The story of Friends of Miranda takes a surprising turn, as we learn of a disastrous alien spider creature known as Lord Arachnos, kidnapping innocent citizens from the streets. Food? Slaves? Who knows. Thankfully the First Family and Honor Guard are on hand to put him down, and rescue Rose Wilkerson and her son Duncan.

But the rescue came with a price, not the least of which was Rose’s hand, and the trauma that followed. Thus she has met with the Friends of Miranda, to share her experiences and hopefully manage some degree of healing. But Rose didn’t enter the group blindly, and exposes the secret behind Miranda herself.

To long-time comic readers, the source of the secret makes total sense, but the the Friends – well, that’s another matter. And here lies the strength of the story, and the series as a whole. Astro City isn’t about the heroes, but more about the citizens, the collateral damage. As a meta-human, believing the unbelievable is easy, but for us ordinary folks on the ground, alien invasions and endless time-loops mean nothing but fear and panic.

The series is a welcome break from the epic storytelling DC Comics has followed in recent years. Event fatigue comes easy, but Astro City tells intimate stories in which the heroes are in the background, and the protagonists are much more realtable.