Review - America's Got Powers #4

Tommy. Tommy, Tommy, Tommy. It's all about Tommy and his abilities. It's those abilities that brought him fame and glory and it's those same abilities that's got him in quite a predicament in America's Got Powers #4 from Image Comics.

The issue is written by Jonathan Ross, with art by Bryan Hitch, inks by Paul Neary and Jason Paz, colors by Paul Mounts and letters by Chris Eliopoulos.

As mentioned above, Tommy is sort of a big deal. He's led some of the heroes fighting to freedom, but their reasoning for doing so is unclear to him. What is clear is the great disgust on the part of the show organizers at their rapidly dwindling control of the situation. The powers are starting to feel rebellious, which isn't good for ratings or order. Meanwhile, Tommy is forced to confront the fact that his actions have consequences.

Ross continues to present a compelling story, with plenty of moral quandaries to evaluate. Tommy is sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, the show organizers want him back because of the ratings boost and the fact that he symbolizes freedom. On the other hand, the same powers he helped escape want him as well to further bolster their cause.

The dichotomy between the two sides is quite interesting and really forces Tommy to make decisions. The thing is, he's not even in a place to make a decision. Despite all his powers, the decisions are taken away from him and he's just a pawn in a much larger game. The stakes are clearly raised by the end of the issue though and Tommy looks to be in a position to take matters into his own hands. Maybe.

The art by Hitch is astounding. Ross must hate Hitch (kidding!), considering there are a slew of two-page layouts in the book that Hitch manages to make look just gorgeous. There's the requisite fight scenes that comes with a book like this and they're choreographed beautifully. Tommy gets to show a full range of emotion, from wonder to anger to fury. Hitch must be having a blast illustrating the book, considering it follows quite a few storylines.

There are only two issues left in the miniseries and it looks like they'll finish it in grand fashion. Tommy is quite possibly the most powerful hero there is, but as it stands he's powerless. That's a dramatic dynamic at play and makes for a really fascinating protagonist.

America's Got Powers #4 is available in stores December 19 with interiors below.