Okay so I missed the Alan Moore trends because other posts took up my time. But I invested just as much time into Top 10 so I’m going to spotlight it! More specifically its capepunk setting Neopolis. Like the best capepunks it satirizes real life and superhero genre tropes while being character driven. Not only that it shows how such a fantastic place can become pretty mundane. Religion, super science, job markets, and diseases that come from mingling everything.
Top 10 on Super Powers
Might as well get the obvious out of the way first. Just about every character in Top 10 has superpowers or super tools. I mean that most people wear costumes like they’re regular clothes or fly through the city in traffic. To the mundane person this would probably look amazing, like how somebody from rural areas first look at a city. But to everybody living there, it’s a pretty mundane experience. I mean you see people in Batman-like costumes casually getting drunk and throwing up. Not to mention most people don’t have the Most Common Superpower; you know, artist’s shorthand where superheroes have the same physiques. And you know what? They’re perfectly comfortable.
License & Registration Please
While we’re on the topic of superpowers being common we need to talk about how they affect people. In the early issues, we have a cab driver who recklessly drives a rocket car to get people to where they need to be. It certainly works considering he wears a blindfold and puts the protagonists on leads to cases. But does that really excuse the number of traffic incidents he causes? Zen destiny powers or not this is problematic.
But then again, this goes into another problem classifying people by their powers. Especially with how it effects their job prospects. One spouse of our officers couldn’t find work because he’s a precognitive. For a long time, not even his wife’s status could help find him work.
The War On Secondary Mutations
While we’re on the process of powers, you won’t see anything like super speed. Because looking at the flying civilian traffic, there are probably laws against it. In fact the only one in Top 10 is through a drug called Mongoose Blood. It’s popular with a few underground clubs, especially since it hides them from mundane authorities. But for more potent powers there are more dangerous and addictive drugs. That’s not even including one drug made of radioactive materials. We’ll come back that.
Don’t Go Into Super Pest Control
Just a quick word, animals in Top 10 have superpowers too. Some like Sgt. Kemlo are sentient allowing them to operate technology like Kemlo’s exosuit. It also means that they can have relationships with other sentients. Hey if aliens can co-mingle, sentient animals can as well. Just ensure that the animals are sentient. Nuff’ said.
On a related note one of the worst jobs to have in Neopolis is pest control. If you think mice are a problem (I know they are), Ultra Mice are a nightmare. Think all the powers of Superman packed into these vermin. One of the only ways to deal with them are with super powered cats. And that makes things worse when they start crossover events. Fortunately for civilians, the universe won’t be destroyed. But for exterminators, they don’t get paid for their work for crossover events. Because the implosion wipes the Ultra Mice from existence, erasing all records.
Top 10 Makes Super Science Mundane
Like most superhero series, super/mad science is a thing in Top 10. But like superpowers they’re pretty mundane. Remember that cop married to a precog? Well her exosuit has insurance and has to fill out other papers for her heavy artillery. Because when you are literal walking arsenal you gotta have permits and registration. It’s probably one of the reasons Irma Geddon can’t fly in that suit. Plus she’s not rich like some tech billionaires. I don’t think she can even afford her own car with that suit.
Let’s look at another officer Girl One a.k.a. Sung Li. Her anatomy and skills are the most similar to traditional superheroines. As for her powers, she can change the pigments on her durable skin to hide the fact she’s naked. Li’s not a nudist for lack of modesty, it’s a comfort thing. The immodest ones are her makers, a rich guy and a perverse scientist. Wait isn’t that the- Subject for a future post! Besides, Li’s social and has layers to her.
Maybe Those Ethics Laws Should Be Applied
But now let’s go to the tech side of things, specifically robot and androids. Oh wait, sorry the politically correct terms are post-organic and Ferro-American. In Neopolis they seem to be on a low end of the social ladder. I mean most of them live in ghettos and one of the cops is prejudiced against them. It’s probably satire on the fear of automation, but it gets uncomfortably close to bigotry. Even the new officer, Joe Pi had to deal with it. That’s despite the fact that he’s actually quite empathetic and social; sometimes a little too much.
Infinite Possibilities Meets Murphy’s Law
Is inter-reality travel a thing? Oh… it is… But it’s not that great. Aside from Human Fly instances there are a number of problems. Not least of which is the fact that teleporters are at risk. Like all forms of transportation they need registrations and logs, less molecular collisions happen. Think car crashes are bad? Just imagine the last moments of your life being fused to it or a giant horse man?
Then there’s the fact that realities where the Roman Empire fell like Neopolis’ Precinct 10 are a minority. Which means officers sometimes have to fight in gladiator tournaments to the death to get work done in Precinct 1. Even worse some of them are openly bigoted, especially towards Ferro and African-Americans.
And oh yeah, this is the Grand Central reality where the police commissioner operates. Thankfully she turned out to have been corrupt; revealing herself by going on a withdrawal induced rampage. Remember the radioactive drug trade? Well Ultima was secretly buying them from the “backwater” Precinct 10 to get more powers. So yeah, no matter what reality, bureaucracy is still the greatest evil of all.
Outer Space vs. Bureaucracy
Top 10 Will Make You Believe In More (Or Less)
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live around gods? Top 10 is here to tell you that it can be a chore. There’s a bar in the city full of these literally larger-than-life figures. Frankly the legendary feats can come across like a frat party on repeat. Baldr’s death and resurrection happens so regularly, people found the correlation to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
You might think that religion came to a halt, but it’s pretty lax. At Li’s funeral (KIA by Ultima), the priest delivered a sermon saying people could be resurrected. Good to know that death is still treated as serious as it can be.
Top 10 Pros and Cons of Diversity
Life in Top 10 is surely never boring, but it can be a lot. A lot of things can coexist and possibly co-mingle. It can allow people’s lives to become enriching but also disorienting. Like did you know that intimacy can work in… yeah I can’t talk about that without baby barfing. But hey isn’t city life supposed to be chaotic? Just be careful not to catch S.T.O.R.M.S., an STD from co-mingling with aliens, gods, etc.
What do you think of Neopolis? The most down-to-Earth superhero city? It’s no Astro City but you gotta admit, it’s way more than Moore’s rants.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.