Hail to the Chief, Baby! It’s President’s Day here in the grand ol’ US of A, but that’s not the real reason to celebrate on this fine Monday. Celebrate far and wide folks because it’s time for another trip to the Milestone universe as we look at Hardware #7 & Icon #5!

(Click the cover for a larger version!)

Hardware #7 is final part of the three-part storyline involving our hero’s encounter with the vigilante Deathwish. You may remember from the previous recap that the first two parts of this story left a bad taste in my mouth. Well this issue was at least a little more redeeming in that it provided an explanation into Deathwish’s “mental” issues, and also had Hardware analyzing his own actions in his quest to destroy Edwin Alva.

The issue opens up with Hardware facing a clearly crazed Deathwish in the hotel room that he found him in at the end of the last issue. Hardware is trying to prevent Deathwish, who Hardware notes, “looks as if he is almost in a sort of a trance”, from continuing his killing spree. Deathwish and Hardware tussle, with Deathwish gaining the upper hand by kicking Hardware out a window. Deathwish uses this moment to go for his knife to kill the prostitute he most recently laid down with. Hardware gets back into the room just in time to stop Deathwish using his Taser Projectors. As electricity courses through Deathwish, he begins to come to his senses. Before he eventually passes out from the pain, Deathwish appears to have “snapped out of it” and wonders what he is doing in hotel room holding a knife.

Deathwish awakens to an Omnicannon pointed at his skull, as Hardware has him covered. Hardware tells him that he is the killer that they have both been searching for. This knowledge appears to shake the vigilante to his core, as he remembers the previous killings. He tells Hardware that it “Started out right I just…. I just lost control… you understand don’t you, Hardware? You HAVE to understand. You’re just like me.” Hardware doesn’t know where he is going with this, and asks him what he is talking about. This is the reader’s queue for the obligatory secret origin/ flashback sequence.

Deathwish tells Hardware of his life as a man named Wilt. Wilt arrived home to his wife and son one day, and got the butt of a shotgun to the face from a home intruder. He is tied up along with his family and forced to watch as the intruder raped and killed his wife and son. When he was done with his family, he turned to Wilt and raped him and shot him leaving him for dead. He miraculously survived the gunshot to the head…

(Click the scan for a larger version!)

Hardware asks why he killed all those women, and Deathwish’s answer reveals that since the incident he has been impotent. When the prostitutes could not help him with his inability to perform, he would blackout and with no memory of what he did. He remembers now, and realizes he is sick. He tells Hardware “I can’t continue my war until I win the battle in my head… in my heart. I deserve to be punished for my actions, I surrender.”

Hardware is astonished at this turn of events, as Deathwish turns himself in to the police. Hardware goes home to his life as Curtis Metcalf, a life he realizes he has been ignoring in his crusade against Alva. He reflects on Deathwish’s words to him about their similarities, and about not being able to continue in his war without reconciling his head and heart. These words apparently haunt him as he tries to sleep, as his dreams bring a visit from one of the helicopter pilots he fought back in the first issue.

Hardware is sitting in his bed in his armor talking with the survivor of that conflict, the one whose arm he cut off. The pilot asks him if he remembers him, and Hardware acknowledges that he does. The pilot then tells him “it’s not so bad you know….”

(Click the scans for a larger version!)

Hardware’s past is coming to haunt him in his dreams, as the words of Deathwish has stirred the guilt he had been feeling for the people he has killed in the name of vengeance. How will this effect Hardware’s future actions, will he give up his violent nature in his quest to take down Thomas Alva? We will find the answers to this in the next issue of Hardware.

Reading this issue was a little disturbing, mainly due to the nature of Deathwish’s origin. It’s a pretty severe act, and obviously damaged this guy in such a manner that caused him to relieve his pain through killing. There are obvious parallels between him Hardware, which seems to be what writer Dwayne McDuffie was looking for in his script. He wanted to show Hardware a person that became so obviously obsessed with a mission that it drove him to become a crazy psychotic killer. With this parallel, he is showing the reader that Hardware could become this if he doesn’t change his course of action. He explains this in an editorial in the letters page of this issue, which I bring to you in its entirety:

(Click the scan for a larger version!)

I have often said in this column that I am re-reading these books as I recap them, and reading the first two parts of this story really gave an incomplete picture of McDuffie and Cowan’s overall aim. Reading this third part and the letter page column gave me an appreciation to the storyline as a whole. My initial thought that Deathwish was a wholly unoriginal character (the vigilante who kills has been done to death over the years) has changed somewhat. The character became a mirror for Hardware to gaze into, and hopefully learn from, and I have to give McDuffie kudos for that.

Now on to Icon #5

(Click the cover for a larger version!)

This issue of Icon revolves around two storylines, Rocket’s pregnancy and Icon’s “meeting of the minds” with the Blood Syndicate. Both storylines end with someone (I’m not saying who) getting knocked around, so let’s begin with Rocket.

