Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti & Joe Quesada
Artists: Lee Moder, Chris Garcia(colors)
Publisher: Dynamite
In an interview, Jimmy Palmiotti said that he doesn't consider Painkiller Jane a super-hero. Well, I have some bad news for him. Painkiller Jane is a super-hero.
A hero above all else saves innocent lives, and his or her goal is to always save innocent lives. A hero does not accept collateral damage, casualties of war or whatever euphemism one uses for the loss of innocent life. A super-hero is simply a hero possessing a super-power or extraordinary skill that places the character above all others in his/her field. A super-hero using this power or skill accomplishes spectacular feats. Batman, James Bond, Modesty Blaise, Sydney Bristow fit this latter category. Combine the elements and you have the defining aspects. Jane easily meets the criteria.
After surviving the explosive events in the twenty-five cents zero issue, Jane finds herself in a body bag carried by an ambulance. She gives the drivers a start by waking up. Jane can heal from any injury. Dazed and confused, she walks out of the ambulance.
As with the zero issue, Palmiotti and Quesada hint at the methodology of how her healing power works. The additional information about Jane's power gives it more weight and suggests the writers have really thought things through. Jane's comprehension of her abilities displays rare and welcome traits in a female super-hero--the thirst for knowledge and the want for self-discovery. The mere mention that Jane knows how her powers work exhibits very subtle foreshadowing. It hints that her nature is one of curiosity, and Jane's curiosity will shape the story.
Jane boards a subway and finds that she is on the wrong car. For the passengers of the subway, Jane is on the right car. A terrorist--refreshingly not suicidal--releases a form of chlorine gas, but before he enacts his plan, his nervous behavior makes Jane curious. She tags him early as someone to be watched. Jane's observation is a nice callback to her former cop-history, revealed for new readers in her narration. The scene also emphasizes her core.
Jane takes the terrorist down quickly, vents the car thus saving the passengers and for an encore chases after him. Two unexpected things save the terrorist from Jane, but he still ends up dead. How serves as the meat to the mystery.
The current issue of Painkiller Jane is a fast moving treat that works as a chapter in a larger plot and as a stand-alone story. Quesada and Palmiotti remember that all important beginning, middle and end, or if you prefer, setting the stage, performing and "scene." The cliffhanger, which arises from the emotional drama between the curious rather than the expected kinetic ballet, will very likely make you wonder what will happen next, yet the ending could have served as well as an ending for the entire series.
The characters behave naturally within the panels. The interactions feel sincere. If this were a movie or a television series, one would recognize the chemistry between the actors and the effort put into rehearsal. The severely underrated Lee Moder is equally deserving of credit for conveying this feeling.
Moder's subtle handling of propinquity, body design and body language takes Painkiller Jane out of the realm of sterile, homogenous art. Moder's lively art combined with a smart script, carried by Jane's witty stream of consciousness narration that's filled with personality and uniqueness makes for unbeatable entertainment:
"Was half expecting old horny to be dancing in a lake of lava telling knock-knock jokes to crying babies. Yes. That'd be my version of Hell. If you need to know..."
One may question why Painkiller Jane did not earn a coveted five bullets. The answer is simple. While the story is good and the characterization is great, the science terminology is bad, and there's really no excuse for it.
A "strain" and a "mutation" only refer to organisms not elements. Viruses evolve into different strains. Organisms mutate. Elements do not come in strains, nor do they mutate. Chlorine is an element. Chlorine gas is an elemental form consisting of two chlorine atoms. Seth, a medical doctor, should not be referring to chlorine gas as an entity. It's a chemical not biological weapon. This mistake could have easily been corrected through the replacement of "strain" and "mutation" with the proper chemistry term "isotope." Isotopes, such as uranium 238, refer to different forms of elements having properties that may be unlike those of the commonly occurring form. Using this term would have allowed Quesada and Palmiotti to plausibly have in their story a chlorine gas with slightly different properties than normal state chlorine gas and do so without pulling a Bush.
Despite some missteps in terminology, Painkiller Jane still relates a supremely satisfying, fast paced story having an actual theme. None of the zeroth twenty-five cents issue is reincorporated in the pages, if that was a fear. The tale's focus on the title character reveals a strong, sparkly, introspective voice and consequently a resonance very few "newer" characters possess. Lee Moder's artwork continues to be a boon for Jane, and anatomy and proportion rendered in style eliminates the potential for visual sexism and allows the reader to better appreciate the heroics of Painkiller Jane.
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