The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1 Review
By Steve Lam
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quitely / Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn / Letterer: Rob Leigh / Cover: Frank Quitely, Nathan Fairbairn
The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1 is this generation’s Watchmen. Although the story can be quite confusing at times, the layout of the artwork and panels is amazing. Morrison seems to be a bit too intelligent and cryptic for his own good in this issue, but upon reading it twice, you can start to sort out the metaphysical aspects of this story.
Spoilerific Recap
We open with the assassination of President Harley by his own superhero bodyguard, Christopher Smith, a.k.a. Peacemaker. The newly sworn in President Eden speaks with his daughter, Eve Eden, a.k.a. Nightshade, about how the superhero concept is now virtually dead. Costumed heroes are now a thing of the past.
The Question is investigating the disappearance of Captain Atom, something called “Algorithm 8”, and the murder of Nora O’Rourke. As Blue Beetle tries to stop him from going pure vigilante, the Question uses a giant crane magnet to disable Blue Beetle’s ship. Escaping into the subway station, the Question runs into Nightshade. After a brief scuffle, the Question runs onto a subway train, but accidentally drops an “Algorithm 8” clue card, which Nightshade finds.
Arriving at the Colorado Pax Institute, the Question retraces Nora O’Rourke’s final moments. We get three different events shown at the same time: Nora figuring out the meaning of “Algorithm 8” and then being murdered by having her head bludgeoned by someone strong; Nora saying goodbye to Chris when he leaves to escort the President, and him finding out that the President now has the ability to calculate all future outcomes; and the Question analyzing the final result of the murder scene.
Captain Atom is somewhere assisting scientists in an experiment. Reading through a comic book, Captain Atom muses how time can be visited, just like the pages and panels of a comic. He suddenly disappears when the scientists initiate their experiment. As Sarge Steel appears, the scientists plead for their life — the usage of Captain Atom’s life to create a black hole was a deal the scientists made with Sarge Steel. Ignoring their pleas, Sarge Steel proceeds to execute all of them.
Eve visits her dementia-ridden mother and talks about how the artificial black hole pioneered by her father will one day stop the world’s reliance on oil. Getting on the phone, Eve requests a rapid extraction.
In a quick flashback, Chris discusses with Nora about President Harley’s secret. In the present, Chris is being beaten by Sarge Steel, and asked about his motives for assassinating President Harley.
The Question interrogates and tortures a corrupt police officer — who supposedly works for the now President Eden — pinned under a large sign, and in a puddle of water. Getting nowhere, the Question gives the cop a way out by putting a gun inches away from the cop’s reach. The Question then toys with him by comparing society with a rainbow. Fearing for his life, the cop talks about a sergeant and rumors about killing Captain Atom for a secret formula. As an electrical cord’s sparks reach the puddle, the Question allows the cop to be electrocuted.
Flashing back to many years in the past, we see the initial formation of the Pax Americana — a superhero team led by Captain Atom and made up of the Question, Blue Beetle, Peacemaker, Nightshade, and Judo Master. As President Harley introduces the team, Captain Atom accidentally travels into the future and then back into the past. In the past, Captain Atom is in a withdrawn state. Anything that approaches him has the chance of being killed, as evidenced by the petrified bodies of people around him, and a dog he instantly disassembles with just a thought. He meets Governor Harley (years before Harley becomes President).
Walking with Captain Atom, Harley explains how he found the Algorithm in one of the comics his father created. This Algorithm allowed him to predict many things. Harley then had a plan, but to execute that plan he needed someone like Captain Atom. Harley asks Captain Atom for his help in serving America. At the end of their conversation, Harley orders the staff to give Captain Atom more comic books, so that he can learn the same Algorithm.
Soon, terrorists attack the White House. President Bush and Governor Harley are present. As the terrorist leader is about to detonate his explosives, Peacekeeper and his drones mount an assault and rescue, saving everyone.
Back in the present, Chris is still being interrogated and tortured by Sarge Steel. Chris is given an injection of drugs to compel him to tell the truth. Defiant, he spits in the face of one of his interrogators.
In the past, where Pax Americana was just formed, Blue Beetle and the Question apprehend a drug dealer. The Question goes too far in his vigilantism and kills the dealer by making him ingest his own drugs. In a final comment, the Question states that he’s been working on the biggest mystery of all — the disappearance of Yellowjacket, America’s first superhero.
As Captain Atom travels to Harley’s teen years, we see Harley in a depressed state, visiting his father’s, Vince Harley’s, grave. Traveling even further back in time, we see Harley as a child. Sneaking into his father’s drawing room, Harley finds a scrap book which documents all the adventures of Yellowjacket. Digging deeper into the drawer, he finds a revolver. Suddenly, Yellowjacket enters the room surprising Harley. Thinking he’s an intruder, Harley shoots Yellowjacket dead. Removing Yellowjacket’s mask, Harley finds out that it’s his father.
Best Moments
- The pages showing the Question’s investigation into Nora O’Rourke’s murder.
- The pages showing Peacemaker’s assault on the terrorists.
- The final pages revealing what happened to Yellowjacket.
Overall Verdict
The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1 is definitely a multi-read issue. Let me pose a quick question to you. Have you ever ate a crazy meal of hot dogs, ice cream, pork rinds, and jelly beans, at, say, 2:00AM in the morning, went directly to sleep, and then had a dream/nightmare? I have a feeling that Grant Morrison does this on a daily basis and he writes, without filters, whatever he’s dreamt about. That was how confusing and wacky this whole story was. I’m not saying it was a bad story, but the more you read it, the crazier you experience time and events.
The overall issue has no titles for time or locations. The reader needs to gather that information from the conversations between characters, internal monologues, and art. There is no doubt that this is Grant Morrison’s love letter to Alan Moore’s Watchmen series. Frank Quitely’s clean, symmetrical panels on each page are also reminiscent of Dave Gibbons’s artwork, but with a twist. The panels, if combined, all form one scene, and the differently timed events happening in each panel create a feeling of parallel storytelling.
I will be the first to admit that when I first read this story, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it — and that’s probably what Morrison intended. The pages have a palindromic effect, where you can read it from left to right, or right to left. They will each tell the same story. I have to say, there’s is some method to Morrison’s madness.
If you’re looking to give your brain a yoga workout, pick up The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1. You’ll definitely burn some calories just thinking about how to read it.