history, the situation deteriorates even further, all of this leading to further loss of confidence by the public in the superheroes.
All of this doesn't go unnoticed by Brian, but he still has to deal with the Confessor. That night, the Confessor tells his story:
It seems he was once Jeremiah Parrish, a young priest who came to the city in 1869,
to help Cardinal Grandenetti build his cathedral. Overseeing the laborers and foremen,
many whom came from Eastern Europe and settled in what later would be known as Shadow Hill.
It was at the house of one of the laborers he met a young woman, with which he fell in lust.
Unfortunately for Jeremiah, she was a vampire. After killing him, the vampire dumped him and left
his corpse buried in filth and garbage. And three days later Jeremiah arose.
Now a vampire, Jeremiah still tried to live, if not as a man, then as a priest, trying
to atone for his sinning by studying his condition. However, after he was discovered,
the people working on the Cathedral tried to hunt him down, to kill him. Not able too, they
at last walled of the wing of the Cathedral Jeremiah lived. For years he remained there,
withdrawing from humanity until the 1920ties, which saw the dawn of the age of superheroes,
with the public debut of Air Ace.
In them, the Confessor saw a hope, that it was possible to have secrets, to "mask one's true
nature" and still live among men. Waiting for decades, fearing his curse, fearing exposure, the
Confessor finally made the leap of faith and "it has been good".
After hearing all this Brian asks the Confessor "why me?". Who replies that it's his duty to
teach, but Brian knows it's more then that, that he wanted somebody to talk with, to understand
what's it like...
Meanwhile, as Brian and the confessor come to some understanding of each other, the aliens are still plotting the invasion of Earth, and the conflict between the heroes and the city grows ever wider...
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: Patterns
When Mordecai Chalk went looking for the Shadow Hill murderer in issue six, he stated he would be back in a week, with the murderer. But Chalk never came out of Shadow Hill and was finally found half dead, his mind gone. Apparently he encountered something....
For the mayor, this is just another tool to be used to push through his own plans. And in the days that follow, many heroes are captured or driven underground and some may even been killed, like Jack-In-The-Box, who disappeared after he battled E.A.G.L.E. troops over the Gaines river.
In the middle of all this, Brian doesn't fare much better. With the revelations of the Confessor going thru his mind, he's plagued with doubt about his role as Altar Boy. The Confessor may be a hero, having saved lifes, yet he's also a vampire and you can't trust vampires, right? Still, Brian doesn't want to quit, it would be as if he had given in to the mayor, which is the last thing he wants. Especially after E.A.G.L..E. troops did their best to capture both him and the Confessor, but failed...
Things come to ahead when the Mayor announces his plan to bring in even more troops, to "ensure the safety of the citizens". Seeing the contempt the city apparently holds its heroes, coupled with his doubts about the Confessor, causes Brian to lash out at him. Asking why they should go on, the Confessor replies that "[we help people] merely because they need the help". Brian then reacts to the Confessor's answer by telling him that his secret is out, the Mayor knows he's a vampire. It seems Brian was approached by one of the Mayor's underlings to carry a message to the Confessor: keep quit or they'll expose his secret.
And with that piece of information, the Confessor suddenly sees the pattern of the last few weeks. Knowing what it is that doesn't fit he heads for Centennial Park, where the E.A.G.L..E. ships where landing with their special troops.
In the park, the Mayor is just beginning his speech when the Confessor attacks. Plowing thru the E.A.G.L..E. troopers with little regard for his own life, he tries to reach the Mayor. By leaping in front of the cameras the Confessor had had to known what would happen, that the cameras wouldn't see him, worse he had to known the troopers were prepared. And indeed they deploy holo-crucifixes and restraining cables infused with holy water. No matter for the Confessor, as his secret dies he promises that "there are worse secrets to be revealed tonight", but he hadn't accounted for one E.A.G.L..E. trooper, who fires a wooden stake right into his heart.
Brian, also on the scene runs towards the falling Confessor as the Mayor turns towards the camera's to address the people, spouting his lies again. But he has misjudged the Confessor' strength as with one leap he wrest the gun from an E.A.G.L..E. trooper and fires a stake into the Mayor, dying as he does so.
With the impact of the stake nailing the Mayor to the wall, he undergoes a remarkable transformation and finally everyone understands what the Confessor knows: he's an alien....
S: Kurt Busiek
A: Brent Anderson with Will Blyberg
C: Alex Ross
T: My father's son
With the revelation of the Mayor's true identity in last issue, the alien invasion begins in earnest: all over the world cities are attacked by the Enelsians, as the aliens are called. But rising to defend their planet are the world's superheroes reviled and despised in the weeks before they still risk their lives to save that of the people who mistreated them.
And while the battle is fierce everywhere, the schwerpunkt of the attack lies with Astro City, where the combined might of Honor Guard, the First Family, Winged Victory, the Gentleman, Crackerjack and the Irregulars aided by the Hanged Man is brought to bear against the invaders.
Little good that does Brian, who's still surrounded by alien troops in the park, about to kill him. Fortunately, he's saved by an Angel, Mary of the Crossbreed. All of which attack the aliens, buying the people and human troopers time to get out of the park. After restraining the alien ships, they depart, taking Brian with them, thinking about the confessor's last moments. Arriving at the Crossbreed's refuge ark, he discovers they knew the confessor's secret, but as Noah puts it:
"regardless of what he was, he was doing God's work,
He was saving innocents and serving truth. And in the final judgment,
what is more important? The burdens we bear
or the way we bear them?
"
And with that they left him alone with his thoughts.
The rest was easy: the heroes won, of course and the aliens wouldn't be back. While the city was healing, people still didn't know the truth about the Confessor, still thought he was the Shadow Hill killer. They were making simple patterns of things that didn't fit together, when the truth was more complex. With the discovery of the Confessor's hideout, the people now knew everything, yet still made the wrong assumptions, all of which left Brian again with a lot to think about, about how people could both condemn and praise their heroes and about his father.
Meanwhile, with the city healing there was still one thing missing, not put right: the Shadow Hill killer.
People "knew" it was the Confessor, but still...
And then another body turned up and there was a great fight in the sky between the Hanged Man and
something...else. And when they disappeared everything was different. something which was
underscored when the Hanged Man turned up at the memorial service for the killer's victims, to
comfort the relatives.
For everybody, that was the ending, except for Brian who had to find it elsewhere, where it had started. Standing for the graves of his parents, he now knew what he didn't know when he went to Astro City, to become a hero. His father was a hero, even if people didn't know it. And that was his ending, or was it....
Five years later, a mysterious figure once again preys on the city's criminals. They may have heard rumours, prepared themselves, but their crucifixes, holy water and garlic won't help them...
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