Jupiter’s Legacy + Circle

Jupiter’s Legacy + Circle Vol. 1 – 5 (2013-2022) : Jupiter’s Legacy is an American superhero comic book series, first published in 2013, written by Mark Millar, drawn by Frank Quitely, colored and lettered by Peter Doherty and published by Image Comics.

The story, which is influenced by Star Wars, King Kong, Roman mythology and origin stories from the Golden Age of Comics, is written as Millar’s treatise on superheroes’ connection to the American ideal. The first few issues of the opening story arc explores the generational conflict between a group of aging superheroes known as the Union, who used the powers they gained in 1932 for the betterment of mankind, in particular their leader, Sheldon Sampson (aka the Utopian), and their children, who are daunted by the prospect of living up to their parents’ legacy. Other conflicts and themes in the book include sociopolitical and economic differences among the older heroes and the end of capitalism, in the form of Sheldon’s differences with his brother, Walter, which were inspired by Millar’s reaction to the Great Recession.

The series’ storyline is further explored in the spinoff series Jupiter’s Circle, the first volume of which debuted in 2015, and which depicts the lives of the six founding members of the Union in the 1950s and 1960s. The second volume debuted in November 2015.