The Ones #1

From the mind of Brian Michael Bendis comes this unusual tale of a group of people being called together by something of a prophet. What makes the group unusual is that each one of them were “the One,” a special individual in the time and place of their own culture. Some have aged, some are in the prime, and one is unsure why she was even included in the group. The reason for being brought together is either murder (which doesn’t sit too well with these heroes) or saving the world from the apocalypse (depending on your perspective).

According to this stranger who knows the future, the One (the real One) has just been born. The Antichrist is alive on Earth and will destroy the world unless the other Ones come together and kill it as a baby. Causing division within the group, and loosing arguably its most powerful member, the comic closes with a look at a future where the Ones didn’t act. 

The Ones #1 successfully sells the premise while still leaving quite a bit of room to further explore our odd collection of characters, who each will have their own story prior to the apocalypse, in further issues. Given us a character that comes off more like a salesman than prophet helps to lay the uncertainty of his prophecy, although the final panel shows the dangers of not listening to someone who knows the future.

[Dark Horse, $4.99]