Big Game is an American superhero comic book limited series written by Mark Millar and drawn by Pepe Larraz. Published by Image Comics,[1] the series is a crossover event between the various properties of the Millarworld multimedia franchise created by Millar, a direct sequel to Wanted by Millar and J. G. Jones, and a prequel to Empress by Millar and Stuart Immonen. The series chronicles Wesley Gibson and his protégé Matthew Anderson / Nemesis' campaign to assassinate the world's new superheroes, as Agent Galahad of Kingsman and Mindy McCready / Hit-Girl take on the forces of Gibson's Fraternity of Super-Criminals.[2] The series, originally published between July and November 2023, was subsequently collected in trade paperback former by Image Comics in December 2023, and as an omnibus with Wanted by Dark Horse Comics in 2024.[3] It was followed by a sequel, Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery, later that year.[4]
| Big Game | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Big Game #4 (October 2023), depicting Mindy McCready on her knees before the throne of King Morax and his T. rex "guard dog". Art by Pepe Larraz. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Image Comics Dark Horse Comics (omnibus) |
| Format | Limited series |
| Publication date | July – November 2023 |
| No. of issues | 5 |
| Main character(s) |
|
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Mark Millar |
| Artist(s) | Pepe Larraz |
| Letterer(s) | Clem Robins |
| Colorist(s) | Giovanna Niro |
| Editor(s) | Melina Mikulic Sarah Unwin |
| Collected editions | |
| Big Game | ISBN 978-153439-9112 |
Premise
editIn 1986, a group of villains known as The Fraternity banded together to defeat the heroes on the Earth, while also brainwashing the entire planet into believing that the heroes never existed and were only fictional characters. In 2023, a new generation of heroes have begun to emerge following the actions of Dave Lizewski, who previously served as the hero Kick-Ass, and this drives Wesley "The Killer II" Gibson, the new leader of the Fraternity, to gather his forces, as well as his protégé Nemesis, to kill this new generation before a new age of heroes can begin again.[5]
As Edison Crane and the time-travelling Chrononauts are recruited by former hero "Bobbie Griffin" to face off against Wesley (while Crane is excavating the remnants of a prehistoric galactic empire), Agent Gary "Eggsy" Unwin of the Kingsman rescues vigilante Mindy "Hit-Girl" McCready from Fraternity assassins, and former vigilante Lizewski attempts to join the superhero team the Ambassadors.[6]
Characters
edit- Protagonists
- Mindy McCready / Hit-Girl – A 27-year-old vigilante and assassin who has been waging war on crime since she was 10-years-old, in Kick-Ass – The Dave Lizewski Years, Hit-Girl, and Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl.
- Gary "Eggsy" Unwin / Agent Galahad – A secret agent of the MI6 offshoot Kingsman.
- Dr. Edison Crane – A billionaire and the smartest man alive, who often apathetically saves the world.
- The Chrononauts – Dr. Corbin Quinn and Dr. Danny Reilly, the modern inventors of time travel.
- "Bobbie Griffin" – Heavily implied to be Barbara Gordon / Batgirl of the DC Universe, Griffin survived the Fraternity's attack and erasure of its heroes in 1986, and seeks to stop Gibson and the Fraternity from eradicating this new generation of heroes.
- Dave Lizewski – A 31-year-old security guard and former police officer who was the vigilante Kick-Ass before retiring fifteen years earlier, who now aims to join the Ambassadors as "Codename: America".
- Antagonists
- Wesley Gibson / The Killer II – Nemesis' mentor, the Secret Lord of Earth and leader of the Fraternity of Super-Criminals, who aims to wipe out the world's new superheroes as his father had once done in 1986.
- Matthew Anderson / Nemesis – Wesley's protégé and intended successor, an orphan groomed to become a supervillain.
- The Fox – An assassin and Wesley's wife, who was also his father's lover.
- King Morax – The emperor of the galactic empire ruling prehistoric Earth, who aims to invade the future on learning of his empire's eventual end.
- Diabolos the Sorcerer – A techno-sorcerer and the newest chief lieutenant of the royal empire of King Morax, who invades the future on his behalf.
- Other
- The Ambassadors – A superhero team who recruit one person from each country as their "ambassadors", granting them artificial superpowers.
- The Magic Order – A secret group of five families of wizards entrusted to keep the world safe from supernatural and magical threats.[7]
- Cordelia Moonstone – The heir to the Magic Order, frustrated by her inability to stop the Fraternity due to them not being a magical threat.
