TITLE: Prime – Vol. 1, Issue 1
YEAR: August 1993
COMPANY: Ultraverse/Malibu Comics
Written by Len Strazewski and Gerard Jones
Artist: Norm Breyfogle
Letterer: Paul Mounts
Editor: Chris Ulm
Color Design: Paul Mounts
Many comic books have their primary super heroes. Super heroes that represent the company as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have represented DC Comics, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk and Thor representing Marvel Comics, when Ultraverse was launched, the face of the Malibu Comics imprint was the huge, vein and muscles burstin’ superhero named Prime and joined flagship characters Hardcase and Mantra.
Prime was created by Bob Jacob, Gerard Jones, Len Strazewski and Norm Breyfogle. And while one may want to compare him to Shazam (Captain Marvel), there are some differences.
Mainly because the main hero is a 13-year-old boy named Kevin Green who can transform to the super-powered superhero. Kevin is enveloped by an organic liquid flesh which turns him into Prime and he has only has a certain amount of time to become Prime.
When the energy reserves are depleted, the outer body of flesh turns into protein goo and he must pull himself out of it or else he will suffocate.
But the problem is that despite Prime’s exterior, he is still a 13-year-old and is not mature enough to comprehend things about life and often the decisions are made by a young teenager and the words that come out are from Kevin the teenager, not an adult. So, can you imagine him trying to make conversation with other super hero adults?
The first issue begins with Prime wanted to exact punishment on a junior high P.E. Coach for touching his female students inappropriately. And Prime, now knowing his own strength breaking the coaches arm.
Another incident has Prime going to a drug home and going against a drug gang and blowing up their home. But one of the drug gang members manages to get part of the ooze that came off Prime while shooting him and has kept it in a vial.
Both the coach and the drug gang member were interviewed and you realize it was the US Govt. One of the people in the govt. has the drug gang member electrocuted and stealing the vial with Prime’s ooze.
Meanwhile, Prime’s heroic deeds are showcased on television but surprises people that he is showing up in the weirdest of places, such as a junior high school and a drug gang’s home. But then we see Prime assisting the U.N. Forces against terrorists who are blocking a route for food supplies. Prime easily destroys the terrorists but immediately, he starts to ooze and he quickly travels back home and we see a young teen who manages to escape from the ooze.
Needless to say, a comic book about a young teen trapped in the body of a massive super hero is very entertaining, especially since it’s handled a bit more differently than Captain Marvel and Ultraverse is not following the Comic Code, so violence is often depicted in the pages of “Prime”.
Still a very entertaining storyline that gets even more wilder throughout the first volume.