Credits: Plot by Brandon Choi and Tom Joyner who did the script, art by Trevor Scott and edited by Tom Harrington.
Cast: Damocles, Simon Tsung (& his wife and daughter), Michael ‘Deathblow’ Cray, Ethan ‘Sigma’ Crane, the Sword of Damocles, his creatures, Union, Marc ‘Backlash’ Slayton, Jackson Dane, Jack Lynch, Cole ‘Grifter’ Cash, Vood, Freefall, Warblade Jackson ‘Battalion’ King, Caitlin Fairchild, Cannon and Alex Fairchild.
Plot: Deathblow is the only thing between Damocles and his doppleganger’s family. Deathblow, who has never had any real effect from the Gen-Factor that cursed his Team-7 team-mates. Damocles attacks Deathblow with his ill-defined powers, but it doesn’t kill him. Turns out that the Gen-Factor has kicked in and as that catches everyone by surprise, Tsung checks in on Ethan. As he stands and gets ready to act, the former Team-7 members arrive along with Void and Union, who takes Sword and flies off with him, which leads to their battle. Void takes on Damocles, but is soon taken out. Ethan squares off against Damocles, pointing out that Damocles is responsible for his world’s destruction and his blame of the original Sigma is deflection. Damocles lashes out, but is knocked down by Battalion from StormWatch as more heroes arrive.
It’s not looking good, until Deathblow comes up with their history of teamwork, then Tsung latches onto this and comes up with the plan to save the dying members of Team-7 and defeat Damocles, Ethan must restore the Gen-Factor to those who lost it and then the team combine through one of them to use all this power to defeat Damocles. Ethan combines with Alex Fairchild, Jack Lynch, Jackson Dane, Backlash and Grifter, all of whom have complicated feelings about the Gen-Factor and what it has done to them. As they do this, Deathblow plans to keep Damocles busy, embracing the Gen-Factor for the first time, through the rest of them. He battles Damocles, who is now afraid of Deathblow and tries to flee to his own dimension. Damocles tries to take Tsung’s family, but Ethan blasts him as Deathblow holds him in place and slow forces him through the portal, knowing it’s a one way trip, but he’s okay with that, willing to die in order to get Damocles out of their dimension, Then it goes white and Deathblow realises that his fight at last is over and his fallen loved ones are welcoming him to wherever we go next.
Notes: Thus the saga of Sigma and Damocles comes to an end and well, it ended. The finale of this finale is a variation of the combining spell used in the 4th season of Buffy the Vampire slayer and while this came first, that did that better. The story sort of ends, there’s no one or two page denouement for any characters who aren’t Deathblow, a character who we have little more understanding of, since this story started. What Damocles could do is just as unclear and the same with Sigma. As much as this feels like an ending, it’s just as much a failed pilot. We never learn what happens next, where the survivors of the army of Damocles went, or how Ethan went back to his life. It’s just over. My fondest wish was that it bothered me more than it does.
Verdict – Writing 2 out of 5: – This is the definition of a lacklustre finale. There should be emotional stakes, there aren’t. There should be a sense of threat, there isn’t. This issue is Deathblow’s, which means that the primary trinity of characters that this thread of the story follow (Damocles, Simon Tsung and Sigma) are almost completely side-lined and when the story comes to an end, the baby is thrown out with the bathwater. There are positives, Deathblow experiencing the Gen-Factor fully is interesting and the goes out with a bang, but the rest of the plot just feels left behind.
Art – 3 out of 5: The art comes the closest to this issue’s saving grace. Trevor Scott does a good job and while it’s not spectacular, it is consistent and detailed and doesn’t suffer the excesses of the era. The last 2 pages are actually beautiful and produce a coda to the story that it may not have earned.
Overall – 5 out of 10: This series deserved a better ending. There are an amazing cast of characters, but the story ends dealing with just one. I am glad to put out the Fire from Heaven.
Next Time: Thankfully not more of this.
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