Got the Song 'Barracuda' Stuck In My Head
OH MY GOD THAT COVER IS SO BORING! Oh, sure, it's got an action scene on there, but that's what I want in the interiors. On a cover I want something unique and compelling. I want the art that isn't interior art. Not to mention that there's absolutely no sense of dynamism here, making it boring action, AND the characters aren't very well laid out. Just kind of stuck right in the middle taking up all the space.
So we're introduced to another member of the Others, The Operative. He has a really lazy and cliche name, but he's a pretty badass dude. He kind of overlaps with Prisoner-of-War a tad, but not to a terrible degree. My question, though, is how long has he been an old man? Its not like this is him trying to recapture his youth, its only been a few years. So he was old back then? Or does the suit do that? Or.... what?
The action in this issue is.... just so awesome. The Operative has some smooth moves, but mostly it comes down to the EPIC brawl between mortal enemies, Aquaman and Black Manta. Sure Aquaman's been kind of more of a stone cold badass lately, but something clicks in him that changes things with Black Manta. The struggle between them is so personal, so raw and primal, that he's far more intense here than anywhere else. This fury on both ends is unleashed in a torrent of melee combat and its an absolute delight to watch unfold.
Meanwhile, Shin continues his story to Mera and kind of eases the shocking twist from the end of the previous issue. Not completely, but a bit.
And things aren't as simple as they seem. Black Manta's playing a bigger game, his brawl with Aquaman this issue was simply a teaser for the main show. Geoff Johns demonstrates here that he DOES know how to make a first skirmish epic, unlike what he pulled on Justice League this same week.
In Conclusion: 4.5/5
What IS Manta's big endgame, and how does it involve.... well... all the crazy things it involves!? And what's the deal with The Others? How did they get these seemingly Atlantean artifacts? This was an awesome issue that carried on the story well.
