Compared to the bombast with which a new volume of the Authority is traditionally launched, this is a much more muted affair, with the team lowering its sights to simple survival. However, the real test for any take on the book is whether the creatives have been able to bring their own spin to its high concept. In this respect, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning look set to succeed where Robbie Morrison and Ed Brubaker failed.

The plot here is almost a straight repetition of the story told in last week’s Wildcats, with the cast escorting a group of human survivors of the World’s End disaster back to their headquarters. In fact, the absence of any final confrontation means that there’s even less story here, with the issue serving as an uncomplicated introduction. Having a far more iconic group of characters at their disposal than Christos Gage’s crew, Abnett & Lanning can afford to take their time introducing their heroes, and explaining the changes to each. The team is reduced to five weakened figures, although it’s not confirmed whether the absent Doctor and Jenny Quarks suffered the fates predicted in Wildstorm: Armageddon. However, the writers have obviously not felt completely bound by the tale that introduced the World’s End scenario. They deserve credit for making their adjustments to each character both logical and interesting, with the end result forcing them to act as a coherent unit to achieve any results.

For the most part, the scenario that Abnett & Lanning depict is the same as that glimpsed during the Armageddon limited series, but the pair are obviously happy to make small changes, most noticeably removing the Engineer’s abilities. The character has been seriously overpowered since Mark Millar gave her the option of duplicating herself, and this departure is welcome. Several smaller aspects of the storytelling also build confidence in the creative team, with the helium balloon signalling system an excellent way of underlining the limited technology available, and a classic pop-culture spin put on an otherwise generic set of sparring partners for Midnighter & Apollo. There’s clearly been a great deal of attention paid to structure of the team’s previous adventures, with Swift, often underused in the presence of her more controversial team-mates, given the lion’s share of the dialogue. Despite a tradition of British writers, the book has always had a strongly international flavour, and it’ll be interesting to see if the characters will find a way of extending their reach beyond UnLondon.

It’s a very well written issue, weakened by the fact that both the scenario it introduces and this particular story are repetitions of what’s gone before. It’s still an excellent jumping-on point, but those who read Armageddon would be better advised to save their money for issue two.