Powers: Bureau, Vol. 1: Undercover

Powers: Bureau #1

by Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming, Nick Filardi (Illustrator)

The newest chapter of the Eisner Award-winning Powers is here - and it's a bold game-changer! Now that all powers cases are federal cases, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim are now federal agents, and must learn to live by the new rules. But when they find themselves dealing with the biggest powers cases in the entire country, will this new life close the closet full of skeletons Deena carries with her? (Absolutely not!) Walker and Deana are up to their necks in the most dangerous chase of their careers when they're faced with a case so dangerous it will take more than just their expertise to solve. Also, Deena is pregnant! So there's that. Get on board the creator-owned series that shows cops and capes like you've never seen them before!

COLLECTING: Powers: Bureau 1-6

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

168 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2013

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

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Police procedural becomes FBI procedural after the huge calamity that occurred at the end of the previous volume. Sunrise and Pilgrim now work for the FBI, the money, the suits, the toys, they have it all, but no Christian Walker? Where's Walker? Once again out-of-the-box thinking sees the team investigate a power selling his sperm on the black market? That's right it's the Powers spermatozoa case! The trail leads to more, and the FBI needs someone to go undercover with Powers!

As ever Pilgrim's mouth is a treat, we get to see a lot of the FBI, and the baddies are slightly better / deeper characterised than usual. It'll be interesting to see how long the FBI Bureau lasts as I think this works much better as a police procedural franchise. In addition the story overall moves a lot quicker than the police series did, down to 8 our of 12, from 9 out of 12 as the 'surprises' are much less surprising and less impactful after my multiple reads, and thus reveal the plotting to be not as good as I first thought, although the dialogue of Pilgrim is still killer!

2021 read

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playing the genre mashup game is always a good time; I mean, who doesn’t love those horror/romance hybrids? (Zombie Fabio, anyone?)

Powers represents one of the more successful early mixed-genre comic titles, featuring superheroes in a street-level crime drama—capes and cowls meets Guys and Dolls. This isn’t a hard-boiled detective story starring Superman, though—sure, there’s superpowers and spandex and crime and sleuthing and riffing on plenty of cop show tropes, but there’s also prehistoric Neanderthal monkey sex, powered-up self-copulators who can impregnate a lady just by getting a little bit of their special brand of sticky love glue on someone’s hands (note to ladies: don’t shake hands with that guy), and enough eviscerated bodies to satisfy even the most sadistic B-movie addict.

In other words, it’s exceedingly different from, say, Top 10, Vol. 1, which is very much a police procedural in the traditional mold that just happens to feature super-powered characters in a futuristic environment (I highly recommend Top 10, incidentally—it’s superb).

In Powers: Bureau, Vol. 1: Undercover, after some 14 volumes or so of watching our main characters Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim crack case after case, the FBI has taken over jurisdiction for all “powers” cases, meaning that Walker and Pilgrim are now federal agents. It’s been a few years since I’ve dipped my toe in the Powers pool, and either my memory is failing (which is entirely possible, as I introduced myself to someone as “Rod” the other day, and I’m pretty sure that’s not my name) or Bendis decided to rev up his David-Mamet-procreates-with-Kevin-Smith-style dialogue to another level of over-the-top zaniness—while Walker remains the more reserved of the two lead characters, he’s just as addicted to witty (and obscene) banter as Pilgrim in this outing.

This is a strong continuation of the Powers saga, though probably not a good jumping-on point for new readers despite the fact that it marks the beginning of a new series—too many allusions to prior incidents might leave you scratching your head. So, if you’re a Powers neophyte, check out Powers, Vol. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl?. If you’re a Powers fan who, like me, took a break for a few years, this is an ideal way to jump back in.

Just make sure you wear rubber gloves so you don’t end up pregnant. I can only speak for myself, but a baby bump would not be a good look for me...

