[Hardware] Hardware: Milestone Returns Gives the High-Tech Hero a New Origin

[rlex]

 

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "The Big Bang" from the pages of Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition Zero by Reginald Hudlin, Denys Cowan, Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Bill Sienkiewicz, Chris Sotomayor, ChrisCross, Juan Castro, Wil Quintana, and Andworld Design, on sale now.

Milestone Comics has a long pedigree of incredible stories and fan-favorite characters, and the most recent incarnation of its heroes just arrived in the form of Milestone Returns. Not only are icons such as Static Shock coming back in a major way; they're being reimagined in ways that are poignant in their relevance to today's real-world issues. Among these characters being introduced to the modern era is one of comics' most high-tech heroes, Hardware, whose origin was just given a darker twist than ever before.
Much like the original incarnation of the Milestone Universe, the inciting incident for most of Dakota's heroes and villains is known as the "Big Bang." What had been the culmination of a gang war ending in those involved being exposed to experimental chemicals has now been given a more of-the-moment revision. The "Big Bang" is the unfortunate outcome of an anti-police brutality protest. When the crowd refuses to turn away, the police open fire with an untested chemical produced by Alva Industries, leading to those exposed being imbued with amazing and terrifying powers. Not only has the incident created a new generation of superpowered individuals with little to no control over their abilities, but it's also created a PR nightmare for Alva, which is the beginning of the latest version of Hardware.