Manhunter, Vol. 3: Origins

Manhunter #3

by Marc Andreyko, Javier Pins

A cult favorite series written by Marc Andreko, MANHUNTER has won acclaim from fans, critics, professionals and competitive publishers. It has a loyal fan base that is rabidly devoted to this new heroine who's made her mark in a world filled with costumed heroes, villains, madmen and monsters. After federal prosecutor Kate Spencer lost a case against a super-villain, setting him free to kill again, she decided to break the laws she's long upheld and become Los Angeles's newest crimefighting vigilante. Now, she uses confiscated metahuman weaponry she raided from an evidence locker to track down perps that have eluded justice in the courts and deliver a long-overdue eye for an eye as Manhunter. This latest volume in the series uncovers the mysterious origins of the armor and weapons that she uses in her war on crime.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Adventure

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Marc Andreyko is a comic book and screenplay writer, best known for writing the 2000s ongoing series Manhunter for DC Comics.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Spencer gets a job with Mr. Bones of the DEO and one of her first clients is Dr. Psycho. Her son is kidnapped and her secretary begins dating Obsidian. Oh, and Kate's still trying to quit smoking...

While not quite as good as the previous two, this volume of Manhunter does a lot to develop Kate's supporting cast. We find out Kate's parentage, Dylan gets some, Mark Shaw starts training Kate, and Kate's ex-husband and his new wife are having a kid.

I love how Kate laments her D-List super villains. Andreyko does a great job of making Kate one of the more interesting characters in comics. Too bad it's hard to get the typical comic audience to plunk down their money on something other than two guys wearing spandex and punching each other.

The action is as good as always. I'm chomping at the bit for someone to settle Dr. Psycho's hash. The end of Kate's battle with her father is one of my favorites in recent comics.

There's a fair amount of comics nostalgia in this volume but not so much that I'd worry about new readers not getting it. Dr. Mid-nite, Phantom Lady, and the original Green Lantern make appearances. I love how the now 70-ish Phantom Lady talks about using her costume to distract bad guys in the 1940's. Great stuff.

Really, if you're not already aboard the Manhunter train, nothing I can say will change your mind. If you like well written comics and you don't read Andreyko's Manhunter run, you're missing out.

2024 Reread Still a great read. One of the big strengths of the book is the supporting cast. Not getting roped into momentum derailing crossovers is another strength. Andreyko really makes hay with the ignored bits of the DC universe.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manhunter continues being a damn fine surprise.

This volume is broken up with the "1 year later" DC event. The first half is Manhunter doing her rounds and beating up baddies while also trying to be a better mom. Then her pops comes into the picture and you find out who he really is and he goes after her son! Then the one year later has some really good ideas with Dr. Psycho and his court case was a nice change of pace here. Will Manhunter be the ultimate superhero?

The thing that still works so well is the back and forth between her regular life and superhero life. The art is solid with some badass fight scenes. I also really enjoy almost all the different interactions and everyone seems to have their own voice. This is easily one of the best volumes so far. A 4 out of 5.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume three of Andreyko's Manhunter is a little weaker than the previous two. It's still a great book. The greatest strength remains Kate herself, the somewhat unconventional hero, as well as her great supporting cast. The storyline with Kate's father is very well-written, and I loved the way it ended. That said, I have some reservations about giving Kate a more conventional origin story, and tying her into the DC when she just doesn't need either. As it turns out, Kate is the granddaughter of two 1940s heroes. But it was very cool to see the now 70ish Phantom Lady, and she just about made the collection in her one, short scene. But this is really nitpicky, because it's still a great book overall, and I have faith in the direction the book seems to be heading, with Kate switching from prosecution to defense and working with the DEO.

[47Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

The origin of Kate's equipment is pretty cool, even funny at times since the previous owners didn't live to tell the tale. The rest is so much drama it hurts my eyes. It features gays if anyone if interested. Soap opera city! Now I know why it was so easy to leave this series alone for so much time after finishing the second volume. It's too slow and focuses on - ew - everyday superhero-secret-identity problems. And the decapitations are distinctly missing.

DEO director Bones offers Kate the chance to work for him as Manhunter. Kate's family is threatened by a man who claims to be Ramsey's grandfather.

Kate takes the job offered by Bones, but must help her family first. Her father needs a transplant with his grandson's bone marrow, but it's not compatible. Kate tracks down Phobia and Dr. Moon, then swiftly defeats them and her father too.

The case of Doc Psycho is pretty entertaining. Again Kate destroys the prosecutor's witnesses. Meanwhile there's amadman with superpowers who is killing people he sees as sinners. He gets away for now, just like I intend to do with this comic. Lastly Kate finds her grandmother. Oh, happy day! Borefest!

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I thought this was a bit of a letdown, it actually wasn't that bad. It was nice to get a little bit of background on the makeup of Kate's equipment, but on the other hand, a lot more could have been done with that. And I enjoyed the story with Kate's father. It's nice that they didn't shy away from letting her be enough of a badass to kill him without having it be a huge emotional ordeal. Even the "One Year Later" stuff was handled reasonably well. I like having Kate switch from being a prosecutor to a defense attorney; the conflict between her day and night jobs should set up some interesting drama.