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walker goes undercover to investigate super powered baby batter. Walker and Pilgrim are now part of the FBI after half of Chicago was destroyed int he last arc. Now they are investigating a bunch of women who have died after being impregnated with super sperm. This is a lot of fun as long as you aren't offended by the subject matter. I'm curious where the subplots are headed.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's something very engaging about viewing the world of heroes through the lense of civilians and / or law enforcement. Watching the ground level antics of a world with powers allows for a much more realistic environment, one where it's not all capes and big monster beatdowns. The characters are engaging, and the plot has enough drive to remain interesting despite the heavy filler text; Bendis hasn't quite grasped how to write banter that doesn't feel forced or out of place. Ultimately, it's a genre done better in other comics such as Gotham Central, but it is a good read, especially for those who have enjoyed previous entries.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I like best about this series is that it's always changing. It never gets stale and old because it's repeating the same thing over and over again. That's hard to do over the course of 15 books.

In fact, off the top of my head, I can't think of a single other comic that's done it so well. I can think of some series that maintain a consistently high quality over 15 books, Hellboy springs to mind, but the tone and type of story stay largely the same.

There are plenty of books that change drastically over their run, Fables for example, but it's rare that their stories are constantly excellent.

Anyway. Powers is knocking it out of the park for me. It's always interesting. There's a steady mix of long term story arcs to provide mystery and short term arcs to provide closure. The banter is top-notch, even Whedoneque at times. The characters are real....

Yeah. I think it's safe to say at this point that this is one of my favorite comics. Highly recommended.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Bendis and Oeming got their jizz back. The hiatus from publishing this long-ass series is over (for some period) and it's about time we got some action-adventure and good hard-ass, unforgivingly sarcastic dialogue.

This is a nice dense read. Lots of action, twists of plot, tons of juicy, creatively constructed foul language and fun ways for the story to go sideways. Everything about this book is a satisfying read. I am full to the brim with the pleasure.

If you're a fan of Bendis & Oeming I bet this will be a great read for you. If you dislike their work this will probably be way too intensely their kind of stuff for you. Like, I really like craft beer but I'm not a big hops guy. I don't like my beer to taste like flowers and air freshener, but some folks love that. For them, Portland beer is amazing because these fuckers just DUMP the hops in beer around here. Me, I have come to really despise that type of beer, so thank god there's dudes who take pity (or feel the same way I do) and make something with a little malt character.

Favourite moments in this book are when Deena Pilgrim is giving shit to *everyone* around her. "Is this your first powers case, porn 'stache?" "I think irresponsible use of powers sperm, I think of you." It's like a symphony of sarcasm and sailor mouth. Anne, you been reading this Powers? I think it's ripe for you.

The art in this volume takes on a new look to go with the newly upgraded status of our characters. Oeming's art really looks this and moody - and I think it's due to the colourist Filardi. Good choice boys, this is a keeper. Thick, chunky, evocative - it's loose and expressive, makes the pages flow easily and gives off a vibe of extra emotion that you don't get in the hyper-realism of many art teams out there.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good book. But perhaps even more violent. And the language can be pretty tough to take. But it was nice to see a story from start to end pretty much in just one book. But still there's bits in the middle in which it goes pretty much incoherent. I guess I'm finally used to the art, that or it's a bit better. 3.5 of 5.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a read! We are now about 14 volumes into the Powers saga. After Chicago is nearly destroyed in an "incident", super-powered individuals, or "Powers", are required to register and all criminal cases involving Powers are now Federal. Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim have been transferred to the FBI and battle Powers and crime families.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation of Powers. I'm thrilled to *finally* see it back.

With Walker and Pilgrim now in the Bureau, it's great to see that Bendis really changes the way his procedural works. This isn't the one-clue-after-another of the last 14 volumes. It's now about surveillance and even undercover work. It's a nice change to freshen up the comic.

It's also interesting to see Bendis playing with time, with lots of flashbacks, creating an interesting narrative that does a nice job of hiding some facts until just the right point.

Meanwhile, the case is bizarre and icky, but still a nice change of pace. I didn't love the Pilgrim-under-the-influence-of-powers-AGAIN element of it, but I did like the return of characters from Powers, Vol. 13: Z, which is a nice bit of continuity.

Overall, the book is strong, but it really takes off in the last issue, which is superb.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different environment, but the same characters. Pilgrim and Walker are back and in fine form here - they feel just like they always have; if anything, Pilgrim's even more outlandish (and all the dialogue feels very amped up), and Walker is less of a calming presence. The story is over the top, dealing with concepts like Powers-fed pregnancies and some even more perverse concepts, and building up to some epic moments (although I feel like the final confrontation wasn't as strong as previous scenes). But the big thing is that this is more Powers, and is very true to the spirit and the feel of the original series. Just a little more over-the-top.

