After an extended holiday break, the Triple M is back baby! (Sorry about last Monday folks….. I have no excuse….. Bahlactus has already beaten me about the head and neck with a large blunt object so my punishment has been dished out) I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season; I know the Munson household did! This week we have one big book coming your way – Static # 3!

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This issue begins smack dab in the middle of a massive scene of destruction, as Static is helping people get out from under piles of rubble near Akkads(a restaurant) in downtown Dakota. He uses his magnetic powers, to scoop debris off people after he realizes he can’t just lift the rubble. He also puts out a fire by ionizing the air around the flames, causing the fire to transform to Ozone gas which, while poisonous, dissipates quickly and causes no harm to any bystanders. He truly demonstrates that he is a hero who will use his brain, as he gives thanks for the Chemistry class that provided him with the solution to the fire.

How Static found himself in this situation is cleared up as Static flashes back to his afternoon job, where he is interrupted in cleaning duties by a frantic phone call from Frieda telling him about a phone call she had just received from their friend Larry. While she was talking with Larry, a commotion began when some “terminator” guy showed up saying he was after Static, then the line went dead. Knowing Virgil’s secret she tells him to leave work and rush off to save the day. Virgil makes up an excuse to his employer, who has obviously heard this from him before, as she confronts him with the multiple excuses he seems to make on an almost daily basis to get out of work. She pretty much tells him if he leaves, his job is toast!

Static is jarred from his thoughts by one of the members of the crowd hollering to him that he knows who caused all the destruction. He called himself Tarmack, and as the kid tells Static “He say he the Mack who’s gonna turn your momma out”. (I think this may be the first time I can remember quoting a “momma” joke from a comic) Virgil, vowing to fins Tarmack later, flies back to his job to find a help wanted sign in the window. “This NEVER happens to Icon” Virgil muses as he realizes he will have to tell his Mom that he lost yet another job. The price of super-heroics when you are a McWorker!

The next day at school, Larry is recounting the look of our hero’s new found arch villain. “a six foot blob of silly putty that turns into Riddock Bowe whenever it wants to” He apparently is able to generate a tar-like substance and hurl it at his foes, and also sees malleable to assume shapes as well as being super strong. Should be quite the challenge for Static, and in no time at all it becomes just that. Virgil and his friends are approached by a classmate telling them that Tarmack is ripping up the park calling Static out for a showdown, and Static goes into action!

Static shows up at the park, after a convenient “Asthma” excuse provided for Virgil’s staying behind while the gang runs to check out the fight, and proceeds to take Tarmack out. Virgil shows his improvement in the “banter with the super-villain” category by calling Tarmack various nick-names such as “Hatrack”, “Tarpit”, and “Bootblack” as he thrashes him with metal from the park. The fight is definitely going Static’s way when, Tarmack, much like Zod in Superman II, sees Virgil’s weakness for protecting the innocent bystanders watching the fight. Tarmack throws a car on someone, and Static tells Tarmack to leave the people out of their fight, if he is half the man he says he is! Tarmack calls him a punk and tells him to show up at the Avalon Mall at midnight, where there will be no one to get in their way.

Once the fight clears, Virgil catches up with his friends on a subway ride home and they discuss the fight. Larry believes Static is gonna get his butt handed to him, while Virgil (of course) thinks Static will triumph. Frieda counters with some “suggestions” that Static wouldn’t fall for such an obvious trap of a showdown in a place arranged by a villain. Virgil, after the others exit the train, quietly assures her that he has to show up to keep Tarmack from doing more damage in his quest to take out Static. He tells her that he knows it’s dangerous, but that he has a brain and a plan!

Virgil prepares for his fight in two ways, he makes the trash can lid he flies on a little more portable by making it collapsible, and brushes up on some chemistry to set his trap. Midnight comes and so does Tarmack, as he stands in the parking lot fuming that Static hasn’t arrived. Then in the shadows comes a floating form, it’s Static. Tarmack forms a large hammer with one of his hands and bashes the floating form of our hero. However the impact of his blow reveals an inflatable clown filled with water as Static truly shows up behind Tarmack and wraps him up in a fence. The Fight is on; as our issue concludes with a shocker (I’ll let the last three pages speak for themselves):

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Holocaust is the man who sent Tarmack after Static! But will he harm him or try to recruit him? To be continued indeed!

This issue of Static was not exactly heavy on plot; rather it was heavy on action. It did show us a couple of different sides of Virgil, as he uses his brain to take out Tarmack instead of just relying on his powers. It also showed us a potential love triangle as Larry starts to show some interest in Frieda, which Virgil kind of catches on to, as he calls her “baby” a couple of times in the issue. That should cause some interesting sparks to fly if/when it gets out into the open. Overall a fun read, particularly due to the banter that flies in the battles with Tarmack, and Holocaust showing some sort of interest in Static should prove an interesting tie-in to the Milestone universe as a whole. I hope you will all wait with baited breath for the next issue!

Well that wraps up this weeks column, Next week we will cover Blood Syndicate #5 and after that we will be back to a regular 2 milestone books a week schedule! Have a great week!

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!

Mondays – It used to be the most dreaded day of the week, the day that people across this great nation would wake up and grumble about. Well that is not the case anymore my friends, the nation no longer wakes up angry about having to go to work, but excited at the prospect of reading yet another installment of TRIPLE M (Munson’s Milestone Mondays! and my apologies to the WWE for “borrowing” an idea)! So a hearty welcome to all the Milestone Minions out there, and to all you newcomers here’s a rundown of what we do. Every Monday, I review the Milestone Comics line and bring it to you in living color here on the Internet. All you have to do is sit back, relax, and read. This week I bring you issues 3 and 4 of Hardware, which is the conclusion of his origin story arc, and also sheds some light on a few things raised in the last MMM column about the shared universe these books share.

