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Over the last year, I have really enjoyed The Order, and thusly, I am very sad that it is coming to an end. Matt Fraction used some very innovative storytelling techniques, also creating characters with wit, depth and a sense of whimsy. Barry Kitson’s art has been terrifically vibrant. When I heard that the series had been canceled, I was surprised, but not terribly. This is not a very “fan-friendly” book. It doesn’t have a built-in audience, and there are really no big guest-stars. Yes, an issue had Namor, but he’s not a Wolverine-type player in the Marvel U. Yes, we’ve seen Tony Stark, but since Civil War, he is generally looked at as a save-ass bureaucrat rather than a superhero. So these are not guys that are going to bring a lot of game to this title. Thus, with the series coming to a close, Fraction pulled out all the stops and made this into one of the darkest and most affecting finales in recent memory. In The Order #10, chaos reigns wearing a big Stark-hating grin.

In issue #9, the remnants of the initial incarnation of The Order, with some help from The Black Dahlias, and android clones of General Softly all under the evil eye of Ezekiel Stane took our heroes to a very dark place. Mulholland Black was repowered with her mutant ability to connect with the very essence of Los Angeles and seemed to have the upper hand on the Dahlia’s and the Softlies (best way I can think to call them), but then Stane stepped in and wants to use her to cause major hell in Los Angeles just as a big ‘Screw You’ to Tony Stark. And then The Order arrived and once they seemed to have the upper hand, Stane surprised them again by locking them in a room containing a forced EMP. Since all of the powers of The Order are electronically-based, this would depower all of them but it would also kill teammate Heavy, who uses an iron lung to breathe. And thus we begin issue #10 with the death of Heavy, the chaos rising in Los Angeles because of Stane’s control of Mulholland and the final report on The Order from its overwatch, Hera aka Pepper Potts.

Like I said before, this issue is replete with dark and frightening moments and some very tragic ones. The sequence with Stane driving Mulholland around to make her see the damage she’s inadvertently causing, and bringing her to a tower in the Watts district, which for his twisted mind is fitting because of all the rioting. The Order is not going to let it all go down that way though. They try to talk sense into the people but with Mulholland’s power set into overdrive, there’s just no stopping it. The only way to stop is something that would have been unthinkable to any hero, but Anthem comes to the only logical conclusion, and that is the biggest tragedy of having to be a leader. Sometimes the decisions you make will cause the deaths of people you care about.

With talent like Fraction and Kitson (who partners up for the last few issues with penciller Javier Saltares) whose art ranges from modern-slick to old-school Neal Adams-type in this issue, it’s hard to think that this was such a short-lived series, especially with Fraction’s other Marvel work on The Immortal Iron Fist and Punisher War Journal and now the upcoming Invincible Iron Man. Again, though… built-in audiences on those. Some people don’t stand up and take notice of something until after it’s gone, and I’m just hoping that someday, with the great stuff that this series had to offer, that The Order may return. Because this issue is just another indication that this was one of the best new series around.

The Order #10
“10: Pepper -or- Into the Black”
Written by Matt Fraction
Breakdowns by Barry Kitson
Pencils by Javier Saltares
Inks by Scott Hanna, Victor Olazaba and Nelson
Colors by Sotocolor’s J. Roberts and Wil Quintana
Letters by Artmonkeys Studios

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