[Trike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an unabashed fan of the Powers series, which I felt was getting a bit off track and was following the plot of the Ultimate Marvel storyline a little too closely for my taste.

With this iteration, though, Bendis and Oeming have rebooted the series by federalizing all powers cases and recruiting both Pilgrim and Walker into the FBI. It's very much a back-to-basics story in the vein of the original Powers series which also acknowledges what went before. The world the characters live in continues on the same course, but the story of the main characters themselves has been reset... which, now that I think about it, is pretty much what Bendis did with Ultimate Spider-Man.

So there goes that theory.

Anyway, this had all the hallmarks of a great Powers story: intrigue and machinations, organized crime and rogue superbeings, as much sex and violence as you would find in an HBO series, Deena dropping the F-bomb at least a hundred times. I'm on board for more adventures anyway, but I'm curious to see where this takes us, since making Walker an FBI agent can only mean really explosive things are to come.

Here's hoping we don't have to wait as long for the next volume. It felt like waiting on a George R.R. Martin novel. (There's that HBO connection again. HBO should really adapt this to series. I know FX tried a couple years ago, but the F-bombs alone disqualify this for anything other than pay cable.)

Fun factoid: did you know you can't use "F.B.I." in your title unless it's approved by the government? That's why this is called "Powers: Bureau" instead of "Powers: FBI." That's what I hear, anyway.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like it's been forever since we had a trade in this series come out. It's a reboot of sorts as we move Deena and Walker to the feds, and not all of it works, but the book on its own is still miles ahead of a lot of the comics out there.

Most importantly, the series still has me anxious to know what'll happen next. Definitely a solid entrypoint, definitely a worthy continuation of the series.

[Sonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, this is so awesome! Just like POWERS has always been! The characters are so real, and their interactions so hilarious, and the stories so exciting, ... it is so good I cannot find the words, ...



YES! (That's the best I can do right now.)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, characters and artwork. I'll read more.
There's a ton of swearing, like an HBO level of swearing, enough that I'm commenting on it, which I usually don't. If that's a deal-breaker, take heed.

[Centauri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited when the very first issue of Powers came out all those years ago. I read that story and thought "how awesome and different" but stopped engaging in the tale a few volumes in. I never finished the first arc. With that being said, there are a couple spoiler points in this next arc, but not enough to ruin the experience of finishing the first (I don't think).
Now, to this tale. It didn't feel like there was some great upheaval or change in the world or in the relationship between the titular characters. Maybe it's a nod to their friendship/partnership, but I never felt like there had ever been any distance or "bad blood" between the two. In fact, it felt like the world just kind of accepted them back into the fold all easy peazy like.Maybe another nod to their personalities? (I am literally hunching my shoulders right now).
This story was no fun for me. Not sure why either. It just felt to easy for the world to move on from a crisis. Maybe humanity is all jaded in the Powers universe? Or maybe something is wrong with me? Or, maybe I needed to real all of the first arc to appreciate this volume 1 of a new arc?
I don't know. Either way it was a quick read, something decent to pass the time. If you like/love these characters, maybe this was a nice way of reuniting old friends (and enemies).

[Xisix · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series has a similar thing in common to the Watchmen. Deals with people with "powers." Superheroes that are required to be registered (from vague memory - something Tony Stark initiated in another world yes?) Anyway ... that's not so important. Women are acquiring super spunk in a darkened noir-esque setting. Reluctant Federal agents go after evildoers. Particularly appreciate strong female protagonist's character. Artwork seems a bit simplistic in a way but grows on you. The style leaning more towards cartoons plays against the serious writing. anyway ... not shabby. Only have first volume so will see if second falls into my claws down road.

[Vittorio Rainone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Per carità, è sempre bello leggere dei due detective Pilgrim e Walker. Ma perché ricominciare, al di là delle vendite? Cosa cambia con l'FBI al posto della polizia? Molto poco, e anzi, in questo nuovo caso che vede un super sperma fecondare persone (uomini come donne) e generare nuovi individui potenziati (contagiando anche la Pilgrim nel frattempo) l'unica cosa che colpisce è una degenerazione del vocabolario di Bendis, con più parolacce e la tendenza forse troppo pesante a trattare tutto come una commedia brillante americana. Piacevole a leggersi, ma siamo lontani dal Powers che (fino allo scorso volume) fu.

