The Uniques: Review
Superheroes who are losers? Now that's something I can relate to!
There seems to be a trend towards realism in comics these days. Gone are the days when superheroes flew around in lurid skin-tight neon spandex. From the Marvels new Ultimate series, to Scott Pilgrim and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, everything’s going urban, gritty and ‘real’.
Comic creators are keen to bring a sense of reality to their creations, to be different from their corny ‘80s counterparts, more down to Earth, more accessible. They want their characters to be more human. A good comic will explore both what it means to be human and what it means to be superhuman.
Who are The Uniques?
The Uniques features a team of misfit superheroes (aren’t they always these days?), beginning with Hope (a telepath), who wakes from a two year coma to find a changed world. The ‘Uniques’ were America’s ‘unique’ soldiers, who were once institutionalised, and are now being paid a modest sum to keep the streets safe.
The series deals with adult themes (including sex and rape) but doesn’t show anything graphic, though when the heroes fight they do get a real beating, so it’s a bit bloody. Apart from that it’s a great comic that deals with real issues of teamwork and cooperation (or lack thereof), responsibility, teen love and friendship.
The Uniques have to deal with losing and, well, being losers. In team training they get in each other’s way, in their first real fight that nearly get beaten to a pulp and they end up getting kidnapped, not because they pose a risk to the bad guys, but so they can be used as bait for the superhero team ‘Teen Force Three’. Then they spend the next issue dealing with failure. It’s hard to watch and yet refreshing that they both admit their problems and deal with them. They don’t pretend that they’re ‘all that’, they don’t ignore their problems, like a lot of us do, they face up to them.
It’s ok to be a loser
People don’t like to be losers, second-bests and failures. It’s hard to swallow when someone’s better than you:
- when an eight year old is selling art for $20,000 a hit, whilst you can’t get a $20 commission,
- when your friend who’s been slacking off all year gets higher marks than you,
- when you spend years learning how to tame the AV system, waiting for your turn, and then are upstaged by a year 7 boy.
To be ‘not quite enough’ might hurt, but sometimes we’ve got to admit it, talk to someone about it, relax and reflect. The Uniques team host a barbeque where Motherboard’s gaming buddies help set up their HQ and give the team a chance to relax and reflect. It’s important to realise that we can all be losers at times, but our worth doesn’t come from our achievements, but from God:
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1: 25-27)
Find out more at http://www.uniquescomic.com/
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