When you have brought gods to their knees, how do you face your own mortality with grace? Napoleon Archimedes is nothing more than a man with unmatched intellect but with the flesh and bones of someone like you or me. Despite those constraints, he made himself into the arch-nemesis of one of the most powerful beings on the planet who came from beyond the stars. Even if he can go toe to toe with Searcher, The Brood reveals he has the same fears as all of us. Fears of the end. The fears of what we leave behind and who will carry on everything we spent our limited time on Earth to create. The Brood reins in the world of Minor Threats to tell the story of a family with an unchecked egomaniac at the helm while his three children watch as they struggle with how to step up.
The Minor Threats universe was created by Jordan Blum, Patton Oswalt, and Scott Hepburn to amalgamate everything you know about Cape Comics. It’s a universe that shares the cosmic ideal of the archetypes of superheroes. The universe has never felt cheap or cashing in on nostalgia. Instead, it has succeeded in every spin-off by using familiar pieces to tell stories where the creative teams can flourish with different themes and identities. The Brood not only continues that trend but also pushes it even further.
In The Brood, by Heath Corson, I.N.J. Culbard, and Nate Piekos, we are introduced to Napoleon, who is the Lex Luthor to this world’s Superman. But the story pans the camera 180° around to the villain’s side. Where most modern stories use this to fully humanize a villain, The Brood beckons you to question even simple gestures of kindness from Napoleon towards the people around him. He is an old man with three bright children who must take on his legacy, in his mind, at least for some. They are the titular Brood.
Where most stories of this nature would use this to show a villain seeking real connection with his children and maybe learning about themselves, The Brood does something more sinister. Napoleon (a chosen name by the way) is an egomaniac who has to control everything. In his mind, things can be planned without the chaos that comes with reality. It makes him such a fascinating lead for the comic where we also see how that affects his children.
While the first issue follows the point of view of the world’s smartest nemesis, the following three follow the viewpoints of the three offspring who call that man their father. Two of the three issues that I read had some of the most powerful writing that I have read in a long time. There are some really fascinating character moments, along with some heavy identity stuff related to one’s body and their parents. I won’t get into it here, but I will once the issue is out because it’s really moving.
The art is the only place I think we see real humanity in Napoleon, with I.N.J. Culbard bringing some of the most moving moments. Their work has an animated nature but a true vulnerability in the quiet moments without the capes. There is a page interaction in both Issue 1 and 2 between Napoleon and his wife that are two of my favorite pages in the year, if not in all of comics. The first takes place in a bathroom which is already a vulnerable place for many reasons. But it’s the first time we see Napoleon let his guard down enough to resemble something human. His wife is one of the world’s top assassins, but at that moment, she’s just a woman who loves him and her children. The second is her and him in his most vulnerable moment. I will buy these pages; they are very good.
The coloring of the book brings so much life to the work as well. It has a cartoonish pastel palette that brings an authentic, distinct flavor to the book. As usual in a Minor Threats book, the character designs are superb in design and how they stand out with color. It’s a wonderful book to look at and decipher the details in.
When dealing with a character who can bring gods to their knees, sometimes stories want to show you how tragic their life is and how good they are on the inside. The Brood isn’t one of those stories. The Brood paints a more complicated picture of a monster who still wants the best for the people he loves while believing he can control the future. Napoleon doesn’t mind frying a few eggs in order to get what he wants. Having this book not use a tragic backstory in exchange for having a complex evil villain is beautiful. Not every supervillain needs to actually be a nice person in the end. Sometimes bastards are bastards, even if they are your father.