I have but one question for all of you, where does the time go???? Next Monday is Christmas; it seems like just yesterday that the year began. Anyway you’re not here to read my ramblings about the holidays and time passing too quickly, you’re here to get your weekly Milestone Fix! Well my friends, do I have a holiday treat for you! For our last column of 2006 (more on that later) I have three big books this week: Icon #3, and Blood Syndicate #3 and 4. Let’s start with Icon shall we?

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This issue begins where we left off in the last issue, with the mutated hostage taker facing off against Icon and Rocket in the Mayor’s office. The Mayor (whose full name is Thomasina Jefferson…. Gee I wonder if she’s named after anybody) tells the monster that it wasn’t too late to give himself up, and that they can help him. The monster, calling himself Payback, replies to her offer of help by slamming the mayor’s desk down on top of Icon. All this does is just manage to put Icon in an even worse mood than he already was, and he discards the shattered remnants of the desk so that he can lay a beat down on Payback. However, Payback turns the tables on the seemingly indestructible Icon:

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Rocket, wanting to avenge the damage done to her partner, then enters the fray. Rocket using her stored kinetic energy in her power belt lashes out at Payback with some punches. After some blows are traded back and forth between the two, Payback realizes that fighting is pointless. “I came here for a confession, not a fistfight” he bellows to Rocket, “Our business isn’t over Ms. Mayor…. Merely postponed”. With this exclamation Payback jumps out a window to the street below. Icon has begun to recover from his wounds as this is happening and he tells Rocket to follow Payback, but not to engage him. Icon needs a few moments to fully recover and he’ll assures Rocket he’ll be right behind her. Rocket sees the fleeing Payback making his way through the cops stationed outside City Hall and thinks, “By the time Icon gets out here, I’ll have this whole thing wrapped up.”

Icon is then left with the Mayor in her office, where she thanks him for saving her life and remarking that his wounds have almost healed. Icon shrugs this off saying that Payback obviously had no intention of killing her because he had ample opportunity to do so if he desired, and also reveals it would take several days to fully recover from this severe a wound. Icon and the Mayor are then interrupted in the middle of their little getting to know you session by the remains of the armed me who helped payback enact his plan. Icon quickly dispatched them and leaves the Mayor to clean out the rest of the building, then flies her down to the waiting press and police officers outside city hall to a thunderous ovation.

Meanwhile, Payback has already made his way through the cops by tossing them aside like they were rag dolls, and jumps down into the sewers after he enlarges a manhole opening in the street so that he may fit in the hole. As the cops stand around the large hole, debating about which officer will be the first to jump into the hole, Rocket flies down to the scene and goes in after Payback. She uses her power belt and it’s glow to light the way through the sewers and as the nasty sewage gets to about armpit depth, Payback attacks and pulls her under. After a short scuffle in the river of sewage, Rocket is triumphant and gets Payback to give up.

Rocket is not thrilled with rumbling with a big ugly monster down in the sewers, and tells Payback that she ought to beat on him some more for dragging her into the sewer because jail is too good for him. Payback then asks if she wants to know exactly why they were fighting before she takes him to jail. She reluctantly agrees to hear his story:

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Well, that confirms it, the mayor ordered the unleashing of an “experimental” tear gas. Where did she and the city of Dakota get it from however, and did she know of the effects it would have? Those are questions to ponder my Milestone Minions as we continue our story. Rocket after listening to Paybacks tale of woe feels bad for the Jeckyl and Hyde wannabe and suggests that he just take off. She’ll pretend she didn’t find him, and no one would be the wiser anyway, but just then Icon makes his presence known. Icon had heard the whole story and tells Payback that if he gives himself up he will personally see to it that there will be a full investigation of the Big Bang, and that whoever is responsible will pay for their crimes in full. Rather than taking more of a beating, Payback agrees and gives himself up.