[Adriano Barone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho nascosto il commento, ma per ogni evenienza scrivo anche qui
SPOILER
Sempre tutto bellissimo, ma il sublot sul fatto che Deena resti incinta senza stupro fisico, ma comunque in forma coatta con lo sperma del Potere che l'ha semplicemente sfiorata... non so. Vedremo come si evolverà nei prossimi volumi (se Bendis e Oeming mai riprenderanno, dopo Powers Federali 2 non mi risulta uscito più nulla neanche in USA, e dopo il passaggio da Marvel a Dc, dubito che nonostante i buoni rapporti che Bendis mantiene con Marvel gli facciano continuare la pubblicazione di Powers con Icon...). Diciamo che mi sembra proprio una cosa da cui noi uomini non riusciamo a sfuggire.

[Ashleigh Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this graphic novel and found it really easy to read through. Not only this but I thought that the story was rather original even though a little strange being about superhero jizz and impregnating woman to make superhero children. This was a good way to introduce characters as well and I found this book hard to put down. I also really liked the added content at the back of the book which had different covers and showed the process to creating the images.

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This feels like a soft reboot of Powers, or else a manufactured jumping on point for new readers. It's really a continuation of Powers and not a new title at all.

After a climactic story line in which Chicago was almost destroyed, Walker and Pilgrim have joined the FBI as local police forces no longer have powers divisions.

This volume is basically one complete story arc and ends on a satisfying note, but the central mystery of powers babies isn't concluded here.

[Colin Rapp-Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read two chapters then set this one down for awhile. I was burnt out on Powers after soaring through the first 15 or so volumes. Glad I took the break and glad I came back to finish the volume. I'm planning to finish off the remaining 3 volumes in the series within the next month.

[Peter Evett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still very good, just not best ever quality. The art is not quite as good. The writing is now slightly repetitive. Deena still great (tho in "trouble" again is a bit stale as well). Happily continue on toward the end now.

[TJ Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad this story continued and so sad knowing I only have one more volume left.

[Nial · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read!

[Kikishua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a pleasure to meet Deena Pilgrim and Christian Walker again!

[Matteo G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice but the next one is better

[Dair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid enough to read another volume. Art is a bit wonky and dark.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading Powers for years now and while I know some people are fatigued by the series or would prefer if it didn't "relaunch," I'm okay with it, because after all of this time, Bendis still has new ideas and new surprises for fans. I think this book is meant to be one where someone who may have watched the TV show can jump in and read the comic, but honestly, I don't know if it works well that way. There is so much backstory and characters that have been built up over the years in Powers that some of the more meaningful parts of this story would be lost to someone new to Powers. Regardless of that, this is one of the more out there ideas Bendis has explored so far in Powers and I liked it. This series is still raw and gritty even with some more Sci-Fi stories being explored instead of normal street crimes. Best of all, Powers still is funny and has some great one-liners. That is something I always appreciate and enjoy whenever I read or reread it. Maybe it is because I haven't read Powers in a while, but the art and coloring seems like it has improved and I really liked how this book looked. Oeming has always had his unique style, but some of the panels are really well done and made me stop and appreciate them. This is definitely not one of the best Powers volumes, but it is certainly well worth reading and I look forward to as many Powers volumes as Bendis and Oeming decide to make.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read any significant amount of this comic it's after years of not reading it, because the issues come out so damn rarely. I thought I'd get to blow through a big stack of them tonight after letting a four-year backlog build up, but I just realized I'm missing the last issue of Powers: Bureau, so I'm gonna have to stop after this til I can scrape up $5 to mail order a copy from Midtown Comics or some shit. Anyway, this series is pretty much Bendis at the top of his game, and the sky's pretty much the limit when he's really on, so of course this rules. After something like 15 issues with barely any presence of my all-time favorite Powers character Deena Pilgrim, she is if anything more essential to this arc than Walker, and therefore I am on cloud 9 about this whole thing. There are tons of previous volumes of this series you should read first if you really wanna dive into this one, but good lord is it ever worth it. This volume was a blast and I can't wait to fix my stupid missing-issue error so I can read more.