New Warriors # 11 - Thrashed, Part Three

New Warriors #11 begins with a peek at some old, familiar faces (and some hints of what's to come), and ends with a desperate fight for survival.

We open with the old New Warriors team discussing their new counterparts - and trying to decide what's to be done about them. We quickly learn that, even amongst the veterans, there are deep divisions when it comes to superhero registration. (It's also in this scene that we see the Initiative/Nazi reference that seems to be causing a bit of a stir.)

Speaking of divisions, the scene with Wondra (Jubilee) attempting to apologize to Skybolt for their fight in issue 10 doesn't turn out as she'd hoped. His cruel words leave her feeling brokenspirited, and more depressed than ever. Jube seems defeated, and tells the team that she'll just go along with whatever they decide.

Thrasher then rounds up the team to go after Machinesmith - a villain they haven't encountered before. Thrash's motives are once again called into question, as we see him abandon the team in the middle of a fight to pursue his own agenda. When half the team is cut off and beaten down, he makes a shocking decision, one that leaves Jube speechless.

I really liked this issue, as it picked up the pace quite a bit from the previous few issues, and sets the scene for both the end of the "Thrashed" story arc and the upcoming Secret Invasion tie-in.

A couple of things stand out for me in this issue.

First, Stacy's words of encouragement to Jubilee after she caught the sharp end of Skybolt's anger are uplifting, and I really liked Grevioux's brief homage to the King Arthur legend in this scene: Stacy tells Jube that as she goes, so goes the team. The New Warriors look up to Jubilee for guidance as their most experienced and battle-hardened member, and when she of all people shows doubt about Night Thrasher's motives it disturbs them.

Second, it seems like the bond between Jube and Jono is growing deeper, given the way he angrily jumps to her defence against Skybolt, and the brief moment of panic she experiences when he is hurt in the fight against Machinesmith.

Third, it did the heart good to see Sophia angrily defending the New Warriors' actions to a very biased (and pro-SHRA) reporter who cornered her at the diner. Any doubts she may have had about her decision to join the team seem to be gone: Sophia's all-in.

Issue 11 ended with the fate of half the team in doubt, their lives the hands of a powerful villain, and abandoned by the man they had placed all their trust in. Number 12 should be VERY interesting.