"Imagine If… Peter Was a Superhero" (Beyond the Fringe Chapter #4A)

  "Imagine If… Peter Was a Superhero" is not a comic that I had been expecting to like. When I first heard about it, my initial reaction was, "Really?" I thought that it sounded so silly and so dumb, but now that I've read it, I love it, and it's honestly one of my favorite Fringe comics to date, if not my favorite. In this universe, Walter raised Peter, and I'm guessing that since Peter words it that way, he is from the other universe in this universe, as well, but that's just a guess. Peter is a superhero known as The Pattern, which is kind of a stupid name, but that's just my opinion. He apparently is capable of detecting where soft spots are located and uses them as bases for where he is needed, which is kind of cool. That tells me that indeed, someone crossed over to the Other Side at one point, probably Walter. I really love how the comic is set up; it's very much your stereotypical superhero comic book, but that's why it's so awesome. It works because it's with beloved Fringe characters, and it's funny. Peter is a playboy billionaire who was raised by Walter, and in this way, Peter is Bruce Wayne while Walter is Alfred, and it's absolutely splendid. I just love how I was so pleasantly surprised by this comic and that I actually really love it. Like I said, I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I do, and I hope that other cortexifans that have read it really love it, too.

I wonder if Newton is supposed to be Thomas Jerome Newton. It doesn't say, but it can't be a coincidence that that's his name, can it? I also love how Broyles is Commissioner Broyles, just like Commissioner Gordon from Batman. I couldn't be completely sure, but I think that there might be a strong possibility that Mr. ZFT is supposed to be Jones, and obviously, in parallel to Batman, he is supposed to be the Joker, and I say that because Broyles says that he escaped from St. Claire's Asylum (asylum sounds so much more sinister than institution), which I think is supposed to parallel Arkham Asylum from which the Joker escapes. Peter, in this universe, apparently takes doses of Cortexiphan, so that makes me wonder if that would even be possible on the TV series. In fact, it has been explicitly stated that Cortexiphan is intended for children and rarely works when administered to adults. Many of them die as a result, in fact, so has Peter been taking it since he was a child? I also wonder about Olivia (and I think it's hilarious that she was an aide at St. Claire's; I totally can't see that), since she has Cortexiphan abilities in this universe, too. She even makes Peter's utility belt levitate. She says that her body naturally produces it, but is that even possible? I'd almost think that Walter would have had to have given it to her as a child, and it's possible that she was continually receiving it as an adult, unbeknownst to her. I love how Walter still loves Red Vines, too, and Olivia is now apparently like Batgirl or Batwoman now. I wonder what her superhero name is. I love this comic and award it 10 utility belts.