The book then shifts to two weeks later where Icon and the Mayor are standing outside City Hall, as the mayor bestows a key to the city for his heroic acts. Icon then takes this chance to introduce himself fully to the city of Dakota, as he describes himself and what he hopes to become:

“As many of you have already witnessed, I am gifted with certain special abilities. I have possessed these gifts for many years, but for the most part have refrained from using them. NO MORE. Today I set a challenge for myself, a challenge to be of a service to humanity! I will do this by being a living example of what’s possible. I intend to hold myself to a very high standard. I ask no less of you. I challenge YOU to challenge YOURSELVES. You are ALL gifted with special abilities. Strive to live up to your potential as I will strive to live up to mine. I can fly…. So can you!” He proclaims as he flies off to another thunderous ovation from the residents of Dakota.

Our tale concludes on the remains of the bridge to Paris Island. Rocket is waiting there for Icon, and she is clearly impressed with how Icon did in his first true public speaking appearance. Icon does agree that it was a positive first step, but that they still have a long way to go. He then tells Rocket:

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HOLY E.P.T. TEST BATMAN!!!! Rocket is pregnant!?!?!?!?!!? (Well that should make for some interesting superhero adventures) Is our heroic twosome doomed before they have truly begun their mission of inspiring the masses? We’ll just have to read some more Icon to find out now won’t we!

I liked this issue a lot, mainly due to the character of Icon. Augustus Freeman truly believes the words that he speaks to the people of Dakota, you just get that vibe from him. He is also a very articulate and intelligent man, and despite the fact that his abilities make him near unstoppable, he prefers to solve things without violence. It’s an interesting personality trait, and this should make his adventures quite entertaining. It also puts him in sharp contrast with his partner, Rocket. She is much like her name, quick to act and (emotionally) explosive. It will be intriguing to see just how much she rubs off on Icon, and vice-versa. They kind of remind me of Captains Jean-Luc Picard and James T. Kirk, and how they would act if they team up to take on the Klingons. Kirk would be screaming “Klingon BASTARDS! Set phasers to annihilate!” while Picard would just take a few episodes to talk things out and make everyone see his point of view.

The introduction of Rocket’s pregnancy is a shocker, and ends the issue on a cliffhanger. This is a heck of a development to throw at a character in only the third issue of a new series, and it provides some serious story telling potential. Will Raquel choose to keep the baby and give up her newly found secret ID, or will she choose to terminate the pregnancy so she can continue to be a hero? How will Icon feel about her decision? Who’s the father? Not your usual questions raised in a super-hero comic that is for certain. All in all, I liked this opening storyline – both story and art wise. I have always been a fan of Mark Bright since his days of drawing Iron Man, and he is just knocking it out of the park with this book.

Now , on to our next two books – Blood Syndicate #3 and 4!

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Issue # 3 picks up where we left off, as the Boogieman has arrived from the shadows to help Brickhouse. The guys in armor, who we now know are wearing Systematic armor, basically get their butts handed to them by Boogieman who is slashing through their armor with his claws. Boogie’s rat friends, who he can apparently communicate with, free Brickhouse from her bonds and she starts throwing cars and people all over the place. Suddenly, one of the Systematic’s helmets come off, and Brickhouse recognizes him. She screams out “You…. You’re the Judge… YOU’RE THE METAL JUDGE” She freezes in the middle of the fight and gets blasted by one of the armored villains, and Boogie goes down after the Systematics blast some of his rat friends and then blasts him.

Meanwhile, the syndicate is back at the factory helping Tech-9 recover from his leadership battle with Holocaust. They are telling Rob Chaplik, girl reporter, more about the night of the Big Bang. Fade, after appearing a little jealous when Rob starts to pay a lot of attention to Tech-9, tells his story. Fade relates how he was in the Bang until the cops showed and then he started to run away from the fight. Then the tear gas came and the screaming started, and since he didn’t want to hear his mom’s screaming for the rest of his life, he dove into the tear gas to save his sister Flashback. As soon as he jumped into the cloud of gas, he regretted it as his head was pounding as if it would explode. He managed to close his eyes and drowned out the screams as best he could. When it was over he was covered in blood that wasn’t his own, and surveyed all the dead bodies. Everybody he saw, cops and gang members alike, was dead or really messed up. He finally found Flashback and pulled her out despite the fact that she was shot. But as soon as he picker her up, an explosion rocked the island.

