This One May be Hard to Handle: ‘Commanders in Crisis #1’ Review

Writer: Steve Orlando / Artist: Davide Tinto / Image “Crisis” is such a loaded term in comic book circles, and Steve Orlando knows that considering his long and storied tenure with DC Comics. The different Crisis events dating back to the original Crisis on Infinite Earths have always been world altering events, and then of course there have been series that evoke the same high stakes tension without being proper crisis series, Heroes in Crisis being the modern flagship for better or for worse. All of this to say, when I saw Commanders in Crisis #1 and that this was an Image title, I paused for a second and wondered about the implications. Would there be a multiverse? How does such a grand scale event get approached with a blank slate of a universe? Why commanders?

And after the issue, I have the following answers respectively are: yes, pretty well although I have my critiques, and for a reason that is exceeding topical to the point where it cuts just a little too deep. Orlando knows superheroes and knows how to make homages and callbacks like the best in the business, largely because he is one of the best in the business. With a cold open that’s reminiscent of Watchmen and a shout out to Killadelphia, Commanders in Crisis opens with a dead body before pivoting to some sort of US Senate hearing before pivoting to a shot of a government looking building where the new slate of superheroes are summarily introduced. Tinto’s character design is absolutely impeccable, and the f…