Credits: Written by Sean Ruffner and Brett Booth, pencils by Mel Rubi and Brett Booth, inks by Art Thibert and Mark Pennington and edited by Mike Heisler.
Cast: Marc ‘Backlash’ Slayton, Jodi/Crimson, Amanda/Taboo, Cybernary, Cyberjack, Aries, Hadrian/Spartan, Kaizen Gamorra, Sato, Flashpoint, Jackson ‘Battalion’ King, Cole ‘Grifter’ Cash.
Plot: The issue starts with the Gamorran resistance, led by Cybernary and assisted by Backlash are surveilling the detention centre where several of the people arrested by StormWatch are being held. Seeing the below average defenses and that the prisoners can easily be moved, Backlash believes it is a trap. He decides to go in anyway. He and Cybernary are going to go in with the rest of the resistance ready as a flanking back-up. Cybernary complains about the plan, but agrees and then thanks Backlash for all his help and seems to be making something of a pass at him. This potentilly awkward moment is interrupted by the arrival of Spartan. Backlash likes the idea of having the WildC.A.T.S. there to help them break in, but Spartan informs Backlash that he’s all they have, his team have all been captured.
Inside the camp, Taboo is trying to convince Battalion that there’s something dodgy going on, when she speaks up, one of Gamorra’s cyborgs drives a rifle butt into the back of her head. Grifter attacks the cyborg, but his hands are bound, leaving him open to be attacked by Flashis new hpoint’s optic blasts. Battalion concedes that there may be something to look into, but he has no regrets putting Taboo and Crimson in prison. Outside, Backlash, Cybernary and Spartan break in, quietly, but not bloodlessly. They are surprised by Sato, the deputy head of the resistance, who as he staggers before them dying, admits that the rest of the resistance is gone, they have failed Cybernary. The trio are now surrounded by Aries, an army of cyborgs and a cybernetically rebuilt Cyberjack, an old associate of Team-7 who is now under the thrall of Aries. Just as things look even more bleak as Backlash can’t hurt his friend, the superhero Union arrives, finally deciding that he can no longer stand by as Gamorra wages war on his friends and takes on a confident Aries. With the tide seeming to turn Backlash, Cybernary and Spartan surge forward and break into the prison as Union takes on all comers outside.
Backlash finds Jodi and Amanda, the latter thinking that he was dead and before he can release them, he is stopped by an arriving Cyberjack. Jack isn’t listening to Backlash’s appeals to his humanity, so he tries his psi/energy whip and the intense pain this causes seems to wake Jack up. Jack explains two things, one that he has a device in his head that will control him, his new autonomy is temporary. The other fact is that Aries is Backlash’s son. The other captives (Gen-13 and the WildC.A.T.S.) are wondering how to get out, then Spartan smashes through the wall and offers an exit. Kaizen Gamorra sees that Jack is no longer under his control and activates the bomb inside Jack’s cerebral cortex. Jack demands that Backlash get the rest of them out of there as he waits to blow up, hoping to take any of the enemy cyborgs with him. As they near the exit, Flashpoint stands in the way, before anyone can act, Battalion takes him out with some kind of telepathic discharge, saying he looked inside Flashpoint’s mind and didn’t like the contents. Everyone escapes and finds that Union has dispatched the cyborgs and has delivered a beat-down to Aries, but Aries slipped away unseen. As they escape the prison, it blows up, making Backlash more determined to see this through to the end, for his fallen friend.
Notes: After having little to do with him in a couple of chapters, this looks into what Backlash has been doing, which seems to be taking the small resistance and turning them into severe problems for Kaizen Gamorra’s people, like a one man A-Team. We then get a jail break with guest stars including Spartan and Union. Man, i forgot Union was even a thing. There’s action a plenty and we even get some soap-opera with Cybernary seeming to fall for Backlash, who is trying to save the woman he loves (not a first for Backlash now I think of it) and the secret son in the form of Aries. We get changing sides and the sense that the tide is beginning to turn.
Verdict: Writing 3 out of 5 – The plot is exciting and well paced with a couple of nice bits of dialogue. The surprise guest is handled well with no indication that it was happening and the ending is a fun bit of 80s action movie cliche.
Art: 3 out of 5 – Brett Booth does really well here, playing with anatomy and technical design. His Backlash bounces around with his whip, like a poundland Spider-Man, but with an undercurrent of ruthlessness. Everything looks good through most of the issue, but a bit less in the middle.
Overall: 6 out of 10 – Another solid issue, bringing us more into the story, while giving me the impression that the main event has still yet to be seen.
Next Time: No, seriously, what happened to the body?
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