The explosion was the one that took out the Bridge that connected Dakota with Paris Island. Rob asked the syndicate if they knew any of the gang members who blew up the bridge. They all laugh at her, and Wise Son tells her “No we don’t know any gang members who blew up the bridge… ‘cause they don’t exist!” Before he can explain what he meant by that statement, the enigmatic and silent DMZ comes to the group. Tech-9, knowing that DMZ does not come down from his perch above the factory unless there is trouble tells the syndicate to gear up and follow him. Despite Flashback’s protest of “maybe he’s just going to the john” the Syndicate and Rob go with DMZ.

Back at the river’s edge, the unconscious Brickhouse has once again been bound up. The systematics are wondering what they should do with the Boogieman, whom they refer to as a “Bang Baby” (an apparent nickname for the people affected by the gas). They are considering whether or not to bring him back to “Mom”, when Boogie, who was feigning unconsciousness, attacks again. As a systematic takes aim to rid them of the bother that is the rat creature, the Syndicate arrives to save their friends.

They immediately tear into the armored goons, and working as a team, take them out. They all wonder who the Boogieman is as they fight, commenting more than once about his smell. Each of the Syndicate demonstrate in this fight their prowess with their respective powers, and the Systematics don’t stand a chance. Third Rail goes so far as to taunt them with mother jokes – “You’re mother’s so STANK she flosses with BACON!” As the systematics realize they are fighting a losing battle, they begin to retreat. Brickhouse grabs one of them as they try to escape, and starts to shake the armor apart to reveal a woman who says “You’re not getting anything out of me! YOU ROCK FACED BITCH!” Masquerade persuades her to start talking or “I’ll simply eat you… starting with your eyes!” The woman, whose name is Sister Sloan, blurts out “We’re the System! Cross Station System!”, but that is all she gets out. The systematics that have escaped trigger a self-destruct device in her armor and blow her up while she is still in Brickhouse’s clutches!

Once the dust settles a bit, Brickhouse tells Tech that she knows she is not nuts, and that she may be able to remember where the armor guys came from. Tech-9 tells her to keep on it and that he never really thought she was crazy. Wise son on the other hand has developed a theory as he explains “I’ll bet good money they’re COPS… the same ones that blew up the BRIDGE!” (cue dramatic music here please) Rob seems shaken by this revelation as she says “Gang Members blew up the bridge. They stole munitions from the Army and were tried and convicted. I should know I broke the story!” Wise Son then explains:

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The Syndicate seem to think the same thing as Wise, and they are convinced the cops were the guys in the armor. They start to talk about going to destroy Police HQ as retaliation. Rob tries to convince them otherwise, because they could not hope to survive a fight against a thousand cops. Wise son reminds her that it’s all about honor on the street, that’s all that matters. Flashback chimes in with a reminder to her about the reality of their situation “We don’t have anything to live for anyway”. These words hit Rob hard as she realizes just how emotionally vested she has become in the situation that began as a simple news story. Tech-9, as leader, realizes they would never be able to pull off such a move without knowing a little more. He asks Rob to get some info that they can use to find out if it really was the cops who attacked Brickhouse, and tells her she has 24 hours to get it. She tells him she will only need 10 hours to do it in. They all, including Boogieman who the Syndicate let tag along since he saved Brick’s life and all, head back to the factory while Rob head back to Dakota to begin her investigation.

