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Review of Manhunter : Street Justice

 by

Jay Scarsi

Posted: September 23, 2006

Manhunter: Street Justice

Written by Marc Andreyko

Am I supposed to like Kate Spencer?  I don’t think I am. 

She’s a workaholic, unfit mother.  She smokes!  That’s always a sign of a bad person. (read: Everything I need to Learn, I Learned from Issues of the Perez/Wolfman New Teen Titans.  “Terra smokes, she must be bad!”)  Most importantly though, she kills people; how can she be one of the good guys?

The thing is, by the end of issue #5 I’m starting to fall in love Kate Spencer like Joanie Loves Chachi.

The Basics:

 Kate Spencer is a federal prosecutor in the city of Los Angeles.  She has a long history with meta-criminals and she is at her breaking point.  In the first issue, she is trying Copperhead and despite her best efforts, the villain goes free due to his lawyer arguing that he can’t help himself; killing is in his nature.

 So when, he breaks out of captivity, Kate decides to take the law into her own hands and she raids the evidence lockers and turns herself into a superhero.  She hunts down Copperhead and after a brief battle, she kills him.

 The remainder of the series goes on to deal with the repercussions of her new super-hero lifestyle.  How does it affect her, her family, her job, her life.

Analysis:

The acceptability of Kate Spencer as a “hero” is truly what this series is all about.  And despite, she personal shortcomings, she is trying to do the right thing.  She tries to be a good single mother.  She tries to be a good lawyer.  She is trying to be a good vigilante.

The one thing that I’m glad she’s trying not to be, or at least what Andreyko is trying not to make her is a 90’s style vigilante.  She is not being The Punisher, she’s not being Lobo.  She is just trying to make a difference.

 I had a few problems with the initial issue, because she came right in off the bat and destroyed Copperhead.  She has no experience fighting and she has no experience chasing down criminals.  However, in just a few pages, she knocks off a meta-powered villain.  How did she make the suit?  How does she know how to use the staff?  Is she MacGuyver all of a sudden?  Everything seemed to come a little too easy to her.

After that first issue though, I could see the promise of the character.  Andreyko toned her skills down somewhat and they pulled back the curtain on Kate’s life.  Showing that this new persona is much more rewarding to her than just putting these creeps behind bars so they can break out and do it all again.

Issue #2, in addition to bringing in her personal life’s cast of characters also brought in the Shadow-Thief.  Julian Sands is portrayed as a total mental patient, a schizophrenic who dialogs with himself anytime someone walks in front of the light bulb.  And his sadness upon hearing that his old associate Copperhead is dead, really rings true.  The writing shows that this is the heartlessness of a Lex Luthor, the craziness of The Joker or even the business-like approach of a Vandall Savage.  He cared for Copperhead and wants revenge.

This leads to an altercation between Manhunter and Shadow-Thief, where he kicks her ass and leaves her for dead.  But fortunately Kate survives and starts to realize that she has to isolate herself to make it in her new profession.  However, her fancy new suit is broken, so she can’t catch Sands until it gets fixed and Kate knows just who to do it.

 Cue the introduction of my favorite character, “Dylan.”  Dylan is a rat-fink tech developer who has worked for some of the crappiest villains out there.  I’m surprised he didn’t work for Joel Schumacher.  Kate recognized him from being a witness and being in federal protection.  She blackmails him into helping her rebuild the suit and make it better.   

With a rebuilt suit, Manhunter takes on Shadow-Thief and battles him to a virtual stand still.  At the verge of defeat, she is bailed out by a group of Justice Leaguers (Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, John Stewart, Vixen and in a strange turn Soda Pop and Pony Boy from the Outsiders).  They capture him, which leads to the most pivotal point in the story, the reason that she is a “hero.”

 “If I can’t kill Sands tonight, I guess I’ll do it the old-fashion way.”  “A trial.”  “A verdict of death.”

It’s powerful and it shows the real duality of her new life.  She was making difference and she will continue to make a difference as a prosecueter, but now she will also protect her city as Manhunter.

Final Thoughts

I picked up this book based solely on the Raging Bullets Manhunter Challenge.  I liked and I am intrigued to continue reading.  A second trade is scheduled and I will probably pick that one up and continue reading Kate’s story. 

I would recommend this book, but I don’t think it is for everyone.  This is something that Comic Book Fanatics would like, but I don’t think the normal Comic Book Fan would stick with.  (Read:  My friend (a fan) and I (a fanatic) had a discussion one day and figured out that the difference between the casual and dedicated is your opinion on Archer characters.  Therefore, if you like Hawkeye or Green Arrow, you are a Fanatic!) 

(If you can talk about Merlyn, you are probably a Raging Bullets fan.)

Rating:

I would pay $10 for this TPB