On we go to Hardware #3 – entitled Confrontations

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The issue opens up where we left off; Hardware is armed to the teeth and is about to nail Edwin Alva to the wall for his heinous illegal actions. He is still in his lab as he thinks through his plan, where in step 1 he takes out the security guards in the lobby by blasting them with his omni-cannon. He then plans to take an elevator ride that ends at the penthouse office of Alva where he dispatches more security guards by planting a bomb in the elevator which goes off when the doors open to the floor. He will then confront a weak willed Alva who is begging for his life. Hardware describes seeing his enemy like this and his weakness only fuels his need for vengeance, as he will rid the world of Alva by killing him. He will then hang up his Hardware armor, and seal off his lab and that would be it. Except for one thing, as Curtis thinks: “Vengeance is within my reach. I CAN’T lose. I won’t be caught. There’s no reason for Alva’s death to remain an elaborate daydream. Except that is feels so WRONG. WHY does it feel so wrong?” (I am going to hazard a guess that maybe it feels so wrong Curtis because you are blowing up and killing a lot of different people, places and things. That’s not the kind of activity one does if you want to feel right and okay about your place in the world. You don’t get the cute and fuzzy bunnies by blowing up your boss. But once again I digress…. On with our story!)

To figure out why he feels this way he once again visits the person who appears to provide him with his moral center – Barraki. He lets himself in to her apartment to wait for her to come home from a date, and when she does the truth behind their relationship unfurls before the reader. Yes my one problem from issues 1 & 2 gets answered as it appears that Barraki and Curtis are just friends, and while Barraki would like it to be different Curtis feels their friendship is more important. “I’ve had lots of lovers since we met, and only one friend.” Curtis tells her “I’m not going to screw around with this relationship in any sense of the word.” (Kind of makes you wonder if he ever saw “When Harry Met Sally” because he would know that men and women can never be “just friends” because the sex part just gets in the way) He is seeking her approval for his actions, and once again Barraki does not give it without some questions of her own. Her questions for Curtis revolve around why he invented the suit and why he feels the need to kill people with it. She wants to know what a brilliant person like Curtis expected to accomplish with Hardware, and what would Alva’s death accomplish. Curtis doesn’t know and asks, “What should I do?” Barraki replies as such:

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Hardware takes this conversation to heart as he plans to FINALLY confront Alva, but goes about it in what he calls “a little more subtle way” In other words, he decides no one innocent has to die. He broadcasts a false signal to the security monitors in the building so that the guards go to the back of Alva Tower while he waltzes in the front door. Much to his chagrin a couple of guards catch on, and Hardware has to make a move. In a change from the first couple of issues of wholesale slaughter, he uses his omni-cannon to deploy a Neural Net that causes random neural discharges in its victims, effectively and harmlessly paralyzing them. After doing this he goes to elevator hoping to avoid more security guards, but instead runs into three elevators full of them. Hardware realizes he is in for a long night, as the battle begins.

However, it is a battle that we the reader can only speculate about, as the next scene we see is the morning after the battle and Edwin Alva has arrived to his offices at the invitation of Hardware. Alva arrives at his penthouse floor to find rubble and the remains of his security force, and after telling one guard to get medical help for whoever needs it, he enters his office. Hardware is just sitting with a leg up on Alva’s desk, completely comfortable. The war of wills begins with Alva launching the first salvo. He offers Hardware a deal, in exchange for him no longer hounding his illegal businesses; Alva will pay him a lump sum to just go away. Alva continues:

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Hardware lets Alva bleed for a minute or so as Alva asks him if Hardware plans to kill him. In this moment, Hardware detours from his previous fantasies about killing Alva as he says “Not yet”. Hardware, in a moment reminiscent of a Bond villain, explains just what he has been up to all night in Alva’s office. He opened Alva’s safe and took his personal journal, his research notes, and other items that will help him piece together the structure of his criminal empire. He also copied everything on his computer, and as he could not crack the security on his files, plans to browse through the files at his leisure. With this info Hardware promises the following:

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Alva tries to get in the last word as he is dropped to the floor as he sarcastically tells Hardware that he has “quite a bit of work to do. Don’t let me keep you”. Hardware doesn’t let this go as he shatters Alva’s knee telling him that he ENJOYS his work, and then flies out the office window. Alva, writhing in pain, pulls out a communicator and talks into it. “this is Indigo Leader. System Alert!” he says, and the SYSTEMATIC Indigo team leader answers him. Alva tells this heretofore-unknown character to destroy Hardware as the last page shows a man in familiar shaped armor:

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Now is it just me or does that armor look exactly like the armored people in Static and Blood Syndicate? The answer dear friends is YES, so that raises another question and that is what connection does Alva, who appears to head up a group of these armored warriors, have to the Big Bang? Maybe we’ll find out in Hardware #4:

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Hardware begins this issue just as he is flying away from Alva’s building, enjoying the fact that he has gotten a leg up on his enemy’s illegal activities. He heads back to his sky tank and lifts off just as the man in armor attacks! The Indigo team leader blasts Hardware’s ship with a missile, crippling its flight system leaving Hardware no choice but to eject from his craft. But Hardware, being the technical genius that he is doesn’t just use an ejector seat with a parachute. Oh that is not good enough, as he activates what OBIE (the name he has for his On Board computer program built into his armor) calls his Soft Landing Module.

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Yup, that’s right, a hang glider. This guy has everything! However the explosion of his ship as it crashes sends debris through one of his glider wings, which sets him down for a rougher landing then he would have liked. Awaiting him there is his armored nemesis, who asks just one question (no it isn’t “do you feel lucky?”) “What kept you, Hardware?” The armored villain reveals that he is wearing SYSTEMATIC Indigo Class Battle Armor, so now we have a name for these mechanical lurkers in the Dakotaverse. The armored foes then do battle, and as Hardware discovers as he blasts him with his Omni-cannon to no effect, the Systematic is tougher than it looks. He tries to take him out by burying him in a building, but the Systematic removes himself from the rubble. The Systematic then hurls the rubble at Hardware, turning the tables on him, which allows him to grab Hardware with his giant claw. Curtis appears to be helpless now, as the Systematic tells him that he “does not have a great deal of time left. I’m told that you made a copy of Mr. Alva’s computer files… that’s a no-no. You don’t mind if I override your system and wipe it clean, do you?”. Hardware’s system is then jacked into by the Systematic armor causing OBIE to link up and serve the Indigo Mainframe. As the bad guys are about to take away Hardware’s advantage over Alva, he has time to launch one more attack. Before OBIE is totally taken over by the I.M., Hardware activates his Eye Movement Input Device:

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Your winner in the battle of armored clad warriors: HARDWARE! So what’s a guy to do with battle armor that you just beat the hell out of? Analyze it completely of course! After Curtis takes the Systematic armor apart and gleans what he can from it, he goes straight to the source of his problems:

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Hardware leaves him with two grim thoughts: “If this is the best (meaning the armor) you got to defend yourself, you may as well give up now!” and “I’m on you. Just TRY something else, ANYTHING, and you can give your soul to the lord…. Cause your ass belongs to ME!” I know I wouldn’t mess with him.

