Written by Gail Simone
Drawn by Freddie Williams II
Published by DC Comics

PREVIOUSLY: THE MOVEMENT #10

The spotlight is shined on Burden in this issue. A mysterious man comes to Coral City looking for him. And from his first appearance, it’s pretty clear that he is up to no good.

The man is Jacob, and he is Burden’s older brother. He finds Burden and, after beating the crap out of Katharsis, forces him to come back home with him. “Home” is some small village which resembles an Amish community, although Jacob denied being Amish, and proceeds to put Burden on “trial” in front of the town. Over the course of this trial, though flashbacks we learn Burden’s history. It turns out that both brothers are, for lack of a better term, mutants. Jacob was born first, and born with the ability to sprout wings and fly like an angel, and then a few years later came Christopher (Burden), who was eventually shown to be able to transform into a demon-like being. Their parents and whole community saw Christopher as evil, but the truth is that Jacob is the secretly evil one. He killed his father and blamed it on Christopher, who believed himself to be a devil and accepted responsibility, and that’s what he’s due to be executed for. The other members of the Movement track them down and rescue Burden before that can happen, help him see the truth, and take him back to Coral City with him, but not before Burden also reveals that he’s homosexual.

This is one of the best issues of this series, as Gail Simone uses this story to highlight several themes. On the surface, she’s showing the dangerous of religious fundamentalism, but deep down the story is really about perception. Jacob and Burden are both treated certain ways strictly because of how they look. And Burden, in particular, internalizes this and sees himself a certain way based on how others see him. And yet these perceptions are all dangerously wrong. That’s pretty deep. And backed by the amazing artwork of Freddie Williams III, The Movement continues to be an impressive comic.

GRADE: A+

The Movement #11