At the end of last issue, we were left with the U-Foes revealing that they had acquired some sort of machine that they were using on kidnapped victims to figure out its purpose. I actually kind of like that twist, since Bunn pretty much nails the U-Foes perfectly. They're not really Doc Ocks or Dr. Dooms who would be able to figure out the machine on their own; they're just a bunch of thugs hoping it'll help them get more power. I still wonder where they got it and how it's connected to Project Rainbow, the alleged fringe-science government program, but, I figure we'll probably learn more next issue.
But, aside from the mystery over machine's origins, Bunn uses the reveal that it's actually a memory machine to great effect, since, in one panel, Katy Kiernan gets a lot more interesting. Why is she shaking hands with the Kingpin? Is her husband the person by whose grave we see her standing? Speaking of supporting characters, I'm also really digging the Valkyrie/Venom dynamic. On a personal level, it's fun to watch Flash get all discombobulated around her. Plus, on a fighting level, they work well as a team, with Valkyrie evening out Flash's impulsiveness.
We also discover what Flash had come to suspect is true, that the symbiote is alive and well. It was a little odd to see it talking as if it had a personality, which makes me wonder whether it has developed a higher level of awareness than we've previously seen it have or if Flash has simply created a separate personality for it within his mind. Either way, it probably doesn't bode well for Flash.
All in all, I'm pretty glad that I accidentally wound up getting these issues in my pull-list stack. I'd be pretty happy reading a comic with Flash and Katy on the trail of some sort of secret-government conspiracy, almost inverting the original premise of this series. Fingers crossed that we don't regress to demons and devils.
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