The issue ends with an epilogue that wraps up the four-issue storyline very nicely. The information Curtis has gotten from Alva and the Systematic armor has changed his opinions and his options. He is in his apartment, with his new parakeet (remember the bird analogy from issue number one…. Check out the first MMM column to refresh the memory) telling everything to Barraki. He tells Barraki that it is now a stalemate between Hardware and Alva. He lets his new bird fly free around his apartment, intending to never put him in a cage. He realizes he created Hardware to escape from the cage that Alva put him in, but that he then proceeded to turn Hardware into yet another cage. He wraps up his first adventure with the following:

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Well, these last two parts of this 4-part origin story really fill in the blanks and shows a lot of character development. If you remember from the first couple of issues, Hardware is an uber-violent over the top killing machine, armed to the teeth like a Rob Liefeld character on crack. Reading these last two parts show that the writer, Dwayne McDuffie, did this on purpose as he created a whole character arc to bring Hardware from a cold-blooded self-absorbed killer to a hero who must figure out what his place is in the world. Curtis is no longer going to take out Alva and walk away, his worldview has changed. He knows about the group known as the System, but doesn’t know their true purpose. Where he goes from here is unknown at issues end, but it shouldn’t be boring.

These two issues also help to further develop the Dakotaverse as a whole. The origins of the System and the Systematic armor are touched upon, and we have seen what they have been up to in other Milestone books. Did they cause the Big Bang? Did Alva have a hand in creating the Gas that caused all the gang-bangers to suddenly sprout superpowers (holy alliteration Batman). We will in the weeks to come pull back the curtain on this little mystery, as we dig deeper and deeper into the Milestone Comics line.

On a Milestone related note, Dwayne McDuffie has a couple of projects that all faithful Triple M readers should take note of. The first is the mini-series Beyond! From Marvel that just ended this past Wednesday. I highly recommend this 6 issue series, it provides some serious twists and turns, and if you know your Marvel Comics history the title should give you a hint as to what this series is all about (I’ll give you a hint…. It rhymes with Wecret Sar Planet) Now this series ended in such a way that it suggests sequel, and if it doesn’t happen in it’s own series then perhaps Dwayne will pick up the threads when he takes over his other big Marvel project …..Fantastic Four. On the DC side of the world, Dwayne is also going to be writing Firestorm in the near future, which should be great as well. I am a big Firestorm fan, and since his storyline will supposedly involve the New Gods I am doing cartwheels. Check them all out and tell them that Munson sent you! That’s it for this week folks, next week we get to compare and contrast Jesus and Spider-Man… oh no wait that’s for a totally different website, my bad! What we will really do next week is review Icon #3, and Blood Syndicate #3 and 4 so join us here at your one and only destination for fun and excitement …. Munson’s Milestone Mondays!

Now before I end this week’s column I want to announce a contest of sorts. Now Bahlactus, our gracious host here at bahlactus.com, has his cool little sign off “Bahlactus has spoken” whenever he finishes a post or an email. Well, your pal Munson would like to have one of his own but I need your help my Milestone Minions! Either leave your suggestion in the comments section, or email it to Bahlactus and I will choose the one that I like the best. What do you win you ask? Well, I’ll tell you what you win. You will win the Static Shock Trade Paperback that reprints the first four issues of Static. This Trade was released around the time of the cartoon show, hence the name difference, and the resulting publication of a Static Shock miniseries that continued the Milestone continuity after the books were canceled. It’s a hard Trade to find, but I will give it away to the person who gives me the best catchphrase to close out my columns! So until next week……

Munson OUT!

(See why I need a good catchphrase; I am stealing one from Ryan Seacrest of all flipping people)

Hello to all my little Munsonites out there, and welcome to anyone who found us via a nice little mention over at Blog@Newsarama.com , are you ready for some more Milestone Mania?!? Good, because this week we are going to cover four, count them FOUR, big comics from Milestone. We are going to cover Static #2, Icon #2, and the first two issues of the fourth core Milestone title – Blood Syndicate! Now before we begin I want you all to join me in a little flashback to week 1 of this column where I mention a little sparking point for the Milestone universe called the Big Bang. Well the explanation of this event starts to unfold in this week’s column so pay attention my Milestone Minions because you don’t want to miss a thing! (Plus there may be a test later so take notes)

We begin this week with a double-barreled shotgun blast of action in Blood Syndicate #1 and #2.

