Review: The Last Archon, by Richard W. Watts

When you’ve been around for three thousand years you would think that you’re ready for anything.

Unless your powers are fading just as the greatest threat the world has known returns.

Fortunately, Deckard has help.

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The story

There is a new drug, Shard, going around the city of Atlanta. It’s supercharging Primes and driving them insane and it doesn’t do any favors for the normal people that use it either. Archon and his apprentice Arclite are on the case though, trying to track down the source of the drug and shut him down for good. What they find is no mere drug cartel but a series of ancient rites that are disturbingly familiar to Archon.

Things get interesting when Arclite, known by day as Hayden, stops an assassination attempt on Marcus Wolfe, a new up and coming politician, after being alerted by the occasionally clairvoyant Vivian. Hayden is soon drawn into Wolfe’s orbit, and together with Vivian soon learn that he is not what or who he seems to be.

Drug dealers, ancient evils, and crooked politicians are not all that our heroes have to contend with. Hayden has been the apprentice of Deckard Riss (Archon) for over ten years. His frustration over the lack of progress in his abilities and the fact he is still plagued with the nightmares that brought him to Riss anyway has led to no small amount of tension between the two heroes.

The characters

Hayden is a young and talented hot heat, constantly chaffing under Deckard’s tutelage. While his angst can be grating at times, it is also difficult to blame him. He has power but accessing anything close to his full potential causes him immense amounts of pain, something that hasn’t changed in the many years the pair have been working together. All the while, Deckard does what many mentors do, corrects Hayden, explaining how he could have done things better. Hayden also has several redeeming qualities, especially his bravery and sense of self-sacrifice. He constantly throws himself in harm’s way to protect total strangers and even Deckard when their conflict reaches its highest point.

Deckard Riss has been alive for three thousand years, working to protect the world from the return from an entity called the Worm, an entity he stopped millennia ago. His actions may have saved the world, but they also destroyed Atlantis. Through in the fact that he realizes he’s dying and Deckard has a little bit of angst he’s dealing with as well. It’s his realization that his time is up that makes him a bit harder on Hayden than he perhaps would otherwise be.

Vivian, the barista who warns Hayden of the assassination attempt on Wolfe joins the pair of Primes, first as the damsel in distress who stumbles on elements of the villains’ plans but later has an important part of their team. Not that she is some Mary Sue who suddenly has perfect control of her powers and never loses her cool in the face of danger. On the contrary, she clearly struggles with both control of her abilities and dealing with the trauma of having multiple Primes trying to kill her.

The world

We get a slightly different view of the Heroes Unleashed Universe here. First, the story takes place in the real world city of Atlanta. Second, Archon and Arclite are established and recognized heroes who are also not endorsed by the police.

Also, while it isn’t quite conclusive, there are indication that the book actually takes place before the Rampage, so often referenced in the other HU books. That makes this the earliest book in the universe chronologically speaking and offers a glimpse into the world before that central event.

It also offers some interesting theories on the true origin of the Primes. It’s suggested that they are all actually deriving their power from an energy field called the Axiom and that the Event that triggered their rise didn’t so much create the Primes as allow them greater access to the Axiom.

We of course also learn a bit more about Atlantis, and interdimensional threats, which have only been hinted at in the other book.

The politics

As with many superhero stories, the politics have a strong libertarian or at least anti-establishment streak in that the good guys are the ones who get things done, even it if involves working outside the system, especially when it comes to corrupt politicians, of which there are no small number.

Content warning

A few gruesome deaths and use of magic on a level that will be unlikely to offend all but the most mental of fundamentalists.

Who is it for?

Archon and Arclite represent the most traditional of the HU heroes in that they are costumed, have obvious secret identities, avoid killing (though they aren’t completely opposed to it), and have a clear mentor/sidekick relationship. So, if you were brought up on the typical Marvel and DC books, then The Last Archon would be a good step towards leaving those now moribund companies behind.

Why read it?

The Last Archon presents a good character dynamic between the three heroes, nicely balancing their different personalities and the resulting tensions. It also expands the lore and scope of Heroes Unleased in ways that will be sure to have ramifications down the road.