Trine Hampstead knows everything. I’m not saying she “thinks” she knows everything. I’m not even saying she acts like she does, driving everyone around her crazy with her “know-it-all” attitude and inability to keep her opinions to herself.
No, Trine Hampstead literally knows everything. Ask her a question, present her with a mystery, and she will immediately know the answer. I’m not sure what you’d do if you had this ability, but Trine chooses to set up shop on the streets of London (literally) to entertain clients. She doesn’t let the fact that she has no idea what causes her to have this ability slow her down.
All of this sets up an intriguing premise of mystery-solving procedurals, starting off with a road trip to Siberia to investigate Mammoths. It will be interested to see how Trine operates in her role as detective, since the very nature of her ability means she doesn’t actually have to do any investigating.
Naturally, I would expect there to be a larger conspiracy, plot, or personal issue to accompany the daily mystery Trine tackles. I was immediately curious, and perhaps a bit bewildered, to see that Trine doesn’t seem to suffer from the kind of blowback one would expect to get from knowing way too much about the people around her. There is a tendency for people to be over curious about how she can do what she does, but no hint of jealousy, resentment, fear, or suspicion from the people witnessing her abilities. Likewise, Trine doesn’t seem to engage in much moral questioning of what to disclose with her clients or even with what clients she should or should not accept.
Trine seems to operate with no fear of her abilities being taken advantage of or putting her in danger. It is difficult to accept that a person of such omniscient ability would be left to freely operate in the open without some nefarious person or group at least threatening her for their own gain. It is equally difficult to think Trine feels no fear about this possibility, no desire for at least some attempt at protective secrecy. This, after all, is the whole reason why superhero secret identities are so popular.
Plot questions aside, I immediately liked Trine. She is a gregarious, social person. She’s strong and independent. She is curious and eager to discover new things. She’s youthful, yet exudes a sense of maturity and thoughtfulness. She is portrayed with a compelling mix of modern edginess, soft, feminine qualities, and realism, all of which contribute to the feeling of approachability that permeates her personality.
This first issue also introduces us to a mysterious villain with a chilling enjoyment for killing people. It doesn’t take an omniscient superpower to predict that he and Trine will be intersecting soon. Will she see him coming? Will Trine find a Mammoth petting zoo when she arrives in Russia? More importantly, will Trine’s pet bird Candide freeze to death on their snow-blown Siberian vacation? We’ll have to hang on until January 6th for the next issue and the answers to these questions.
*Mystery Girl #1 is available for pre-order through your local comic book shop through today, November 9th. The issue will be released on December 2, 2015.