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Blood Syndicate is best summed up by this blurb from issue #2: Super powered survivors of the massacre known as the Big Bang, the Blood Syndicate are all that’s left of Paris Island’s toughest gangs. Holed up in an abandoned factory, they battle to protect their territory, the Dead Zone, from enormous forces that may rip them apart. Their names are unknown. But as Holocaust, Tech 9, DMZ, Brickhouse, Masquerade, Flashback, Fade, Wise Son and Third Rail, they’ve carved out a reputation for brutality that cows all but the very powerful and the very foolish. Don’t ever cross the Blood Syndicate. You won’t survive.Well if that doesn’t make you want to read on, I don’t know what will! Dwayne McDuffie & Ivan Velez Jr wrote both issues of Blood Syndicate, while issue #1 was drawn by legendary artist Trevor Von Eeden (the artist on Black Lightning in the 1970’s!), and issue # 2 was drawn by James Fry (he of Marc Spensor: Moon Knight fame). Issue one starts out in the Chronicle building, home of Dakota’s only daily newspaper. Reporter Roberta (Rob) Chaplik is trying to convince her editor that she needs to go into the most violent area of the city, Paris Island, to interview the Blood Syndicate. Despite his protestations, Chaplik gets her way, and it is her voice that carries us through these two issues as we are introduced to the Syndicate. She journeys on a subway car to Paris Island, a place that no one goes to anymore since the bridge that led to it from Dakota was destroyed. As Rob sits on the train thinking about the people she is going to meet, the power to the car is removed and the train stops. She looks outside the car and sees a huge man standing in the tracks, he introduces himself as Third Rail, and he obviously has the power to absorb electricity (although what he does with it we do not know as of yet) He tells the reporter “This is Syndicate territory. You’re here as my guest and at my whim. Do NOTHING without permission, and EVERYTHING that you are told.” And at this we are treated to the money shot double page spread introduction to the Blood Syndicate:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) First interactions between the gang and Rob are interesting as Wise Son( who appears to be invulnerable) asks who’s the bitch, which prompts a smack down from the woman known as Brickhouse (well like the name suggests she is made of bricks and appears to be DAMN strong!) The Syndicate have a bold plan for the night, as they are going to bust up a crack house or as Holocaust says “we’re going to destroy the means by which the white man’s poison is disseminated in our community” Rob has really come here for the true story behind the Big Bang, but tags along because she has no real choice. In our first bit of foreshadowing in this issue, the gang is being watched by not only the rats in the station, but also a strange furry creature in the shadows (who I don’t think is some warm and cuddly Cookie Monster or anything like that).Tech-9, their leader, then goes over their battle plan to attack their target – the Greenfield Projects. People still live there, but it has become an impenetrable crack house (kind of like the Carter Apartments in the film “New Jack City”…. man Judd Nelson and Ice-T were sooooo much cooler buddy cops than Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, but I digress). Fade is the key for the syndicate to get in to the apartments as he walks through the walls and takes out the guards and opens the front gate, Brick house then demonstrates her strength by taking out the front door. Brickhouse, Holocaust, and Wise Son take fire from the drug dealers while Tech-9 demonstrates his power of providing unlimited ammunition and incredible shooting precision to his guns by blowing off the gunmen’s hands. Rob observes that “He shot the guns right out of their hands. Like something out of an old cowboy movie!”

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Masquerade then leaps into action, transforming his body into that of a lion. He attacks with ferocity and chews up his prey. Third Rail displays his electrical absorption powers bay jamming his hands into a circuit breaker and growing in size and strength. Rob gets a little behind the Syndicate while she observes the violence around her, and takes off alone to try and find Wise Son or Tech-9. She gets into what she calls “what happens next is even more difficult to believe, but I was there, at least, for most of it…”

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Fade’s sister Flashback then uses her power to go back in time three seconds to bowl Rob over to protect her from the gunman’s blast while Holocaust then uses his ability to generate and control fire to roast the gunman alive. Rob has no idea what is going on around her, as she wonders what it was that could change these children into the violent killers she sees in front of her. The Syndicate finds the money, and the drugs (which flashback manages to steal a little bit of) and Holocaust takes it upon himself to start a fire that consumes not only the drugs but also the whole apartment complex itself. Tech-9 does not think that was a good idea, and as the Syndicate gets the innocent people out he confronts Holocaust with some interesting results.

(Click the scans for a larger version!) Which brings us to issue 2, as the battle between the two super powered “Bangers” has begun outside the apartments as Rob is still our narrator. Wise Son steps in however, as he states that a battle of this importance is a private matter and does not get played out anywhere else but in Syndicate territory. The gang follows a self-imposed code of honor that they follow diligently as all members of the gang walk home in silence. Two things of import happen on this walk as the Syndicate think on the battle that is to come, one being Flashback acknowledges her need to smoke up the crack she took from the building and that strange creature from the station appears again. This time however, he seems to be talking to the rats as he looks in awe at the Syndicate exclaiming:

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We are then treated to an interlude where an old woman is talking to some men in armor. She tells the armored men that there is something special that they have been looking for and by rights it belongs to them. They are to go and get it and bring it home to MOMMA. Dead or alive. (I have to say this seemed strange, but like most foreshadowing interludes it will pay off).The Syndicate then arrives back at the Accordion Door Factory they call home. It is a home that used to serve as the financial hub of the city of Dakota, but was now an abandoned decaying building that “stands tall and proud in defiance of it’s circumstances” Rob notes “it’s a fitting home for the Blood Syndicate .” Rob still has interviews to conduct, but notes that since the duel was to begin at dusk she would not have much time to do them in. She decides to start with Tech-9, and as she talks to him she meets the final member of their gang (and one who I find pretty damn cool) Dogg. Yes the Syndicate boasts as a member a dog, but not any ordinary dog. It’s a dog that talks, which Rob discovers by asking how old he is and Dogg replies to her “Old enough to give you puppies!” Tech-9 then begins his story of the night of the Big Bang:

(Click the scans for a larger version!) Holocaust then offers up his story of the Bang:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Rob starts to put things together, realizing that the gas was the key to the powers of the gang and others who survived the Big Bang. She tries to talk to Masquerade, but he wants nothing to do with her. DMZ sits in a silent vigil above the Building illuminating the sky with his lantern. Brickhouse just rambles incoherently about the night and giant lobsters in armor that serve a great power, but she gets frustrated at being unable to remember anything and runs off. Hmmm…. My Munson-Sense tells me that the interlude armor guys might be related to this, but we will have to wait and see! It’s now time for the fight, and Holocaust and Tech-9 let it all out. It’s basically a few pages of banter, fire, and ammunition as Holocaust then comes out on top and prepares to strike a killing blow.Meanwhile, Brickhouse is alone and trying hard to remember things, and as she thinks of a gentle old face the armored men attack (don’t you love it when things come together like this). She fights back screaming that she knows who they are and won’t ever go back, using her immense strength to rip the armored attackers limb from limb.We return to the Dead Zone, as it appears Holocaust is too busy gloating over his victory to come and doesn’t notice Tech-9 creating guns out of mid air (what a great power) and takes him down:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) The Syndicate loses a member, but gain a strong leader. The action then leads back to Brickhouse as the armored men surround her and take her down by using a web filled with gas to knock her out. They prepare to take her back to Mother as they are running late and she will be upset, but our shadowy friend makes his presence known to assist the fallen Syndicate member as he says “my friends you’re going to be MORE than late….”:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Action packed two-issue beginning to a great series! What more can I say about the book that appears to hold some serious insight into the backbone of a major conspiracy in the Dakotaverse. We see the first scenes from the night of the Big Bang, the mystery of which will interweave through each of the Milestone books for some time. I really enjoyed these issues, as they were well written and made great use of foreshadowing (which unlike some X-Men storylines actually paid off). The only problem I had with these two books was the art. There was a huge difference between the first two issues as both artists have distinctly different styles, not as glaring as say Rob Liefeld and George Perez do, but different enough that it seems like after meeting the group in issue 1, that they all look different in issue 2. I did enjoy Fry’s work more than Von Eeden, but they both did decent work. It didn’t jump out at me like the artwork in some of the other Milestone books, but it was still decent. The main characters show a lot of potential, as the Syndicate shows that a gang is not just a group of people, it’s a family as they celebrate Tech-9’s victory and watch each other’s backs in the crack house raid. Add to this a guy who calls himself the Boogeyman, and a talking mutt named Dogg, and you have a pretty diverse cast of characters. Yeah, they are violent, but they want to clean up and protect their turf, and to do that they have to resort to some extreme methods. As an added plus, I love a good mystery and wonder what the Armored crew and “Mother” mean to the Syndicate and perhaps to the Big Bang. I can once again say that this look back got me up for some more reading, so let’s move on to our next big review of Icon #2 (I am a poet and I didn’t even know it… god I am sorry I typed that just now…. I should just delete it…. Nah I’ll just leave it in and maybe you will all laugh at just how pathetic and sad of a joke I made).

