Keanu Reeves’ eagerly anticipated comic book debut is finally here and the character could completely dunk on the actor’s action roles.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for BRZRKR #1, by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, Ron Garney, Bill Crabtree and Clem Robins.
One of the biggest new comic book series launches in years is BRZRKR, by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt and Ron Garney. The BOOM! Studios title marks Reeves’ first major foray into comic books, and more than lives up to the action hero legacy the actor has cultivated for himself in classic movies like 1991’s Point Break, 1994’s Speed and 1999’s The Matrix. By working with Kindt, Garney and colorist Bill Crabtree, Reeves has crafted a character more badass and brutal than any he has portrayed on the big screen to date, taking full advantage of the creative possibilities offered by comic book medium while potentially laying the foundation for a potential feature film adaptation.
Berzerker is a stoic warrior performing pitch-black ops for the American government deemed far too dangerous for typical soldiers. Deployed alone into hostile territory around the world, Berzerker does what does best against anyone that stands in his way with a wide array of weapons, fighting techniques but superhuman strength that allows him to smash through skulls with his bare hands.
These superhuman powers extend defensively, with Berserker able to shrug off small arms fire and explosions, and gradually healing from his injuries at a noticeably slower rate than superheroes like Wolverine. And as Berzerker recovers from his latest mission, he reveals a startling truth: He’s over 80,000 years old remaining at his physical prime to continue to be the best he is at what he does.
Not discounting his turn as DC’s mystical antihero John Constantine in 2005’s Constantine, the closest Reeves has come to playing a more traditional superpowered superhero is Neo, the protagonist of The Matrix franchise. While he was able to fly, stop bullets, manipulate his cyberspace world and move at incredible speeds, Neo was far from invulnerable, able to be injured by the various malevolent programs haunting the virtual reality space. And while John Wick has shown himself to be immensely lethal by brutally dispatching his enemies with something as seemingly innocuous as a pencil, he is still simply a human; albeit one with unnerving accuracy and an indomitable will.
While there has been no word on BRZRKR being adapted into different forms of media, its eponymous protagonist is one that appears to be tailor-made for Reeves to portray in some capacity, from his scruffy beard and long hair to his unfailingly stoic nature. Reeves even makes a self-aware nod to his connection with the character, opening the series with Berzerker recreating the “Sad Keanu” meme as he silently sits glowering on a park bench in the midst of a downpour. And while Reeves certainly has a full dance card ahead of him, set to reprise his role as John Wick in a pair of sequels, Berzerker definitely fits right in line with the rest of the actor’s repertoire.
Neo might be able to stop digital bullets, but Berzerker is a demigod who has unleashed bloody wrath on anyone who stands in his way for thousands of years. Able to heal from bullets and bomb blasts, the character can take a beating and keep on ticking and then some, desiring only the sweet release of death that has eluded him for his entire lengthy life. More haunted than John Wick and more worldly than Neo, Berzerker truly is the ultimate Keanu Reeves role, even if it’s only on the page for the moment.
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