Meet DC’s Favorite Space Cop in Heroes Reborn #4

The stars declare “DOCTOR SPECTRUM MUST DIE!!!” in Heroes Reborn #4. Focusing on the cosmic expanse of the Heroes Reborn universe, the Squadron Supreme’s resident space-fascist takes center stage. And reveals that this event might have a lot more of a satirical bite than we give it credit for. Written by Jason Aaron. Drawn by James Stokoe & Ed McGuinness. Inked by Mark Morales. Colored by Matthew Wilson. Lettered by Cory Petit.

There ain’t but ONE God out here.

And He’s American.

Jason Aaron starts to reveal he knows EXACTLY what he’s doing in Heroes Reborn #4. Turning his eyes and chosen writing utensils toward space, Aaron and fan-favorite artist James Stokoe dip an Ultimate Captain America story in some choice Jim Starlin cosmic weirdness. 

Doctor Spectrum, basically a cross between Nova and Nuke, patrols the spaceways, “taming” the cosmos by the barrel of a gun and a staunch, more-than-a-little xenophobic “America First” doctrine. But when his brand of frontierism bands the Galaxy’s most powerful entities together against him, Spectrum must face a deadly gauntlet of the worst space has to offer. 

On the surface, Aaron and company deliver a pretty rousing and consistently cool-looking issue-long battle. Graced with a craggy weirdness and neon-infused colors by Stokoe, Heroes Reborn #4 is arguably the best-looking effort from the event, dipping and diving through the expanse of stars with Spectrum as he and his murderous power gem try and survive everything the galaxy throws at them.

The continued singular following of the separate members of the Squadron also provides the series a neat focus. Though I still find myself slightly frustrated that the real plot beats are still relegated to the issue’s backup story (this time focused on Kid Starbrand, aged up from his baby-form in Avengers), the main story keeping each member of the Squadron directly in focus positions the characters from getting lost amid the large cast; a problem that has plagued Aaron’s main Avengers title for a bit now.

It’s this same focus that allows Aaron to take some mighty big swings in this issue. Swings that he’s been winding up to deliver presumably since #1. With the Earth in the rearview and Spectrum largely taking up panel space on his own, Heroes Reborn #4 starts to go hog wild on the jingoism and state-backed superheroics it’s been teasing. And the results are pretty damn striking, finally revealing a darkly funny and engaging satire that has been bubbling since the series started.

You see, while the Earth-based heroes are beholden slightly to social norms and toeing the PR line provided by President Phil Coulson, Doctor Spectrum is unmoored by such planetary red tape. This allows him to basically operate like Andrew Jackson in Space, doling out galactic war crimes and causal cosmic genocides all in an effort to “tame the wilds of space for God Fearing American settlers”. This is a DIRECT QUOTE from Spectrum, delivered in the wake of his revealing that he killed a Celestial and turned its head into a black-site prison just to show the citizens of space that he COULD.   

Aaron also isn’t being coy about Spectrum’s fascism at ALL in this issue. Instead, he leans fully into it, pushing a genuinely terrifying and nearly all-powerful presence into a position of power. Instantly showing how his poisoned doctrine quickly turned Spectrum from “fun space ranger” to “frothing American lunatic”. It’s a welcome followthrough for the event’s already-established text that the Squadron has been perverted, twisted by this universe into mass-killing piss-takes on The Ultimates and Justice League of America.

It’s also a further example of how weird and mean Heroes Reborn has started to get in its latter half. Obviously, I have been tracking this for a bit longer than the average reader and some of the event’s longer burning narrative threads might fall flat for casual fans, but I think Heroes Reborn #4 starts to show that this event has been more than just DC riffs and “grimdark” heroes. The tie-in efforts like Siege Society and Magneto & The Mutant Force have also started to cultivate that same sort of grit, but Heroes Reborn #4 just says “Flark it” and just pushes that all to the foreground finally.

I mean, this is a book where Phil Coulson and Doctor Spectrum literally worship at an altar to Mephisto. All while patting themselves on the back for having once again pushed back (read: murdered) the “alien hordes” and droning on about how badly they want to colonize planets in the name of America. That’s right, after issues of coy dialogue and creaking bits of exposition, Aaron reveals that Mephisto once again has poked his Dracula collar into the narrative. Subtle, this ain’t exactly.

But I’ll be damned if Heroes Reborn #4 isn’t finally the sort of riff-heavy, self-effacing superhero entertainment I can get behind. Or at least operating with a bit more self-awareness than I expected it to have. I probably didn’t have to wait until I was four issues (and nearly every tie-in issue) deep to get there, but “something something the real Heroes Reborn were the friends we made along the way” or whatever.

Halfway through the dark, y’all! Maybe by the end, we might end up loving, or at least tolerating, this crazy Heroes Reborn journey.

Zachary Jenkins

Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.