Powers, Vol. 6: The Sellouts

Powers (2000) #6

by Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming

When one of the members of the classsic superteam is murdered, the investigation by homicide detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim leads to dramatic events in Powers history.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Crime, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Eeeeeeh. I'm torn on this one.



On one hand, I thought the murder (and other spoilery things) mystery was good. It had more oomph than most of the previous volumes' crimes because the consequences had more of a fallout.



On the other hand, it seemed like Bendis was trying to give the reader their money's worth and cram every available space with words. Not every page looks like someone took a verbal shit on it, but enough that when I thumbed through before reading it, I got that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
And yes, to top it off, the fake magazine articles were back. And they were filled to the brim with more fake superhero gossip and other nonsense that I'm sure Bendis and Oeming thought was oh-so funny and clever.



The gist is that a Power who supposedly made a sex tape with an underage girl is then found dead in his home, and it appears (or not!) that the murderer is an invisible assailant. Deena and Christian set about tracking down his old group (think: Justice League) to try to ferret out whodunnit, but spoilery things happen that (literally) rock the world.



Part of me thinks this is a cool story, and part of me just wants to go ahead and finish this title before I forget what happened.

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tawdry start to this volume sees a perverted sex-tape of a well know superhero and member of marketing sensation super team Unity essentially sexually assaulting an underage girl; but as the tape airs an invisble (powered?) assailant kills him. Deena and Walker, who's now back in the Powers Division find themselves on a state crossing case as they seek all and any information from the former members of the now disbanded Unity... only to fid out that the publicising of that sex tape has opened a can of worms, that can never be reopened!

This truly epic volume in this super be series sees Bendis and Oeming go all-out around the 'who spiralling build-up, that ratchetted up the tension and shock for me. This volume scores home on so many points from the nature of superhero celebrity and commerce would be really like, through to the bitter has-beens that would be stuck peddling their wares at comic cons. There's quality dark humour as ever, but ultimately this volume turns on the head the rationality of a DC Universe with Superman and a Marvel universe with Thor... although Marvel did go on to tackle these themes with an even sounder and realistic portrayal with the mega powered The Sentry, (also by Bendis!). There's a lot more Deanna Pilgrim too.... as we get to better understand just how brave and REAL poh-lice she is. 9 out of 12.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This deconstructionist, post modern, seedy side of superheroes schtick is beginning to get to me with this volume. This is clearly based on the Super Friends and begins with "Batman" giving an underage girl in a "Robin" costume a golden shower. Yeah, things are starting to go too far for me. There's also a lot of dialogue that's problematic at best in the "Me Too" age with two cops talking about how much they'd like to get oral sex from a female cop. It really turned me off to the book. The first half of the book, the dialogue felt very amateurish, as if written by a teenage boy. That being said, the book does steer in a completely different direction in the next volume and I'm willing to stick with it.

I'm fine with Michael Oeming's art, but I hate his two page layout structure and he uses it often. It's never clear to me if it's one or two pages until I've read the first page and start reading the second one. He uses these broad black borders between panels and rows and it doesn't convey that I should be reading across both pages.

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be as close as the comicbook reader is going to get to see Brian Bendis writing Superman. But this is more his Watchmen story really. A superhero murder mystery involving a superteam with a member with godlike powers with some sex, homosexuality and nudity thrown in the mix.

Bendis' world has Walker and Pilgrim to hold it 'supers' accountable but what if the perpetrator has the aforementioned god-like powers who has detached himself from human matters? How are they going to bring him in?

I could see why Powers is Bendis and Oemning's best work. It's well written and the art, though cartoony, serves the storytelling well.

[catechism · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly liked the story here, and I like it when high stakes have actual consequences (unlike eg the MCU). I also mostly like the art. I do not like casual misogyny played for laughs, or the fact that I can never tell if a spread is two pages and supposed to be read horizontally. Seriously, I can never tell!

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark and tawdry and upsetting. And I still don't like the art much. But good. I really didn't see this series as going darker. An uncomfortable read but one that kind of makes sense in a world full of Supers and the Internet. But not a fun read.

[Melania 🍒 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,55/5

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

So you pretty much can't review this book without stating the spoiler premise. It's what if Superman went mad? It's been done before in a lot deconstructed superhero comics, particularly Mark Waid's Irredeemable comic, and this isn't a particular innovative take, other than the fact that it's the answer to a mystery. Nonetheless, it's well presented.

The real purpose of that premise is to set up a a sea-change in the Powers universe, and that's well worth getting too. And hopefully it'll be more long-lasting that than the previous sea-change, which was Walker's three-issue long retirement following Zora's death in Powers, Vol. 4: Supergroup.

