“Yesterday’s” Comic> Prime #13

“You should know I taste terrible.”

Prime #13

Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (July, 1994)

SELECTED COVER ART: Norm Breyfogle

COLORING (BOTH STORIES): Mickey Rose & Violent Hues

“Double Dangerous”

WRITERS: Len Strazewski & Gerald Jones

PENCILER: Darrick Robertson

INKER: Mike Machlan

ADDITIONAL COLORING: Keith Conroy & Tim Duvar

LETTERER: Dave Lanphear

EDITOR: Hank Kanalz

“The Destiny Trail” prologue

WRITER: Gerald Jones

PENCILER: Scott Kolins

INKER: Jon Holdredge

LETTERER: Patrick Owsley

In the main story, Kevin has to hitchhike home while his “prime power” recharges. He barely escapes the pervert who picked him up and still misses the bus. Tired of what she thinks is going on, Kevin’s mom decides to talk to a counselor. At school Kevin is avoided, and catches an ad by Kutt and Planet Class challenging Prime to a rematch. At the fight Prime struggles but manages to overcome the duo with a blast of his “prime power” and decides to just celebrate with everyone watching even if his body is starting to break down.

We’re supposed to root for this guy, right? I know Kevin is a teenager and he’s been through a lot, but it’s hard to see him as a hero at this point.  The art is starting to fall into the 90s issues with exaggerations. The fight itself is otherwise good and I at least feel sorry for him. Interesting strategy against Planet Class, using his machoism against him. (PC stars bear hugging Prime, so Prime goes “so you like hugging big guys” or something like that.) Otherwise, there’s not much here for the usual review, which is fine because this issue contains a preview for yet another event, which still seems early in the Ultraverse’s existence.

This preview includes the Freex, and I stopped reading that comic for a reason: I didn’t like it. Taking place just after the events of the last story, Prime is running on anger to keep his body together. Someone at the beach drove him to fight the monsters at the China Lake military base, which had been in a news story just before Kutt and Planet Class’s ad. However, the military decides to attack Prime rather than offer his help. Since we last saw the Freex they seem to have lost one member and picked up another, being aided by someone called The Old Man to avoid Contrary and her academy. It’s mostly just him going over their backstories in one panel each as they’re here to stop the monsters from stealing nukes. Unfortunately for them, Prime is making the same mistake with them that the military made with Prime.

Ok, I have to ask how stupid the military is in this story. Prime’s a “civilian” so they attack him rather than accept the help against the monsters attacking their base? Then they double down by calling for back-up, leaving hardly anybody there so the monsters get free reign and the Freex can just sneak in. I don’t know if this is a “so the plot can happen” thing or “they’re military so of course they can’t think despite strategy being important to soldiers” thing.

I haven’t been following the Freex’s story so I don’t know what to make of it. I’m not really a fan because they were just angry teens on the run, though at this point Prime would probably fit in with them. This is setting up some new event or crossover, but right now it just comes off as a bunch of exposition. And unfortunately I’m going to have to read Giant Size Freex #1 to keep up with this. If it’s the story I think it is, the Ultraforce cartoon used this event as their opening story. Dang.