[SPOILERS!!]
Review: All good things come to an end. It’s a well known saying, and too true of a statement at that. For six issues we have watched as our four clueless heroes have come to terms with their powers and how these powers have effected their lives.
Last issue we got major revelations as to how everyone came to have their powers and introduced to us a whole other team of aliens who were originally supposed to get these new abilities. I was really excited and curious to see how Leth & Cummings were planning to bring this wonderful ride to an end, as much as I didn’t want to see it come to an end.
Issue 6 is certainly epic and entertaining to read, but it also feels slightly rushed compared to previous installments in the series. It wasn’t the strongest issue of the series sadly, but it by far wasn’t the weakest either. Let me explain.
One thing we’ve gotten almost every issue is a fight with a new alien invader trying to take these powers away. And each issue our heroes have fought back and kicked the alien to the curb so to speak. Well, this issue is no different as we get what is supposed to be the strongest enemy yet, but is really just the strongest armored. As far as actual power, there isn’t much. The snake alien is just harder to defeat because of its rather near indestructible armor.
What he ends up being is a catalyst for our heroes to overcome their obstacle by combining all of their powers for an attack strong enough to defeat him and to showcase exactly why these 4 work together the way they do.
I don’t mind that we got a new villain for one last fight. I don’t even mind that’s it technically not the strongest one we’ve had, my biggest issue is that I felt the fight took up too much space for a final issue. Especially when there was so much we still had to cover by the end, and thus cementing that some answers are left to be answered if/when we get a sequel series. Which I am sure we will.
There’s also convenience thrown in to get all of the past supporting cast members involved in the story as damsels in distress all at once. They’ve all been damsels on their own at one point, this time it’s all together! Within the story the subplot itself feels forced more than anything, so on an emotional level I found myself not really caring as much for their rescue.
In the end though, just like every issue before, I DID have fun reading it. The characters are all great, the status quo is definitely different by the end because things have changed. And there is a great preview of what’s to come thrown in on the final page, it’s a sort of a blink and you’ll miss it dialogue add-on that I’m super intrigued about now.
This series on a whole was a really good spin on the magical girl genre featuring contemporary characters, and a great sci-fi bend at the end that gives a lot of depth to the hidden history to the events that take place within these pages. If you’re looking for something fun, comedic, magical and original I would definitely recommend this series to you.
I am looking forward to the inevitable second series. I really enjoyed Power UP.
Final Score: 4 Universally Chosen Heroes out of 5
Power UP #6 (of 6)
Boom! Box
Written by Kate Leth
Illustrated by Matt Cummings
Reviewed by Derrick Crow
Summary: Amie Bloom is a 23 year old store clerk at a pet shop working under a stressful boss and simply going through life. She seems to have a good outlook on it though, and takes everything by the flow. Until one day she gets struck by a mysterious light along with one of the goldfish in her shop. After that, things became much more complicated…