Rocket’s part of the story is short and sweet. She is sitting on a swing set, writing and reflecting about her current pregnancy problem. While she sits, her grandmother comes to her to talk about what she discovered in the last issue.

Raquel’s grandmother is also in a reflective mood, as she tells her about the story of how she came to live in the projects. “After your grandfather passed, you mother and I had to move here. I went to work for the first time in my life. TWO JOBS. But I didn’t mind because my daughter would have better. She was going to get out of this hell hole.” She pushes Raquel on the swing as she continues her tale, “then she came home from school one day… she wasn’t much older than you were now… and she told me she was pregnant. All of a sudden I was supporting not just my daughter, but also her new baby girl. Your mother was a good girl, but she was too young. She wasn’t prepared to raise no child. So, with everything else, I did most of the rearing too….”

(Click the scan for a larger version!)

A harsh reality has set in for Raquel, as she is facing a truly “grown up” problem. She decides to try and face it like a grown-up, and confront the father of her unborn child. She goes to find Noble (who you may all remember as one of the gang that Raquel broke into Icon’s house with), and finds him hanging on a street corner in downtown Dakota. She tells him that she is pregnant, and like any ignorant teenager who has been shocked to the core he responds with the worst statement that you could make: “How do you know it was me?”

Raquel’s response:

(Click the scan for a larger version!)

Nice right cross huh? Raquel leaves this issue realizing that men are jerks, and that she may just be on her own with this baby.

Meanwhile, on Paris Island, Icon is looking for answers from the Blood Syndicate. Wise Son has already responded to Icon’s questions with violence, and the rest of the Syndicate respond in kind. Icon is trying to talk to the group, but they won’t listen. They believe him to be the mayor’s own super-cop, and as such must be part of the cover up for the Big Bang. As Icon is actually looking into the Big Bang for answers about the cover-up this is quite ironic. The Syndicate accuses him of trying to retake their Paris Island turf for his “master” the mayor, and they won’t stand for it.

Icon’s protests to the contrary are ignored as he tells Wise-Son to stop talking and he would explain everything. Wise Son, clearly not a fan of talk, winds up and swings…. and is stopped as Icon puts up a hand halting Wise’s fist. “You’re very tough Wise Son, and very strong. But not nearly strong enough.” Brickhouse jumps in at this point and asks Icon “Am I strong enough?”, as she punches him so hard he lands blocks away on an abandoned car. DMZ is the first one there, and lifts Icon out of the rubble:

(Click the scans for a larger version!)

Hmmm, it appears that Icon may know what DMZ’s story is? Is he an alien like Icon? Answers will be left for later, because as Icon takes flight after DMZ, Flashback uses her powers to bring Icon back in time to when he was still on the ground. The Syndicate then plays “pig-pile on the Icon” and beat the tar out of our hero. He takes the beatings, but the Syndicate eventually overwhelms Icon with sheer numbers. He begins to run on empty as the Syndicate takes their turn throwing punch after punch. As the issue ends, Icon is weary, almost unconscious, as Wise Son is asked what the Syndicate should do with him. “What do we do with him?” he replies to his gang “Man comes into our turf, damn near whups us all and you gotta ask?”

(Click the scan for a larger version!)

This issue of Icon was a good continuation of the ongoing storylines that Icon and Rocket are currently dealing with. We are sure to see more about both Rocket’s pregnancy and Icon’s investigation into the Big Bang in coming issues, but this particular story offered one nice little tidbit of information that helps tie together various corners of the Milestone Universe. That would be the Icon/ DMZ throwdown that revealed some sort of a connection between the two. Whether the answers come in Icon or Blood Syndicate remains to be seen, but if the two are from the same planet it means Icon is not alone on Earth. I look forward to seeing the answers unfold on that mystery.

Otherwise, this was a decent issue; both art and story were top notch. I really have to give props to M.D. Bright; his art really helps to convey the emotion of the script. Raquel is clearly torn in the scenes with her grandmother, and Bright shows it in her facial expressions. He has a very clean style, kind of like Rich Buckler, which I really appreciate.

As we wrap up this week’s Triple M, I’d like to leave you with this bit of ad text lifted from “The Company Line” page (Milestone’s version of Marvel’s Bullpen Bulletins page) in these two comics:

“What if a secret group of superhumans had assembled to save humanity from itself? What if a splinter group formed, and began to recruit superpowered individuals in Dakota? Now: suppose the leader of this secret group had the answer to the biggest question in the Dakota Universe? The SHADOW WAR is coming!”

Prophetic words with promises of answers, could this be a hint for a company wide crossover???? We will find out together, so tune in next week for the next issues of Static and Blood Syndicate! Have a great week!

This entry was posted on Monday, February 19th, 2007 at 12:56 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.