Prodigy. #6

Written by Mark Millar
Drawn by Rafael Albuquerque
Published by Image Comics

So here it is, the ending of this miniseries. Looking at it in total, I’ll say that I mostly enjoyed it, it’s a fun series. But the biggest problem is one that I’ve mentioned in previous reviews. Our lead, Edison Crane, is just too damn smart for his own good. Or maybe I should say he’s too smart for our own good, meaning us, the readers.

There’s just rarely any sense of danger, or even failure, for Edison. He’s smarter than everyone, a walking Wikipedia with obscure knowledge on virtually every subject stored in his head and a photographic memory that helps him learn any knew task he needs in minutes.

So where’s the challenge?

And that’s been a recurring problem with this series. Despite the dire straights Edison was left in at the cliffhanger of the previous issue, once the villains take the time to reveal their master plan, of course it turns out that Edison already knew everything, and it’s thanks to one minor detail that the villains didn’t plan for. This allows him to plan their demise and stop the invasion from the parallel dimension, tying it into a problem Edison was working on in the first issue, bringing it full circle.

So the story gets wrapped up in a satisfying enough conclusion, but it still feels a bit empty. I feel like Edison Crane is a smart character deserving of a smarter story.

No complaints about Rafael Albuquerque’s art, though. If and when Millar revisits this character, I hope he brings Albuquerque back to illustrate him again, he does an excellent job.

PRODIGY. #6