Zeb Larson reviews Empire: Uprising #1…
It’s been a year since the events of the original Empire, and much has changed for Golgoth, the first super-villain to conquer the world. Can he hold onto his reign-and does he even want to?
The first issue of Empire: Uprising grabbed me, despite the fact that I hadn’t read the previous series and had no real context on the story. It’s an interesting look at the nature of being a supervillain, as well as the problems in maintaining a dictatorship. I will not be discussing any spoilers in this review.
A year after the events of the first book, Golgoth retains his absolute grip over the earth. Earth observes the traditional three minutes of silence for his murdered daughter Delfi, during which anybody who makes a sound is violently killed. We see some flashbacks to Golgoth’s consolidation of power and then imposition of his own form of benevolence. However, the fact that his rule is absolute does not mean that there aren’t cracks in the façade of power. Outside of earth, somebody is scheming to bring him down. At home, a resistance movement is making plans for an assault on Golgoth. Even Golgoth’s own followers are worried that he seems to be uninterested in the business of ruling.
It’s interesting to look at a supervillain/dictator who appears to have grown tired of the power he’s taken for himself. Perhaps grief has taken away his enthusiasm for ruling, or maybe he’s lost interest because he’s risen as high as he can. Regardless, it now falls to his subordinates to try and hold the empire together even if he’s lost interest in it. I hope that in subsequent issues we’ll get to spend some time in Golgoth’s head to see what the source of his ennui is.
His ministers are the other interesting movers of the story. As of right now, they all appear to be loyal to Golgoth, but they’re also expressing concerns about the long-term stability of the empire. Are they going to try and prop him up so that the ship they’ve boarded doesn’t sink, or are they going to try and replace him? It is fairly simple to impersonate a man who never leaves a suit of armor, and if he’s growing weak, the thought may cross their minds. Combine that with the human resistance, and there may be an opening for someone to try and take power.
What we have is an interesting story that borders on being a political thriller for supervillains. It’s even inspired to go back and read the original series, which has got to be a victory for an opening issue. Cheers.
SEE ALSO: Check out a preview of Empire Uprising #1 here
Zeb Larson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5&v=pnc360pUDRI
Originally published April 22, 2015. Updated March 1, 2020.
