Admittedly I have not kept up with Starborn as it just
didn’t grab me as much as Soldier Zero or The Traveler did and this issue
confirmed that it’s still the weak link in the chain. The other two series
basically used the first four issues to explain the rules and get the
characters up and running for ongoing story. With the Traveler it started with
a character that knew all the rules and then in a way reset that character so
that he had to figure it all out again, but the reader was left in anticipation
for the day he’d regain all of his knowledge and become the character he’s
destined to be.
With Starborn, we’re still learning about the world, the
rules and the powers of our main character. In fact very little has been
revealed and when it is, it’s over explained to the reader through dialog that
reads more like the back of Superhero trading card. Status, origin, power
level, all in boring details that would never fit into normal dialog and yet
that’s what writer Chris Roberson does. Everything out of the supporting cast
is “matter of fact” and makes it lack a genuine feel.
In this issue the chosen one and crew escape in there dragon
ship while leaving there would be pressures on Earth. The aliens chasing them
are actually more interesting as they find advanced tech on Earth in four
different areas of the planet, meaning we have more aliens living amongst us.
Meanwhile, the Starborn and crew land on a mining planet where humans are
slaves and brutish beasts are the masters. The Starborn steps in to stop a
woman and her child from being whipped and is looked at like he’s the evil one,
which confuses him as he expected praise for his heroic act.
Thing about this book is that it’s not trying to reinvent
the wheel. What I like about Soldier Zero and The Traveler is that they take
common genres and use the characters and powers in new and interesting ways.
Starborn seems more like homage to a bunch of other sci-fi franchises and that
doesn’t work in sci-fi.
I really feel like this book would be great for younger
readers that have never read anything influenced by Stan Lee and want to see
what he’s all about creatively. By this issue you’re either hooked on the
series or you’re giving it a pass. Personally I keep stopping by and seeing
where the story is, but I rather wait each month for Soldier Zero and The
Traveler.
Overall Score – 7.0/10