Throughout the Panels and the Pages
Big name comic book companies such as Marvel or DC have had many various and interesting storylines, and these storylines give the involved characters legacy and uniqueness everytime they are involved into them. But no other Marvel or DC storyline is as wild and remarkable as Flight-O-Man's, aka, The Repulsive Swinger's most recent storyline.
So within the most recent storyline, Flight-O-Man experiences a wild twist that shook his home society to its core. Just like your every-day superhero multiverse story, it starts off with space-and-time itself being torn to shreds, with holes to different universes leaking through it. Certainly, no other comic book storyline has started off so off-the-ground than ever.
As Flight-O-Man begins to explore the different worlds found through the wormholes, they encounter really, really monsters and enemies alike that truly tested Flight-O-Man’s patience and combat experience. Everything he experiences likes to play games on his mind as he tries to make sense and survive everything that comes his way.
But truly, what makes this storyline so unique compared to other big, flashy, action-oriented comic-book narratives, is that it shows Flight-O-Man’s development and arc as a character, resolving their own fears and self-doubts, tying up some loose ends with some problems of the past. While it may not be an entirely new concept, the idea of a superhero being just as human and just as flawed when it comes to great responsibilities with their great power was an idea that was executed very well here.
But another big highlight of the story, was the main villain - it turns out that these rips and holes through space-and-time weren’t simply an accident, but it was instead caused by Grounderth, using the time-manipulating McGuffin of the story to bend the different universes to his will. Immediately realizing his true purpose and goal from now on, Flight-O-Man immediately butt-heads with them, becoming arch-enemies. But Grounderth didn’t just clash with Flight-O-Man physically, they contrasted idealistically. The words that came out of the big bad’s mouth - it truly made Flight-O-Man think to himself… is this all worth it?
On a smaller and less existentially dreadful note, the relationships between Flight-O-Man’s allies and accomplices were also really well written. The simple, slice-of-life styled interactions between everyone really grounded and balanced the story with its already crazy cosmic complexions. Sandbob the Comedian was truly the biggest fan-favorite character for all the times they made the audience laugh, while also having an aura of mystery surrounding them.
One of the best parts of the comic book storyline that just can’t simply be forgotten is its spectacular art style. Given how wild settings the cast goes through given the context and concept of the story, the people who pen the panels certainly know how to create such dynamic visuals that show each dimensions’ distinct features, with the characters in the story just… opening their mouths, either in awe for the one-of-a-kind sights they see… or in fear for whatever eldritch monster that chases them.
Perhaps what may be some of the most discussed characteristics is how the story just LOVES to play with the heartstrings of the audience - the stakes are high as no character is safe. Without diving deep into spoilers, let’s just say getting attached to any of the main members of the casts would be a big mistake. Similar to the fellow comic book series’ before it was named Invincible, the story isn’t afraid to be blunt to the audience of the harsh realities and struggles of adventure.
As mentioned before, the story also revolves around the moral dilemma between the ideals of the protagonist and the paradigm of the villain. Is Flight-O-Man saving the day out of pure selflessness, or are they doing it for their own personal gain that comes with being a hero? The story as it goes on begins to blur even further the fine line between what is a hero and whether or not they are an anti-hero.
In the end came the final battle, the final climax of the entire journey. As always, the protagonist and the big bad have one final face off, but it unexpectedly very quickly went into such a higher stakes fight that not only shook the universe of the story’s setting, but also just shook the comic book industry on a meta level. Just like how a running racer would break a new record, ever since the final fight of this storyline happened, the entire state of the comic book industry shifted. Within the short timeframe of the aftermath of the fight, every comic book company has attempted to recapture the epicness of this fight, and while some are catching up to that finish line… there will be no other storyline with such an ending, like this one...
