The Power Company: Josiah Power #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of March, 2002. It was published on January 2, 2002.
Synopsis for "Career Opportunities"
Josiah Power stands on a rooftop and reports his origins to Superman. Josiah, an attorney and partner of a law firm, had recently arrived in Metropolis to meet with a LexCorp attorney and discuss the terms for a joint venture with one of his largest clients when the Alien Alliance set off the Metagene Bomb during the events of Invasion. Like much of the world, Josiah kept close tabs on the Invasion. When Captain Atom announced that the invaders had surrendered, Josiah decided to celebrate by visiting one of his favorite art galleries. Inside, Josiah had been taking in the sights when a surge of energy emanated from his body, causing him to collapse and black out. He awoke inside a hospital, where he learned that many civilians were experiencing side effects from the Metagene Bomb, although his doctor assured him that he appeared to be healthy, leading Josiah to believe that the moment had passed.
Returning to San Francisco, where his law firm was based, Josiah continued to work as per usual. However, during a federal court case, Josiah was cut off mid-sentence by his own power, as his body surged with energy once more and transformed into a bulkier, stone-like form, which scared those in the courtroom. Media backlash led Josiah to gracefully resign from his firm. Dissatisfied with retired life, Josiah responded to a mystery email he received that invited him to a meeting in Manhattan to discuss future employment options. Ultimately deciding to attend, he arrived only to see that the other guests were also metahumans affected by the Metagene Bomb who had limited opportunities to lead normal lives. An eyeless metahuman named The Agent introduced himself as the event's host and declared that those present would be trained and equipped to be supervillains for hire. Dissenters spoke up but were killed on-site, so everyone else submitted, including Josiah, and were escorted to an undisclosed location.
The Agent's underlings ran tests on Josiah, attempting to unlock his metahuman powers so that he could activate them at will. Meanwhile, the extorted recruits were forced to complete missions for the nameless organization, which kept them compliant by outfitting their uniforms with self-destruct devices that would explode if the recruits disobeyed commands or were captured. These missions led the recruits to go up against Creeper in Connecticut, Firestorm in Pittsburg, and Wonder Woman in Boston. Meanwhile, Josiah befriended a fellow inmate codenamed Greywolf and practiced using his powers in secret.
When The Agent sent a team of recruits to raid a S.T.A.R. Labs facility in Chicago, the Justice League confronted them. Mister Miracle secretly deactivated their explosives, and the outclassed and fleeing metahumans began their retreat toward the organization's home base—the Justice League hot on their trail. This altercation set off alarms that alerted The Agent, who decided to ditch their headquarters and resume operations elsewhere. He commanded his underlings and the remaining recruits to use an escape tunnel, but Josiah chose this opportunity to rise up against The Agent. Given that Josiah had never been sent to the field, his uniform had not been equipped with explosives. Josiah activated his powers in-full and proceeded to defeat every metahuman at the home base before the Justice League even managed to arrive.
Josiah greeted the League and volunteered to go into custody. He relayed all the information he could to the police, who released him afterward. Josiah's story finished, Superman encouraged Josiah to find a meaningful way to apply both his newfound abilities and the knowledge and skills he had prior to the Invasion, seemingly inspiring Josiah to later create The Power Company.
Appearing in "Career Opportunities"
Featured Characters:
- Josiah Power (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
- Superman (Flashback and main story)
- Rupe (First appearance) (Flashback only)
Antagonists:
- The Agent (First appearance) (Flashback only)
- Bad Samaritan (Flashback only)
- Callahan (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
- Dr. Ovarni (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
- Alien Alliance (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- Bickford (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
- Creeper (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Firestorm (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Greywolf (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
- Justice League (Flashback only)
- Blue Beetle (Cameo)
- Booster Gold (Cameo)
- Captain Atom (Cameo)
- Green Lantern (Guy Gardner) (Cameo)
- Martian Manhunter (Cameo)
- Mister Miracle (Cameo)
- Superman
- Wonder Woman (Also as a solo hero)
- Michael (Flashback only)
- Ms. Tarrant (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
Locations:
Items:
See Also