Ex Machina: Power Down

Ex Machina: Vol 6 Power Down (2007) Brian K. Vauhgan & Tony Harris

In the latest installment of Ex Machina, Mitchell Hundred continues his time as mayor of New York, and the great blackout that affected the entire city is now affecting him as well–seems also to be linked to him in some way. We also continue to learn bits and pieces of Mitchell’s past and his actions as The Great Machine. Mitchell also spends time with his mother, and learns that despite his falling out with Kremlin, she has a continued relationship with him.

This story continually keeps you guessing. You have no idea where things will go next, and what we will learn about Mitchell’s past. This is, of course, one of the more frustrating things about the story, because it feels like I should know far more about his past than we do. I’m not a patient person, and hate waiting for anything, so waiting for Mitchell’s backstory is like some obscure form of torture, especially is tiny parts are parsed out randomly. Especially since we’re just more than halfway through the series.
With this volume, I enjoyed how the story progress, and that although we have not learned much more about Mitchell’s past, we learn about the possible consequences of his powers. Unless of course the New Zealander really is just a madman.

I also find it interesting how everyone has expectations about Mitchell’s powers, but we learn that what he truly wants is simply to be free of those powers. I especially like that part. People always talk about what kind of superpowers they’d like to have, but no one wants to talk about what it would be like to actually have those superpowers. Especially if you were one of a kind in having those powers. (Me? I don’t want a superpower per se– I just want to be able to upload information directly to my brain. I could learn anything instantaneously. That would rock.)
If you’re already reading Ex Machina then you probably aren’t going to stop for anything. If you haven’t yet read Ex Machina, don’t start here. Go back to volume one and begin there. The series is confusing enough if you’ve been reading along the whole time.
Rating: 7/10

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