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A review by bohemienne
Midnighter and Apollo by Steve Orlando
5.0
Was inspired to write this review sooner rather than later bc the only review on GR for this series as of this writing is from some white dude who felt the need to leave a review that he's "Uninterested" in this series, lmao.
So. MIDNIGHTER & APOLLO, a 6-issue run from Steve Orlando, is pretty much goddamn perfect. The story is well-paced across six issues without feeling too much like a paint-by-numbers fantasy quest. The artwork is gorgeous and there are some seriously stunning and inventive panel layouts (I'm still thinking about when Midnighter beats up the water beast in Issue 2, or storms Neron's castle in Issue 4). For an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, Orlando did an exceptional job of letting us forget we're reading an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, focusing instead on Apollo's backstory (both pre- and post-experimentation) and Midnighter's moral qualms, or maybe lack thereof, regarding his pretty much constant murdering. The design of this particular Hell is phenomenal, still recognizably Hellish while offering up some great new twists--I especially loved the design for the Gardens of Carnage. And I really need a Mansions of Happiness board game now because that shit's wonderfully over the top and amazing.
BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT THE QUEER REP OKAY
Midnighter and Apollo are gay. Not "you could maybe read it as romantic if you want to but we're not going to define it that way" gay (cough Russo brothers), not "we'll cut away and let you decide for yourselves" gay (cough loads of other Marvel lines), not "okay sure we'll have some dudes kiss but it was OBVIOUSLY just a ploy to get information" gay (cough Daken), not even "wow these dudes sure will travel through complete hell for each other are we SURE they aren't lovers" gay (COUGH PLANET HULK: WARZONES). They are frank relationship discussions, coming-out backstories, dinner parties complete with post-cleanup kitchen sex gay and it's never lampshaded but it's also never treated as anything less. Their friends know and embrace them (and are in many cases queer themselves); their enemies know and don't use it against them any more than they would exploit anyone's romantic bond. The story is very clear about who they are and what they are to each other--a rare enough thing in mainstream comics--without MAKING that the story (almost unheard of in the Big 2).
I keep wanting to compare this series to Planet Hulk: Warzones, but that's really unfair, because Midnighter & Apollo is the superior series in every way. On the surface, they're similar: our lead journeys through a gruesome wasteland against all odds in a desperate attempt to save his lover/"warbound", and must confront hard truths about himself along the way while tenuously accepting aid or seeking boons from creatures whose motives are unclear. But where PH:Z fails the most--the art's good but not mindblowing, the setting's ridiculous and questionable in numerous ways, but where it really fails--is in its lack of definition. All its edges are blunted--the flashbacks end before their true emotional impact can land, in some cases where it clearly feels it's BECAUSE they wanted to avoid putting a name to Steve & Bucky's relationship, so instead you just get Steve wailing "Buuuucky" a lot without giving us much grounding in why. (They aren't even 616 S&B, so we can't fall back on their 616 history together for any kind of context. They're just two dudes who joined the Supersoldier program together after some sort of pie heist, then hulkapalooza happens.)
But Midnighter & Apollo gives us that emotional connection upfront. It gives us their relationship, and most of all, it gives us a complex relationship. They have their fights, they have unresolved issues--this isn't their first go, and even as they work past what hindered their relationship before (I haven't actually read that story arc but I feel like this series provided the context perfectly) they're both Dealing With Their Own Shit. Midnighter undertaking this task feels momentous rather than contrived; it will change their relationship, but not as much as it will change each of them. And the ending--just--glorious. It's satisfying and character-growing in all kinds of excellent ways.
AND THERE'S NO "BURY YOUR GAYS" TROPE. THEY LIVE. ALL THE QUEER PEOPLE LIVE. THEY FUCKING GET A HAPPY ENDING AND A PERFECT RESCUE KISS BECAUSE THIS IS AN EPIC LOVE STORY OKAY. THEY GET TO HAVE THAT.