Rob starts the cold calling to all her contacts in the Police department and the Mayor’s office and gets stonewalled at every turn. Finally she reaches someone willing to talk just a little, Edwin Alva, head of Alva industries. She heads back to Paris Island with the information that we already knew from issues of Hardware, that Alva made the tear gas and weapons the cops used that night. But they denied making anything that would blow up the bridge or any sort of suits of armor. Wise Son asks Rob if she believed him, she replies with a terse “No”. Wise says to her “Good. Here. One flak jacket. One gun. Welcome to the club.” Rob is astonished, and says to the gathered syndicate that they cannot take on the whole police force. Tech agrees with her and tells her “Only a fool would do that” Brickhouse apparently remembered where she escaped from, it was a hospital. There are only three Dakota City hospitals, and only one has a big-ass cross in front of it – Holy Cross Hospital (hence the name Cross Station System). The Syndicate decided while Rob was gone, to attack the hospital to get whoever destroyed their lives and their people! The issue climaxes with the Syndicate declaring all-out war on, of all things, a hospital!

Now to issue 4:

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Issue 4 then kicks off with the Syndicate converging on the hospital. They burst through the front door and the staff, as one would think, freak out! A janitor talks to a microphone on his mop and tells a systematic armored guard that they have visitors. The assure him they know already and are on red alert. Also, a couple of surgeons respond as well. They decide to ignore the alert, as they are “getting to the interesting parts” and “it’s probably another drill”. Brickhouse looks at a wall and tells Tech-9 that she is sure she came from that area of the hospital. Fade phases through the wall, and tells Tech that she was right. Brickhouse and Third Rail uses their considerable strength to break the wall down, revealing a staircase. The mystery of Holy Cross Hospital stands to be revealed! The Syndicate make their way down the stairs with Third Rail taking the point position. As they make their way down, steel doors slam down around them and gas begins to fill in the area around them. The doors are too thick to break down quickly so they go through the floor. They find a group of Systematics, intent on “erasing” the invaders, waiting for them. The Syndicate use their powers and waste no time mopping them up as Flashback using her powers to trick two Systematics into firing on each other. The Syndicate then split up to better canvas the area under the hospital.

While all the fighting is going on, “Mother” is busy loading things into the back of a van with the help of some Systematics. She laments that she used to have such a clean home, but that now that it is a mess, someone is getting grounded.

In East Lab A, the Surgeons who kept working through the alert are the next people that the Syndicate runs into as they bash their way through walls to fins them. Brickhouse, Wise Son and Masquerade tear through a wall as the surgeons are working on a snake like man, whose chest is wide open revealing his three livers. Brickhouse tells the Syndicate “These men are the ripping judges. They were the worst!” Wise Son hears here words, and the please of “kill me please” from the snake man on the operating table and strikes one of the surgical staff. He grabs another and begins to put the fear of God in him as he asks “Who are you? What is this place? What is the System?” The surgeon can’t answer him as that information is classified.

The systematics then arrive, and masquerade grabs one of the surgeons and tells the armored villains “Don’t move or he gets it” The surgeons head explodes in gunfire as the Systematics scream “YOU THINK WE”RE PLAYING GAMES HERE? YOU’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!”

Meanwhile in East Lab C, Third Rail, Fade, and Flashback find a room filled with deformed dead Bang Babies. One man looks like a mass of Silly putty, while another is strapped to a tablet with tentacles coming from his stomach. Third Rail has a hard time dealing with what he sees, while Flashback tries to revive the tentacled stomach man. Fade knows the truth though, that there is nothing they can do for these poor souls.

In the East Storage Sector, Dogg, Rob, Tech-9 and Boogieman find a cadaver storage room filled with mutilated and deformed bodies. Tech wants revenge as Rob takes pictures of all the bodies. She is determined to see that this story gets out there, while Boogie just wants to carve things into briquettes! The systematics then arrive, as they are helping “Mother” clean out the building. Tech-9 and Boogie tear them apart, and Mother decides that enough is enough! At the Evacuation point of the building agents of the system are stacking bodies in trucks and taking off. Mother sees them off telling them to make her proud and she sets a code to destroy the hospital, She hope with the Syndicate in it!

