Brian K. Vaughan: Runaways

Runaways was the first Vaughan book that I read, and is one of the first comic books that I read regularly. It was recommended by a friend who has been a substantial influence on my taste in film and television. The story revolves around a group of teenagers (and one or two preteens) who make the shocking discovery that their parents are a group of powerful supervillains. Each teen has their own superpower or skill, and they vow to use their abilities to right the wrongs that their parents have committed.

Personally, I found this idea fantastic from the very first time I heard it, but I can understand how the premise can but off-putting, especially since regular teenage dramas can end up being awful. Fortunately, Vaughan is a very competent writer who not only knows how to write convincing adolescent dialogue, but knows how to handle high-concept premises. The characters act like kids their age would; they bicker, they defy authority (a central theme), they can sometimes be slaves to their hormones (but this never gets overly sappy), they are brash (causing them to make lots of mistakes) and they try to hide certain aspects of themselves that they do not like.

The central theme of the book is that authority should always be questioned. Certain characters are more counter-cultural than others, such as the misfit socialist Gert who is gung ho about opposing her parents and goth Nico who is a little more wary to take on her parents, but is still willing step outside of cultural norms to do her own thing. But there are a few who need some convincing; Chase dislikes his abusive parents, but his role as a lacrosse player has given him a fairly cushy life at the top of the social food chain. Sort of hippie Karolina strives for normality, and has a tougher journey than most of the other runaways, since there is so much about herself she finds abnormal. Preteen Molly is too young to question authority on her own, and needs the other runaways to convince her to go along with them (I'm surprised that Vaughan never fully explored the idea that no one, not even the runaways, has all the answers). And Alex is kind of caught in the middle; he is a gamer who occasionally argues with his parents over internet issues, but it's likely that he has never questioned adults to the degree that Gert or Nico had. But when the opportunity to become a real leader, he jumps at the chance. These are just the original runaways, but all new recruits have some sort of issue with adults.

It is not just the parents of the runaways who let them down, but all sorts of adults (including bona fide superheroes, which I will slightly touch on later). The idea that all adults are out to get you, an idea held by many teenagers, is nearly a reality for the runaways, and vastly influences their outlook on life. The runaways are the countercultural opposites to the the Young Avengers, Marvel's other popular teen team, who tend to idolize the adults in their life (except for Stature, who claims that she planned on joining the runaways before she learned about the Young Avengers). Whereas the Young Avengers represent more clean-cut (on the surface at least; even the most normal-looking kids have their demons, after all) teenager, the runaways are the outcasts who may be a little too smart for their own good.

Of the three Vaughan books I'm looking at, Runaways is the only one that takes place in an established universe (Marvel's Earth-616). This has both benefits and detriments. Though the runaways tend to stay in their little corner of the Marvel Universe (they live in Los Angeles, whereas most Marvel heroes live in New York City), when they do interact with other Marvel characters, Vaughan's themes can be applied to well-established characters. It is an interesting take on superhero stories when we see the runaways opposing major superheros like Spider-Man and Iron Man, due to their mistrust of adults. Of course, Runaways fans unfamiliar with these characters may not get the full experience of the story. Along these lines, Vaughan also has to deal with continuity. Like I said, the runaways do tend to stay removed from most big stories, but they couldn't escape the Civil War or the Secret Invasion (both times pairing up with the Young Avengers, who are almost as awesome as the runaways; hopefully their series will return soon). The result of the Civil War has made life even more difficult for the runaways, forcing certain aspects of the story to change.

Fortunately, more often than not, Vaughan is able to use the setting of Runaways to his advantage, and effectively spins a compelling story of cynical kids learning how to handle themselves in a somewhat cruel world (it's not as dark as I just made it sound, but this is certainly not a cheery story).

Up next: Superhero for mayor...