I'm glad this was always intended to be a limited run because the story is all the more powerful and tightly knitted for it, but I do hope we'll get more Midnighter & Apollo in other DC lines. They're accused of being the bargain-basement takes on Batman and Superman, but the story confronts that--acknowledges their origins as such, especially in Apollo's case--and gives them the depth they need to be so much more. More Midnighter & Apollo, please. More comics like this, please. And more queer representation in comics that laughs at the very idea of being considered "token." For Midnighter & Apollo, they're anything but.
So. MIDNIGHTER & APOLLO, a 6-issue run from Steve Orlando, is pretty much goddamn perfect. The story is well-paced across six issues without feeling too much like a paint-by-numbers fantasy quest. The artwork is gorgeous and there are some seriously stunning and inventive panel layouts (I'm still thinking about when Midnighter beats up the water beast in Issue 2, or storms Neron's castle in Issue 4). For an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, Orlando did an exceptional job of letting us forget we're reading an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, focusing instead on Apollo's backstory (both pre- and post-experimentation) and Midnighter's moral qualms, or maybe lack thereof, regarding his pretty much constant murdering. The design of this particular Hell is phenomenal, still recognizably Hellish while offering up some great new twists--I especially loved the design for the Gardens of Carnage. And I really need a Mansions of Happiness board game now because that shit's wonderfully over the top and amazing.
BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT THE QUEER REP OKAY
Midnighter and Apollo are gay. Not "you could maybe read it as romantic if you want to but we're not going to define it that way" gay (cough Russo brothers), not "we'll cut away and let you decide for yourselves" gay (cough loads of other Marvel lines), not "okay sure we'll have some dudes kiss but it was OBVIOUSLY just a ploy to get information" gay (cough Daken), not even "wow these dudes sure will travel through complete hell for each other are we SURE they aren't lovers" gay (COUGH PLANET HULK: WARZONES). They are frank relationship discussions, coming-out backstories, dinner parties complete with post-cleanup kitchen sex gay and it's never lampshaded but it's also never treated as anything less. Their friends know and embrace them (and are in many cases queer themselves); their enemies know and don't use it against them any more than they would exploit anyone's romantic bond. The story is very clear about who they are and what they are to each other--a rare enough thing in mainstream comics--without MAKING that the story (almost unheard of in the Big 2).
I keep wanting to compare this series to Planet Hulk: Warzones, but that's really unfair, because Midnighter & Apollo is the superior series in every way. On the surface, they're similar: our lead journeys through a gruesome wasteland against all odds in a desperate attempt to save his lover/"warbound", and must confront hard truths about himself along the way while tenuously accepting aid or seeking boons from creatures whose motives are unclear. But where PH:Z fails the most--the art's good but not mindblowing, the setting's ridiculous and questionable in numerous ways, but where it really fails--is in its lack of definition. All its edges are blunted--the flashbacks end before their true emotional impact can land, in some cases where it clearly feels it's BECAUSE they wanted to avoid putting a name to Steve & Bucky's relationship, so instead you just get Steve wailing "Buuuucky" a lot without giving us much grounding in why. (They aren't even 616 S&B, so we can't fall back on their 616 history together for any kind of context. They're just two dudes who joined the Supersoldier program together after some sort of pie heist, then hulkapalooza happens.)
But Midnighter & Apollo gives us that emotional connection upfront. It gives us their relationship, and most of all, it gives us a complex relationship. They have their fights, they have unresolved issues--this isn't their first go, and even as they work past what hindered their relationship before (I haven't actually read that story arc but I feel like this series provided the context perfectly) they're both Dealing With Their Own Shit. Midnighter undertaking this task feels momentous rather than contrived; it will change their relationship, but not as much as it will change each of them. And the ending--just--glorious. It's satisfying and character-growing in all kinds of excellent ways.
I'm glad this was always intended to be a limited run because the story is all the more powerful and tightly knitted for it, but I do hope we'll get more Midnighter & Apollo in other DC lines. They're accused of being the bargain-basement takes on Batman and Superman, but the story confronts that--acknowledges their origins as such, especially in Apollo's case--and gives them the depth they need to be so much more. More Midnighter & Apollo, please. More comics like this, please. And more queer representation in comics that laughs at the very idea of being considered "token." For Midnighter & Apollo, they're anything but.