(Click the cover for a larger version!) Despite the Dr. Seussian tag line of the cover, these issue things get serious as our heroes get their first taste of action! Icon #2 picks up a little bit before the scene we ended issue #1 with, as we get an explanation for all the cops on the steps of city hall. Apparently four hours prior, Mr. Kevin Franklin who hasn’t been seen in City Hall since the Big Bang six months previously (see there it is again!) decided to take the Mayor hostage. He is looking for Payback and is apparently working with someone on the outside as he holds a shotgun to the mayor’s head and asks to have a little sit down with Mayor Jefferson about the Big Bang.Fast forward to now, and Icon and Rocket are surrounded by the elite police unit known as S.H.R.E.D. ! Yes it’s the first Milestone Agency Acronym! Eat your heart out Marvel!! S.H.R.E.D. (which stands for Special Heavy-Equipment Rapid Emergency Deployment) has our heroes in their sites and are intent on declining Icon’s offer to help them out. Icon complies with the police’s request to put his hands on his head, but Rocket isn’t having anything to do with that. A cop tries to strike her and that is when we see exactly what the belt Icon gave her in issue #1 does, as he can’t even touch Rocket. But she can most certainly touch him:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) The situation rapidly escalates from there as Icon tries to intervene and stop the deterioration of his first public appearance, bullets are fired, innocents are endangered by ricocheting bullets, and Icon and Rocket try and stop the police from attacking them with as little force possible. Icon is amazed at the behavior of the police as they fire at him with no care for the lives they have sworn to protect. He asks for composure from the police, and gets a rifle butt in the face. Icon throws this brazen cop around like he was made of tissue paper as he says “I suggest in the future you refrain from clubbing people in the face with your rifle butt”:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Meanwhile Mr. Franklin is still holding the mayor hostage, and will let her go and stop the violence outside if she just tells him the truth about what happened the night of the Big Bang. If not, then the cops will not have to arrest him for kidnapping, but for MURDER ONE! (queue dramatic music here)Icon has had enough of the situation outside City Hall and orders Rocket to take off. She hesitates at first, but then complies. Icon then surrenders to the police to avoid further trouble, and so that S.H.R.E.D. can continue the operation to free the Mayor. Icon sits in a paddy wagon as he watches the efficiency with which the officers make there way into the building. But as they attempt to scale their way into the building, their covering fire is taken out by a rocket, and the officers attempting to gain access to the building are sitting ducks. Icon can sit still no longer as some goons that appear to be helping the Mayor’s kidnapper cut the officer’s rope line to the building. He springs into action to save the S.H.R.E.D. officer’s life, while screaming out for Rocket to catch the other officer. Rocket comes out of nowhere to save the falling cop, and when she lowers the officer to the ground, asks Icon how he knew she was still around. Icon’s response is a simple one “Because I ordered you to leave”.Now we are left with the Mayor and Kevin Franklin. The Mayor tells him that he is running out of time and that the fighting is getting closer. He confronts her about her role in the event that was the Big Bang. She admits to ordering the police raid on Paris Island, but says that the gas they used on the kids was just tear gas. Kevin responds “The HELL it was, I was there” (uh-oh Munson – Sense is definitely tingling now) as he takes his glasses off and says “all of those kids are DEAD! YOU killed them! I am PROOF of what you did!” Icon and Rocket then make their way into the office, and Icon tells him “Son, you’re obviously in a lot of pain, give me the gun. You don’t need it anymore.” Kevin hands the weapon over and says “Yeah, you’re right….” Then, to quote Christian Slater, the fit hits the shan!:

(Click the scans for a larger version!) Well I guess it wasn’t just gang members that were affected by the gas used at the Big Bang huh?This issue of Icon fleshed out a few things left over from the first issue. Firstly, we see that Rocket has a variety of abilities while wearing her power belt. She can fly, steal the inertial force of an object that comes at her and then redirect the force, and has some sort of force field protecting her from harm. It also begins to illustrate the partnership of Icon and Rocket, as Icon shows that he knows Rocket well enough to determine when she will listen to him and when she won’t. I really liked the exchange between the two of them as they rescued the falling cops, as it suggests a developing trust and instinct between the two that will hopefully be expanded on in later issues. Once again Dwayne McDuffie, the “Babe Ruth” of Milestone comics writers, brings a great script and Mark Bright shows some tight penciling. One thing about his art that I have always liked is his great talent for facial expressions. Just check out Icon and Rocket’s faces when Kevin Franklin changes in front of them. The cocked eyebrow in panel one from Icon is classic. Perhaps it is here that The Rock (of WWE fame) got his People’s Eyebrow! Another great entry into the Milestone Mythos, and another piece to the puzzle that is the Big Bang. Will our next book reveal more about the Big Bang? Let’s take a look together as we check out Static #2!

