In Chapter 1 of Choujin X, we were briefly introduced to a young lady on a plane before it’s blown up by a choujin. That young lady is named Ely Otsuta. In Chapter 2 of Choujin X, she awakens south of where she needs to be. When a worker tells her where the airport is, he’s suddenly set on fire. Ely flees from the choujin that blew up the plane. She steals a roller boy from a child and the choujin give chase. They both soon abandon their rides. The choujin crashes into an alley while Ely grabs a more familiar vehicle, a tractor. The choujin encounters a gang of bikers with heads like sheep. He offers them a “flip phone” if they catch Ely. We finally get his name. Chandra Hume, the smoke choujin.
Blindly chasing Ely, Chandra is hit by a truck. He’s sent flying. However, Ely doesn’t have too much time to celebrate. She along with the bikers crash into the concert and sea below. Suddenly, Ely’s finger tips begin to smoke like Chandra. Assuming she’s going to die, she grabs a sharp object, and stabs herself in her hand. Her powers explode. Chandra appears unharmed. He’s excited to see what he considers the “quick judgement, resolve, and persistence of Ely.” He claims that he “infected” her with his power. He promises to teach her “everything there’s is to know about Choujin.” Ely isn’t interested in becoming his apprentice. She’s horrified that he killed the people on the plane.
Choujin powers are like diseases
Chandra is unsurprisingly is enraged. He grabs Ely and tries to scar her face. Suddenly, a Choujin named Hoshi Sandek arrives. He seems to have a some kind of wind or telekinetic powers. Regardless, Chandra escapes while Ely stares at Hoshi with stars in her eyes. We briefly see the result of Tokio’s transformation. He’s grossed out by his appearance and believes he’s never going to be able to go outside. Choujin X Chapter 2 introduces two interesting concepts to the hero manga. The first is the ability to “infect” other with your powers. It’s interesting that Sui Ishida uses “infect.” Furthermore, they are injected with syringes, connecting the powers with dirty needles.
He’s comparing choujin powers to diseases. Clearly Chandra forced his powers on to Ely but would everyone need to do that? The tone of this series suggests that it will have a negative view of heroes and/or powers. Or at least that’s the impression I got after two chapters. The second thing Choujin X introduces or I should say wants the audience to notice is that Choujin powers aren’t always appealing. While I expect Tokio to revert back to his normal form eventually he’s trapped in a body he hates. I wonder how Ishida will handle this issue. It’s already been done before in American comics like X-Men. Will Ishida have a different take?