Heroes Reborn gets a Suicide Squad of its own in Heroes Reborn: Siege Society #1. Written by Cody Ziglar, drawn by Paco Medina, colored by Pete Pantazis, lettered by Joe Sabino.
Combining elements of Secret Avengers, Thunderbolts, Suicide Squad, and Dark Avengers, you would think Heroes Reborn: Siege Society #1 would read a bit busy. And it does, but in the fun way and not in the giving-you-a-headache way.
Positioned on the tail end of the Squadron Supreme’s own Civil War, one that pitted Hyperion against hyper-violent super-planner Nighthawk, Siege Society #1 finds a team of anti-heroes and straight-up villains striking at the “Secret Squadron’s” hidden base beneath the Tower of London. All in the hopes of drawing Nighthawk out, allowing Baron Zemo to strike, driving the heroes from Europe, and shoring up the Baron’s bid for conquest.
Like the rest of this event’s offerings, Siege Society #1 both lives and dies on it’s connections to the Squadron Supreme and this remixed world they protect. After a bit of plot scaffolding about the Skwad’s Civil War, writer Ziglar, taking the hint from his fellow Heroes Reborn writers, basically delivers an issue of a series we will never read. Led by the Baron, this new Society takes it to some Squadron c-listers like Golden Archer, Blue Eagle, and Arcanna; themselves all former members of the Squadron, giving us our first real looks at the Squadron Supreme’s extended roster and how they operate beyond the borders of America.
The results are genuinely pretty mean, but I found myself appreciating it. Like the Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers of old, this Society is made of up characters that have no compunction about taking lives. Characters like Sabretooth, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, and John Walker all make the scene and cut a bloody swath across the Secret Squadron’s roster as Zemo’s plan unfurls. The latter of those even gets a fun Soviet-themed makeover as a kind of combination of U.S.Agent and Red Guardian.
The book’s meanness extends to the Squadron’s A-list as well, particularly Nighthawk, who is revealed to be just as ruthless and bloodthirsty as the Baron and his team of hired killers. It makes explicit the texture that has been present throughout all of the Heroes Reborn efforts: that the Squadron have become out of touch and increasingly violent. Zemo, a literal Nazi, bares the brunt of this reveal, but the intention to cast doubt on the Squadron is still there all the same.
Graced with a constant dynamism and eye-grabbingly bright colors, Medina and Pantazis deliver arguably the best looking Heroes Reborn tie-in issue to date with Siege Society. It’s splashy and fun to look at, and might even remind some readers of the pages Mark Bagley and company produced way back in the Thunderbolts. However, I worry that Siege Society might get lost in the recent wave of “supers turned bad” books. But even with its visual gusto, I’m not sure there is much to set this tie-in apart from the stuff it’s borrowing from. While it carries some fun texture for invested Heroes Reborn followers, looks great, and sports some pulpy anti-hero flair, Heroes Reborn: Siege Society #1 is for Heroes Reborn completists only.
Zachary Jenkins runs ComicsXF and is a co-host on the podcast “Battle of the Atom.” Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside of all this.
