Calum Petrie reviews Deus Ex Universe: Children’s Crusade #1…
With society still reeling from the Aug Incident – the Illuminati orchestrated event which caused augmented individuals to mindlessly attack their ‘natural’ counterparts – anti-aug sentiment is at an all-time global high. Task Force 29 – an Interpol-funded coalition, created to quash the rising tide of terrorist activity – stands as the world’s main defence against total anarchy.
In the city of Prague, where tension is especially high, the team’s latest recruit, Adam Jensen, readies for his first mission with the unit. But being augmented himself, how will the former SWAT officer handle himself when faced with the grim reality of the mechanical apartheid?
The first issue of this five part series sees the return of Adam Jensen, the security guard turned humanities savoir by a near death experience. The story takes place in between the events of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the upcoming Mankind Divided computer games. The comic essentially is used to bridge the gap and give readers a head start to what the story is going to be in the upcoming game.
SEE ALSO: Preview of Deus Ex Universe: Children’s Crusade #1
The story starts with Adam newly recruited into Interpol Task Forces 29, a group that specialises in subduing terrorist activity on both sides of the human augmentation state of affairs. The rising debate of human augmentation is on a global level and Adam is using his connections in Task Force 29 to get to the larger mystery of who is pulling the strings. In the meantime our broody protagonist has to prove that his augmentations can be of great value to a team that is already established.
Issue #1 opens with the team scoping out their latest assignment, a terrorist cell has taken children of government officials and children who have received augmentations. The introductions to the new characters is delivered in a team meeting conversation where readers will quickly gauge the hierarchy that Adam finds himself in.
Adam is the only person whose internal monologue we are open to, his thoughts are reminiscent of the dialogue he would dictate to the player in the previous game. Throughout the issue Adam takes key moments to display what exactly he brings to the teams, also what decisions he can make in a split second situation. The chance to prove himself to the team comes a little gun-ho but at the same time is exactly what a player would be controlling Adam to do with the game.
The overall story is engaging and easily held my attention for the duration of the comic. There is good balance of action and story pacing to allow readers to process what is happening while delivering an enjoyable experience.
The artwork from John Aggs is very true to the source material, the cyber punk future where the world exists mainly on a colour scheme of black and orange. The story was from the mind of Alex Irvine who has a rich pedigree in science fiction and comic stories. The pairing make for an authentic Deus Ex experience and hopefully the story start to this 5 part series carries throughout the issues.
Calum Petrie – Follow me on Twitter
https://youtu.be/XUGnM460Waw?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published February 11, 2016. Updated February 24, 2020.
