Black Diamond Probability – Mission One: Black Ops
Team 7 Issue# 1 – Black Diamond Probability – Mission One: Black Ops
Team 7’s first mission!
The team is suited up and off on their first assignment. Lynch remotely briefs them on their ship piloted by their Ace Pilot Summer Ramos. They are on their way to a special prison created to house Meta humans, Facility 9. It has lost communications. With little Intel, they must investigate the prison and report their findings. With no prior unity, Team 7 will have to learn teamwork on the fly.
The Good
Jesus Merino’s art is great. My two favorite panels included the teams drop onto the facility and them unloading on a target. Seeing the team move and act together is fantastic. Merino does an awesome job with these group action shots. The cover itself is a perfect example of that. The little detail you see when they clear an area is terrific. The first introduced duo Drake and Lance use hand signals to close in on a stir. Also Slade Wilson checking corners as Fairchild descends stairs. These minute details appeal to me especially as a military group.
A hierarchy is slowly budding with this first assignment. Justin Jordan narration from Lynch’s [?] point of view does well to show this. Team roles and dynamics too are narrated as well as acted. During the briefing Higgins calls out a last weapons check to the team. This just solidifies his role as the team’s strategist and possibility as a vocal “leader”. The beginnings of a clash of egos occur between Waller and Wilson. Higgins role as a mediator comes into play as well as he orders them to focus. Other strengths, weaknesses and concerns are also discussed.
Dinah Drakes Perfectionism against her concern for Kurt Lance; Kurt Lances Tracking Ability against his lack of field experience; Slade Wilson’s unquestionable tactical prowess against his aversion to rely on others; Alex Fairchild’s overall skill as an operator against his loyalty devoid of money; James Bronson’s natural aptitude against his over willingness to please; Amanda Waller’s unmatched analytic skills against her ability to make hard “sacrifices” on ops; Summer Ramos piloting skills against her sanity; Cole Cash’s improvisation and impulses
The setting is set and characters are introduced. We now have an enemy and a potential villain for the team to work against.
[Spoiler Alert]
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Pre-Sumerian writing. Half Moon faces on inmates. All of the clues lead to Eclipso. I’m excited to see how they work against him.
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The Bad
There wasn’t anything that left a bad taste in my mouth.
The Verdict [4/5]
This is a great read. The art and narration are amazing. Team dynamics are springing. The team has a known target and enemy. They just now have to execute!
