Written by Steve Orlando
Illustrated by Travel Foreman
Published by DC Comics
“You’re not on Dominion anymore my friend. You are not a template… You’re unique. You matter. We all do.”
Not our team’s best offering unfortunately.
Bit of a muddle.
The end of our last issue saw our intrepid band of Electric Warriors faced with the genuine horror of just what the contract between the Gild’shpan elite and the Great Covenant of Battleworld entails, behind the curtains.
Which, eyyuch. Yeah, bad news.
That point is only driven home this issue, and yet despite the number of hotheads and idealistic hero-types in our titular group, the team retreats back to the arenas of Battleworld, with assurances all around that they will return the following day to deal with the terrible masters of Covenant.
That does not happen however.
Instead, presumably to showcase yet more of the intergalactic champion challenges that (after all) form much of the foundation of this book, we find the heroes of our book drawn into not one, but numerous additional arena battles, all the while suspecting that their daring infiltration has been discovered, an idea that seems all-too plausible, for all that it does not inspire them (most of them anyway) into much proactivity.
That danger plays out to what seems an inevitable conclusion, with a sequence that suggests a bit more about the evolution of our dear, one-time hero Firestorm, and should, one would have to imagine, inspire outright terror in (what’s left of) our band of rebels.
Talk about going nuclear on a guy.
But then, that should have been the case right out of the gates. Instead most of this issue is spent in a redux of Love and War in the great battle pits of Battleworld, and it’s not fully clear as it’s happening why, except that, again, that is the hook of the book, and with two more issues to go, maybe a little more of that filler seemed the best way to go until we get around to the part of the story where they take the fight to the Gild’shpan and their dread, nigh-omnipotent and inscrutable Host.
All of which might have been carried off better, were the art easier to follow. But too much of it is as muddled as the plotting this issue, with shadows and high bright color effects that get in the way of a lot of the clarity we need, especially in heavy action scenes like the fight sequences.
Too bad, because we’ve steered clear of too much of that up till now. Last issue in particular saw a lot more clarity and polish, and I’d hoped we’d moved forward in a look that seems to be slipping just a month later.
All round this particular issue ends up feeling like it was rushed and not completely managed well. Oh well.
But the story is moved along, and the threat facing our crew is now unavoidable, so with their back to the walls and what seems to be a universe of corrupt order and hierarchy aligned against them, it seems likely that the pressure of these last two issues will finally come to a head next month, as we begin our movement into the finishing arc of the series.
And with all that going on, and all the underlying socio-political commentary that’s been running throughout this book, I have to imagine we’re in for some fireworks.
A good time perhaps, for a little revolution.
Next Issue: Fire and Fury