(Click the cover for a larger version!) Static # 2 is entitled “Everything but the Girl” and begins in Virgil’s bedroom where he is recovering from the beating given to him by Hotstreak last issue. With him is best friend and girl he crushes on Frieda Goren who found out his secret I.D. also at the end of last issue. Frieda is very blunt when she asks why he took the beating from Hotstreak like he did when he had him beaten easily. Virgil is pretty down about himself and to try and change the subject Frieda asks him how he became Static. Here comes the flashback boys and girls, brace yourselves to go back in time!Our hero’s story begins on the day that Frieda and Virgil first met. They were hanging out in the hallway with their mutual friend Larry, and as Larry left the got to talking about various things and seem to have an immediate connection via their ability to banter wittily with once another. Their banter is interrupted however by Biz Money B, a Vanilla Ice wannabe who asks for Frieda’s “digits”. Frieda rebuffs his advances as both she and Virgil basically put a little verbal smackdown on the guy. Frieda leaves Virgil with a shocked expression as she says she would call him later. Perhaps it is this shocked expression that causes him to be taken out by Biz Money B and his rhymin’ and stealin’ beatdown:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) WOW, this guy has a future if Rico Suave ever needs an opening act huh? Virgil tells Frieda that he knew how pathetic he looked sitting on the hallway floor crying like a little kid, but he felt hopeless and that he felt he couldn’t do anything. Larry comes back to save Virgil’s bacon from the third cousin of Marky Mark, and as he is walking him to his bus tells him that he shouldn’t let people put him down like that. He needs to take charge when someone does that and just smoke ‘em, and that if he needs a CAP he can hook him up. Virgil had a long ride home to deal with everything that happened, and once home his day was brightened a little bit by Frieda’s call. This happiness was dashed when Frieda asked him if he was okay after what happened because guys like that always know who to pick on. She said that she knew right away that he was not about that macho stuff and so did they. Virgil obviously took this blow to his manhood to heart because that night he took Larry up on his offer to hook him up with a gun. Larry told him he could find that Vanilla Fudge guy with the rest of his gang on Paris Island that night because the Big Bang was going down and he Biz Money B would be there!This is where we find him next hiding in the shadows with his gun looking to pop a cap in Biz Money B on Paris Island. He has him in his sights while he thinks:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) He just can’t do it as he realizes he just doesn’t have anything like that in him. He throws his gun down into the water and at that moment, the police converge around the gangs and the gassing of the Big Bang kicks in. The cops call for the gas, but something starts to go wrong as all around Virgil people are fighting, and different people screaming that the gas was eating through their masks, officers and gang members alike are all succumbing to it and the last thing Virgil hears is someone saying:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Later Virgil awakes where he says that it feels like a dinosaur used his head for drum practice. He looks around at the various bodies around him. He looks up in the sky and sees “Them. A bunch of flying people. Some glowed, some had wings, some were just shapes.” He then backs up against a brick wall, or what he thought was a brick wall but was really a brick woman, yup it’s the first (unofficial of course) Milestone cross-over as Brickhouse was standing behind Virgil. Next Virgil sees some strange shapes approaching. Shapes that look exactly like(Continuity alert here folks) the Armored men from Blood Syndicate:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Virgil concludes his origin story by telling Frieda that after that night he did a lot of practicing, and as Static he busted crack houses, street thugs and really made a rep until today. When he was confronted once again by Biz Money B, A.K.A. Hotstreak! He beat him once before and couldn’t handle facing him again. Frieda tries to console him by telling him that he beat BMB the first time when he walked away. Virgil doesn’t see it that way, and says “I’ll have beaten him when I’ve kicked his sorry ASS.” He then takes off to find Hotstreak.Hotstreak is of course holding court in a playground hyping up his victory over Static. Our hero of course finds him here and decides to take him down and out:

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Static defeats his foe and his fear by using his brain and displays a new power of some sort of control over sound waves, broadcasting his humiliation of Hotstreak to all his boys over their various boom boxes. Virgil flies back to see Frieda to bring her the triumphant news, and also to fish for a little hero’s reward! What he gets is Frieda’s true feelings for him:

(Click the scan for a larger version!) Poor guy, shot down in his moment of glory. At least now we know what the title of the issue really meant. The issue ends with two men in the shadows talking about Hotstreak being defeated in front of all his boys by Static. The “boss” tells his underling to ”Find this Static. Test him. If he’s weak, take him. If he’s strong hire him. If he’s a problem….. SMOKE HIM”This issue was a fun read, and also a revealing read. I really can’t help but draw comparisons to “Ultimate Spider-Man” when I read Static. Both books really deal with teenage issues excellently, and the dialogue is just fun to read. Both books also don’t just have a hero running around and beating people up, as Static # 2 takes us inside the characters heads so we can learn about their personalities. You genuinely begin to feel a connection with each one of Virgil’s friends in this comic. Larry is the protector who seems to see only one way to deal with certain situations. Frieda is not just a pretty face, she has a sense of humor and can keep up with Virgil’s verbal quips. Virgil is a caring, sensitive goofy guy who has a real head on his shoulders. I hope we see more of each of these people and are introduced to some new friends as well. This issue is also important because we see Virgil deal with something pretty heavy, the opportunity provided to him to kill another person to get revenge for a beating. He deals with it like a mature adult and doesn’t resort to a disproportionate response to his hallway humiliation. It’s a great part of the issue and you can feel the emotion coming through the page. Artwork and Story were perfect as McDuffie, Washington, and J.P. Leon just knock the book out of the park.Wow! What a week, and we have only begun to delve into the Milestone universe, my friends. We have just started to uncover some of the secrets of the Big Bang, and you have to wonder where they will lead! Who are the flying people Virgil saw that night, and who are the armored people that want to capture the “bangers”. All I can tell you is that I will find out along with you all because I honestly can’t remember! But in the weeks and months to come we will find out together my little Milestone Minions. Next week we will cover Hardware # 3, 4 and 5 and also Icon # 3. In the meantime, if you’re curious about your friendly neighborhood author, feel free to come check out my own little piece of cyberspace on my homepage (Munsonisms!) at www.munsonisms.blogspot.com. So join me, two dogs, and a Vicar, next week as we continue this walk down memory lane known as Munson’s Milestone Mondays!

Yes, it’s Monday, and do you know where your children are? Well I do, they’re at bahlactus.com just like you. I am your host, Jeff Munson, and I welcome you back to this column for a triple threat of great Milestone madness. (Sorry, I read a few too many old time Marvel Bullpen Bulletins over the weekend, so If my column this week sounds a little too much like Stan “The Man” you know who to blame!) This week we are going to cover the following three Milestone comics: Hardware #2 and the debut issues of both Static and Icon.