Still, I'm skeptical. I can't really put my finger on why, but I think I'm just afraid about the whole tendency to wrap every character into the DC family. Why does Kate have to turn out to be descended from a previous hero? And I could have done without the whole "I love the law" speech. The thing I've most enjoyed about Manhunter is that her motivations haven't come straight out of the superhero handbook. I like to think that she broke into that weapons locker for no better reason than that she was pissed off.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take a hero who was unique to not having an elaborate super backstory.

Add elaborate backstory...watch hero become less intresting.

Mark Shaw needs to be doing more in this book, maybe in the next volume!

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diving into Kate’s backstory, this volume adds more depth to our titular hero, as well as her supporting cast. Kate is trying to find out about her lineage (spoiler: her birth father is a sadistic asswipe), while at the same time working for Bones alongside Cam for the DEO. The relationships between characters develop nicely, and they basically become their own ass-kicking squad. This series has a good balance of really dark shit (seriously), funny writing, and goofy comic-y madness, and I’m loving every issue. The serious parts have real weight, the funny bits are genuinely clever, and Kate wins me over more and more. Even multiple plot threads that connect and tie-back. The art is solid and consistent too, dark and grim or light and expressive when appropriate. This series is a must-read.

[Tom Maseth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 3 collects issues 15 - 23. There are a couple of different stories in this volume. First, a one-issue tale that details the origins of Kate's costume, gauntlets, and staff, each tied into a past incident in DC history. Next comes the continuation of the mystery of Kate's birth father Walter Pratt, a meta-human criminal who killed Kate's birth mother and kidnaps Kate's young son Ramsey. Finally, the series makes the One Year Later time jump with the rest of the DC universe, and we find Kate working as a defense attorney. She is defending Dr. Psycho. Well-drawn supporting characters like Dylan Battles, Cameron Chase, Mark Shaw (an earlier Manhunter), and JSA members Obsidian and Doctor Mid-Nite (Pieter Cross).

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I will hate One Year Later until my dying day, here's a case where it doesn't ruin everything.

[Guido]

tercer tomo de la Manhunter de Andreyko.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the "Manhunter" character, but the story is lacking to me, and too scattered, I will not purchase anymore books, in this series.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting seeing the various different Manhunters. But that leap forward by one year was annoying. I hate when comics do that. And I now realize what I didn't realize when I saw it occur in Catwoman, during comic issues released at roughly the same time. That "one year forward" leap must have been some "event" DC Comics was running, or something.

Keeping track of millions of little plot lines is hard enough, leaping forward a year - adding a year of story missing from readers, meaning there's a year's worth of "unknown" combined with some of the "pre-leap forward" plotlines going froward makes it seemingly impossible.

[Jeffrey Jelmeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that the story is out from under the shadow of its predecessors the character is really starting to come together. There were two very cohesive story arcs in this volume, and both were enjoyable to read. The pacing was handled well, the action was appropriate, and the look into origins was much better handled than in the initial volume. All in all a very good read, and perhaps in some ways it should have been where the series started.

[Sam Poole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great, lots of good, a little bad. This is an excellent series that gets sort of hurt reading in TPB installments. The time jump was very interesting and Kate grows in some really positive ways. Also the throwback to old old old school Wonder Woman was hilarious. Another good addition to the story, though her "dad" stuff really came across as tone deaf. Good, better than the previous volume but still not the best

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this volume of Manhunter. The writing is good, and the characters are unique and enjoyable for a super hero comic put out by one of the big 2. The only complaint I have with this volume is that the ending didn't really fit. It did not feel as if I got the complete story. However, that is a problem with the trade paperback, not the creators. All in all, very good read.

[Bill Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marc Andreyko's otherwise excellent series hits a bit of a speed bump with this solid collection of comics. Kate Spencer, the former prosecutor is now a defense lawyer which seems to be a break from the previous window into her character. A lurking villain escapes Kate's grasp.

Professionally done, this series just seemed to jump the tracks in terms of the original high concept.

[Thrishni Subramoney]

Huzah! The plot holes have been filled. Admittedly, they have been patched up with the literary equivalent of pieces of brightly coloured polka-dot spandex (a race of catlike aliens?) but they have nevertheless been filled and the bizarre explanations are entertaining. It is a comic book after all, she reminds herself.

And Kate and her side-kick are slowly coming to life.

[Jdetrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

An already good series continues to improve. I'm not a huge fan of DC jumping a year ahead (I feel it disrupted some books that didn't need the disruption), but this series generally handled it well. It's amazing to me that this series wasn't a bigger success for DC.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really dig this series about a federal prosecutor who decides some people have had their chance, and kills them.

I love the little obscure connections, like Kate's underling's boyfriend being a superhero.

This is a DC classic that no one knows about.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Kate Spencer as Manhunter so, so much. This was a great origins story, and if there is any justice in the world whatsoever, then someone will find a way to work her into the DCnU!