When it comes to superhero archetypes, everyone has their favorites. Take your pick of the stretchy set between Plastic Man or Elongated Man. There are any number of Green Lanterns to chose from, either human or alien, and the same goes for speedsters or earthbound Kryptonians. With superheroes, there’s a seeming diversity of uniformity.
This is where Milestone comes in. For all that they offer, most of the above characters are white. Yes, there are exceptions, but if you’re looking for a superhero universe where white isn’t the norm, Milestone Media is the place for you. As readers familiar with the storytelling prowess of Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek T. Dingle and many others can testify, Milestone’s commitment towards actual diversity is unparalleled, offering stories that deftly resonate with timeless conflicts and struggles that speak to the challenges people face every day. Take the Cog in the Machine himself, Hardware.
Who is He?
Hardware is the technologically advanced superhero identity of Curtis Metcalf, an inventor and super genius who works for Edwin Alva, the richest businessman and super-criminal in the city of Dakota. When he was twelve years old, Curtis was discovered by Alva at a science fair and taken under the businessman’s wing. Enrolling in Alva’s “A Better Chance” program to bring minority students into elite prep schools, Curtis graduated high school at age 14, college at age 15, and would earn six degrees before returning to work Alva Technologies, where his inventions earned the company millions of dollars in profits. After years of success at the company, Curtis approached his friend and mentor, requesting a share in the company’s profits from his work.
Edwin Alva, Curtis’ “friend and mentor,” replied with the following:
“Let us dispense with any misconceptions you may be laboring under. You are not ‘family,’ you are an employee. Neither are you ‘heir apparent.’ You are a cog in the machine. My machine. You are not respected. You are merely useful.”
Trapped in a contract which prevented him from working for any other company other than Alva Technologies, Curtis investigated his long-time benefactor, discovering the man he thought to be a pillar of the community was in reality a highly influential arms dealer, weapons and drugs smuggler. Reporting his findings to the FBI and SEC resulted in nothing being done, as Alva was too big to be taken down by the law.
So, taking the law into his own hands, Curtis used the company’s underground laboratory to create a suit of nano-technological armor, replete with the latest in energy-powered weaponry and defense systems, and became the superhero known as Hardware. Hitting Alva where it hurt most—his bank account—Hardware waged a one-man war on Alva’s drug shipments and weapons facilities, destroying anything and anyone who stood in his way.
What is He?
With that kind of origin story, one might settle on the idea that he’s Milestone’s tech hero. Like other characters such as Steel, Blue Beetle and Cyborg, Hardware’s inventions and armor seem to tell the tale of what readers can expect from his adventures. But there’s much more to the man than just his machines.
As we mentioned, Hardware set out to destroy everything related to the name Alva and that went double where Alva’s security forces were concerned. The very first issue of his very debut series has Hardware engage with armed henchmen, severing a man’s arm and throwing a pilot out of a helicopter a hundred stories above the ground. This take-no-prisoners approach to crimefighting seemingly bothered Curtis very little, until he confided in his longtime on-again, off-again girlfriend Barraki Young. Barraki’s disgusted response to his actions convinced Curtis to take a more humane approach to his aggression, opting to sneak into Alva’s buildings instead of blowing everything up.
The switch from lethal to non-lethal went unexplored in the issues. That is, until Hardware encountered Deathwish, a violent vigilante who sought to murder sex offenders and serial killers. The experience stuck with Curtis, whose violent actions paled in comparison to the certifiable Deathwish—especially when it was revealed that the latter had a split personality where he enacted in the very crimes he claimed to circumvent. Unable to sleep, Curtis was confronted by subconscious visions of his family, friends and Alva, before fighting images of himself from the past. Waking from this nightmare with a renewed sense of purpose, Hardware vowed to no longer fight for vengeance, but for justice.
This gaze into the soul made Curtis Milestone’s most self-reflective hero, one not simply created due to his circumstances and special abilities, but one of his own forged will. Hardware wasn’t created when Alva rejected his request for shared profits, and he wasn’t created when he first donned his armor. He was created when he woke up out of the enflamed stupor of revenge.
Why is He?
One of Hardware’s most memorable scenes occurs at the beginning of the first issue. Curtis recalls owning a pet parakeet when he was a boy. Whenever he would open the birdcage, the parakeet would fly straight towards the glass window, believing itself to be freed from its prison but never seeing the window as another barrier. Each time the bird would fly out, it would run into the glass again and again, until it eventually died without ever making it outside.
The metaphor is both obvious and brilliant. Writer Dwayne McDuffie was speaking towards how people are often kept underfoot by the barrier of race and class, despite living their lives seemingly free of any obstacles. Curtis wants to be recognized for doing good work after being encouraged and nurtured and groomed to be successful with his talents. He is denied this by his white boss, who makes it clear that his inclusion is all about what Curtis can do for him. Being seen, celebrated and recognized is only possible through the means decided by those in power, not the people without power, who are the ones most in need of that kind of recognition.
So, what happens to Curtis? He becomes angry, violent and bitter, using his gifts to combat evil but losing himself in the process. The first issue of the series is titled “Angry Black Man” and much commentary is lent to accusations that Curtis has “a chip on his shoulder,” which is an oft-recited retort from whites to Blacks about what the former often sees as resentment and the latter sees as injustice. Curtis has to work towards keeping himself centered and focusing on how best to use his genius how he sees fit. He learns to rely on the influence of those who love him and not be driven by the hatred he’s fostered from those who don’t respect him.
This is the “why” of Hardware. While Icon and Rocket apply traditional superhero ethics to realities of Black people and Static employs the young superhero standard to a smart kid who already worships the genre to begin with, Hardware uses superhero storytelling to speak towards the psychology of Blackness in a world that has worked to ignore it. What does being ignored, abused and disrespected do to a person, and how should that person react without losing what made them who they are? That is the story of Curtis Metcalf.
With the new “Season One” treatment given to Hardware by writer Brandon Thomas and returning co-creator and artist Denys Cowan, fans of a new generation can experience the story of Hardware told through a modern lens with the book’s themes of self-worth and dignity still as true today as they were in 1993. The fact that so many readers will likely relate to Curtis’s struggle is both sad and an indication of why this series is still so needed. Thirty years later, the battle wages on.
Fortunately, it seems that Hardware is just warming up.
Hardware: Season One by Brandon Thomas, Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz and Chris Sotomayor is now available in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and as a digital graphic novel. It’s also available to read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.
Donovan Morgan Grant writes about comics, graphic novels and superhero history for DCComics.com. Follow him on Twitter at @donoDMG1.
