Warning: Contains spoilers for King of Spies #1
Acclaimed writer Mark Millar, creator of hugely successful comics such as Kick-Ass, Super Crooks, Civil War and the Ultimates, is back with a new endeavor, King of Spies, with art by Matteo Scalera and Giovanna Niro. Published by Image Comics, the book is a thoughtful spin on the spy genre, and the first issue opens with a breathtaking chase sequence in the tradition of the best James Bond movies. However, the style of that opening sequence and King of Spies' underlying themes also make it a spiritual successor to Millar's powerful satire of the superhero genre, Wanted.
King of Spies answers the question of what would have happened to James Bond if he retired and had six months left to live. Roland King was the best spy in the world, but after a life spent being "the best" what he got is an alienated wife, a son who won't speak with him, a daughter who doesn't even know he exists, and a dubious sense of morality that he had to crush in order to keep doing what was required from him. However, everything changes when Roland is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Rather than spending his last six months on Earth waiting for the end, alone, the former King of Spies decides to go on a final mission to rid the world of all the "monsters" that he has helped keep in power over his career: presidents, kings, and "all the crooks on their thrones."
The four-issue miniseries obviously owes a lot to the traditional James Bond imagery, and to Millar's previous take on the spy genre, Kingsman: The Secret Service (which inspired three successful film adaptations), but there are clear ties with Wanted too. The 2003 miniseries also tries to answer a question: what would happen if the bad guys won? In the Wanted world, supervillains have disposed of the heroes forever and are secretly ruling the world. Wesley Gibson, a common man with a menial job and a cheating girlfriend, finds out he is the son of one of the most dangerous villains, the Killer, and showcases what it means to have great power without great responsibility. Wesley is, in a sense, what Roland King was before retiring and starting to reflect on his life. In King's own words, "We did terrible things...dark shit like you wouldn't believe. I was never scared of dying because it never felt real."
This sense of power that comes from a lack of morality and responsibility is a key theme in Wanted. Wesley's life improves drastically after he is trained by his father's friends on how to be ruthless and amoral. While in Wanted this process is depicted in a positive light, using the parody of a well-known genre to show how a weak, abused man can find liberation by not adhering to society's laws anymore, King of Spies is the redemption story of a man who followed Wesley's path for most of his life, making the world safe not for the common people, but for monsters similar to those who rule it in Wanted. The two comic books also share Mark Millar's penchant for adrenaline-fueled action sequences, and King of Spies' opening chase in Panama City, beautifully rendered by Scalera and Niro, is reminiscent of the opening sequence in Wanted #3, where Wesley and his villain friends invade an alternate reality where superheroes still exist only to steal a pseudo-Kryptonite ring to keep as a memento.
King of Spies will explore complex themes of morality, sacrifice, and even patriotism. It's a criticism of what James Bond ultimately represents: duty at all cost, and keeping the status quo intact for the powerful. While Wanted never got a sequel, despite its success, fans of Mark Millar's work can now enjoy King of Spies as the spiritual successor to the superhero parody.