‘Hardware: Season One #1’ Review

Writer: Brandon Thomas / Artists: Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Chris Sotomayor / DC Comics Hardware is next up in Milestone’s return, and his debut issue was a banger. Curtis Metcalf is a genius inventor working for Alva Industries using his intellect to try and improve the world. But when he’s framed for Milestone’s inciting incident dubbed the “Big Bang,” he has to use his inventing expertise to create something that will allow him to survive.  “The Big Bang” wasn’t Curtis’ fault, but Edwin Alva, head of Alva Industries, needed a scapegoat for all of the abominations and death linked to his name. He thought Curtis would just lay down and take the fall. He thought wrong.  At face value, Hardware has some similarities to Iron Man. A genius inventor who creates a suit of armor in distress to help save himself. But where Hardware and Iron Man differ is what really makes him unique.  Unlike Iron Man, Hardware wasn’t born into wealth and access, but Alva did mentor and support him from a young age, providing a door into a world that he may have never been granted otherwise. It was an immense opportunity given by Alva, and Curtis benefitted so much from it. But it wasn’t genuine. It wasn’t from the heart, and Alva, now in a bind, thinks Curtis owes him for everything he gave him. So that’s really what Hardware is about (so far). A look into what we can achieve if we have equal opportunity and access, but then the same old bullshit comes to bite us in the ass. …