- The Night Club – A superhero team consisting of teenage vampires who wear masks to fight crime during the day.
- Huck – A kind-hearted superpowered countryman with an IQ of 75 who is able to "track down anything".
- Captain Duke McQueen – An elderly former space hero who once saved the universe.
- Simon Pooni – A teenager with multiple sclerosis who uses a wheelchair and previously sold his soul to transform into the superhero Superior.
- Valerie "Val" Lizewski – Dave's wife, who is deaf in one ear as a result of childhood polio.
Development
editIn August 2014, following the conclusion of Book Four of Kick-Ass – The Dave Lizewski Years, Mark Millar revealed that the majority of his Millarworld work were set in the same shared fictional universe, with the ending monologue of the series seeing Dave Lizewski make mention of the events of Wanted, Nemesis, Kingsman, and MPH, and Simon Pooni from Superior cameoing, with Millar intended to one day write a crossover between the projects.[8] By March 2015, Millar expressed interest in seeing this concept realised in a Hit-Girl/Kingsman feature film starring Mindy McCready / Hit-Girl and Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (originally London) together "in a big international adventure",[9] by September 2017 revealing that he had discussed this concept with Matthew Vaughn.[10] Following extensive development hell, the crossover, Big Game, was announced in May 2023, written by Millar, illustrated by Pepe Larraz, and serving as a direct sequel to Wanted. The story pits that series' protagonist, Wesley Gibson and his protégé Nemesis against the heroes of the Millarworld,[11] in particular Hit-Girl and Eggsy,[12] spinning-out of the events of Nemesis: Reloaded,[13] and leading into the events of Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery.[3][4]
Reception
edit| Issue # | Publication date | Critic rating | Critic reviews | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 2023 | 9.4/10 | 4 | [14] |
| 2 | August 2023 | 8.8/10 | 6 | [15] |
| 3 | September 2023 | 9.5/10 | 4 | [16] |
| 4 | October 2023 | 9.6/10 | 4 | [17] |
| 5 | November 2023 | 9.9/10 | 2 | [18] |
| Overall | 9.4/10 | 20 | [19] |
References
edit- ^ Peterson, Matthew (August 26, 2023). "Big Game #2 Review". Major Spoilers. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
- ^ Mark Millar (w), Pepe Larraz (a). Big Game, vol. .1, no. TP (December 20, 2023). Portland, Oregon: Image Comics. Retrieved on May 9, 2019.
- ^ a b Weiss, Josh (December 5, 2023). "Mark Millar Bringing 'Millarworld' Catalogue Over To Dark Horse Comics". Forbes. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Salmon, Will (December 6, 2023). "Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery heads up the first wave of Millarworld titles coming from Dark Horse in 2024". GamesRadar+. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ Pereira, Sergio (July 26, 2023). "REVIEW: Image Comics' Big Game #1". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ Generally, Deron (July 19, 2023). "Big Game #1 Review". Superpowered Fancast. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ Tardive, Ambrose (October 3, 2023). "Why the Magic Order Can't Stop Wanted's Fraternity". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (6 August 2014). "Mark Millar Explains How All The Millarworld Books Tie-In Together — Wanted, Kick-Ass, Jupiter's Legacy, Superior, Nemesis, MPH, Supercrooks And More — But No News Yet On The Unfunnies". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ Millar, Mark [@mrmarkmillar] (March 8, 2015). "@moiseschiu Eggsy and Hit-Girl on that poster in a big international adventure? It's a cool idea" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Millar, Mark [@mrmarkmillar] (September 17, 2017). "Just saying to Matthew [Vaughn wha]t a cool post-cred[its-scene it] would have been [in] HIT-GIRL ringing Eggsy's door-bell, [the] audience knowing imminent shit [is about] to go down" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Schreur, Brandon (May 16, 2023). "EXCLUSIVE: Why Mark Millar's Next Big Series Is a Secret Wanted Sequel". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ Pereira, Sergio (July 18, 2023). "Big Game: Mark Millar and Pepe Larraz on the Massive Crossover Event and Wanted Sequel". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (10 May 2023). "Mark Millar's Image Comics Crossover Starts In Today's Nemesis Reloaded". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Big Game #1 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Big Game #2 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Big Game #3 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Big Game #4 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Big Game #5 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Big Game (2023) Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.