We begin with Hardware #2- chapter 2 of “The Man in The Machine”:

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Well, the cover really says it all, as it covers the issues villain, and the content of the book. When we last left Hardware he was in for the fight of his life against a multiplicating meta-human named Reprise (see what I mean about the Stan Lee influence). This issue opens up in the midst of this fight, with Edwin Alva having himself a Dr. Doom like moment as he pontificates about how the city and the world is his but he keeps being stifled by Hardware. He thinks about how much money the high-tech hero has cost him, and how he does not know his true identity. However he promises that a trap is ready to be sprung that when Hardware takes the bait, his very special assassin will do his work and that “I shall MYSELF unmask your lifeless corpse”. We next shift ourselves to the big battle wherein Hardware is being put through his paces by Reprise, and as Hardware discovers every duplicate he quickly kills/ takes out is just replaced by another. Hardware is surrounded, and the reader finds out something interesting about his gadgets in this fight. He runs his suit on a power source that is “battery powered”. Taking on Reprise apparently is too much for the limited power he planned on for this mission and he needs to get out before he becomes pretty much powerless. He decides to retreat via his ship the Skylark, but in the process of getting out of the warehouse, he is shot in the back by Reprise. The battle suit’s shell integrity becomes compromised due to the low power levels of the suit, but Hardware dose manage to get away by using his last shell in his Omni cannon to fight back the duplicates and then manages to trigger the bomb he planted to blow up the warehouse.

Hardware wants to try to make it back to his lab, but realizes he won’t make it in the shape he is in. Curtis decides to have the Skylark take him to his apartment where he passes out from the pain of the shotgun blast still in his Hardware shell.

We then cut to the next day where a Professor Barraki Young is called by one of Curtis’s lab techs saying he had not been in yet. Prof. Young decides that she may drop in on Curtis after work to check on him, and when she does she discovers Curtis lying in his bed with the Hardware shell still engaged. He decides to tell her the truth about his double life, and the motivations behind it. Her reaction was not exactly what you would call subtle:

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Well after that little tête-à-tête, Curtis decides to get his act together for what he thinks will be one final mission. No more senseless death and endangering the innocent. Our final page of this issue is Hardware, loaded up like Rob Liefeld was drawing him ready to confront Edwin Alva as he vows “as sure as the sunrise, Edwin Alva will die at my hands”


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I have to say, this issue seems a little rushed to me. While it did include some interesting points, Hardware calls his On-Board Computer “Obie” for example, but everything involving Barraki bears a little more explanation. Is this an ex-girlfriend of Curtis’, one would think so because she has keys to his apartment, and is contacted when he is missing for a day. Curtis clearly values her opinion and trusts her because he instantly opens up to her about his issues. SO who the heck is she? This is Curtis’ “Peter Parker” moment (with great power comes great responsibility and all that jazz), it’s being delivered to him by someone the reader has just met, but there is no real intro into the importance this person has in his life. The whole conversation just seems to be a way for Curtis to come to the realization that he was acting selfishly and recklessly in his actions against Alva. However instead of Uncle Ben we have someone the reader can’t really identify with because of the lack of a personal back-story. A little nit-picky I can here some of you saying out there in internet land, but if a hero is going to change his plan of action and show some remorse for the damage and killing he has wrought you want to know who convinces him of his errors a little more than this. Despite this, it’s still an entertaining read, with a few one liners that will make you laugh and some added diagrams of Hardware’s weaponry in the back after the letters page. Also after the letter’s page is a short 4-page preview of our next Milestone book – ICON! SO, let’s move along to Icon #1 shall we!


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The first issue of Icon is entitled “By Their Own Bootstraps”, and begins in the year 1839 aboard a space ship. Yes, you read that right; the first scene involves a blue skinned alien aboard a space ship that appears to be exploding. The alien jumps in an escape pod, which crash lands on earth somewhere in the south where a black woman happens upon it after hearing the crash. She touches the outside of the craft, which sends some sort of signal to the alien, and the craft changes the alien’s shape to that of a young African American baby. The woman takes the child and looks back at the ominous craft, not entirely certain of what just happened. Writer Dwayne McDuffie and artist M.D. (A.K.A. Marc & “Doc”) Bright use 4 pages with only the art, no dialogue, to convey this part of the story and it is very well do

We next jump ahead to 1993, we see Augustus Freeman sitting in his law offices. He is speaking to his partner about a woman he met a few nights ago, and how differently they view the world. He describes her as “Impoverished, impassioned, Angry.” And that she told him that he had a responsibility to help people, and that perhaps he should be doing more than just being a lawyer. We cut to the housing projects where a young girl, Raquel, is writing at a kitchen table. McDuffie begins to tell her story using her writing here as she has a flashback and describes her journey with 3 friends to the suburbs around the city of Dakota. Noble, one of her friends suggests that since the Cops will be trying to stop the “Big Bang” that they go out to the suburbs and help themselves to some serious cash and merchandise. (As a side note here, the “Big Bang” is the gang fight that I referred to in the first Milestone Mondays column, which is the pivotal event that provides the initial powers to some of the Milestone heroes.) Raquel is not eager to do this, but goes along as Noble reminds her if they get enough money she can get herself a typewriter. As a poor writer from the projects this entices Raquel to stay. They find a large house and break in. Raquel is amazed by the study that is in the house and her reactions are as such:

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It’s at this point that they are caught as a black male catches them stealing a big screen TV, Noble pulls a gun and tells the man that it ain’t worth getting killed for a white man’s stuff. The scene shifts and we see it is Augustus Freeman, and he politely and eloquently informs Noble he is wrong on several accounts, and that it is his house and that he does not allow him to steal anything. Noble, gun in hand, fires and as Raquel recalls:


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That’s a priceless line. Augustus takes a few more slugs to the chest while the other run away. He grabs the gun and tells noble to stay put. Raquel then sees something she thought she would never see as Augustus takes flight after them and scoops them up depositing them back onto his property. He chastises them for wasting their lives because he has little patience for criminals. He tells them he is going to let them go, because he does not want certain details of this encounter made public, but in the future he expects them “to comport yourselves like citizens. Not common thugs. If you want something, pay for it. If you can’t afford it, work for it. Your behavior reflects poorly on our people and on yourselves.” He receives and F-bomb from Noble as a reply. To which Augustus says that they are to return any other stolen items to their rightful owners and that they are to NEVER commit another crime because if they do they will see him again. Needless to say, a bulletproof, floating, eloquent black male scared the bejeezus out of these kids and they believed him.

