The DC Universe is an interesting place for Kate Spencer, the protagonist who dons a suit and calls herself Manhunter in Mark Andreyko's new series, to suddenly appear. Her world is not the same world as the average person would expect it to be -- the DC Universe has become complex, weaving together such huge characters as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in and out of each others' storylines. It's a little hard to describe the current state of things on this fictional earth which is home to Metropolis and Gotham, but a degree of understanding must be held before the average reader could pick up a copy of Manhunter: Street Justice.
Everyone knows the big guns -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and sometimes to a lesser degree, Green Lantern or Aquaman -- but only true fanboys know who Tim Drake is (the third person to be Robin, Batman's sidekick) or who Firestorm is (Ronnie Raymond, a superhero with essentially a nuclear reactor inside his chest). The abundant amount of heroes and villains has become ridiculous, making the DC Comics' world seem like some gigantic, complex soap-opera. Currently DC Comics is in the process of cleaning house -- they've launched a series called Infinite Crisis which is attempting to simplify the DC timeline -- perhaps by killing off a character or two -- and thus make DC Comics more approachable to newcomers.
So where does Andreyko's Manhunter fit in this reality of unbelievable characters and ludicrous powers? Oddly enough, Manhunter/Kate Spencer is closer to reality then perhaps any other DC character. She is addicted to cigarettes, works as a lawyer, is divorced, has a child with her ex-husband and lives in Los Angeles. Pretty normal, aside from the fact that she kills supervillains. Even as her superhero alias, Spencer is rather mundane -- she doesn't use jetpacks or elaborate wormholes to travel across town and track down the bad guys; she drives around in her car.
Andreyko isn't the first person to create a character with human flaws, but he may be one of the first to do so successfully. For being the protagonist, Spencer is not that likeable. Andreyko uses her smoking to show her constant anxiety and her willingness to defy the laws of public restaurants. Her only form of communication with her ex-husband is through arguing, and she is a terrible mother, constantly forgetting to care for her son. She uses blackmail and exploitation to get others to do things for her. In the end, she comes off as quite the bitch. What makes this book appealing, then, is her take-no-crap personality and the genuine bizarreness of her co-existence with such characters as the Shadow Thief and Hawkman.
The book collects issues 1 through five of the Manhunter comics and follows Spencer's initial steps into the life of a vigilante. As a lawyer she is unable to put away serial-killer Copperhead, who is let off due to being a genetic anomaly, but as Manhunter she has the power to bring Copperhead to justice. When Copperhead escapes the custody of the police via a violent bloodbath, Manhunter comes to save the day. Where Manhunter differs from other heroes is in her act of punishment -- whereas most heroes, particularly Batman or Superman, would re-capture Copperhead and bring him to the proper authorities, Manhunter truly takes the law into her own hands and kills Copperhead, effectively ending his reign of terror.
This vigilante issue has become a huge topic in the world of DC Comics and has become even more important as all of the heroes are now choosing which side to support; to do the moral thing and give a villain another chance at redemption, or to do what ultimately must be done. Of course if heroes chose to be true vigilantes, then criminal masterminds like the Joker or Lex Luthor would have died long ago, and neither Batman nor Superman would have had to tediously stop their diabolical plans time and time again. Thus, this introduction of Spencer's character becomes even more interesting considering her stance on the issue. Spencer even fantasizes about killing Batman's biggest enemies, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Two-Face and more, and is interrupted in her own fantasy by Batman, lecturing about the immorality of taking a life, regardless of how devious and evil they were.
Andreyko's book, then, becomes a compelling read, dividing the responsibilities of the superhero into an issue of vigilante justice without bringing in too many outside characters to overwhelm the reader. Unfortunately, given the current state of DC Comics, some background in the DC Universe is fairly mandatory to advance any further into the book, but once the reader has this , he will be pleasantly surprised with this interesting take on the superhero lifestyle.
