Munson’s Milestone Mondays — Hardware #8
Welcome to another fun filled installment of the phenomenon that has become Milestone Mondays. This week we cover Hardware #8, the issue that delves into the psyche of our titular hero. This issue seems to be designed to give both the reader and Hardware himself insights into his methods and mission. The insight is provided through Curtis Metcalf’s dreams. He dreams of himself as Hardware and the various people he has killed in pursuit of his vendetta against his boss Edwin Alva. Both his victims confront him, and a business suited version of him, as his subconscious attempts to deal with the guilt he is not allowing himself to feel for his acts of violence.
“Business Curtis” takes Hardware on four journeys intent on getting him to “Wake up” and admit he can be a better hero and a better man. The first journey lies in examining his past, including his relationships with his parents and Alva. The second takes him to school, more specifically a class in African American studies taught by the admitted “will – they – or won’t – they?” love interest of the book Barraki Young. The third journey brings him to the set of the “Opra” show (yes they leave the H off of her name so that they wouldn’t get sued, but you know who it is anyway), where the women who have loved him confront him about the wall around his heart. The fourth journey brings him to church, where a preacher tells him of his wrongs (in full on sermon mode), and what he must do to right them.
Hardware is finally left with just “Business Curtis”, as they hash out what they have both learned about each other. Hardware accepts the fact that his armor cannot be so strong that he forgets the person that he really is, and “Business Curtis” accepts the fact that he cannot continue to fight himself. The two personalities realize that they have thrown their tantrum, and it is time to “wake up” and move on.
Curtis then ends the issue by literally doing just that. His subconscious has shown him the way; he can no longer let his anger rule his actions. He knows he can never undo what he has done in his vendetta against Alva, but he can live up to the ideals his parents and others have instilled in him. He can be better, and so can Hardware. He realizes that his mission was at first about vengeance, but now it will be about justice.
This issue is one heck of a trip for the reader, as Dwayne McDuffie takes us on the subconscious highway that is Hardware’s mind. He brings so many interesting things to the script, including the African American studies class that compares the contemporary superhero origin and it’s antecedents in the traditional African trickster tale. I loved the two sides of Curtis’ personalities, business suit and “The Man in the Shell”, as they bounced off of each other all issue. Their interactions show the internal struggle that one man puts himself through as a means of bringing his true feelings to the surface.
JJ Birch is the guest penciller for this issue, and he does a great job. He brings some great images to the table; including having “Business Curtis” sit on a log cabin porch, ALA Uncle Remus, as he begins the journey into his past. It’s also pretty wild to see a baby Curtis in the Hardware armor during the same journey. His artwork seems to me to be a perfect fit for this kind of story, as it is much cleaner and softer than that of regular artist Denys Cowan, who tends to be very angular and gritty.
This issue is custom built to be a good jump on point for the new reader. It shows where the title character has been and sets up the next phase in Hardware’s life as he attempts to continue his mission of bringing Alva to justice. Join me next week as we continue our look back at Milestone comics and look at Icon # 6.
