Review: Livewire #11

Amanda McKee (aka Livewire“s) current storyline finds her enmeshed in the political world. In Livewire #11 (Valiant) Amanda continues what is shaping up to be a labyrinthine path towards some semblance of redemption ”“ for herself and for psiots across the Valiant superhero universe. For those who haven“t been following the exploits of one of the most intriguing and original superheroes of the current era of comics, here is a quick recap.

Amanda Mckee is Livewire, a psiot with the extraordinary ability to manipulate modern technology with her mind. Her abilities include psionic control of both hardware and software and in a world that ”“ much like our own ”“ is dominated by technology, Livewire is at times, and in certain contexts, omnipotent. In her recent past, under duress and rattled by persecution from the federal government and any human with an axe to grind against psiots, Livewire caused a nationwide blackout. As you might imagine, a blackout of this size and scope, directly and indirectly caused hundreds, if not thousands of fatalities and billions of dollars in destruction and collateral damage. In short, Amanda Mckee is one of the most feared and wanted terrorists in the world.

But now she has human allies in the political and media world. Councilman Wright and his accomplice/partner Gwen have an agenda that is still unknown to readers, but in the short term, they seem to want to help Livewire and psiots in general. We learn at the outset of Livewire #11 that Councilman Wright has decided to sue the United States“ for the wrongful and unlawful persecution of psiots. In the Valiant superhero universe, it is painfully clear that the civil rights of psiots have been systematically violated. But the notion of civil rights for super human beings has been a time-honored (and relatively weighty) question for superhero comics readers since ”“ well, since the actual Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th Century in America.

One of the most exciting things about Vita Ayala“s writing/plot for this book is that it is almost impossible to anticipate where it will go next. How will Livewire ever be considered a hero given the terror she has inflicted on her world? What is the secret agenda of Gwen and Councilman Wright? And given her abilities, what“s to stop Livewire from simply imposing her will on her tech-controlled world and reshaping it into whatever she wants it to be. As Livewire“s path to redemption continues, readers and fans will simply have to keep reading to figure it all out.

SCORE: 4/5

(W) Vita Ayala (A) Tana Ford (CA) Tula Lotay