The Syndicate regroups inside, as they hear a loud beeping throughout the complex. Realizing beeping is never a good sign they begin to get out of the building, and are met in a doorway by “Mother” herself. Brick asks her:

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The place then comes down around their ears and it appears they are all dead. Enter Flashback as she uses her power to go back in time to keep them from talking to Mother and they just get out of the building in time. “Mother” laughs at them as they run, and appears to teleport herself away somehow. The Syndicate is triumphant and they decide to head home. Tech-9 tells Rob “you got you stories, have a nice life.” It’s a brush-off to be sure, but Rob just doesn’t subscribe to the Syndicate’s way of life. She hails a cab to head home:

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Well, now we know that there is no one that can escape the conspiracy to keep a lid on the Big Bang huh? The Syndicate begin to celebrate their victory with beer and food at the factory. They decide to let Boogieman join, as he has proved his worth to the gang. Tech-9 tells them all that he is proud of what they did today. They held together, and kicked some ass. Tech –9 then goes to “use the facilities” as it were, and as he returns he sees Fade appear before him:

As he returns to the group he begins to ask Fade how he did that, when suddenly:

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WOW! GRUESOME!! The Syndicate’s leader dies right before their eyes and now they know that at any minute they could be next! They truly have nothing to live for but today! I really liked these two issues, it provided a nice little glimpse into the workings of the System. The Cross Station System was dealt a powerful blow by the Syndicate, but did their “Mother” make it out alive to continue whatever her evil plan may be? These two issues revealed a lot about the back-story to the Big Bang, especially about the destruction of the Paris Island Bridge. There are secrets revealed, especially in the confirmation that Alva did provide the gas and weapons, but with Rob’s story wiped away will the truth ever come out. You also just have to wonder exactly how the Police, the Mayor, Alva, and the System are all connected. Surely future issues of Milestone books will reveal this and more mysteries concerning the Big Bang.

The only drawback to these two issues was the art. Issue 3 saw the debut of ChrisCross and James Fry drew issue 4, and the art was just not done well in either case. Their styles are just very different from each other, and reading them back to back was just plain strange to look at. ChrisCross was the better artist of the two, and as this book was his professional debut he doesn’t show the chops he has now, it is still a good effort. In contrast Fry’s storytelling was all over the place, and reading the issue took a little more effort than normal to try and figure out what was going on from panel to panel. This is of particular notice when the building goes up, as you don’t even know that an important plot point, flashback using her powers to save everyone, is even happening as she just appears in a panel telling them all to run after the previous panel shows the explosion of the building. That’s my one and only complaint about both books though, as Blood Syndicate is shaping up to be the Milestone book where anything can happen at any time. In this first storyline alone we see two leaders gone, and some serious paranoia abound from all the gang members. It’s an interesting formula, let’s just hope they can keep it going month to month.

This week’s column brings us to the close of each of the four original Milestone book’s intro storylines. Many clues have been laid out in each of the titles as to the truth of the Big Bang, but when will all be revealed? All I can tell you my loyal Milestone Minions is that THE SHADOW WAR is coming!!! But before we get there we have a couple of programming notes. Firstly, the closing signoff contest is still on so get your suggestions in to win that Static Shock trade paperback. Secondly, the calendar here at Stately Munson Manor shows that next Monday is Christmas (the best damn holiday of the year!) so your fearless columnist is going to be taking the next week off. I know that this may sadden some of you who were going to ignore all your presents under the tree and just run to your computer to read the next installment of Triple M, but I will be back in 2007! Check back on TUESDAY January 2, 2007 for the next column (because I bet Bahlactus and I will be nursing hangovers on New Years Day), which will cover Static #3 and Blood Syndicate #5. Until then, I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season!

This entry was posted on Monday, December 18th, 2006 at 1:20 am and is filed under milestone mondays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.