I love this concept. One day, there are now superheroes or villains. The next day, they’re everywhere. The US government decides to form a team (shades of both The Avengers and Justice League America) and picks a guy named American Eagle to lead the team. I like this guy. His teammates are cool too. The team ends up including everyone from a former firefighter to a sports fan to an exotic dancer. There’s nothing missing here lifestyle wise.
I’ll be the first to admit that part of the reason I love the guy is because he’s a firefighter when he first gets his powers and my daughter is a about to complete firefighter training, but so what? (And for the record, Riley having the courage to run into a burning building does mean that my daughter has bigger balls than I do.) Who doesn’t love firefighters? They run into burning buildings and save people. They’re superheroes only they’re just as vulnerable as the people they’re saving.
Not all of the heroes are from professions that the common man might consider to be “respectable” but that fits. Not only does a somewhat suspicious background not disqualify some from doing good but, let’s face it, there’s more than one way to skin a cat and sometimes the non-standard approach is the best.
The villain in this Star Spangled Squadron is just flat out cool. I love the power. I love the gimmick. I love the attitude. I was never quite sure exactly what his motivations were but he was one bad dude. It was fun and he was a believable opponent against a super team.
There is an awful lot of story here. I didn’t keep an exact count but you’ve got more than just a couple of origin stories here. That’s a lot to fit into one trade paperback but I think it’s necessary given the way the universe is built. This wasn’t a Marvel Cinematic Universe type story that spans several editions before they even form the super group. Instead it has more of an RPG type feel and that makes sense.
It turns out that Star Spangled Squadron is the first book in a series inspired by the Ascendant TTRPG. I haven’t played it but it sounds pretty cool. I played both Heroes Unlimited and the DC RPG back in the day, so I’m into those kinds of things. Star Spangled Squadron is not written to quite reflect an RPG group playing but it’s still a lot of fun and the plot is logical and flows, unlike a lot of what happens at a RPG session.
And I’d kind of like to get my hands on a copy of the Ascendant RPG and play it. It can be awfully hard to get people together now so it probably won’t happen but let me know if you’re down and maybe we can do something on Roll20 and Discord. I’m usually a forever DM/GM so I can cover that end. I just need the players.
The art is beautiful. The characters are fully formed and muscular and have a look similar to some of the Renaissance art that I studied when I told an art history class back in…
Uhh…
Well…
It wasn’t last week. Let’s put it that way.
There were explosions and damage and at least one laboratory. There was a fire. There were all kinds of exciting scenes well rendered and exciting to gaze upon.
There were also some full page pieces after the conclusion of the story. I’m not sure if they were just there because awesome or if they were meant as alternate covers. I do know that they’d make some excellent posters though. Seriously, those were some hot footage.
I will say this much, though. The final page says something about “the extreme aesthetic of heavy metal music” that leaves me a bit non-plussed. Maybe this is because I’m a member of the Great Unwashed, being a guy who doesn’t really listen to anything heavier than Guns and Roses, but I’m missing the heavy metal connection here. That’s not really a complaint. I mean, I love the art. I just find that part confusing. If one of you read Star Spangled Squadron and has a better take on this let me know. Then we can headbang to Bohemian Rhapsody or sumfin’ because that’s about the only song I headbang to.
All in all though, Star Spangled Squadron was a good way to spend an hour and I’m waiting (im)patiently for the second one to come out. It’s sure to be a rollicking good time as well.
Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Tsar Bombas
Ascendants: Star Spangled Squadron
Many Contributors
Baen Books, 2023
Ascendants: Star Spangled Squadron is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.
I want the second issue! [Grin]
I'll keep an eye out for it.