The wait is almost over for the return of The Harbinger, the psychically-gifted flagship title coming to the new Valiant Universe. The creative team is enough for fans to get excited, but the action, mystery, and style is already proving that The Harbinger #1 is perfect for new readers, too.
With the new series coming from storytellers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly–the co-writers soon to add Batman Beyond: Neo-Year and Kang the Conqueror to their track records–it’s safe to call The Harbinger a core part of Valiant’s new shared universe. The first preview pages add fuel to that fire, with art from Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi throwing readers into a brave new world, with a hero who remembers even less about his comic book past than his fans.
To find out just how critical that decision is to this new Harbinger story arriving October 27, Screen Rant spoke with Lanzing and Kelly about fresh starts, making amends, and new, terrifying threats… the likes of which neither fans nor Peter Stanchek have ever faced. The only solution? Be better.
Screen Rant: The Harbinger #1 is finally here, and from the first page it’s designed to draw readers into what feels like an origin story, of sorts, using a different kind of narration to dive into the realm of the superhuman (literally). How did you decide that’s how you start your first Harbinger issue?
Jackson Lanzing: From the moment the Hivemind came aboard to shape the next phase of Peter Stanchek’s journey, we knew it was deeply important to allow both the character and the readership a strong break from the past. A moment in which all things could seem new. This is a character and a franchise with a longstanding history, but it’s been some time since readers have seen Peter — and many comics fans have never picked up a Harbinger title in their lives.
So our first inspiration for the story was that opening moment: Peter Stanchek awaking in the ruins of a Harbinger Foundation facility with no memory of his past and very little understanding of his powers. Not only did it provide a hook that felt fascinating — how do you embrace heroism when everyone in the world sees you as an unstable renegade at best and a terrorist at worst? — but it also invited new readers to experience these next steps with exactly as much context as Peter himself.
Collin Kelly: Who is Peter Stanchek? Why is the world afraid of him? How powerful is he, truly? Who took his memories — and why? And why did they leave him a single message in the ash: Be Better?
Those questions all take shape on page one and will drive the story forward for new and old readers alike.
SR: It’s immediately evident that mistakes, bad choices, suffering, and consequences are all looming large in this story. How quickly did those themes and the question at the heart of this book become the ones you wanted to build on
CK: From the very first moments we started breaking this story, we knew that Peter couldn’t move forward without facing his past. Josh Dysart’s re-introduction of the character created the bedrock: Peter is defined by his self-inflicted trauma. He is incredibly flawed, and thus incredibly relatable. Like any of us, when given amazing power he makes mistakes – but to become the best version of himself, he couldn’t keep running away. We wanted to tell a story of how you take responsibility for the privilege of your power; it’s time for Peter to stand his ground, face his past, and become the hero he was always meant to be.
JL: No redemption without regret, apology, reconciliation. It’s time for Peter to do the work.
SR: This is still Peter Stanchek’s story, but Valiant fans know it wouldn’t be unheard of to present the idea of Peter having the chance to become something great — in some ways, is this meant to feel like he is finally making good on the ‘destiny’ or ‘greatness’ that’s been talked about for some time?
JL: That is absolutely the stated goal of this series: to take a bold step forward into Peter Stanchek’s future and pay off the long-promised destiny that the story has so often told us is coming. Peter’s life has been defined by people telling him about his potential – from his mentor and opposite Toyo Harada to the Bleeding Monk who sees all time to the Book of Death, nearly every glimpse into the future of the Valiant Universe contains the promise of a Peter Stanchek who has risen to a level of historical importance and personal enlightenment. He’s a character who has eternally been promised a brighter future but has lived only as a flawed, seemingly hopeless drug addict and failed leader. It’s time we saw the other side of that story… or at least the first steps.
CK: He’s been part of the system, and he’s rebelled against it. He’s been a savior, and a coward. He is a man made up of contradictions, and it’s time that the circle began to be squared. We as fans have always known where he ends, and we as creators are lucky enough to be the ones who get to truly usher him towards that goal. Peter Stanchek has always wanted to be a hero, but it wasn’t always for heroic reasons; our story is about what it takes to put your selfish instincts aside, and do what’s right – not just for the people you care about, but for the people who need it most.
SR: Obviously a good story needs a good villain, but Peter isn’t getting the one some fans might expect. What is it that ‘The Warning’ is bringing to this story, and this world, that somebody like Toyo Harada might not have?
CK: Love this question. The Warning are what happens when a figure like Toyo Harada is taken off the stage. There is a vacuum of power in the world of Psiots, of Eggbreakers and H.A.R.D. Corps — and The Warning are what happens when ambitious, angry, flawed people step in to fill that void. In a sense, each of them are aspects of Peter, his fear and his greed and his cowardice and anger, reflections of the man he was… and could be again. Because there has never been a power that someone didn’t want to exploit – sometimes that power is technology or ideology, and sometimes, disgustingly, that power comes from the abuse and exploitation of people themselves. When the disenfranchised have no one to turn to – when the law and the government brushes them aside – in our world or Valiant’s, there is always a predator ready to feed. That is who The Warning are… and the Psiots of Chicago are their prey.
JL: As for the literal nature of who they are? That’s a mystery for another day. Hold on for issue #3.
SR: Not to get into spoilers about your personal wishlists of moments or surprises you wanted to add into this story, but while this is Peter Stanchek, both the man and the superhuman are… changed, with doors opening for both sides. Should readers expect to get a new sense of Peter’s powers–literally OR figuratively?
JL: Absolutely. From the first moment of issue #1, in the hands of Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi, Peter’s powers take on an entirely new style and tone. His telekinesis is stranger, the results more unstable, and the power more vast. But the true triumph of Robbi’s work on the series is coming in issue #4, when we see Peter finally unleash his psychic and telepathic abilities. Because after what he has learned about himself, Peter is quite rightfully concerned about ever using his telepathy against an unwilling target. It’s very easy to become the man he once was, changing the minds of people without any concern for their autonomy or agency.
But when he meets a character who can only be fought in the realm of the mind, all bets are off.
Trust me. You’ve never seen a mind war like this.
SR: Finally, you said prior to this first issue that choosing “The Harbinger” title was a meaningful choice. What should be read into that once this first issue concludes?
CK: It’s simple: The Harbinger is a promise. It’s a statement on everything that Peter will stand for, for better and worse. The definite article makes it clear that Peter is finally owning the role that was meant for him; not someone swept up in the flow of history, but someone who is standing at its front. Peter Stanchek can be human, be flawed and make mistakes… but to be a hero, he needs to be better.
The world doesn’t need Peter Stanchek.
The world needs The Harbinger.
The Harbinger #1 arrives in your local comic book shop on October 27, 2021.