Raquel gets home and realizes that her world seemed pretty small after that encounter. She spends the night thinking and writing and visits Augustus at his home with an idea.

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It is clear Augustus thinks this encounter over as we are shown Raquel getting her costume that she designed from Augustus along with a belt that would protect her from harm when she wears it. He tells her to meet him at the bridge in 3 weeks, and they will talk. On that night Augustus is walking, thinking about his life and the lives of the people around him. The recent riots and the Big Bang have provided the city with nothing but examples of hopelessness; he decides he must provide an example to the contrary. He will become Icon with his sidekick Rocket (Raquel). The issue ends with them taking their first flight to help in a situation downtown. Rocket asks Icon how he is going to help out in a situation involving the cops when she asks, “what are you going to do? Land in the middle of eighty bazillion cops and ask them if they need a hand?” Icon tells her that this is essentially correct and not to assume everything is racial. They land and Icon introduces himself to the officer in charge. He is greeted by the police in a manner that causes Rocket to say: “Don’t assume everything’s racial huh? I’ll try—“


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This is another great opening issue, the reader has a voice to follow and it is Raquel/Rocket. She is the lynchpin of this book as she will be the one to open Icon’s eyes to the way the world really works when you are not a rich black lawyer. The art by Marc Bright is excellent, and the writing really gives you a glimpse into the mind of Raquel and Augustus. Raquel even uses a quote from W.E.B. Dubois for inspiration for Icon’s creation; it’s truly a well-written book. And the issue also has a 3-page primer for our next subject, and my personal favorite of the entire Milestone books – STATIC! (Did Milestone anticipate my writing this column all those years ago or what)


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Static #1 written by Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III and drawn by John Paul Leon is chapter one of “Trial By Fire”. It opens with a scene in a downtown Dakota arcade, where Frieda Goren is meeting her friends. What she finds there is a gang called the 5 Alarm Crew, whose leader Hotstreak wants a chat with her. She tries to fight off the gang members who are eager to “take her to their leader” when Static comes to the rescue. Static is floating on what appears to be a trash can lid displaying such electrically based powers as a Taser Punch, and an electrostatic force field around his body as he takes on the gang members. He appears to be in full control of his powers, and the gang knows who he is so this is obviously not his first appearance. He is also a teenage hero who enjoys engaging his foes with sine witty banter such as bowling his opponents down and proclaiming that he has picked up a spare.

After he gets rid of the gang members, he floats down to make sure Frieda is okay. He obviously knows her in his secret identity because the first thing he thinks is:

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He is obviously a fun loving guy who enjoys the limelight of his heroic actions. After flying away he runs back to his house anticipating a phone call that he has a feeling will be coming. Here we see that Frieda and Virgil Hawkins (Static’s secret ID) are very close friends. They discuss Static’s saving her from the gang and Virgil acts excited about the hero making an appearance and despite his knowing the whole thing listens to her experience in the arcade. The next day they both go to school, and like all high schools, hang out in the hallways with their friends. It is here that we see the writers have an excellent grasp of teenage life. The conversation between Virgil and friends is priceless as they cover such subjects as a ballet performance, eating potato chips, diets, and dates. It also shows that Virgil and Static’s actions/ personality are one and the same. He is just as goofy and grandstanding as Virgil as he is as Static. Virgil doesn’t use his secret ID to be somebody else. In any case the few pages in the school hallway need to be read to be appreciated, as it’s really on the mark.

Homeroom comes, and as things begin to take their normal shape on a school day the 5 Alarm Crew break in and take Frieda out of class by brandishing a gun and hauling her out. Virgil sneaks out of class and changes into Static to follow them, as Frieda meets Hotstreak, the leader of the gang who has some “fire-power” of his own. He is able to set objects aflame, and as Frieda basically tells him to take a flying leap, using some colorful finger gestures I might add, Static arrives to save the day! Or so one would think as he fights Hotstreak he realizes he is not up against a gangbanger with power, he appears to be faster than a normal human being. He wraps up Hotstreak with a garbage can and as he does Hotstreak’s hat and hood fall back. Static appears shocked as he recognizes Hotstreak:

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This is how the issue closes as Frieda pulls back a beaten static’s mask to reveal her best friend’s face! What a cliffhanger, why did Static fold up like a cheap accordion? What will Frieda think? Well as the title of the next issue suggests we may just find out the answer!

This book rocks just as hard as it did back in 1993. What got me excited about the title, and gets me psyched to re-read the run now is the letters page. You know the tradition of the first letters page where the writers tell you how their book is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that their book is better than all other books out there and how different it is? Well, Robert Washington takes this tradition and runs with it. He sells hard about the book being not just about Static, but about Virgil and his friends. He goes on to joke that he wanted the title to really be called VIRGIL AND STATIC or VIRGIL HAWKINS’ PALS AND GALS, because the pitfalls of being a teenager are what the book will be about as much as super-heroics. He also wants the reader to know that this hero is going to use his brain, and that even though he seems to know his powers he will discover new ones. Static will “use his brains instead of raw firepower. His REAL super-ability is his ingenuity and creativity.”

He also confirms that he is working very hard to make sure that VIRGIL AND STATIC ARE THE SAME PERSON. The secret identity won’t be where his true personality resides and he won’t get tougher by putting on the mask and tights. Combine this letter column and the story itself, and you have a fine first issue. If there is any book I could convince you fine readers to pick it up through the course of these columns I hope it’s this one.

In summary, Static’s first issue is excellent. The artwork by J.P. Leon is nowhere near the excellence he would show in collaboration with Alex Ross on the Universe X titles, but it shows where that excellence started. I can’t say enough about the script, the dialogue is great and one has to wonder if Brian Bendis was a regular reader of this book back in the day because I have to tell you it feels a lot like an issue of Ultimate Spider-Man to me. Perhaps Static was a book before it’s time!

Well that was a long column, thanks for seeing it through with me my Milestone Minions (see I just can’t shake that Stan the Man at ALL!) Tune back in next week where we will take a look at the further adventures of the Milestone Heroes as we look at Static #2, Icon #2 and the first two issues of BLOOD SYNDICATE!