The other fun part of this comic is that it openly parodies iconic heroes in a way that Powers usually doesn't. But Unity, they're obviously the Superfriends. To be precise, they're Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman(ish), Green Arrow, and Firestorm. Bendis has fun deconstructing some of the classic tropes (particularly Batman, Robin, and Green Arrow), yet still keeps his heroes different enough that they don't feel like an artificial introduction to the Powers universe.

[Julio Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

He lives in a world without physics. Without rules.

Volume 6 of Powers focuses on a former group of superheroes ä la Justice League. One night, a hero and his apprentice are playing a game. Meanwhile, the perpetrator, Red Hawk, watches what he did via TV. Then comes, the leader to give him his reward. WHO?? This volume is a whodunnit!

I have control over your existence.

[Daphne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like it when popular culture take on existential topics, and I really liked this particular arc, but it kinda reminded me more than a little bit of Watchmen...

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The creepiness of this ending has always troubled me... Sonic Shock was the equivalent of Superman for this story, and his alien-ness drove him nuts -- so he starts destroying those who have lost the "way".

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reprints Powers (1) #25-30 (November 2002-March 2003). The release of a sex tape implicating Red Hawk and a minor leads to Red Hawk’s murder…and Deena Pilgrim and Christian Walker assigned to one of their highest profile investigations. Unity was the team to be when it existed, but since its dissolving, the marketing has continued to soar. Now the police suspect that the murder of Red Hawk could be an inside job…and no one is off limits.

Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Powers Volume 6: The Sellouts is an Image Comics superhero procedural book. Following Powers Volume 5: Anarchy, the series features art by Michael Avon Oeming. Issues in this collection were originally published by Image but reprints were done by Marvel under their Icon imprint. Comics in this collection were also included as part of Powers Omnibus, Powers—Book 2, and Powers—Volume 3.

I loved Powers. I found it a creative take on both superhero comics and police procedurals. Unlike something like Top 10 (which I also loved), it had enough regularity and issues that it was able to really expand the idea and concepts…and push things further than you might expect.

I like this entry in Powers, but I feel that it is a bit less powerful than some of the previous entries in scope. While the overall vision is big (aka the essentially Superman going crazy), I thought the previous collection Powers 4: Supergroup did the super team murder mystery a bit better FG-3. The “Superman goes crazy” idea has been explored in other comics and universes, so it doesn’t have as much shock value.

I do like this entry is a little more Deena heavy. Deena always is a key player, but sometimes she seems a bit sidelined since she doesn’t have a history with the Powers like Christian has. Here, she is making the key encounter and discover at the end of the story and it feels like it is her time to shine…which is odd since Christian does have those deeper ties to superhero groups.

Michael Avon Oeming is as much of a contributor to Powers as Brian Michael Bendis. His vision of the comic really propels it forward. Stylistically it is impressive and the series has that noir type style to bring it all together in a great package. Powers always excels visually.

Powers 6: The Sellouts once again changes the format of the comic. Powers are illegal, and with that out-and-out ban on superhumans, that poses more problems (especially for the officers enforcing it). I always can read or re-read Powers and enjoy it. It has staying power. Powers 6: The Sellouts was followed by Powers 7: Forever.

[Jacq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che gran serie by Bendis e Oeming! Son sempre più convinto che con The Boys, Ennis abbia cercato di rifare Powers a modo suo (peggio!)... Bendis segue la strada iniziata da Moore con Watchmen e scrive un altro ottimo capitolo della saga, coadiuvato alla perfezione da un Oeming in gran forma. Ok, Walker ha un ruolo un po' marginale. Ok, a volte la sequenza temporale non è lineare (ma Bendis usa accorgimenti geniali per mostrarcelo, senza farci perdere troppo il filo). Però che bel volume... Voto: 9/10.

[Peter Evett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb arc in the series. Love the marketing/collecting/theme parking of "real" superheroes. All very clever and really filling out the world - and making the crimes going on much more epic in scope. The mindset of the all-powerful hero was perhaps better done in Miracleman (another competitor for best series ever) but it is well done here and the resulting carnage is shocking both for the idea, and Oeming's remarkable visualizations.

Still great stuff from our detectives - and Deena certainly paid the price for her intensity this time.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthusiastic 5 stars. This may prove to be the high point of the series for me; it certainly is up to this point. But if it continues to get even better after this, I sure won't complain! Epic (pretty much literally), intense and emotional.

Favorite moment (maybe a little spoiler-y):

Panel 1: (Deena, arms crossed, no dialogue)
Panel 2: Deena: "OK, I'LL go first..."
Panel 3: Deena: "...I AM FREAKING-THE-FUCK-OUT!"

