Credits: Story by Drew Bittner, pencils by Renato Arlem, inks by Jose Pimentel and edited by Mike Heisleri
Cast: Kaisen Gamorra, Battalion, Fahrenheit, Cannon, Flashpoint, Hellstrike, Deathtrap, Razer, other Mercs, Christine ‘Synergy’ Trelane, Henry ‘Weatherman’ Bendix, Gen-13, Wetworks, the WildC.A.T.S. Backlash, Crimson, Taboo, Union, Alex Hutton and Doctor D’Oro.
Plot: Kaisen Gamorra, the dictator of his eponymous island nation is unhappy with the efforts of the UN crisis intervention team known as StormWatch. He demands that they are joined by Deathtrap’s mercs, the two teams who have battled previously declare a truce, but no one is particularly happy with it. Back on SkyWatch, the orbital HQ of the team, Synergy and Weatherman are trying to get things working after damage from a previous issue.
Elsewhere Gamorra’s cyborg defenders are being handily defeated by the combined opposition to Gamorra, including WildC.A.T.S, Wetworks and Gen-13. Before these heroes can press their advantage, StormWatch and the Mercs attack and the battle becomes more intense. As StormWatch discusses what to do next, Flashpoint decides it’s time for his heel-turn and blasts Cannon, Fahrenheit and Battalion, planning to blame their deaths on the battle and the other side. Flashpoint confesses he was working with the Merc’s since his capture in Kuwait years ago. He confesses killing Killgore and that most of his actions are because Battalion was chosen to lead and he wants him dead for cheating him out of the status he felt he deserved. His confession comes as he’s choking Battalion, who in self defence uses his psychic powers to blow Flashpoint’s head off, reminiscent of the film Scanners. As the battle becomes more chaotic, Deathtrap breaks the truce, allowing Hellstrike to strike him down and then ask Razer and the rest of the Mercs to surrender, she does, tired of the killing.
Far from this Dr D’Oro is landing on Gamorra with the unconscious form of Alexander Hutton (I think he had a Wildstorm series, but can’t remember what it was at the moment) and he talks about how he’ll be the ultimate assassin, answerable only to him and Kaisen Gamorra. This is clearly supposed to go somewhere.
Back with the others, Mother 1 of Wetworks is crippled, provided cover for the others to leave, including StormWatch for some reason, they are getting ready to counter attack when Battalion tells everyone to turn around. They all turn in shock to see a mile high tidal wave, heading straight for them all.
Notes: This is a short synopsis, making it look like little is happening in this chapter. That’s because there isn’t much happening here. But what does happen is very important to the story in general and the Wildstorm universe in particular. Flashpoint and the Mercs turning on StormWatch changes their place on the board and maybe aligns them with the heroes. The Flashpoint heel-turn was foreshadowed, but is dramatic in it’s delivery. It’s shown he is not just a bad person, he is one of the villains and is happy to kill as many of his team-mates as he can to achieve his goal. His dispatching by Battalion is satisfying and it’s fallout will soon lead to some drastic changes for StormWatch. But what does this mean for everyone else? Things are beginning to come to a head.
Verdict – Writing 3 out of 5 – With very little space, the important parts of the story are told well, showing the personal conflicts inside a larger battle quite well and we move from main plot to subplot well enough and the dialogue from Flashpoint make him a compelling villain in his last moments.
Art: 2 out of 5 – This issue’s art is lacking, there’s not much else to say, the pencils are a poundland Roger Cruz and the inks don’t add any quality to it. It’s a good issue, mostly, but nowt beyond this.
Overall: 5 out of 10 – A fair call as while not bad, nothing to crow about. It’s making me want to see this to the end and add some better stuff at the end of it.
Next Time: The end of the funeral era is coming.
My Marvel Life 