With the release of the latest groundbreaking Image Comics series, The Power Fantasy, fast approaching, Screen Rant is honored to share an exclusive first look at one of the story’s six central characters. As the creative team behind the book seeks to redefine the meaning of superpowers, they have picked an out-of-this-world figure to introduce first, revealing one of their protagonists is an actual angel.

“We thought you’d like to meet Valentina,” series creator Kieron Gillen said, “better known as Santa Valentina – as she’s one of the cover stars of the first issue.” According to the premise of the series, the angelic character is one of six beings on Earth with “superpowers.”

As the prologue pages to the first issue establish, in the world of The Power Fantasy, this means these characters have destructive capabilities on par with the nuclear arsenal of the United States at its peak.

An Awe-Inspiring First Glimpse At Image Comics’ New Series THE POWER FANTASY

First Issue Debuts: August 7, 2024

Launching in August from Image, The Power Fantasy pairs writer Kieron Gillen – lauded for his pivotal role in the Krakoan Era of Marvel’s X-Men franchise – and artist Caspar Wijngaard, known as co-creator of independent series such as Limbo and All Against All, as well as for his own work for both Marvel and DC. The Power Fantasy offers readers an engaging take on the superhero genre right from its premise: only six superpowered individuals exist on Earth, and according to the first synopsis for the series, “the future of the planet is reliant on them never, ever coming into conflict.”

Naturally, it is inevitable that the series will pit these characters against one another, with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance – but first, they have to be introduced to the reader. As Kieron Gillen said:

This is always one of the most fun stages of the project – the reveal. The Power Fantasy is a lot of things, but at its core it’s about a group of six, very different people who are trying to not destroy the world. Now we get to intro them, slowly.

That process starts with the character known as “Santa Valentina” – a legitimate angel, sent from a higher realm, for reasons that the series will delight in delivering to readers across the early stages of The Power Fantasy. In preview pages shared by Image, the character is depicted in her human form, notably wearing a “superpower disarmament” t-shirt.

That said, readers are also offered a glimpse of her angelic form. Though they will have to wait for the release of The Power Fantasy #1 to get to know the character in-depth, Kieron Gillen did offer some additional context for what this first glimpse entails. As the writer explained:

We thought we’d share an early scene in her timeline. This is her, having a casual chat to a friend back in 1966. You’ll meet him soon enough too.

More than just a tease of what is to come, Gillen’s comment also makes it clear that the story of The Power Fantasy will sprawl decades back in time, with a character like Valentina appearing in different eras of history.

Santa Valentina Is The “Heart” Of “Power Fantasy”

According To Creators Kieron Gillen & Caspar Wijngaard

Elaborating further on Valentina’s role in The Power Fantasy, Kieron Gillen said:

She’s the ethical heart of the book. The good person, who really wants to save the world. Except she’s not a person. She’s an angel, who’s come down to earth to save us all, and ideally catch as many quality gigs as possible while she’s down here. Heaven is different in our universe, and it definitely doesn’t have pop music.

From this, the tone and spirit of the book can be inferred. While it seems that The Power Fantasy will be, on one level, a sweeping cosmic meditation on the nature of power, and how to wield it – while at the same time, it will seemingly offer a vibrant, fun vibe that will keep readers engaged and entertained. Readers familiar with both Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard’s work can anticipate that they will be able to effectively balance the different modes the book appears set to operate in.

Valentina, and her transcendent nature, will be essential to the progression of The Power Fantasy, something both of the book’s creators’ emphasized in their comments on Screen Rant’s exclusive preview for the first issue. Wijngaard echoed Gillen’s comments, as well as dropping a few of his own well-placed hints at what readers should expect.

Valentina is the heart of the series, a tiny controlled fire, warm and beautiful to look at but capable of absolute destruction. She is one of the few characters that ages less than a human would over our 50-year timeline giving me freedom to express her personality in visually exciting, period relevant ways.

In addition to confirming that the story will cover approximately half a century, Wijngaard stoked audiences’ expectations for The Power Fantasy’s multiple temporal settings, which will provide their own unique and relevant dynamic to the book.

As the “heart” of the series, Valentina is the perfect character to introduce first, as readers prepare for The Power Fantasy to take them on a wild ride. The character’s design, as well as the nature of her powers, speak to how exciting the project is shaping up to be, as more details come to light in advance of the debut issue. Given the opportunity, Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard are prepared to undertake an epic narrative adventure, one that could radically recontextualize how fans understand the very nature of superpowered characters.

Image Teases Great Things Ahead For The Publisher’s Epic New Title

More Will Be Revealed In Due Time

Necessarily, further details about Santa Valentina remain tightly under wraps, as publisher Image Comics and the creators of The Power Fantasy seek to preserve the experience of dropping into the world of the series for the first time. However, they carefully let readers known that there is much more in store for the new title, coming soon enough. As artist Caspar Wijngaard said:

It’s hard to talk about her [REDACTED] designs without getting into spoiler territory, however, showing off how incredible she can become in the debut issue was such a delight to create. There’s a tease of that here. Just a tease.

Beyond just the “tease” of The Power Fantasy #1, Wijngaard’s excitement about his work on the book is evident, something that should be a major signal that fans should be excited as well.

The Power Fantasy’s novel concept is, in some ways, an extension of the work its creators have been doing the last several years. Writer Kieron Gillen, in particular, was a core part of Marvel’s X-Office over the past several years; he was among the most prominent writers to fill Jonathan Hickman’s shoes when he left the franchise, helping to pay off the Krakoan Era’s many dangling threads, and bring the overarching story to a satisfying conclusion. His X-Men work has showed his unique view on superhero stories, something The Power Fantasy will articulate further.

For now, the introduction of Santa Valentina offers just a taste of what Gillen and Wijngaard have in store with The Power Fantasy. That said, even the sparse details available about Valentina can allow eager readers to speculate how exactly she fits into the world of the story – and more crucially, how the story’s other five superpowered characters will compare and contrast to this angelic figure. The Power Fantasy appears set to be another thrilling release from Image Comics, as the company continues to reinvigorate its reputation as the top independent comic book publisher in the industry.