Enigma (comic)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Enigma is a comic book by Peter Milligan, with artwork done by Duncan Fegredo, featuring a superhero called "The Enigma". It was published as an eight-issue series by Vertigo Press, an imprint of DC Comics, in 1993, and collected in 1995.
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[edit] Summary
The book starts with Michael. We’re told he knows he’ll be having sex with his girlfriend tonight because it’s Tuesday, and they always (and only) have sex on Tuesday. This shows us something of Michael's personality and how he lives his life.
“The Enigma” was a comic book which stopped after 3 issues when the publisher folded. Characters from the series start appearing in Pacific City, over 25 years after the series ended. The title character of “The Enigma” was a major part of a boy named Michael Smith’s life, becoming something of an imaginary friend.
Shortly after the series abruptly ended, an infant is born who is an extraordinary leap forward in human evolution. He causes his father’s face to be disfigured. His horrified mother throws the baby down an almost-dry well and shoots the father’s head off with a shotgun. The baby is able to survive on his own and lives in the well for 25 years. After he is discovered, he wanders the Southwest, eventually finding the ruins of Michael’s childhood home that was swallowed by an earthquake and, inside, Michael's copies of “The Enigma.” He adopts the identity of The Enigma, and causes other people to adopt the identities of the villains from the books he found.
When Michael learns that the Enigma has come to life, he tracks down the comic's creator Titus Bird, in Texas and rescues him from a group of crazed fans (The Enigmatics) who consider Titus to be a sort of holy man. Neither can understand how or why these characters are suddenly appearing, but they are sure that Michael is somehow directly linked to the events. They decide do some investigating.
In a bar they stop at on their way back to California, Titus makes a pass at Michael, who in turn floors Titus with a punch. Titus apologizes, and Michael is shocked that Titus assumed he was queer. Michael’s violent reaction to Titus’ offer of sex is later revealed to be because he is starting to realize that perhaps he is indeed sexually attracted to men and was “scared of the truth.” He succumbs to this desire when he finally meets the Enigma.
In the final issue we learn that the Enigma caused Michael to become homosexual because he needed to experience emotions, to learn to be more human. To feel love and compassion because he knows he needs this to defeat his most powerful enemy, his mother, who had gone insane after she discovered what a freak he was, and who was now coming for him. He had sought out Michael specifically because he could tell how much the comic books had meant to young Michael when he found them. The Enigma offers to change Michael back to a heterosexual, but Michael declines the offer. The book ends just as Michael, Titus, and The Enigma go off to meet The Enigma’s mother, and the story's narrator is finally revealed.
[edit] Characters
- Michael Smith - A compulsive, late-20’s, heterosexual telephone repairman living a highly-structured life in Pacific City, California. His father was killed in an earthquake, and he was abandoned by his mother around age nine.
- Titus Bird - The writer of the superhero comic book series “The Enigma”.
- The Enigma - A man born with seemingly omnipotent powers who adopts the identity of The Enigma, a comic book superhero. He is an essentially emotionless being and unfamiliar with the concepts of right and wrong.
[edit] Additional notes
- This story takes place outside of the main DC Universe.
- This was one of the first mini-series released when DC launched Vertigo, their "suggested for mature readers" line of comics in March 1993 and the first not to be connected to an existing book.
- All eight issues of Enigma have special metallic inks on the cover.