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great dramatic moments and nude Deena. Good stuff.
But with this edition Bending brought in the endless talk US people love so much. Or maybe it was there already, but it did not annoy me this much.
Could've been told in fewer pages, this one.

[Pablo Bueno · Rating 4 out of 5]

De lo mejor hasta ahora.

[Steven W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really amazing a game changer for the series!!

[Heather]

Really interesting what if powers turned on humanity

[Colin Rapp-Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read

[Elfo-oscuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mientras esten Walker y Pilgrin es dificil que sea malo un comic, y mientras mantengan a Bendis en la serie. Mantiene muy bien el nivel y los casos te siguen sorprendiendo. Espero que siga asi

[Aerin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well damn, this story was not as solid as retro girl or supergroup all the way through, but it all came together really well at the end. Wild

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Powers: The Sellouts" Walker and Pilgrim are back on the case of another redball which leads them to uncover some very uncomfortable truths about a beloved supergroup. Worse yet global events tilt towards the apocalyptic as their search leads to a suspect of immense power.

Expect, a superhero sex tape, a hero moonlighting as a U.S. senator, a dark and dysfunctional version of the Superfriends, a Powers' convention in NYC, Retro Girl PVC costumes, no one going to Utah, a superhero loosing his $&^#, a butler tweedier than Jarvis or Pennyworth, Pilgrim going rogue - again, a glimpse at Walker's literary tastes and a new approach to powers.

[TJ Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was as close to a Lex Luthor what-if-superman-goes-dark storyline within the Powers realm as Bendis could deliver. Great volume.

[Korynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this volume we meet another supergroup past its heyday being investigated because one of its members (involved in a sex scandal) is murdered by another power. But the whole thing evolves into a higher discussion, continuing the hysteria of the previous volume, just what are powers, and who gave them the right to govern? To mete justice? To fly high above the heads of others? And then this volume, with its nightmare scenario, when a power who murders goes mad with power...
On a sidenote:
What drives me nuts about Bendis' writing sometimes, other than the constant rapid fire comments back and forth that is his signature style, is that he leaves things unsaid and plots openended. I know this is because he plans to come back to it later or because he feels if he just showed you one hundred panels of red-heads he doesn't need to say, a lot of redheads. But it just irks me. I need the punchline. I need the closure. And I think it's lazy storytelling all right?!

[Phil Bova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume has been the best I've read in this series so far. The scope of the book is amazing in its rich, and complex interweaving of narrative.
It has been a while since a particular series has grabbed my attention....and Powers has definitely delivered. Every volume combines the depth of its many characters, along with the brilliant story telling by Brian Michael Bendis.
This series is highly entertaining. The humor in the cursing can be, often at times, a bit harsh in dialect, but the context of story provides a comedic tone when it's done...almost as if the author is making a point of presenting a realistic perspective to certain situations. Let's be honest, there are a great many times when cursing NEEDS to be done

[William Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sellouts tells the story, presented here and there in other stories with other characters, about a superman, the most powerful guy in the world and what happens when he cannot relate to the world anymore. He loses it. Snaps. Goes insane.

There's a scene in this where Deena Pilgrim just blurts out that she's freaking out, that there is no way to process this moment when the world is collapsing around their ears. I felt the echoes of relevance, I felt the chill of reading a ten year old comic book and seeing, as O'Neill put it "No present and no future, just the past, happening again and again."

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A subtle homage to Watchmen (and R Kelly) make for another classic volume of Powers.

When a sex scandal hits the wavelengths, showing a doppleganger of Red Hawk doing sexual acts with a minor, someone murders with real Red Hawk, and Walker and Pilgrim must find out who.

Unraveling the ex-members of Unity will be the hardest part, as this Watchmen style group of heroes has disbanded, and one of them might be the killer.

The ending will rock you to the very core. Its on par with Watchmen.

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first four star volume of this series for me (as i remember); all the others were fives. Oeming and Bendis do similar work of great quality here, but this one is just so dark, and the villainy so perverse and banal that it's just a really kind of depressing. Even the cops essentially give up, except for Deena who lucks into a solution to their seemingly impossible situation. No deus ex machina , this creative team is better than that, but the relative powerlessness of our protagonists is certainly brought home to roost in this volume, and it's not a pretty sight/thought.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

amping up the sex and shock-value which I have mixed feelings on however the overall story arc is a great one here: what happens to the undying, all-powerful superhero when he's lived for centuries and has lost faith in humanity? What happens to the world?

really a 3.5 stars because I wasn't thrilled with the exploitative nature here and I'm getting a little tired of all female characters with lines having to be sexpots and not allowed anything but antagonistic relationships with each other.... this definitely doesn't pass a Bechdel test. EVER.